How to Add Widgets on iPhone: Home Screen, Lock Screen and StandBy

Updated October 20, 2026 · 6 min read

Your iPhone has three places for widgets: the Home Screen, the Lock Screen and StandBy. Here is the full path for each on iOS 26, using Left as the example.

Before you start

Install the app whose widget you want and open it at least once. Many apps, Left included, only show up in the widget gallery after their first launch. Left needs iOS 26 or later.

Add a widget to your Home Screen

1. Touch and hold an empty area of your Home Screen until the apps start to jiggle.
2. Tap Edit in the top-left corner, then tap Add Widget.
3. Search for the app (for example, Left) or scroll to find it, then tap it.
4. Swipe through the widgets and sizes. Home Screen widgets come in Small, Medium and Large.
5. Tap Add Widget, drag the widget where you want it, and tap Done.

More in the Home Screen widget guide.

Choose what the widget shows

Most widgets can be configured. Touch and hold the widget and tap Edit Widget. In Left, this is where you pick which countdown an Ahead widget shows, which habit a Habit widget tracks, or whether the Year widget counts in days, weeks or months.

Change the size

In jiggle mode, many widgets show a small handle on one corner that you can drag to switch sizes. If you don't see it, remove the widget and add it again at the size you want.

Small fits one number, Medium a number with context, Large a full grid. In Left, a Small Ahead widget shows one countdown, the Medium Everything widget shows day, week, month and year together, and a Large Year widget shows all 365 days.

Stack widgets to save space

Drag a widget on top of another widget of the same size to create a stack, then swipe up or down on the stack to flip between them. Touch and hold a stack and tap Edit Stack to reorder it or turn on Smart Rotate, which lets iOS bring forward the widget it thinks is most relevant.

Make widgets clear or tinted

Tap Edit on a jiggling Home Screen, then Customize, to switch all your icons and widgets to a different look, such as Clear or Tinted. Left widgets follow that choice. See how to make Left widgets transparent.

Add a widget to your Lock Screen

1. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until Customize appears at the bottom. You may need to unlock with Face ID first.
2. Tap Customize, then choose the Lock Screen.
3. Tap the widget area below the time to add circular and rectangular widgets, or tap the date above the time to choose an inline widget.
4. Pick the app (for example, Left) and tap the widget you want.
5. Close the widget panel and tap Done.

There are three Lock Screen shapes:

• Inline: one line of text next to the date, above the time.
• Circular: a small round widget. The row below the time fits up to four.
• Rectangular: a wider widget that takes the space of two circular ones.

Lock Screen widgets don't use the app's full colors. iOS draws them in a single tint that matches your clock, so designs rely on shape and contrast. More in the Lock Screen widget guide.

Which Left widgets fit each slot

• Inline: Year, Month, Week, Day, Minutes, Life, You, Digital Clock and Analog Clock.
• Circular: Year, Month, Week, Day, Life, You, Ahead, Habits list and the clocks.
• Rectangular: Year, Month, Week, Day, Life, You, Ahead, Habit, Habits list, Streak, Aim and the clocks.
• Home Screen only: Everything, Time Ahead list, Streaks list, Aims list, Calendar, Special note, Ahead Bars and Ahead Circle, among others.

A practical Lock Screen: the Year widget inline, a circular Ahead widget for your next trip, and a rectangular Streak widget for the run you are protecting. The countdown widget, year progress widget and habit tracker pages show the styles.

Get the Left widgets

Widgets and Live Activities are different

Live Activities also appear on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, but you don't add them in Customize. The app starts them for something happening now. In Left, a countdown can show one when you turn on Get the final countdown, and a habit can show one through Get a persistent reminder.

Use widgets in StandBy

StandBy turns your iPhone into a full-screen display when it is charging, locked and turned on its side.

1. Make sure StandBy is on in Settings > StandBy.
2. Put your iPhone on a charger in landscape and let it lock.
3. Swipe horizontally until you reach the widgets view, with two widget stacks side by side.
4. Touch and hold a stack, unlock if asked, and tap + to add a widget. Search for Left and add the one you want.

Swipe up or down on either stack to move through its widgets. In a dark room, StandBy can switch to Night mode, which tints the display red. See Left widgets in StandBy.

Edit or remove a widget

• Home Screen: touch and hold the widget and tap Edit Widget to change it, or Remove Widget to take it off the screen, then confirm.
• Lock Screen: touch and hold, tap Customize, choose the Lock Screen, tap the widget area and tap the minus button on the widget you want to remove.

Removing a widget never deletes your data in the app. More in how to edit or remove a widget.

Troubleshooting

• The app isn't in the widget gallery. Open the app once, then check again. Still missing? Restart your iPhone and update iOS and the app.
• The widget shows old information. iOS decides when widgets refresh, partly to save battery, so updates are not always instant. Opening the app usually prompts a refresh. If a widget seems stuck, remove it and add it again.
• The widget is empty or shows the wrong item. Touch and hold it, tap Edit Widget and choose the item again, for example if you deleted the countdown it was showing.

Questions

Why can't I find an app in the iPhone widget gallery?

The app usually needs to be opened once before its widgets appear. If it still isn't listed, restart your iPhone and update iOS and the app. Some apps also don't offer widgets at all.

Can any widget go on the Lock Screen?

No. The Lock Screen only takes inline, circular and rectangular widgets, and each app decides which of its widgets come in those shapes. Larger widgets, like Left's Everything or Time Ahead list, are Home Screen only.

Why are my Lock Screen widgets not in color?

iOS draws Lock Screen widgets in a single tint that matches the clock, so they stay readable over any wallpaper. The app's full colors show on the Home Screen, unless you pick the Tinted look, and in StandBy.

How often do iPhone widgets update?

iOS controls the refresh schedule to save battery, so widgets update regularly but not always instantly. Opening the app usually triggers a refresh. Time-based widgets, like a year progress widget, roll over on their own.