How can I enable auto-rotate for the home screen?

Question

I have a "handset" with Android 2.3.4, and the "flip" feature works for every app and screen, except the desktop. That is, if I flip my phone any screen or app will flip too, yet the desktop remains fixed. There was an exception when I was playing a game and I pressed the home button: there the desktop was flipped, but it seems it was "forced" to flip by the game. How can I make it flip like any other app or screen?

Answer 1

If it doesn't work out of the box, which is the case with many Android phones, then you have a few different options:

• A launcher replacement which adds this feature (may not work with all ROMs)
• A custom ROM like cyanogen mod, which has this feature built in. You can read more about custom ROMs here
• Wait for an official update which adds this feature. (may never happen)

Answer 2

Old question, but this answer is relevant for other Android versions.

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I suffer from the similar problem in my Android 4.2.1 where all apps would follow auto-rotation except the home screen (default Launcher app). I found a solution mentioned here and here.

The device needs to be rooted and Xposed Framework installed. App Settings is the app that did the job in my device.

Instructions

1. Install, activate and launch App Settings.
2. Locate and select your default launcher app → slide to ON.
3. Change Orientation to Normal rotation if you want orientation to be synced with auto-rotation, or choose other ones based on your needs.
4. Tap "save" icon next to ON to save settings.

5. Go back to Launcher, and as per your settings you will notice the orientation in it.

   Default Launcher in landscape mode with auto-rotation

   

   App drawer in landscape mode with auto-rotation

   

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We're good to go!