How to Add Widgets to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Lock screen widgets arrived with iOS 16 and gave iPhone users something they'd been asking for years — glanceable information without unlocking the phone. If you've recently updated your iPhone and want to put that space to work, the process is more straightforward than it looks, but there are a few variables that shape what you'll actually see and be able to do.

What Lock Screen Widgets Actually Are

Lock screen widgets are small, data-displaying elements that sit either directly below the clock or in a strip above it on your iPhone lock screen. They don't behave like home screen widgets — they're smaller, they don't scroll, and they're read-only. You tap them to open the relevant app, but the widget itself just displays information: a calendar event, battery level, activity ring progress, weather temperature, and so on.

There are two widget zones on an iOS lock screen:

• Above the clock — a single, narrow rectangular widget (sometimes called an "accessory rectangular" or "inline" widget)
• Below the clock — up to four small circular or square widgets arranged in a row

Not every app fills both slots. What a widget can show is limited by the WidgetKit API, which developers use to build lock screen-compatible widgets. If an app hasn't been updated to support it, it won't appear as an option.

Step-by-Step: Adding Widgets to Your Lock Screen 📱

1. Wake your iPhone without unlocking it (raise to wake or tap the screen).
2. Press and hold on the lock screen until the customization interface appears. You may need to authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID first.
3. Tap "Customize" at the bottom of the screen.
4. Select "Lock Screen" from the two options that appear (the other is your home screen).
5. Tap the widget area above the clock or the widget panel below the clock — whichever you want to edit.
6. A drawer will slide up showing available widgets from apps installed on your device.
7. Tap a widget to add it, or drag it into a slot. If a slot is already filled, the new widget will replace the existing one.
8. Tap "Done" in the top-right corner, then tap your lock screen to confirm.

That's the core flow. It takes under two minutes once you've done it once.

iOS Version and Device Compatibility

Lock screen widget support requires iOS 16 or later. If your iPhone is running iOS 15 or older, you won't see the customization option at all — the press-and-hold gesture will simply show wallpaper options or do nothing.

Compatible devices include the iPhone 8 and later, as those are the models that support iOS 16 and above. If you're on an older device that can't update past iOS 15, lock screen widgets aren't available regardless of what you try.

To check your iOS version: Settings → General → About → iOS Version.

Which Apps Offer Lock Screen Widgets

Not all apps support this feature. Lock screen widget availability depends on whether the developer has implemented WidgetKit support for the lock screen format specifically — it's separate from home screen widget support.

Third-party apps like task managers, habit trackers, and fitness apps have broadly added lock screen widget support since iOS 16 launched, but coverage is inconsistent. An app you rely on may offer a home screen widget but not a lock screen one — those are built differently.

Managing Multiple Lock Screens

iOS lets you create multiple lock screen profiles and switch between them manually or automatically using Focus modes. This matters because each lock screen has its own widget configuration.

If you want your lock screen widgets to shift automatically — say, showing work calendar and reminders during work hours, then activity rings and weather in the evenings — you can link each lock screen to a specific Focus mode in Settings → Focus. 🔄

This makes the widget setup more powerful but also more layered. Someone who only needs one static lock screen has a simpler path than someone trying to build context-aware configurations tied to Focus schedules.

What Shapes Your Experience

A few factors meaningfully affect how useful lock screen widgets end up being for any individual user:

• Which apps you actually use daily — widgets only display apps installed on your device, and only those with lock screen support
• How often you check your phone without unlocking it — if you almost always unlock immediately, the value of glanceable data is reduced
• Whether you use Focus modes — unlocks dynamic, context-switching widget setups
• Screen size — the widget panel on larger iPhone models (Pro Max, Plus) displays the same number of widgets but they may feel more readable
• Your iOS version — features and widget options have expanded with iOS 17 and later, including interactive widgets in some contexts on the home screen (though lock screen widgets remain display-only)

The gap between "I added some widgets" and "my lock screen is genuinely useful" often comes down to which specific apps you reach for instinctively and whether what they can show in a tiny format actually tells you something you'd act on.