Why Can’t I Delete Apps on My iPhone?Solved

Same here! I even tried rebooting and everything, but the apps are locked in place. Starting to think it’s something on the management side if other settings aren’t doing it.

Hello everyone, I’d be happy to help. If your iPhone is managed by an organization, specific management settings might restrict app removal. Let’s explore two key areas where restrictions may be applied:

1. Required Apps Settings:

   If your device is enrolled in a UEM (Unified Endpoint Management) solution like Hexnode, your IT team might have marked some apps as “required.” This means these apps are considered essential for compliance or productivity purposes, and they can’t be deleted unless explicitly allowed.

   To adjust this, the administrator can:

   1. Log into the Hexnode UEM portal.
   2. Navigate to Policies > New Policy (or select an existing one).
   3. Go to iOS > App Management > Required Apps.
   4. Here, they’ll find the option Allow users to remove apps.

   When this option is enabled, users can delete apps even if marked as required. If disabled, those apps stay locked in place, ensuring compliance with organizational policies.

   Device-side experience: If this restriction is in place, users typically won’t see a delete option when holding down the app icon. No specific error message appears.

2. Advanced Restriction Settings:

   Another area to check is Advanced Restrictions. The administrator can:

   1. Go to Policies > New Policy (or select an existing policy).
   2. Navigate to iOS > Advanced Restrictions.
   3. Under Allow App Settings, they’ll see:
      1. Remove apps: Governs whether users can delete any apps.
      2. Remove system apps: Lets users delete built-in system apps (reinstallable via the App Store).

If these settings are disabled, users won’t be able to remove apps from their devices.

That’s probably it! I’ll ping our IT team and ask them to check those settings. Thanks!

Good call! I’ll do the same. Fingers crossed this fixes it.

Glad to hear it! Please let us know if modifying these options resolves the issue. We’re here for any additional questions you might have.