Facebook Home, the suite of apps that turns your Android phone into a whole new social experience, is without a doubt a brilliant idea. However the new launcher may not please everyone, maybe because is just too simplistic, the lack of widgets support or because it gets on the way of what you really need to do. For whatever the reason, once you install it and you want to get rid of it, there is a way to disable Facebook Home while rolling back the previous launcher, and it’s quite simple — just follow the step-by-step instructions below.
Instructions
1. Swipe the bobble up to open the bookmarks (the first page with apps) and swipe left to view All Apps.
2. Scroll down until you find Settings and tap it. Scroll down again to the Device section and open Application manager.
3. Swipe left to the All tab, find and tap Home.
4. Scroll down to the Launch by default and tap Clear defaults.
5. Press the home button on your Android phone and you once again will be given the choice to select which launcher you want use. Choose your previous launcher and tap Always to confirm.
Finally if you want to disable Cover Feed after you unlock your phone, repeat step one, find and tap Home Settings, and uncheck the “See Home When Screen Turns on” — Or you can simply tap the “Turn Off Facebook Home” and then Turn Off.
Remove Facebook Home
One thing to keep in mind is that these instructions do not uninstall Home. To do that, just launch the Google Play Store, open the menu, tap My Apps, locate Facebook Home, tap it and tap Uninstall.
The awaited Facebook phone software is available now from the Google Play Store, but for US users only and in a limited group of Android phones (Samsung GALAXY S III, Samsung GALAXY S4 and Samsung GALAXY Note II, HTC One X, HTC First, HTC One X+ and with the HTC One — more mobile phones models will also get the new software pretty soon).
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].