iPhone Widget Not Updating? Why It Happens and What to Try

iPhone widgets do not refresh continuously. iOS decides when each one reloads, so a widget can show older information for a while. Open the app that owns the widget, check that Low Power Mode is off, and remove and re-add the widget if it stays stuck. If it is still wrong after that, update the app and iOS.

How often widgets refresh

Apple’s developer guide on keeping a widget up to date ↗ explains that iOS gives each widget a daily refresh budget. For a widget you look at often, that budget is typically 40 to 70 refreshes a day, which works out to roughly every 15 to 60 minutes. The exact timing varies with how often you see the widget, when it last reloaded and whether its app is active.

Two details matter when you troubleshoot. Reloads triggered while the app is open do not count against the budget, so opening the app is the quickest way to nudge a widget. And iOS takes a few days to learn your routine, so a widget you just added may behave differently next week.

Checks to try in order

1. Open the app. Let it load fresh data, then go back to the Home Screen and wait a moment.
2. Turn off Low Power Mode. Apple’s Low Power Mode page ↗ says it turns off Background App Refresh, which can leave widgets waiting longer for new data.
3. Remove the widget and add it again. Touch and hold it, remove it, then follow Apple’s Add Widget steps ↗. This can clear a widget that shows a blank or black box. If all your widgets turn dark at once, see why iPhone widgets turn black.
4. Restart your iPhone.
5. Update the app and iOS. A recent update may include a fix. Apple explains how to update apps ↗.
6. Contact the developer with your iPhone model, iOS version and what the widget shows.

After updating to iOS 27

If widgets turned blank or stopped updating right after you installed iOS 27, start by opening each affected app and checking the App Store for an update, since developers often release versions for a new iOS. If only one app’s widget is affected, look at that app first. If every widget is stuck, restart the iPhone and check for a newer iOS 27 update in Settings → General → Software Update, as described in Apple’s update guide ↗.

Missing or wrong widgets

If the app is absent from the widget gallery, or the widget shows the wrong content, the cause is usually different. Our widget not showing checklist covers those cases, and a Weather widget with no temperature or the wrong city has its own Weather widget fixes. If battery life worries you, read whether animated widgets drain battery.