How-To

How to Completely Uninstall Widgets from Windows 11

By Brian Burgess

Last Updated on January 11, 2023

The Widgets feature on Windows can be a distraction. If it gets in your way, you can completely uninstall Widgets from Windows 11. This guide explains how.

The Widgets feature on Windows 11 is controversial, to say the least. Some users find the Widgets panel useful for quickly seeing weather conditions and recent headlines. However, others find it to be distracting as it can get in the way of getting things done.

We’ve shown you how to hide the Widgets button, but that might not be enough. Below, we’ll show you how to uninstall Widgets from Windows 11 for a distraction-free experience completely.

To uninstall Widgets, you need to run commands in the terminal, but it’s a straightforward process. Here’s how to do it.

How to Completely Uninstall Widgets from Windows 11

The Widgets app is the UI that appears when you click or hover the pointer over the weather icon in the lower-left corner of the taskbar. It provides current news, weather conditions, sports, and other data you can view at a glance.

However, if you don’t like the feature and want to do more than hide it, you can thoroughly uninstall Widgets from Windows 11.

To uninstall Widgets from Windows 11:

1. Click the Start button or press the Windows key.
2.  Type powershell and click the Run as Administrator option on the right. You can also use the newer Windows Terminal instead.
3. When the Windows PowerShell opens, enter the following command and press Enter.
   Get-AppxPackage *WebExperience* | Remove-AppxPackage
4. Next, type in the following command and hit Enter.
   winget uninstall –id 9MSSGKG348SP

After the commands above run, restart your Windows 11 PC. When you get back, the weather Widget button will be removed entirely. It’s completely removed, and even pressing the Windows key + W keyboard shortcut will not bring anything up.

How to Reinstall Widgets on Windows 11

If you ever want to reinstall Widgets on your Windows 11 system, you can. Again, it requires using the terminal, running a simple command, and rebooting your PC.

To reinstall Widgets on Windows 11:

1. Press the Windows button or click the Start button to bring up the Start menu.
2. Type powershell and click the Run as Administrator option on the right.
3. When PowerShell launches, type in the following command and hit Enter.
   winget install –id 9MSSGKG348SP
4. When the notification of terms appears, type Y and hit Enter.
5. Wait while the package installs—it can take several moments to complete.
6. Restart your computer. The Widgets button and panel will be available again.

Using (or Removing) Widgets on Windows 11

The Widgets panel provides current events and weather for your location, which some users find helpful. However, if you don’t want it, you can completely uninstall Widgets from Windows 11 and not have to deal with the feature anymore.

If you don’t want to remove the Widgets feature, that’s fine too. However, you can make it less annoying. When you hover the pointer over it, the Widgets panel opens. To prevent that behavior, you can stop the popup Widgets board, and after that, you’ll need to click the button to launch it.

If you rely on the Widgets board and are bilingual, you can change the Widgets board language. Also, if you like the weather feature, you may not want your local conditions. Instead, you can change the weather location on the Widgets board.

It’s also worth noting that you can change news and interests displayed in the Widget on Windows 10 too.