what purpose of the lock screen widgets?

[Robert7107]

basically i am trying to figure out what purpose the lock screen widgets really have?
i have the note 3 an have it set with the clock at the top and camera widget on bottom right.. when i get a text message it appears on the lock screen but other than that i just swipe to open phone up..

hopefully this isnt coming across as a dumb question but i am just wondering if i am missing something here with lock screen widgets...

 

[breadnatty08]

Nah, it's not dumb.
TBH, when they were first available (with 4.1?) I was really excited and loaded mine up. Well, like you, I just unlock and go to the only two widgets I have on my homescreen. The only widget on my lockscreen is Dashclock and that's only for the current weather and an email count. I think it's also part of why Google removed them in current versions of Android.

 

[codesplice]

I think it's also part of why Google removed them in current versions of Android.

They're not actually removed in 4.4(.4), they're just disabled by default. You turn them on from Settings > Security > Enable widgets.

As to what purpose they serve, that's really up to the user. Applications like DashClock greatly extend the functionality of the lockscreen widgets, so they can be quite handy if you want a quick peek at the weather or notifications without having to unlock the device - particularly useful if you use a password/pin/pattern-protected lockscreen. :thumbup:

 

[Digital Controller]

Dashclock is a great example of a good lockscreen widget. Like those above me have stated it's a way to extend what you can see from your device by just looking at it without having to unlock it.

Another series of widgets that I like to enable on my lockscreen are social media widgets like Facebook or Twitter.

That way I can see the updates from my friends without actually having to go into the applications themselves, and I don't even have to unlock my device

 

[electricpete]

I thought none of the lock screen widgets actually work if you have a lock (like pin lock) enabled. Am I mistaken?

 

[Digital Controller]

I thought none of the lock screen widgets actually work if you have a lock (like pin lock) enabled. Am I mistaken?

No they still work you can swipe to the sides to view your widgets.

 

[chanchan05]

I thought none of the lock screen widgets actually work if you have a lock (like pin lock) enabled. Am I mistaken?

Depends on the phone. Samsung disabled this for some reason.

 

[solutioncdn]

Don't worry. You can active or deactivate it from Setting option.

 

[electricpete]

Don't worry. You can active or deactivate it from Setting option.

For my S4, I believe there is no setting that will allow both pin and lock screen widgets. can have lock screen widgets without security or security without lock screen widgets, but can't have security and lock screen widgets at the same time.

 

[Digital Controller]

For my S4, I believe there is no setting that will allow both pin and lock screen widgets. can have lock screen widgets without security or security without lock screen widgets, but can't have security and lock screen widgets at the same time.

True.

The only way to get this setting back is rooting the device, in fact, you still need root to even enable multiple widgets on the lockscreen for Samsung devices.

 

[chanchan05]

True.

The only way to get this setting back is rooting the device, in fact, you still need root to even enable multiple widgets on the lockscreen for Samsung devices.

You can have multiple widgets without root.

 

[Digital Controller]

You can have multiple widgets without root.

I didn't know lol. I have been rooted for so long