How to add widgets to your iPhone Home Screen and Lock Screen

1. Home Screen
2. Sizes
3. Change what it shows
4. Smart Stacks
5. Lock Screen
6. Move or remove
7. Not updating?

Add a widget to your Home Screen

1. Touch and hold an empty part of your Home Screen until the app icons start to jiggle.
2. Tap Edit in the top-left corner, then Add Widget. On iOS 17, tap the + button in the top-left corner instead.
3. Scroll the list or search for the app, for example WidgetAim, and tap it.
4. Swipe left and right to see the widgets the app offers and the sizes they come in.
5. Tap Add Widget, or drag the widget to where you want it. Tap Done.

Choose a size

Home Screen widgets come in up to four sizes. Not every app offers every size.

To change a widget's size later on iOS 18 and later, enter jiggle mode and drag the handle in the widget's corner, or touch and hold the widget and choose a size. On iOS 17, remove it and add it again in the size you want.

Change what a widget shows

Many widgets have settings, like which city, which calendar or which goal to show. Touch and hold the widget, tap Edit Widget, make your choice, then tap outside the widget. In WidgetAim, this is how a Pick an aim widget is pointed at a particular aim. You can also do it from the app: open an aim and turn on Widget list to give it a number.

Some widgets are interactive since iOS 17: you can tap a button on the widget itself, like checking off a list item, marking a bill paid or revealing the answer on a flashcard, without opening the app.

Make a Smart Stack

A stack holds several widgets of the same size in one spot. Swipe up or down on it to flip between them.

1. Enter jiggle mode by touching and holding the Home Screen.
2. Drag one widget on top of another widget of the same size, and let go.
3. To reorder or remove widgets in the stack, touch and hold the stack and tap Edit Stack.

Turn off Smart Rotate in Edit Stack if you'd rather the stack stays on the widget you chose. Stacks are a good way to keep, say, two flashcard decks and a countdown in one place.

Add a widget to your Lock Screen

1. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until Customize appears, then tap Customize and choose Lock Screen.
2. Tap the box below the clock to add up to four small widgets, or the date above the clock for a one-line widget.
3. Find the app in the list, for example WidgetAim, and tap or drag the widget you want. In WidgetAim, add Pick an aim.
4. Tap the widget you added to choose what it shows, then tap Done.

Lock Screen widgets are drawn in a single tint to match your clock, so they work best with short information: days left, a streak, the next bill.

Move or remove a widget

To move a widget, touch and hold the Home Screen until things jiggle, then drag the widget anywhere, including to another page. To remove it, touch and hold the widget and tap Remove Widget. Removing a widget doesn't delete anything in the app; you can add it back at any time.

A widget isn't updating

• Open the app once. iOS decides how often widgets refresh in the background. Opening the app usually refreshes all of its widgets right away.
• Check Low Power Mode. It can delay background refreshes. Changes you make by tapping the widget or in the app still show up immediately.
• Remove and re-add it. After an app update, a widget can occasionally show blank. Removing it and adding it again fixes that.
• Check permissions. A widget that reads Health, Calendar or Location data needs that access in the Settings app → Privacy & Security.

Still stuck with a WidgetAim widget? The support page has more, or email us.

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