How to put a countdown widget on your iPhone Home Screen

By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of DT Nova · Published 25 October 2026

A countdown widget keeps the day you are waiting for in sight every time you unlock your phone. iPhone has no countdown widget of its own, so you need an app that provides one. Here is how to add it to the Home Screen and the Lock Screen.

Step 1: create the countdown

Install a countdown app such as DayCount, open it and add your date: a trip, a birthday, Christmas. Give it a name you will recognise at a glance.

Step 2: add the widget to your Home Screen

1. Touch and hold an empty part of the Home Screen until the apps jiggle.
2. Tap Edit in the top corner, then Add Widget. On older iOS versions, tap the + button instead.
3. Search for the app, pick a widget size, and tap Add Widget.
4. Drag it where you want it and tap Done.
5. To choose which countdown it shows, touch and hold the widget and tap Edit Widget.

Step 3: add it to the Lock Screen

1. From the Lock Screen, touch and hold until Customize appears, then tap it and choose Lock Screen.
2. Tap the widget area under the clock, find the countdown app, and tap the widget to add it.
3. Tap Done.

What to look for in a countdown widget

• Calendar days, not 24-hour blocks. Otherwise the number can jump when you change time zone.
• Your own photo behind the number, so the widget reminds you why you are counting.
• More than one countdown in a single widget, if you track several dates.
• Until and since. Counting up from an anniversary is the same tool.

DayCount's free version gives you unlimited countdowns and one Home Screen widget. DayCount Pro adds your own photo, Lock Screen widgets, an Apple Watch complication, stepping between countdowns inside one widget, and a Live Activity for the final 24 hours.

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