6 Best Ways to Fix Widgets Not Working in Windows 11

Widgets are just one of many important features that Microsoft announced with Windows 11. The News & Interests widget that we saw earlier in Windows 10 has received a major design overhaul in Windows 11. experience for many.

So, if you can’t use Widgets because they are blank or not working completely, we are here to help. This post has compiled some troubleshooting fixes to get Widgets working again. So let’s check them out.

1. Enable Widgets

If you can’t find the Widgets icon in your Taskbar, it’s because you haven’t enabled it. Read along to learn how to activate it.

Stage 1: Right click on the Taskbar and select Taskbar settings.

Step 2: Under taskbar items, turn on the Widgets button.

When you see the Widgets icon, click on it or press Windows key + W on your keyboard to open the Widgets panel.

2. Restart Widgets

If the Widgets panel in Windows 11 appears blank or does not load Widgets properly, you can try restarting the Windows Widgets process using the Task Manager. Here’s how.

Stage 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to quickly launch the Task Manager. Click the More details button to expand it.

Step 2: Under Background Processes, scroll down to find and select Windows Widgets. Now click the End Task button to close it.

Now go ahead and try opening the Widgets panel to see if they look good now.

3. Sign in with a Microsoft Account

Since the Widgets panel uses your Microsoft account to view your calendar, weather, related news and more, the Widgets panel will not work for you if you are signed in to your PC with a Local account. Therefore, you can try switching to a Microsoft account by following the steps below.

Stage 1: Press Windows key + I to launch the Settings app. Go to the Accounts tab using the left pane and select Your Information.

Step 2: Under Account settings, click ‘Sign in with a Microsoft account instead’ and enter your login credentials to continue.

4. Set Microsoft Edge as Default Browser

Widgets in Windows 11 are closely integrated with Microsoft Edge. So, if you have set your default web browser to Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or any other browser for that matter, the Widgets not working issue can also occur. You can try going back to Microsoft Edge as your default browser to see if it helps. Here’s how.

Stage 1: Press Windows key + I to launch the Settings app. Switch to the Applications tab and go to Default Applications.

Step 2: Scroll down and choose your current default browser.

Stage 3: Under ‘.htm’, click on your current web browser.

Step 4: Select Microsoft Edge from the drop-down menu and click OK. Repeat this for other file formats.

5. Install Microsoft Edge WebView2

Microsoft Edge WebView2 is a component in Windows 11 responsible for embedding web content into native applications on your PC, including Widgets. So, if the problem persists even after you change your default browser to Microsoft Edge, it may be because WebView2 is missing.

So go ahead and install Microsoft Edge WebView2 on your PC. Once installed, restart your computer and see if you can use the Widgets now.

Download Microsoft Edge WebView2

6. Disable Graphics Driver

A Graphics driver is software responsible for connecting the operating system on your PC to your PC’s hardware. Sometimes, minor bugs in Graphics driver can also lead to Widgets related issues. Oddly enough, temporarily disabling the Graphics driver worked for many users while it fixed this issue. Here’s how to do it.

Stage 1: Click the Search icon from the Taskbar, type Device Managerand press Enter.

Step 2: In the Device Manager window, expand Display Adapters and double-click on your graphics card to open its Properties.

Stage 3: In the window below, switch to the Driver tab and click on Disable Device. Finally, click OK.

If your PC has multiple graphics cards, repeat this process to disable them. Now try using Widgets in Windows 11. If they are working fine, you can enable the drivers by following the steps above.

Information at a Glance

The Widgets panel was a welcome addition to Windows 11. Also, when third-party developers come and take advantage of this feature, you can expect your favorite apps to appear on the panel. In the meantime, we can expect Microsoft to improve the overall Widget experience in Windows 11 by debugging such bugs and bugs.