Bible Widgets app
Bible verses and prayers, delivered every day. ★ 4.9 on the App Store
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Fix a Bible verse widget that is blank, missing, stuck on one verse or not updating, and reminders that stopped arriving, on iPhone and Android.
Most Bible widget problems have one of three causes: the app has not been opened since it was installed or updated, the widget's refresh setting is holding one verse, or the phone is pausing the app in the background to save battery. Opening the app once and checking those two settings fixes nearly every blank, missing or stuck widget.
Below are the fixes in the order worth trying, for both iPhone and Android, followed by what to do when reminders stop. The steps use the Bible Widgets app, but the phone-side fixes apply to any widget.
A widget is drawn by the phone from content the app prepares in advance. Right after you install the app, update it or restore a backup, there is nothing prepared yet, so the widget shows an empty card or a placeholder. Opening Bible Widgets once lets it prepare the next verses; the widget fills at its next refresh, usually within a few minutes.
If the widget stays blank after that, remove it and add it again. Widgets placed before an update sometimes keep a stale layout, and a fresh copy picks up the current one. The Home Screen guide has the add steps for both platforms.
Check the widget's refresh frequency. In the app open your profile, tap Widget settings and pick the widget. Never keeps one verse until you change it, which is easy to choose by accident; Twice a day, Occasionally, Frequently and Very frequently rotate faster. Each widget has its own setting, so a second widget can behave differently from the first.
Also check the category. If the widget draws from Favorites and you have saved only one verse, that verse is all it can show. On iPhone, Low Power Mode can delay widget updates until you charge; on Android, battery optimization can stop them, which the steps below cover.
Do this first after any install, update or phone restore. The app prepares the verses the widget shows, and until it runs, the widget has nothing to display.
On iPhone press and hold the Home Screen, tap Edit and Add Widget, then search for Bible Widgets. On Android press and hold, tap Widgets and scroll to it. If it is missing, open the app once more and restart the phone.
Lock Screen widgets are added from the Lock Screen itself: press and hold it, tap Customize, then Lock Screen, and tap the strip under the clock. They are an iPhone feature; Android phones place the widget on the Home Screen instead.
Open your profile, then Widget settings, pick the widget and look at Refresh frequency. Choose the rhythm you want. The Lock Screen widget has its own refresh setting under Lock Screen widgets.
In the app's Reminders screen tap Notifications not working?, then Battery optimization, and exclude Bible Widgets. On Huawei phones also allow auto-launch, secondary launch and running in the background.
Press and hold the widget, remove it, and place a new one from the widget list. Then set its category and frequency again in Widget settings, because a new widget starts from the defaults.
Bible Widgets on iPhone needs iOS 18 or later. Install the latest app version from the App Store or Google Play, since widget fixes ship with app updates.
On iPhone the system lets an app schedule 60 notifications at a time, so reminders are queued in batches. If they stop, open the app and they are scheduled again. On Android, battery optimization is the usual cause.
Notifications may be turned off for the app. On iPhone open Settings, then Notifications, then Bible Widgets; on Android open the app info screen and allow notifications. The app asks for this permission when you first set up reminders.
By default a widget follows the theme you use in the app. If you gave it a custom theme in Widget settings, it keeps that theme even when you change the app's.
Not noticeably. The app prepares verses in advance and the phone shows them on schedule. Very frequently uses a little more than slower settings.
Only medium and large widgets have buttons, and they appear when Show buttons is turned on in that widget's settings. Small widgets open the app when tapped.
