The problem of suddenly disappearing the watch widget from the desktop of a Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone is quite common. Users notice that after another update to the MIUI firmware or accidentally touching the screen, the dial simply disappears. This causes confusion, because the watch is one of the most popular elements of the interface for a quick look at time.
Fortunately, you can put them back in place yourself, without having to do complicated manipulations or resets. In most cases, just re-introduce the widget through the system menu. The shell interface may change slightly from version to version, but the logic of the action remains the same. Let's look at all the ways we can solve this problem.
Standard method of adding a widget
The easiest and most obvious way to get back the time display is to use the built-in widget menu, so you have to unlock the device and go to the desktop, and if the clock is not on any of the pages, you have to call the edit menu.
Push two fingers across the screen, put them together, or just press the empty area of the display for a few seconds. The desktop editing mode opens. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see several buttons, one of which is usually signed as "Widgets" or has a corresponding icon.
And if you click on this button, you'll be taken to a library of all the items available, and you'll find "Clock" or "Time" in the list, and you'll find a range of design options, from simple digital to complex analog. You'll pick your favorite style and drag it to the free space on the screen.
- ⏰ Press and hold your finger on the empty screen.
- ⚙️ Select the "Widgets" item in the lower menu
- 🕒 Find the item "Clock" in the list»
- 👆 Drag the selected widget to the desktop
⚠️ Warning: If the widget doesn't install, there may be just not enough free space on the screen.Remove the extra app shortcuts or move them to another page to free up the area for the watch.
☑️ Pre-addition verification
Use of the Security App
In some versions of MIUI and HyperOS, standard widgets can be hidden or removed by a system error, in which case, access to the system application Security helps. It manages many hidden interface settings.
Open the Security app (green shield icon). Scroll down to the Tools section or find the Cleanup or Accelerate option. Depending on the shell version, there may be a widget control button or a desktop reset option.
Also, check the "App Manager" section inside the "Security" section. Find the "Clock" or "Desktop" app on the list. Make sure that they do not have background activity restrictions that may interfere with the correct display of widgets.
If standard methods don't work, try clearing the launcher cache. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Find the Desktop (or System Launcher) list. Click Clear and select Clear Cache. This won't delete your data, but will update the interface cache.
Why does the widget disappear after the update?
Setting up style and format display
Once you've managed to restore the watch, you may want to change the look of the watch. Xiaomi shells allow you to flexibly adjust the appearance of the widgets. To do this, press and hold your finger on the already added widget of the watch.
In the menu that appears, select Settings or Edit, where you can switch between 12-hour and 24-hour formats, change font, color, or even add date and weather display, and customization helps make the screen more informative.
Some widgets require permission to access geolocation to display weather. If the clock shows the wrong time or weather data, check your GPS settings and permissions for the Weather app.
| Type of widget | Functional | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Digital (Classic) | Time and date display | No. |
| Analog | Hand dial | No. |
| Weather + Time | Time, temperature, forecast | Internet access, GPS. |
| Double watches | Two-city time. | Second time zone setting |
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Use the Mi Themes widgets if you don't like the standard ones. There are thousands of free options with unique designs.
Solving problems with the topic of design
Often the cause of the disappearance of the watch is a conflicting design theme, and if you've recently installed new themes from MIUI Themes, it may be that they're the problem, and some of themes don't have their own widget designs and hide the standard ones.
To check this out, go to the Themes app. Click on the profile icon in the lower right corner and select My Themes. Go back to the standard Classic or Untitled theme. Once you apply the standard theme, the watch widget should appear automatically.
If after changing the theme, the watch appears, but looks “broken” (black square or no numbers), try updating the Wallpaper and Carousel component or the theme store itself. Sometimes the problem is solved by simply switching the theme to another and returning back.
Resetting desktop settings
In situations where the watch widget is not added, “flys” immediately after installation or is displayed incorrectly, a deeper reset of the launcher settings may be required, which will return the location of the icons and widgets to the factory state.
Go to Settings → Applications → All Apps. Find the Desktop list (may be called System Launcher or Launcher). Click the button “Delete Updates” or “Clear all data.”
⚠️ Warning: Cleaning up all your desktop data will reset all your icons and widgets, and you’ll have to re-brand your app shortcuts across your screens, but your personal files and contacts won’t be affected.
Once you reset, the phone can restart or simply update the desktop. On a clean screen, again try adding the watch widget in the standard method through the widget menu.
If that didn't work, check if the "Simple Mode" mode is on (for older people). In this mode, the interface is heavily modified, and regular widgets may not be available. Turn it off in Settings → Advanced Settings → Simple Mode.
Recovery through date and time settings
Sometimes the problem isn't with the widget itself, but with the system time being out of sync. If the internal clock of the smartphone is behind or out of sync, the widget may stop updating or disappear. Make sure that automatic sync is enabled.
Go to Settings → Additional settings → Date and time. Make sure the Use Network Time switch is active. Also check the correct time zone selection. Russia often requires manually selecting Moscow (GMT+3), even if the automation works.
Try temporarily disabling and back-up sync. After that, restart the device. Reboot often helps system services reinitialize the widgets on the desktop.
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Rebooting the device after changing the time settings is a mandatory step for the correct operation of widgets.