Windows 11 widgets are a ready collection of web feeds and information on the taskbar. Some users may experience flaws in the working of the widgets. Some of the issues reported by Windows 11 users include:
- Widgets may not pull information from the web.
- Widgets do not load when you click on the widgets icon on the taskbar.
- Widgets crash when you try to launch them from the taskbar.
- Nothing happens when you click on the widgets icon and it appears that the widgets are non-responsive.
- Or, you may have accidentally deleted the widgets from your Windows 11 computer.
Aside from these listed issues, there may be other issues that may be affecting the widgets from loading on your Windows 11 computer.
The following activities or courses of action would not help you resolve the issues with the widgets:
- There have been reports of users who have tried to reset their Windows 11 through System. This does not help in resetting the PC or computer to a working state of the widgets.
- People have also tried to do a repair of the Windows 11. Even this has not helped the resolution of non-working widgets on a Windows 11 computer.
To make the widgets work again, you will need to understand the architecture of Microsoft Windows 11. Widgets are a part of the web experience pack of Windows 11.
What is the Windows web experience pack or WWEP?
In short we call the Windows web experience pack as WWEP. WWEP is offered through the Microsoft Store as an app. If and whenever you have an issue with non-responsive widgets, you need to realize that the problem lies in the Windows web experience pack or the WWEP. A resolution of the issues with widgets would lie in the underlying set of apps that power the widgets. In other words, the Windows web experience pack has to be fixed to get the widgets to work again.
The WWEP also powers Microsoft spotlight. An issue with the WWEP will render issues in the smooth working of the Microsoft spotlight for pictures.
Some people may uninstall or remove the web experience pack from Microsoft Windows 11. We do not suggest that. Uninstalling or removing the web experience pack from your Windows 11 computer may lead to adverse impacts. Web experience pack is a core part of the Windows 11 operating system offering. Some unforeseen effects of messing with the Web experience pack may be:
- inability to update Windows 11
- less than optimum web experience
- severe performance degradation while using the web
If for some reason, you are experiencing issues with the Windows 11 based computer’s widgets and the web experience pack, then we suggest re-installing the web experience pack on the Windows 11 computer.
How can I install the web experience pack on Windows 11?
We did mention that the Windows web experience pack is available as an app on the Microsoft store. To reset the widgets or to resolve issues with widgets on your Windows 11 computer, we will need to re-install the Windows web experience pack. As of November 2021, the size of the web experience pack is a little under 25 Mb. So, the download of the web experience pack is quick action.
- To download the Windows web experience pack from the Microsoft store, please visit the following link – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/windows-web-experience-pack/9mssgkg348sp
Press the ‘Get’ button to download and install the Windows web experience pack on your Windows 11 computer. Do note that the Windows web experience pack comes without any additional costs to the Windows 11 users.
2. Upon downloading and installing the Windows web experience pack, please restart the computer. Let the computer restart for the web experience pack to take effect. Once you have the web experience pack working properly, you will see the icon of the widgets on the taskbar.
3. Post installation of the Windows web experience pack, click on the widgets icon on the taskbar. The widgets should bring up the default set of web feeds and image gallery on the computer.
From the widgets icon on the taskbar, you can bring up the widgets window shown above. This will allow you to customize the widgets that you wish to load on the screen. This will also allow you to move the widgets as per your liking.
Should I uninstall the Windows web experience pack from Windows 11?
No, we do not suggest uninstalling the Windows web experience pack from the Windows 11 computer. There are multiple reasons for the same. We understand that you may not need the widgets. And, the widgets are consuming some part of your computer resources. You may have also read about the widgets taking more than 100 Mb memory space.
We do not suggest uninstalling the Windows web experience pack for the following reasons:
- Windows web experience pack drives widgets and additional apps like the Microsoft spotlight. Uninstalling the web experience pack will lead to disruption of these apps on a Windows 11 computer.
- Uninstalling the windows web experience pack may lead to unforeseen issues on the Windows update. This is so especially true for computers that are a part of the Windows Insider or DEV channel. Mark the words here. There MAY BE (not necessarily has to be) an impact on the Windows update.
- Windows Web experience pack is a part of the core Windows 11. The goal is to provide a seamless web experience to the Windows 11 users.
- There may be an impact on the performance of the computer because of changes in the core of the Windows 11 system. Windows Web experience pack is a core part of the Windows 11 operating system.
If you wish to turn off the widgets or any app, please use the Control panel or the group policy editors to remove the specific app. The Windows web experience pack should be left untouched until we have had more details from the Microsoft team about the depth, impact, and functionality of the Windows web experience packs.
Conclusion
If you are experiencing issues with the widgets on a Windows 11 computer, please re-install the Windows web experience pack or the WWEP from the Microsoft Store. Also, please desist from removing or uninstalling the Windows web experience pack from your Windows 11 computer.
You may also like to read the following related content on Windows 11:
- Uninstall Widgets from Windows 11
- Can I disable Windows 11 S mode?
- How to remove the mica effect from Windows 11
- No sound issue after Windows 11 update
- Does Windows 11 need antivirus?
- Improve Battery Life on Windows 11
Rajesh Dhawan is a technology professional who loves to write about Cyber-security events and stories, Cloud computing and Microsoft technologies. He loves to break complex problems into manageable chunks of meaningful information.