iOS 8: How to Enable Notification Center Widgets

You may have heard about Extensions and Widgets, both of which are new features in iOS 8. They sound neat, but if you aren't able to turn them on, they won't be of much use to you. We've already covered Safari Extensions, so here's how to enable Widgets for Notification Center:

First, you'll need to have apps installed that are Notification Center aware, and they have to be launched at least once in order to show up as an option in the Notification Center configuration screen. To configure them, you'll need to unlock your device. Once it is unlocked, pull down from the top of the screen to display the Notification Center. In Notification Center, scroll all the way to the bottom and you'll see an Edit button:

Notification Center with edit button in iOS 8Notification Center with edit button in iOS 8.

Tap that, and you can configure what does and does not show in Notification Center. Keep in mind that any app with a Notification Center widget automatically shows up in the "Do Not Include" list, from there just tap the plus and the widget will jump up to the top as an included widget. You can also adjust the order of items with a long tap on the three bars on the right to move things around. By default the "Today Summary" and "Tomorrow Summary" can't be moved around, but you can take them out of Notification Center if you don't find them useful.

Configuring Notification Center widgets in iOS 8.Configuring Notification Center widgets in iOS 8.

NOTE: If you have a passcode set and scroll to the bottom of Notification Center without unlocking first, you won't have an Edit button showing. If you know you have iOS 8 and don't see the Edit button, this is probably why.

Also available in Notification Center are a few science apps, and handy utilities like Calendars 5 from Readdle, and Evernote that allow for entering something quickly right from the lock screen. Stay tuned to TMO for more nifty widgets and extensions in iOS 8!