What to do if Widgets Not Working on iPhone? Widgets in iOS are a strange object. On the one hand, they provide the necessary information, for example, the weather, and are even quite nicely drawn, on the other hand, they are not interactive. Tapping on the Apple Music widget doesn’t give you quick access to music controls or scrolling through the playlist, it just opens the corresponding app on the iPhone.
They say that in iOS 16 the widgets will change and improve, but for now, that will have to wait. Occasionally widgets not updating or are not displayed at all on the smartphone screen. Don’t give up on widgets! We’ll show you how to fix them.
What to do if Widgets Not Working on iPhone? How to Fix it?
iPhone weather widget not updating
Weather widget stopped updating? There is a solution
The weather forecast on iPhone is one of the most popular, but sometimes it starts to fail: the forecast does not show, the temperature or the widget shows outdated data. What can be done?
- Go to Settings, and select “Privacy”.
- Select Location Services and make sure the toggle is on.
- Scroll down and click on “Weather”.
- Select the item “When using an application or widgets” – so that the widget updates the forecast not only when you enter the Weather application itself, but also on the screen of home, where it is.
I strongly recommend that you also enable “Exact geolocation” in this paragraph so that the widget determines not only the city but also the area where you are.
How to Enable Background App Refresh on iPhone
Enable app refresh to update widgets as well
Another reason why the widget not working or displays incorrect information – Disabled background app refresh. This feature saves battery power but prevents apps and their widgets from receiving new data in the background.
- Go to settings.
- Select General, then Content Update.
- Make sure Wi-Fi and Cellular Data are enabled under Content Update.
- Then find in the list the application whose widget does not work correctly and move the slider to the active position.
Please note that not only the weather works this way, but many others, including banking apps, Yandex. Taxi and the App Store widget or your carrier’s widget that shows balance data.
The widget stopped working on iPhone
Often the reason why the widget does not start may be an outdated version of the app. This often happens if you skip 2 or 3 updates or if you don’t install updates for several months. If the widget is not working, just go to the App Store and check for available app updates, then install them.
Try updating apps in the App Store – this may cause the widget to not work properly
It should be noted that the widget may stop launching or updating due to battery saving mode being enabled: when the power saver is enabled, some notifications stop coming, processor speed decreases and background refresh is disabled. So, charge your smartphone and turn off power saving.
The widget not working on iPhone
In addition to charging, your iPhone can also save traffic. A useful feature helps you when travelling: it reduces your internet usage so you don’t pay too much. Or, ultimately, if you don’t have a lot of traffic and need to back it up somehow.
The widget may stop working out of the blue. But it’s completely understandable.
- Open Settings, and select Cellular.
- Go to settings”.
- Move the “Data saver” switch to the inactive position.
Also, pay attention to the fact that the iPhone is able to save traffic when working with Wi-Fi – because of this, widgets may also stop working properly.
- In Settings, select “Wi-Fi”.
- Click “i” next to the active connection.
- Disable the slider next to Data Saver.
So iPhone will start spending more traffic on updating data, and widgets will be loaded even with a poor connection. And also because of data savings sometimes Messages are not being sent to iMessage – talked about it in a separate article.
How to Customize Widgets on iPhone?
Resizing a widget is another way to get rid of problems with it
If the above tips didn’t help, try something else.
- Remove the widget from the home screen, add it again, or try resizing it to a larger size.
- Unlock the iPhone for proper operation. On the lock screen, some widgets may not work when swiping the screen to the right, due to which information is not displayed.
- Give the necessary permissions to the app with the widget: In Settings, select the desired app and grant access to location, background updating and cellular data.
- If the widget is not working properly, just click on it, enter the app and go back. After that, it should update.
- Try replacing one widget with another. For example, Apple’s weather forecast can be replaced with a more informative “Weather” widget from Yandex.
- Restart your iPhone or do a factory reset.
