How to set up favorites so the Home screen stays useful is easiest when you treat the launcher as a replaceable Home layer, not as the place where your apps live. Your installed apps and their data remain managed by Android.
Prepare before you change anything
- Take screenshots of the current Home layout.
- Export a launcher backup if available.
- Keep the stock Home app installed.
- Write down any unusual gestures, hidden apps, or widget settings you rely on.
Make one structural change at a time
Start with favorites and search. Then add widgets, gestures, icon packs, profiles, or hidden apps only if they solve a real navigation problem. A launcher with fewer settings that you understand is often more reliable than one with every option enabled.
Test the boring cases
Reboot the phone, rotate it if supported, change font size, open and close a heavy app, and install one new app. These cases expose layout resets, redraws, scaling issues, and slow app-drawer refreshes faster than a ten-minute first impression.
Minimalistic is one example of a third-party Home app. The same switching rule applies to any launcher: keep the stock launcher installed, make one change at a time, and know the path back to Android’s default-app settings before you start.
Migration rule: change one layer at a time
First set the launcher as Home and test navigation. Then add favorites, then widgets, then icon pack, then gestures, then focus/hidden-app rules. Keep the stock launcher installed until the new setup survives a reboot and a normal day.