Application shortcuts disappearing/missing from the dock on Android Phone

We usually place the icons that we use the most on the dock of Android home screen. It can be really a nuisance if they go missing every time you reboot the phone. Especially with Android 4.1 in the running currently on most phones, icons or applications missing from the dock of the Android phone is an issue.

Does the problem of of application shortcuts or icons missing from the dock happen to all Android phones that have version 4 or above installed in it? My experience and a little research I have done tells me that it does not happen to all Jelly Bean or Ice cream Sandwich phones. Icons go missing from the dock only if you installed a custom launcher recently and uninstalled it. There, you see the issue!

It is a bug in Android that causes the problem. You install a custom launcher, make it default. You use it for a few days and then decide to uninstall it. The issue is the stock launcher gets confused with the default settings and your phone still thinks that you are running a custom launcher. In the process, one or two application shortcuts from the dock or home screen goes missing every time you reboot the phone or unlock it. The way to deal with this issue is to clear defaults of the launcher.

What do you do when you see that application shortcuts are missing from the launchpad or doc? Follow the simple steps below:

Step One: Open your phone settings and go to the application list

Step Two: In the application list, got to All Applications and find out Launcher. This is the stock Android Launcher on your phone. (If you have any other custom launcher installed, uninstall it before you do this) 

Step Three: Once you open the stock Launcher settings. Scroll down and click on Clear defaults. Reboot the phone and see if the problem persists. Usually, this will solve the problem. 

The final and drastic step: If clearing the defaults on your stock launcher does not solve the issue of application shortcuts missing from dock, then you need to take the final drastic step. Remember, if you do this all the customization you have on your home screen will be lost. (Do not worry, you can do the customization after the issue of missing application shortcuts from the dock is solved.) Here you go - CLick on the Clear Data button on your launcher settings. Reboot the phone. Now, I am sure your issue of missing application shortcuts from the dock is solved forever!!