Top 8 Ways to Fix MIUI Widgets Not Working Issue

MIUI is one of the most popular mobile interfaces. Developed in-house by Xiaomi, it is heavily customized to replace the user experience found on stock Android. In the latest MIUI 11, many have relied on the new features, but many struggle with widgets as they do not work for them. This can be frustrating for those who use and use widgets regularly.

Widgets are fun, informative and highly customizable if you know what you’re doing. They can also consume a lot of system resources, including battery juice. Pay attention to these small nuances when using them.

Let’s start.

1. Create a New Widget

Maybe a bug or a simple, mundane bug is responsible for the widget not working or the update failure? This can also cause the app not to start when you tap on it. So, long press the widget and tap Remove to delete it.

Next, long press the home screen and select Add widget. This will vary depending on the launcher you are using. I installed Microsoft Launcher. You can use another one and there are some great options available in the Play Store.

Swipe or search for the widget you want to add, press and hold the widget to drag it to the home screen. Depending on the widget and the app it belongs to, you may be prompted to install it.

2. Turn off MIUI Optimization

Open Settings and under About phone, tap the MIUI version title 10 times. You should see a popup that says ‘You are now a developer’. Search for Turn on MIUI Optimization in settings search and tap to turn it on.

Scroll to the bottom of the screen and turn this setting off. By default, it is on. You can always re-enable this setting if you notice device-wide errors and bugs or certain features not working as expected.

3. Background Work Permit

Many Android skins kill background app processes to increase battery life. MIUI 11 also has such a strategy for better RAM management. Open Settings, tap Apps and select Permissions.

Select Autostart and make sure your apps have this permission. It will allow the application to run in the background and will automatically start if MIUI terminates the process.

4. Display Pop-ups

Widgets depend on the app to collect and present information on your screen. There may be an app-specific bug that causes MIUI 11 widgets to not work. Long press the widget and select App info. If you don’t see this option, open Settings > Apps and search for the app whose widget is not working and open it.

Here go to Other permissions and enable Display popups while running in the background.

If the old MIUI 11 widget is still not working, create a new one.

5. Reinstall from Play Store

Did you sideload the app? I suggest uninstalling the app and reinstalling it from the Play Store. It will only take a minute and this shouldn’t be a problem as most apps have the ability to take local or cloud backups.

6. Battery Saver and Task Terminators

The first thing you need to know is that task killer apps are not running. The processes you kill will restart, so you will consume more resources than before.

Uninstall or disable all battery saver and task killer apps on your smartphone. Check again if the MIUI widget is working. If not, the app is the culprit. You can get rid of them or whitelist the app inside those apps.

7. Update Operating System and Application

Open Settings and under About phone select System update.

Check for an operating system update and apply it if it is. A new version of MIUI 11 was known to cause all sorts of issues with widgets, but it was later resolved.

Open Play Store and search for the app whose widgets are not working. Check for an update and if it is, you should install that update. For this, you will see the Update button instead of Open at the top of the Play Store. Under My apps & games you can also see a list of available updates for all installed apps.

8. Change Launcher

Which launcher are you using? Is it possible that the launcher settings are corrupt or there is a conflict or even a bug that prevents the widgets from working properly in MIUI 11? Go back to the system or MIUI launcher and see if it works. If it does, you need a new launcher. We have reviewed several great launchers like Nova, Action, Microsoft launcher and more.

Widget Spinner

We rely on widgets to provide us with much needed information at a glance without opening the app. They also act as shortcuts to the primary app, reducing the number of taps required otherwise. Widgets are great, but only until they work properly. When widgets don’t work or stop working in MIUI, we run into trouble.

Next: Have you ever wondered what the difference is between an app and a widget? Here is an in-depth comparison between the two. Find out how they are similar, how they differ, and how they behave or work.