How to add contacts to home screen on iPhone

Following the release of iOS 14, users were disappointed to find that the Favorites widget had been removed from the system, providing quick access to the contacts they used most. There is a workaround that brings it back with the Shortcuts app, but the original Favorites widget was better in every way. If you're looking for something better, try turning all your favorite and most used contacts into "apps" on your home screen.

Why "applications"? Because technically, these will only be shortcut triggers, but they will appear in the application library, and in a sense, they will behave like applications. The contact icons you create will open the Contacts page or initiate a call or send a message.

You can assign any image to each contact, which will be displayed as an icon on the home screen. Or, you can dock important contacts for even faster contact access.

Before you start, that is system requirements

To create a shortcut, you need: iOS version 13.x or 14.x and the Shortcuts application pre-installed in iOS. If for some reason you removed it, reinstall it from the App Store.

Option 1 Create a shortcut to a contact

Open the Shortcuts application and select My Shortcuts from the menu at the bottom of the screen. Then select the plus sign (+) shown in the upper right corner of the screen to start creating a new shortcut.

Type Contacts in the search bar at the bottom of the screen and tap on the function.

In the Contacts action box, tap the plus sign (+) to open the contact selector, and then find and select the contact you want. Now enter Quick Look in the search bar and tap on this feature.

Touch the ellipsis (•••) displayed in the upper right corner of the screen.

On the Details tab, in the Shortcut name box, type a name. This can be the first name, last name or nickname of the contact. Then tap Go to Home screen.

In the next window, tap the default shortcut icon shown in the Name and Icon section on the Home screen. A context menu will appear with the following options:

After selecting the photo, touch the field with the name New Shortcut and enter the text that should appear under the icon. For example, the contact's first name, last name, or nickname. Now tap the Add button. The screen will inform you that the icon has been added to the home screen. Tap OK on the next screen, and tap OK again to exit the editor. Close the shortcuts app.

After clicking on the contact icon on the home screen, the contact page from the address book will open, where you can choose one of the actions: phone call, video call, send a message, etc.

Option 2 Create a call / message button

Open the Shortcuts application and select My Shortcuts from the menu at the bottom of the screen. Then select the plus sign (+) shown in the upper right corner of the screen to start creating a new shortcut.

Now you need to choose what the button does. If you just want to call a number without opening the Contacts page, find and select Call. If you'd rather just send a message, find and select Send Message.

In the People action box, tap the plus sign (+) to open the contact selector, then find and select the contact you want.

Touch the ellipsis (•••) displayed in the upper right corner of the screen.

On the Details tab, in the Shortcut name box, type a name. This can be the first name, last name or nickname of the contact. Then tap Go to Home screen.

In the next window, tap the default shortcut icon shown in the Name and Icon section on the Home screen. A context menu will appear with the following options:

After selecting the photo, touch the field with the name New Shortcut and enter the text that should appear under the icon. For example, the contact's first name, last name, or nickname. Now tap the Add button. The screen will inform you that the icon has been added to the home screen. Tap OK on the next screen, and then tap OK again to exit the editor. Close the shortcuts app.

After clicking on the contact icon on the home screen, depending on what you have chosen, a phone call will be established, a video call will be made, or a window will open allowing you to enter and send a message.

Organize contact icons on your home screen

The contact icon will now be visible on the home screen and you can move it to any page of the home screen. In addition, the icon can be found in the application library.

After creating all of your contact icons, you can start organizing them. You have several options to choose from.

- move icon to dock: if it's someone who you call, write or email every day, you can move their icon to the dock to be visible no matter which home screen page you are currently on.

- create folder: create a contact folder on the home screen the same way you create an app folder. You can then put the folder icon in the dock.

How to add contacts to home screen on iPhone