How to Remove Weather Widget in Windows 11

How to Remove Weather Widget in Windows 11

The Windows 11 taskbar has several improvements, one of which is the Weather Widget that appears in the left corner of the taskbar. It displays the temperature, weather, and an image showing the current weather of the location. Although it is minimal at its best, it can be removed if you don't like it. This article explains how to remove the weather widget in Windows 11.

How to Remove Weather Widget in Windows 11

Weather Widget is more than an icon. When you click on it in the taskbar, it expands to view the weather, actions, news, and more. All this can be configured according to your tastes. With that said, now let's find out how you can remove it:

• Windows Settings
• Group Policy
• Registry Method

While anyone can set up the former, the latter two will need a user account with administrator permission. In addition, both of these methods disable the ability to change the Widgets option to configure.

1:Remove the weather widget via Windows settings

• Open Windows Settings using Win+I
• Go to Personalization > Taskbar
• Locate the list of widgets
• Turn it off

It will instantly remove the Widget icon from the taskbar. However, you can still access it using Win + W.

Read: Can't add or remove widgets in Windows 11

2:Remove Weather Widget Using Group Policy

• Open the Run prompt using Win + R
• Type gpedit.msc and press the Enter key
• Once the policy editor is open, go to the next section

Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Widgets

• Because the default or unconfigured value allows the widget, you must select Disabled to remove or disable it
• Make a choice and apply the changes.

3:Remove the weather widget using the registry

The last method is to edit the registry if you do not access the Group Policy Editor. It is essential that you make a backup of the registry as it is sensitive and any incorrect modification can be problematic. You can also create an accessible system restore using Advanced Recovery.

• Open the run prompt using the Windows key + R
• Type regedit and press Shift + Enter to open the editor with administrator permission
• Navigate to the following path

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft
Right-click on the right side and create a new key. Name it as Dsh
Inside the Dsh folderright-click and create a new DWORD (32-bit) with the name AllowNewsAnd Interests
Double-click to open it, select Hexadecimal and set the value to 0
Click the OK button to save the changes.
It comes in handy when you want to export the registry and then add it to another PC. However, make sure you always have a backup.

Can you disable widgets entirely from Windows?

No, you can only remove it from the taskbar, and it is a cosmetic removal of the feature. Even when you disable it through Group Policy and the registry editor, it will still be accessible using the Win + W keyboard shortcut.

How do I change the location of the weather widget?

Open the Windows widget using Win + W, and then click the three-dot menu of the weather widget. Change the location and update it. Once done, close the widget and the weather should automatically update on the taskbar based on the new location.