Microsoft is bringing Windows 11's weather widget to Windows 10's lock screen
Copilot is not the only new feature that is coming to Windows 10. Microsoft is adding the Windows 11 lock screen weather widget to the older version of the operating system.
Microsoft's obsession with weather data
As you may know, Windows 11 displays the weather info on the task bar, via the Widgets button. You can open the Widgets board to get more information about the weather. Of course, there is Microsoft's Weather app for more advanced data. And, to top it off, there is a weather widget that you can add to the lock screen.
Seriously, how many options do we need for checking the weather anyway? At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft added a weather widget to the Start Menu, or File Explorer. This is what the weather widget on Windows 11's lock screen looks like.
I don't really care for the feature, but the widget is not that bad, as it's non-intrusive.
Microsoft is backporting Windows 11's lock screen widget to Windows 10
Microsoft has announced it is bringing a richer weather experience to the lock screen in Windows 10. The Redmond company states that the widget will offer dynamic and interactive weather updates. When you move the cursor over it, the widget will display more information. Clicking on the weather card and signing in will open the full forecast in MSN Weather. Guess how the link will be opened? They will be accessed via Microsoft Edge. That's probably the real reason why the feature is being added, because Windows 10 has over 1 billion users, while Windows 11 has around 400 million users, and Microsoft wants more users to access its services and use its browser.
Here is the new weather widget design, that does not look pretty. It has a box around it, and the colors don't match the background. This kind of ruins the vibe, doesn't it? A transparent design would have been more elegant. Microsoft really likes to overdo it with online content, like the "Learn more about this picture" icon, and a description of the image that is displayed when Windows Spotlight is enabled.
According to an announcement on the Windows Insider blog, Users who have configured the Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen > Lock screen status to Weather, will see the new widget on the lock screen.
The lock screen status will be available for all three personalization styles: Windows spotlight, Picture, and Slideshow. The new weather experience will be displayed by default, i.e., if you set the lock screen status to None. So, that means you can't remove the widget from the lock screen, unless you switch the setting to display a different app (Mail, Calendar or Windows Widgets). That's a weird decision, and one that is likely to annoy users.
Anyway, if you want to try the new widget, it is available as part of the Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.3992 (KB5034203) in the Release Preview Channel of the Windows Insider Program. Windows Central reports that Microsoft is working on re-opening the Beta Channel for Windows 10 Insiders.
Do you use the Weather Widget on the lock screen?
Never used M$ account ? What a need of weather app ?
I only have installed some gadgets, and thats it. (I check weather on phone)
The first thing I done, when I installed w10, was to delete everyting releated to M$
Several years later, my same pc is clear out of M$ shit.
Thats it. Do it if you want to.
Microsoft = convicted monpoly
So I hear you want to store all your personal, precious files on a black box ran by criminals who have root?
I used to have a rainmeter plugin that every day showed a new picture in a frame from bonjourmadame. Now that was both pretty and useful. It also did not earn microsoft any ad revenue at all, which is one of the most important factors in all of my computer needs.
Another dark pattern from Microsoft. Whoever is responsible of this feature and design should be sacked. It looks weird and out of place on the lock screen. It directs you to MSN Weather rather than the weather app itself. Not to mention no way of turning it off unless you use another app.
I never understood the “Lock Screen”, what is the point?
Why have a secondary screen that is useless blocking the logon screen?
I disabled it on day one on all my windows 10 machines.
If you disable it on windows 11 with a registry setting, then you can’t change your wallpaper in the settings anymore. Grand design.
Since Windows 8, for whatever reasons, Microsoft has treated Windows as if it was a mobile OS. 11 still has the same phone apps built-in that 8 had, back when Microsoft made a half-hearted effort on Nokia phones, without working as needed with mobile carriers, to bring it mainstream. It’s weird.
You can use Winaero Tw?aker and disable lock screen.
https://winaero.com/winaero-tweaker/
So basically it will show weather, if you selected none and you will need to have one of these widgets active, do to this change.
I dont like the widgets on the lock screen or anywhere for that matter. I hope the community removal process comes quickly
“…They will be accessed via Microsoft Edge. That’s probably the real reason why the feature is being added”
And I suspect it’s also to do with a weather widget giving them plausible deniability for collecting location data from you.
The only question that comes to mind is: How can I retrace this more informative feature?
Is there already a script, add-on, or program that allows extended weather information to be displayed in another browser?
Maybe this feature is for people living in basements.