The widgets in Windows 11 are Microsoft’s attempt to provide quick snippets of information and news. You can use the Windows 11 Widgets to see the data you need, whether it’s the latest weather forecast, your calendar, sports updates, or traffic info. However, the Windows Widgets board looks spammy and crowded, so the majority of users are wondering how to turn off the widgets in Windows 11. Would you like to know more about the widgets for Windows 11? Then, read this guide to find out everything about them, including how to disable Widgets in Windows 11: What are widgets in Windows 11? The Windows 11 Widgets feature appears to be the love child of the Start Menu live tiles and the News and Interests from Windows 10. The Widgets window is a semi-transparent overlay that slides out from the left edge of your screen. By default, your widgets are displayed in a column on the left, and on the right, you see a feed with news and articles tailored to your interests. Sometimes, you can also get a Missed Insights panel on the left side, as shown below. It displays notifications from your other widgets, like extreme weather alerts, price alerts from your stock exchange watchlist, or news alerts. The Windows 11 Widgets panel default look The widgets themselves are small Windows programs that can offer specific information: traffic alerts, timers, weather information, stock exchange information, and so on. Most Windows 11 widgets are created by Microsoft, but you can also get access to third-party ones, like Spotify, from the Microsoft Store. In the top-right corner of the Widgets window, there are (usually) four buttons. Here’s what they are, from left to right: Refresh - reloads the widgets for Windows 11. Expand to Full View - expands the Windows 11 Widgets to take up the whole screen. When the window is expanded, the button’s name changes to Collapse to Half View, and you can use it to return it to its default size. Feedback - opens Microsoft’s Feedback Hub. Settings - displays the settings available for the Windows Widgets. There are four buttons in the top-right corner To interact with a widget, click or tap its buttons in the Widgets panel. However, every widget behaves differently. Most widgets open a web page in Microsoft Edge with more information. This happens even if you use Google Chrome, Opera, Vivaldi, or some other browser as the default in Windows 11. A widget showing data from the stock market NOTE: The Windows Widgets feature is not only spammy but also buggy. I used three different accounts to test it, and found that it also lacks consistency. The same widget can have different customization options, pinning widgets only works sometimes, and the buttons and panels shown on the user interface seem to be playing hide and seek. If anything isn’t working as it should, you can try restarting Windows 11, but that doesn’t always resolve the issue. How to access the Windows 11 Widgets The most obvious way of accessing the widgets for Windows 11 is by clicking, tapping, or simply hovering the mouse cursor over the Widgets button on your taskbar. This button displays snippets of information from your widgets, like the current weather. Use the Windows Widgets button If you’d rather open the Windows Widgets with your keyboard, use the shortcut: Windows + W[/DC-CODE] On a laptop or tablet with a touchscreen, you can swipe inward from the left edge of the screen to access the widgets for Windows 11. How to open Windows 11 Widgets on a touchscreen To close it, click or tap anywhere on your screen outside the Widgets window. You can also use the Windows 11 Widgets button or the keyboard shortcut above for the same result. TIP: If you can’t see the Widgets button on your taskbar and the other methods don’t work, try adding the icon. Check out our guide on adding and removing icons and apps from the Windows 11 taskbar for detailed instructions. If that doesn’t solve it either, open the Microsoft Store, access the Downloads tab in the lower-left corner, and click or tap Check for updates. Widgets start to function correctly only after updating to the latest version of the Windows Web Experience Pack. Try checking for updates to enable the Widgets How to add widgets in Windows 11 The most straightforward way to add more widgets is to click or tap the Add widgets button at the top of the Widgets panel. Its icon looks like a plus sign (+). Use the + button to add more widgets for Windows 11 If the news feed is disabled, you can find the Add widgets (+) button in the top-right corner of the window. The Add widgets button in the top-right corner IMPORTANT: The elusive Add widgets (+) button is not available all the time in the Widgets window. In that case, use the cogwheel in the top-right corner to open the Settings and click or tap Discover new widgets. Access Settings > Discover new widgets Clicking or tapping Add widgets opens the Pin widgets window. Microsoft usually offers these nine default widgets: Countdown - add one or more countdowns to events you’re keeping track of. Focus session - lets you use the Focus sessions in the Windows Clock app directly from the Widgets window. Instant Play - gives you access to a collection of games you can play in Microsoft Edge. Phone Link - for those using the Phone Link app to access their iPhone or Android smartphone. Sports - lists recent scores in all kinds of sports and results for various matches. Timer - it counts down, just like the feature with the same name in the Windows Clock app. Traffic - shows you the traffic conditions in your area. Watchlist - lists interesting data from the stock market. Weather - displays the current temperatures in your area; depending on the widget’s size, it can also include other info, like a five-day forecast. Depending on the type of account you’re using and your active Microsoft services, you might see more (or less) widgets on your Windows 11 PC. To add a widget, select it in