Google’s At a Glance widget provides quick and easy access to necessary information. It shows the date, weather, traffic status, and upcoming events, to name a few.
However, many Android users have reported the widget crashing in the past month. A post on Reddit reads, “Same here. First showed on my screen as a red bar saying a message something like ‘at a glance failed to load’ or something similar; tried restarting the phone, removing the widget, and trying to re-add, always crashes trying to add the widget, force closed Google app, cleared cache. None of it is helping. Pixel 6.”
This issue is affecting a wide range of Android devices from multiple brands. The complaints range from Pixel 8 Pro to the OnePlus 11, OnePlus 8T, Galaxy A54, Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S22 Ultra, etc.
To add insult to injury for Google Pixel users, this issue is even more annoying as they can’t remove the At a Glance widget from the home screen.
The error message reads Glance App Widget Error and asks you to check the exact error using adb logcat. You have to search for GlanceAppWidget. This message contains some developer speak and isn’t helpful for normal people.
According to users on Google Forums, the Google app keeps crashing if you try to add the widget. The screen randomly flashes, nothing happens, and the widget isn’t added to the home screen. The user grabbed a screenshot while the screen was flashing, but it just shows a widget size selection page.
It’s not limited to a particular Android version, either. There are reports of it happening on Android 12 as well. A thread on Reddit details the experiences of many people with the same problem.
However, according to Reddit user 5h3r10k, there seems to be a workaround. First, you’ll have to update the Google app. Then, open the app info via the app menu or home screen and find the Force Stop option. Tap on Force Stop that you want to do it. This works for some people, but the issue persists for others.
Another user, xiaomifan01, claims that updating the Google app to version 14.46.33.28 fixes the issue. You have to clear the cache and force the app to stop, and after that, adding the widget works again. However, others say this method doesn’t solve the issue. It isn’t clear whether this will solve the problem, but it’s worth trying.
The issue affects all Android phones with the At A Glance widget, including Pixels. Some claim that the problem is only with third-party launchers and that the default launcher works fine. You can try this workaround, too.
Other workarounds exist, but we can’t verify whether they work for everyone. You can try updating to a Beta version of the Google app. You have to sign up for the Beta program on the Play Store. Google didn’t officially acknowledge this problem. But considering the scale of reports, we hope they issue a fix soon. Note that the workarounds above do not work for everyone.