Forum Discussion
Widgets panel takes forever to load and sometimes won't open at all
The Widgets panel has been super slow lately. It sometimes takes 20–30 seconds to load, and occasionally it just won't open no matter how many times I click the icon.
I've already restarted the Widgets process, cleared its cache, and checked for updates. Nothing helped. It's a clean install with no third-party tweaks.
Anyone run into this or know what's causing it?
2 Replies
This is the Store package that actually powers the Widgets board. It can get corrupted or fail to update properly, causing the panel to hang or refuse to open.
Widgets relies on the Windows Web Experience Pack, Microsoft Edge WebView2, and online services. A clean Windows installation does not rule out a problem with those components or a slow network request.
Since restarting the process and clearing its cache did not help, try these checks:
- Press Win + W when clicking the taskbar icon fails. If the shortcut opens the panel immediately, the problem is more likely with the taskbar entry than the panel loading.
- Open Microsoft Store > Library and check specifically for a Windows Web Experience Pack update. Windows Update alone does not cover all Store component updates.
- Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime, and choose Modify > Repair, if available. Restart Windows afterward.
- Try opening Widgets while connected to a phone hotspot. If it loads quickly there, check your usual network’s VPN, proxy or DNS filtering rather than repeatedly resetting the app.
- If it remains slow, test from a second Windows user account. If it works there, the issue is more likely tied to the original profile or its Widgets sign-in state.
