Guide
Couple widget not updating? How to fix it
A couple widget that has stopped updating is almost never broken. It is being stopped, by the phone, from doing the one thing it needs to do: wake up briefly in the background when your partner posts something. iOS and Android both ration background work, and a widget app is exactly the kind of app that gets rationed.
Last updated
That is why these fixes are the same whichever app you use. Locket, noteit, Widgetable and HeartTap all depend on the same operating system mechanisms, and all of them go stale for the same handful of reasons. The steps below are in the order worth trying, cheapest first.
Step by step
- 1Open the app once on the stale phoneOpening the app lets it fetch the latest post and redraw its widgets. If the widget catches up straight away, the app itself is fine and the problem is background refresh, which the next steps deal with.
- 2Check you are still linkedIn the app, confirm that your partner is shown as connected. A widget added before linking finished, or left behind after an unlink, shows a placeholder or the last thing it had and stays that way.
- 3On iPhone, turn on Background App RefreshOpen Settings, then General, then Background App Refresh. It needs to be on both globally and for the widget app. Without it the app cannot do anything while closed, so the widget only changes when you open the app.
- 4On iPhone, turn off Low Power ModeLow Power Mode pauses background refresh for as long as it is on. If your widget works all day and stops in the evening when the battery runs down, this is the cause.
- 5On Android, set battery use to UnrestrictedOpen Settings, then Apps, then the widget app, then Battery, and choose Unrestricted. On Samsung, also open Background usage limits in the battery settings and remove the app from Sleeping apps and Deep sleeping apps.
- 6Remove the widget and add it againTouch and hold the widget, remove it, then add it back from the widget picker. This clears a widget stuck in an empty or outdated state, and it is the fix that works when nothing else looks wrong.
- 7Update the app and restart the phoneInstall any pending update for the app on both phones, then restart the phone with the stale widget. Widget bugs get fixed in app updates more often than anywhere else, and a restart clears a widget process that has hung.
Why couple widgets go stale at all
A widget is not a small app running on your home screen. It is a picture the operating system draws on the app’s behalf, and the app only gets to supply a new picture when the system lets it wake up. When your partner posts, their phone tells a server, the server sends a silent push to your phone, and that push is what asks the system to wake the app and redraw the widget.
Every link in that chain can be cut by a battery setting. If the phone refuses to wake the app, the push arrives and nothing happens. The app has not failed and the widget is not broken. The system has decided the app may not work in the background right now.
This is also why the notification and the widget can disagree. A visible notification is shown by the system itself, so you can get the alert that your partner posted and still be looking at yesterday’s widget.
iPhone: the settings that matter
Background App Refresh is the main one. Low Power Mode is the one that catches people out, because it pauses background refresh without touching the toggle you would think to check.
iOS also limits how often any widget may redraw, and it is more generous to widgets you actually look at. A widget on a home screen page you rarely visit gets refreshed less eagerly than one on your first page, which is one more reason to keep it somewhere you see it.
If the lock screen widget is stale and the home screen one is current, remove and re-add the lock screen widget. They are two separate widgets even though they come from the same app, and one can be stuck while the other is fine.
Android: the settings that matter
Battery optimisation is behind most Android widget problems. Stock Android calls the setting you want Unrestricted. Samsung adds Sleeping apps and Deep sleeping apps, and will move an app onto those lists by itself after a few days of light use, so a widget that worked last week can stop without you changing anything. Adding the app to the never sleeping list in the same menu stops it being moved back.
Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus phones need a second permission, usually called Autostart or Auto-launch, before an app may start itself in the background at all. It is off by default and no app can switch it on for you.
Data Saver is the other quiet cause. With it on, most apps cannot use mobile data in the background, so the push arrives and the app cannot download the new photo until you are on Wi-Fi or open it. Either turn Data Saver off or allow unrestricted data use for the widget app on its settings page.
If none of that works
Check the obvious thing last: whether your partner’s post actually went through. A post made with no connection may still be waiting on their phone, in which case your widget is correctly showing the latest thing it was sent.
After that, contact the app’s support with the phone model, the operating system version and whether opening the app updates the widget. That last detail tells the developer straight away whether the fault is in delivery or in the app, and saves a round of questions. For HeartTap, the support page on this site has the address.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my couple widget not updating?
Almost always because the phone is not letting the app refresh in the background. On iPhone that means Background App Refresh is off or Low Power Mode is on. On Android it means battery optimisation is restricting the app. Less often, the two accounts are no longer linked, or the widget was added before linking finished and needs removing and adding again.
Why does my widget only update when I open the app?
Because background refresh is blocked. Opening the app lets it fetch the latest post directly, which is why the widget catches up at that moment. Turn on Background App Refresh on iPhone, or set the app’s battery use to Unrestricted on Android, and it will update on its own again.
Do these fixes work for Locket, noteit and Widgetable?
Yes. The causes sit in iOS and Android rather than in any one app, so the same settings apply whichever couple widget app you use. The menu names are the phone’s own and do not change between apps.
Why did my widget stop working after a few days on a Samsung phone?
One UI moves apps it considers idle into Sleeping apps, which blocks background refresh. Open the battery settings, then Background usage limits, remove the app from Sleeping apps and Deep sleeping apps, and add it to the never sleeping list so it is not moved back.
Does Low Power Mode stop widgets updating?
It stops them updating in the background. Low Power Mode pauses background refresh for every app while it is on, so a widget shows whatever it last had until you open the app or turn the mode off.
Put them on your home screen tonight
Free to download on iPhone and Android. Link with your partner in under a minute, then send your first photo, drawing or check-in.