How to Enable or Disable Open Widgets Board on Hover in Windows 11

How to Stop Widgets from Opening When You Hover

If the Widgets board opens too readily for your liking, here’s how to fix it. This is a setting you can change.

Step 1Open the Widgets Board

Opening the Widgets board in Windows 11 is done by moving your mouse over the Widgets icon 🖥️ on the taskbar, or by pressing the Windows key and the W key together. If the Widgets icon isn’t visible on your taskbar, you can add it by right-clicking the taskbar, selecting ‘Taskbar settings,’ and then turning ‘Widgets’ on within the ‘Taskbar items’ section.

To display the Widgets icon on your Windows 11 taskbar, right-click 🖥️ the taskbar and select Taskbar settings. Under Taskbar items, change the Widgets setting to On. If the Widgets icon still does not appear, the Widgets feature may require a system update.

Step 2Go to Widgets Settings

With the Widgets board open, locate the gear icon in the top right corner for its settings.

Step 3Find the “Open Widgets board on hover” Setting

Inside the Widgets settings, you’ll find various options. Look for one that says something like “Open Widgets board on hover” or “Show widgets board by hovering over 🖥️ the taskbar icon”.

Step 4Turn Off the Hover Feature

The Widgets board will stop opening automatically when you move your mouse over the icon after you turn off the ‘Open Widgets on hover’ setting. Locate this switch in ⚙️ the settings and turn it off. The Widgets board will then only open when you click the Widgets icon or use the Windows key + W shortcut.

Practical Tip: Turning this setting off means the Widgets board will only open when you click the icon on 🖥️ your taskbar or use the Windows key + W shortcut. This puts you in complete control of when you see your widgets.

Why Turn Off “Open on Hover”?

You might want to turn off the ‘Open Widgets on hover’ setting in Windows 11 for a few reasons, mainly to avoid distractions or to potentially save a bit of computer power. Accidental openings can interrupt your work if the Widgets board pops up unexpectedly, and while widgets are usually light, disabling the hover feature means they only run when you need them.

• Accidental Openings: Like we said, it’s easy to open the Widgets board by mistake. This can be distracting if you’re trying to do something important.
• Performance: Widgets are usually small and don’t use much power. But if you have an older computer or like to have fewer things running in the background, turning this off can help a little.
• Personal Choice: Some people just like to be in full control. They want to start every action themselves and don’t want the computer guessing what they want.
• Cleaner Desktop: If you like a simple and clean desktop, turning off hover-to-open is another way to achieve that.

What Happens When You Turn It Off?

When you turn off ‘Open Widgets on hover’ in Windows 11, the Widgets icon remains visible on 🖥️ your taskbar but will not automatically open when your mouse pointer hovers over it. You can still open news, weather, and other updates by clicking the Widgets icon or using the keyboard shortcut, which gives you more control over when you see these updates.

Summary

Adjusting the ‘Open Widgets board on hover’ setting in Windows 11 helps create a smoother experience by ensuring the Widgets board only appears when you actively choose to open it.