Apple Configurator removes widgets from my home screen

Raised as a “big warning” in 2 threads on Apple Support Communities and MacRumors, where a reply notes that widgets are simply not shown in Configurator. A Stack Exchange question about configuring widgets from macOS has a score of 7 and 685 views.

Why the widgets go missing

Configurator's editor shows the Dock, your pages, apps, folders and web clips. Apple's documentation of the Home Screen Layout setting it uses lists those same items and does not mention widgets. So when Configurator sends a layout to the device, there is nothing in it that says a widget should be on page 2, and people report the widgets are gone afterward.

The same reports say apps you removed from the home screen and kept only in the App Library come back onto the pages. If you keep a tidy home screen with most apps tucked away, that undoes a lot of work in one click.

If you are going to use Configurator anyway

Take a screenshot of every home screen page, so you know where each widget was and what size it was.
Note each widget's settings that matter to you, such as which city a weather widget shows, which photo album, or which smart stack order.
Back up the device in Finder or iCloud. A backup will not undo just the layout, but it protects everything else.
Apply the layout in Configurator.
On the device, touch and hold the home screen, tap Edit or the add button, and add the widgets back one by one, setting each up again.
Move any apps that should be App Library-only back off the pages: touch and hold, Remove App, Remove from Home Screen.

Rearranging apps without losing widgets

TidyGrid reads widgets along with apps and folders, and shows them on your pages in the Mac window. When you drag apps around or use Arrange, widgets stay at the top of the page they were on and apps flow around them. It also knows which apps are only in the App Library and keeps them there unless you move them.

On Apply, TidyGrid saves a backup of the current layout, writes the new one, and reads the device back to check it matches. If something is not right, you can restore one of the last 10 backups.

One thing is not settled yet: whether a widget you configured (for example a weather widget set to a particular city) keeps that setting after Apply is still being tested. Note your settings before applying, as you would with Configurator.

Who this works for

TidyGrid needs a Mac with Apple silicon and a cable to the iPhone or iPad. Reading is tested on iPadOS 15, iOS 16, iOS 17 and iOS 27.
Applying is tested on iPadOS 15.3.1 and iOS 27.2. iOS 16, iOS 17, iOS 18 and iOS 26 are still in testing, and on those TidyGrid opens the layout read-only and says why.
On iPad, TidyGrid's Arrange leaves pages that contain widgets exactly as they are, because iPad widget sizes are not measured yet. You can still move apps on those pages by hand.

What it cannot do

TidyGrid cannot add new widgets or change a widget's size or settings. It works with the widgets already on the device.
TidyGrid cannot bring back widgets that Configurator already removed. Add those again on the device.
TidyGrid cannot read hidden pages. Unhide them first.

Questions

Can I add widgets in Configurator?

No. The editor shows no widgets and has no way to add one. People who asked on Apple's forums and Stack Exchange did not find one either.

Will restoring an iCloud or Finder backup bring my widgets back?

A full restore is meant to bring back the device as it was at backup time, including the home screen, though some people report the layout does not come back exactly. It also replaces everything else on the device with that point in time, so it is a heavy way to undo a layout.

Does this happen on supervised devices too?

Most reports do not say whether the device was supervised. On unsupervised devices people often find the layout does not apply at all, which is a separate problem covered in our guide on Configurator not saving changes.