the list on the left and click or tap Pin at the bottom of the right panel. How to add a widget to Windows 11 If you’re looking for a specific widget or want to explore other options, click or tap Find more widgets in the bottom-left corner. Get more wigets This opens the Microsoft Store, where you can Find your next widget. Look through the available options and click or tap the widget that interests you. Find your next widget Many users want the Spotify widget in Windows 11, so let’s add that one. Clicking or tapping on a widget’s name opens its Microsoft Store page. Click or tap Get to install the app. Get the Spotify app and widget When the app is installed, close the Microsoft Store window. The Spotify widget is now available in the Pin widgets window. Tap Pin to add it to the Widgets board. Pin the Spotify widget to Windows 11 How to customize the widgets in Windows 11 After adding all the widgets you want, consider adjusting the way they look or behave on your Windows 11 PC. Let’s see how to do that: How to arrange widgets in Windows 11 Changing the position of your favorite widgets is intuitive and easy. Simply drag and drop to arrange them the way you want inside the Widgets panel. Drag and drop widgets to move them By default, you can only place widgets on top of each other in the left panel. But you get more space to move them around if you disable the news feed. How to customize and remove a widget in Windows 11 The only widget I find helpful is Weather. I am using it to see the weather directly in my taskbar. That way, I avoid the clumsy Widgets window unless I want a more detailed forecast. In every widget’s top-right corner, there’s a More options (...) button. Click or tap it to open a contextual menu. The options displayed in this menu are different for every widget, so feel free to explore. Access More options for a widget You can use the Small, Medium, and Large sizes for the Weather widget. However, the resize option is not available all the time for this widget (it works on two of the three accounts I used). You can also choose between Fahrenheit and Celsius. I normally use Celsius, but I just wanted everyone in the US reading this to see how crazy hot it is. 🙂 Click or tap Customize widget to see even more options for a widget. This entry is not available in every widget’s menu, but Weather has it (all the time). How to customize a widget in Windows 11 Then, depending on the settings available for that widget, personalize it as you wish. For example, the Weather widget allows you to set your location. You can customize the location in the Weather widget To remove a widget, click or tap the last option in its menu, Unpin widget. How to remove a widget from the Widgets panel How to personalize the Widgets news feed In addition to the Windows 11 Widgets panel, Microsoft also displays a news feed tailored to your interests and preferences. To control what you see, access Settings, expand the Personalize section if necessary, and click or tap Feed. Go to Settings > Personalize > Feed This opens a window called Personalize MSN. At the top, you can Sign In with your Microsoft account if you haven’t done so already, as well as change the Region & language. The section at the bottom has four tabs: Discover - find the channels and topics you want to follow. Following - shows the channels you follow and lets you remove them. Blocked - shows the channels you blocked, and you can Unblock them. Notifications - allows you to customize and disable the Notifications in your feed. Personalize MSN How to change the Widgets taskbar behavior Next, choose the Windows Widgets behavior for your taskbar. Access Settings again and click or tap Notifications. Go to Settings > Notifications In the Notifications window, decide if you want to Show notification badges on the taskbar and to Show announcements on the taskbar by toggling the corresponding switch(es). Choose the widgets Notifications you want to see Back in the widgets Settings, find the Open Widgets board on hover switch. I hate it when I accidentally hover over the Widgets button, and the window suddenly slides out, so I always turn off this switch. It makes the whole Widgets feature 40% less annoying. Open Widgets board on hover If it’s still too annoying, you may want to disable Widgets in Windows 11. Let’s see how that’s done. How to turn off Widgets in Windows 11 To completely disable the Widgets in Windows 11, you need to access the taskbar options in the operating system’s Settings. Open the Settings app, access Personalization, scroll down in the right panel, and click or tap Taskbar. Go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar In the Taskbar items section, turn off the Widgets switch to disable the feature. Use the Settings app in Windows 11 to disable Widgets The Widgets button is immediately removed from the taskbar. How to disable the news feed and keep the Widgets If you don’t completely hate the feature, but the whole experience is too much for you, you can take it down a notch by disabling the news feed. Open the Widgets again, access Settings, and click or tap Show or hide feeds. Go to Settings > Show or hide feeds Next, click or tap the switch next to Feed. Confirm your choice in the pop-up by clicking or tapping Turn off. How to turn off the news feed next to Widgets The Widgets feature restarts. Welcome to a better, more relaxing Widgets panel. Widgets without the news feed Much better, don’t you think? Do you like the widgets for Windows 11? In my opinion, the Windows 11 Widgets feature represents another item on a long list of failures in Microsoft’s latest operating system. I like to disable all the switches I can find, so it bothers me as little as possible. I then use the Widgets as a live tile to get the weather forecast in my taskbar. What do you think? Do you like this feature? Which of the Windows 11 widgets are useful to you? Let me know in the comments.
