The Xiaomi Redmi Watch Widget is one of the most popular elements of the MIUI. It not only shows the time, but also displays the date, weather, and even steps or notifications on some models. However, after a system update, change of launcher or accidental removal, users often face the problem of the clock disappearing from the main screen. In this article, we will discuss all the working ways of returning the widget, including hidden settings and recovery via ADB.
The reasons for the widget’s disappearance can be different, from a banal drag and drop error to a MIUI shell failure. It’s important to understand that on new Redmi models (such as the Note 12 Pro+ or K60), the algorithm for adding widgets differs from older devices (such as the Redmi 5 or Note 8 Pro).
If you've tried standard thumb retention before, but you never got a widget, don't be too quick to reset the settings. 80 percent of the time, it's solved without drastic measures. Let's start with the simplest methods and gradually move on to the advanced ones.
1. Check the basic screen settings
Before you start complex manipulations, make sure that the watch widget is not hidden due to the changed display parameters. MIUI 12-14 has a separate partition responsible for managing the elements of the home screen.
Open Settings → Main screen. Here, pay attention to the following points:
- 📱 Screen style: If Easy Mode is selected, widgets can be turned off automatically».
- ⚙️ Launcher settings: tap this option and check if the item "Show widgets" is enabled».
- 🔄 Reset screen settings: If previous steps didn’t help, try resetting the home screen configuration (app data will not be affected).
On some firmware (e.g. MIUI Global for Redmi Note 10 Pro), the watch widget may be tied to the theme of the design. To check this, go to Settings → Themes → My Themes and select the standard MIUI theme. After applying the change, the widget should appear in the list of available ones.
💡
If you are using a third-party launcher (like a Nova Launcher or Hyperion), the Xiaomi watch widget may not appear.Temporarily return to the standard launcher to check its performance.
2. Adding a widget through the widget menu
The most obvious but often ignored way is to manually add a widget. In MIUI, the algorithm differs from pure Android, so many users can't find the right item.
Step instructions:
- Touch and hold your finger on the empty seat of the main screen (not on the icon!).
- At the bottom of the screen, a menu will appear – select Widgets (or Widgets in English firmware).
- Scroll down to the “System” or “Clock” section.
- Click on the watch widget and, without letting go, drag it to the main screen.
If there is no clock in the widget list, it can mean:
- 🚫 Widget disabled in the settings of the Watch application (Settings) → Annexes → Application management → The clock → Widgets).
- 🔄 Failure occurred after the update - you need to restart the device.
- 📦 The Watch app has been removed or disabled (relevant for custom firmware).
What if the watch widget is grey and doesn’t drag?
3. Recovery through the settings of the “Clock” app
The Watch app in MIUI not only displays the time, but also manages all associated widgets. If the widget disappears after updating or changing the theme, often resetting its settings helps.
Follow the following steps:
- Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
- Find the “Clock” list and tap it.
- Select Warehouse → Clear the data and confirm the action.
- Reboot your smartphone.
Once the app data is cleared, all alarm clocks and timers will be reset. Write down important reminders in advance.
If the reset didn’t help, check the permissions for the Watch app:
- 🔒 In the same application management menu, open permissions.
- 📍 Make sure permissions for “Exact Location” are enabled (needed to synchronize network time).
- 🔔 Check if notifications for the widget are disabled.
4.Use of ADB to force widget inclusion
If standard methods don’t work, you can try to turn on the widget via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which is suitable for power users and requires connecting the smartphone to a computer.
Step-by-step:
- Activate Developer Mode on Redmi: Go to Settings → About Phone and tap on MIUI Version 7 times.
- Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
- Connect your smartphone to your PC, install it ADB-Drivers and open the command line in the folder with adb.exe.
- Enter the command to check the connection: adb devices If the device is displayed, execute: adb shell pm enable com.android.deskclock/.DeskClock
- Reboot your smartphone.
After the command is executed, the watch widget should appear in the list of available ones. If this does not happen, try an alternative command:
adb shell cmd appwidget reset💡
Using ADB resets the widget cache, which can help even in cases where the watch widget is not displayed due to corrupted system files.
5.Resetting launcher settings without data loss
If the watch widget disappears after changing the screen layout or installing a new theme, resetting the launcher settings will help. Unlike a complete phone reset, this method does not affect personal files and applications.
How to perform the reset:
- Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
- Find the Launcher or MIUI Home app.
- Select Warehouse. → Clear the data.
- Confirm the action and wait for the launcher to restart (the smartphone will not reboot).
After discharge:
- 🔄 All icons on the home screen will return to their standard location.
- ⏱️ The watch widget should appear in the widget menu.
- 🎨 You will have to re-configure the wallpaper and theme (if you used custom).
Take screenshots of the current location of the icons
Write down important reminders from the watch widget
Make sure there is enough room on the screen for a widget
Connect your smartphone to charging (in case of hanging up)-->
6. Alternative ways of displaying time
If you can’t return the standard watch widget, consider alternative options:
| Method | Advantages | Deficiencies | Instructions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third-party widgets (e.g. Chronus or Another Widget) | More features (weather, calendar, steps) | Requires installation of additional software | Download the widget from Google Play, add widgets through the menu |
| Notification panel | You can always see time, doesn’t take up space on the screen. | No date and additional information | Swipe down from the top edge of the screen |
| The Screensaver (Ambient Display) | Shows the time when blocking | It doesn’t work on all Redmi models. | Settings → Lock screen → Screensaver |
| Voice Assistant (Google Assistant or XiaoAI) | You can tell the time by voice. | Not suitable for permanent display | Say, "OK, Google, what time is it?" |
For Redmi models with Always-on Display (such as the K50 Pro or Note 12 Turbo), the time is displayed permanently on the screen off. To activate this feature, go to Settings → Lock screen → Always-on Display and select the display style.
💡
If you use the clock widget for alarm clocks a lot, install the Google Clock from the Play Market. Its widget is more stable and works even on custom firmware.
7 Radical measures: resetting the phone to factory settings
If none of these methods worked, the last option is to completely reset the device, which is guaranteed to return the watch widget, but delete all the data from the phone.
How to perform the reset:
- Back up important data through Settings → About Phone → Backup.
- Go to Settings → Additional → Recovery and Reset.
- Select Reset and confirm the action.
- After restarting, set your phone as new.
Pre-discharge warnings:
⚠️ Note: On Redmi models with bootloader unlocked, the reset may result in the device being locked. → The phone. → Version. MIUI (Tap 10 times on the core version).
⚠️ Note: If the smartphone was purchased from hand and tied to a previous Mi Account, the reset may require the data entry of the old owner.