Android launchers have been an important part of your phone experience for a long time. If you don’t like the look and feel of your home screen, you can select from a wide variety of launchers to change the experience.
While there are a lot of launcher apps, there is also the Microsoft Launcher (formerly known as Arrow Launcher), which after several updates and re-brand can be considered the best one out there if you’re a Windows 10 user. Not just because all of its features, but because it makes the life of your phone and PC a little easier.
Alongside all the customization options, the Microsoft Launcher also integrates with Microsoft services allowing you access to your recent activities, documents, calendar, and you can even pick up where you left off on your PC for an even more productive experience across all your devices.
The only caveat is that with so many options, it can be overwhelming to fine-tune the experience. I’ve been using the Microsoft Launcher on my phone for several weeks now, and after spending time on it, I think I’ve found the right configuration balance.
In this guide, you’ll learn (what I consider) the best customization settings you can use with the Microsoft Launcher on your Android phone.
Setting up Bing wallpapers
Along with good search results, Bing is also known for its daily beautiful homepage wallpapers. Using the Microsoft Launcher, you can choose to have the same wallpapers set as your phone background, and the best part is that they’ll change automatically every day to start the day with a fresh experience.
To use Bing wallpapers, do the following:
Open Microsoft Launcher settings. (Press and hold the home screen and tap on Launcher Settings.)
Tap on Change wallpaper.
Tap on Bing wallpaper.
Turn on Bing daily wallpaper toggle switch.
Microsoft Launcher Bing wallpapers settings
You can also limit the download of wallpapers only when you’re on a Wi-Fi connection, and it’s possible to select any of the previously published Bing wallpapers and set as your background.
Hiding apps and folders names
On Android, apps and folders you add to the home screen include the corresponding name underneath, which can add unnecessary noise and clutter to the experience. However, because chances are that you can already identify apps by their icon, you enable an option in Microsoft Launcher to remove their names.
To hide names on apps and folders, do the following:
Open Microsoft Launcher settings. (Press and hold the home screen and tap on Launcher Settings.)
Tap on Customization.
Turn on the Hide app/folder names toggle switch.
Microsoft Launcher hide apps name
Using transparent theme
Microsoft Launcher uses the light theme as its default, but for the best experience, you can change theme color scheme to transparent.
To change theme settings, do the following:
Open Microsoft Launcher settings. (Press and hold the home screen and tap on Launcher Settings.)
Tap on Customization.
Tap on Theme.
Use the “Theme” drop-down menu, and select Transparent.
Change the opacity settings to around 50 percent.
Change the blur settings to around 75 percent.
Change the accent color to light blue.
Turn on the Apply accent color to headers toggle switch.
Microsoft Launcher theme settings
Tap Done.
Selecting bigger icons
Using the Microsoft Launcher, you can also change the app icon size. If you want to see more of the background wallpaper, you can leave the smaller default size, but if you’re already hiding the name of apps, it’s better to use the largest icon size.
To change the app icon size on the screen, do the following:
Open Microsoft Launcher settings. (Press and hold the home screen and tap on Launcher Settings.)
Tap on Customization.
Tap on Customize app icons and layout.
Use the slider and select Largest.
Microsoft Launcher icon layout
Tap Done.
In addition, you can change the icon pack, but you’ll find that the default system icon pack is your best choice.
Customizing the feed experience
Microsoft Launcher also replaces the Google feed experience, the only issue is that you may not like the default cards. Luckily, the Microsoft Launcher is very customizable, and you can decide exactly what appears on your feed and in which order.
Swipe the last page on the left to see your feed.
Tap on any of the card’s three-dotted menu button.
Select the Customize feed option.
Decide which cards will appear on your feed by tapping the Hide or Show button.
Microsoft Launcher feed customization
If you want to customize the content that will appear on your feed, simply open the Microsoft Launcher settings, and the available options will be listed inside the Feed.
Setting Google as the default search
Microsoft Launcher sets Bing as the default search engine when querying with the home screen search box. If you prefer Google, you can easily set it back as your default search engine.
Open Microsoft Launcher settings. (Press and hold the home screen and tap on Launcher Settings.)
Tap the Search option.
Select the Search engine option.
Set Google as your engine.
Set Google as default search
While in the Search page, you can also tap the Search result filters option to decide exactly what results should Microsoft Launcher surface alongside web results. Typically, I’d leave the default settings, and I also include system settings, but you can pick from a number of filters, including documents, text messages, apps, etc.
Personalizing the home screen
You can personalize the home screen any way you like, but I personally prefer two rows of icons in the first page for better viewing of the time, weather, and background. The second page I like to add three rows of icons, and on the rest of the pages I usually just fill them up with icons.
The order of icons on the pages is also important. I’m a right-handed person, and I always place the icons for apps I use the most within reach of my right-thumb.
Microsoft Launcher home screen
Using backup and restore
Although it’s not a personalization feature, I’m also adding backup and restore to the list of best customization settings for Microsoft Launcher. The reason is because at one point in time, you’ll need to reset your phone or temporarily uninstall the launcher, and if you don’t do backup, you’ll have to go through all the setup and customization again.
To create a backup of your Microsoft Launcher settings, do the following:
Open Microsoft Launcher settings. (Press and hold the home screen and tap on Launcher Settings.)
Tap on Back up & Restore.
Select the Back up Microsoft Launcher option.
Use the drop-down menu, and select the Backup to cloud storage option.
Tap the Back up button.
Microsoft Launcher backup settings
Once you’ve completed the steps, your Microsoft Launcher settings will be backed up on your OneDrive account.
If you ever need to restore your settings, simply use the same settings, but use the Restore Microsoft Launcher option instead.
- Microsoft Launcher | Download
