Why have my system programs and apps completely disappeared?

[iMore Question]

System programs and Apps completely disappeared.

Hi, I have an iPhone 4s, and have been having issues with it freezing while I'm typing for some weeks now. Yesterday I was using it as normal (heavy text/whatsapp/internet/fb use) and it froze. When it started working again the front screen had entirely changed and I only now have a few icons on the home screen, instead of the 3 pages of icons I used to have.

I am not only missing downloaded apps, but also the following system icons have disappeared:
phone, contacts, camera, whatsapp, text messages, clock, app store, settings, emails, and itunes.

They have not moved into a folder anywhere. I have also used the search phone facility to try and find various progs/apps but nothing comes up. I can access the camera by swiping up from the lock screen, however cannot do anything else.

When someone calls me, I can answer the call, but cannot end it, as the End button is unresponsive. It also doesnt give me the option of putting it on hold, loudspeaker, etc.

Has it gone to iphone heaven, or can this be sorted? Advice on how to fix would be very welcome!

 

[Rob Phillips]

System programs and Apps completely disappeared.

Welcome to iMore! Have you tried performing a soft reset? To perform a soft reset, hold both the power button and home button down until you see the Apple boot logo. If that doesn't solve your problem you're going to want to restore your device. I recommend setting it up as a new device. It's a lot of work but it provides the cleanest possible installation and it could resolve a lot of the performance be issues you've been having. Good luck!