Since their introduction in Android 4.2, lock screen widgets have been a hugely popular feature on the Android platform. What are lock screen widgets? They are widgets that you can access from your lock screen, without having to enter inside the device. We’ll tell you how to add and remove them, and what exactly they should be used for.

KEEP IN MIND: Not all Android phones are the same. Some will have more steps required to complete each task, others will have less. At AndroidGuys, we will do our best to walk you through each task as well as we can.

Adding widgets

lock screen widgets 0

First, go to your lock screen. Swipe over from the left side until you see a big plus sign. Click that, and you’ll be prompted to enter your password.

Lock screen widgets 3You’ll be presented a big list of widgets that are available for your lock screen. Choose the one you’d like, and that’s it! You can now access that widget by swiping over to it when you’re in the lock screen.

Removing widgets

Lock screen widgets 4

To begin, you should see a lock towards the bottom of your screen. If you don’t see it, pull the widget down until the lock is visible. Once you see the lock, press and hold the widget. Move it up to the “Remove” section, and it’s gone from your lock screen!

Be careful!

If you haven’t noticed yet, you can access all lock screen widgets without having to enter the phone. A simple swipe over to a Gmail widget or Google Keep could be devastating if the right information is presented to the wrong person. It might be a good idea to stick to Google Now or a clock widget, just in case.

Still having trouble? Head to the comments and we will do our best to help you out! If there is anything you would like to suggest to AndroidGuys or to any other readers, feel free to use the comment section below!

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37 COMMENTS

  1. Google Now widget on lockscreen doesn’t move making it impossibile to replace it with another widget.

  5. In Xperia z3 compact there is a Camera icon at the bottom of the locked screen. You can access the camera, without unlocking the phone by dragging the icon up. It’s there a way to add other apps like, for example the flashlight, without unlocking the phone by adding them to this functionality?

  6. Hi,

    I just downloaded lollipop for my nexus 5 and now the old kitkat lock screen widget is still enabled.

    First i see the old lock screen with the the time widget. Now i am not able to remove it

    Any suggestions??

    • Pull the clock widget down (click on the clock and then drag it down) and then hold it and up it should appear Eliminate/Delete.
      That`s who you get rid of it. Hope it helps.

  8. I added the camera widget to my lockscreenand now I can’t get rid of it. I am not able to long press it and get it to “pickup” to remove. Have Android 4.4.2 on an LG Volt. Please help!

    • In case you’re Still having trouble..
      When you go to the plus sign to add widgets the camera widget there should be a check Mark on the camera. Uncheck it. That should do the trick.

  9. Hello, I’m using the samsung galaxy ace 4 and there’s no lock screen menu but i still have the google play music widget showing on my lockscreen and i can’t delete it. Can anyone help me?

  10. Can’t remove Google now widget and can’t find a way to reset the lock screen. My only option is to disable widgets entirely through the security settings of the locker. Please help, Google now is so annoying.

  11. Hi there, You’ve performed an outstanding employment. I am going to undoubtedly delicious this and also personally suggest in order to our good friends. More than likely they will be benefited from this site.

  12. “Go to your lock screen.”

    How? Lock the ‘dtoid?

    “Enter your password.”

    Okay. Now I’must no longer on the lock screen.

    Please elaborate.

    • Thanks! , it finally helped me get rid of the apps from the lock screen. I had to go to settings>then into “lock screen” >into “lock screen options”>and then i turned off the “shortcuts” on lock screen

  14. I have followed your instructions and have no success. My daughter some how got the gmail widget on my lock screen and when I hold it down to try and remove all it allows me to do is unlock. I have a blue studio 5.5 please help

  16. Hi I have an LG Volt and i can’t remove the quick remote from the lock screen I’ve rried your steps from above, but its no use please help.

  22. On my Allview A5 Quad, I have a camera widget on my lockscreen when I swipe to the right. How do I delete it? I can`t drag it down because is all over the screen and if I try to hold on it it, nothing is happening. Please help me!!!

  23. I have a lg volt android phone. I dont want any widgets on the lock screen. Ive removed everything i didnt want on the lock screen and now it shows a big plus and says tap to add widget. How do i remove that? Main reason is i want to have pictures of my child or any pic in general on my lock screen and the widgets block the face of the pic. Plz help

  25. I have LG Volt and have been using 360 security for long time. I scanned my antivirus and 1 issue found, 2 options checkmarked (app lock-set code) and I unchecked option w app lock but then it automatically unchecked first option, therefore to repair I had no choice but to set code. How do I remove app lock from 360 security on my phone. And how to delete the duplicate photo check also? I really liked this app but now I am beginning to dislike because it changes frequently. Thank u

  26. My lock screen isn’t coming up with the big plus sign only the 3 default clocks I have. I used to be able to add widgets but now it’s not letting me

  27. i have a LG G2 and from some time until now the widgets disappear and the option to set them on does not exist, do you have some ideas?

  30. I bought a new Acer z520 with android 4.4.2. My lock screen is full of junk. I want it all gone. But of u hold things i can not Swype up. The re is no remo de. .

  31. Good information indeed. I was trying to change lock screen after accidentally it started show my sms. It was a real headache to me. Thanks a lot for publishing this. Some sites say that it needs install some apps to do so.

    Thanks Jimmy.

  32. Hi I have an LG G5 phone and tried what was stated above is there any way you could help, since that did not work. All I want it either to move the clock out of the way or get rid of it completely from my lock screen.

  34. Hello, I followed the instructions on removing the Google banner. However, it seems that it only worked on removing it from the phone on the locked pattern. When I unlock the screen it appears on the top of the page. I have a ZTE ZMAX PRO. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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