You can activate them, but not for free

Using widgets on your Android phone’s home screen is a great way to view important information at a glance without opening apps. But did you know that you can also add most of these widgets to your Android phone’s lock screen? This way, you can do things like check the weather, check your calendar, or write notes, all without unlocking your phone.

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Although Android phones once supported lock screen widgets natively with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the feature was removed with the release of Android 5.0 Lollipop. However, as reported by Android AuthorityGoogle has begun reintroducing lock screen widgets on tablets running Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2, sparking speculation that the feature could return to all Android phones in the future.

However, you don’t necessarily have to wait for an official rollout, as it is possible to add lock screen widgets to most Android phones using third-party apps. For Samsung Galaxy users, lock screen widgets are natively integrated into One UI, making it easy to add widgets on the lock screen without any hassle. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of adding and using lock screen widgets on your Android phone so you can get the most out of this useful feature.

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If you own a Samsung Galaxy phone, you can easily add widgets to the lock screen by following these steps:

1. Long press on an empty spot on your lock screen and enter your PIN to unlock the device.
2. Tap the “+ Widgets” option below the clock.
3. In the panel that appears, scroll through the widget categories and tap one to expand it.
4. Select a widget to add it to the lock screen.
5. You can tap the minus icon above the widget to remove it. Once you’ve added your favorite widgets, tap Done.

These widgets will appear on both the lock screen and Always On Display (AOD). You can tap the widgets to open the associated app. By default, One UI only lets you add widgets from Samsung’s own apps, like clock, calendar, and weather. If you want to add widgets from other apps, you will need to use the Good Lock app. Here are the steps for the same.

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1. Download the Good Lock app from the Galaxy Store.
2. Open the Good Lock app, switch to the “Makeup” tab and download the LockStar module.
3. Open the LockStar module, activate it and tap on your lock screen.
4. Swipe up from the bottom and tap “Add Widget”.
5. Scroll through the widgets to find the one you want to use and tap it.
6. Customize the widget transparency and background color and click Save.
7. Once you have added all the widgets, tap Save.

If your Android phone doesn’t natively support lock screen widgets, you can still get this feature using a third-party app called “Lockscreen Widgets and Drawer”, available for $1.49. Here’s how to configure it:

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1. Open the Play Store and buy it Widgets and lock screen drawer application.
2. Open the app and swipe left three times to access the Accessibility page.
3. Tap More info > Grant and allow the app to access accessibility features. Then go back to the app and grant it permission to use battery in the background.
4. Once setup is complete, enable the toggle under Lockscreen Widgets.
5. Tap the “Add Widget” button, browse the available widgets and tap the one you want to add. You can repeat this process to add multiple widgets.
6. Now select Preview to see how the widgets will appear on the lock screen. If you added multiple widgets, swipe horizontally to access the others.
7. Tap the widget panel with two fingers and use the controls to resize it to your liking. You can also long-press and drag a widget to rearrange the order.
8. Tap the Settings option to adjust the appearance, layout, and behavior of your widgets.
9. Finally, enable the “Hide when showing notifications” toggle under the Visibility section so that the widget frame automatically hides when notifications appear on the lock screen.

Once everything is set up, you will see widgets on your Android phone’s lock screen and can use them.