How to Add a Countdown to Your iPhone Home Screen

Reviewed by DAYLAB design team · Published 2026-05-05

Adding a countdown widget to your iPhone home screen takes about ninety seconds — once you know which menu lives where. Below is a clean step-by-step that works on iOS 16, iOS 17, and iOS 18, with notes on what to do when the widget refuses to refresh or does not show up in the picker.

What you will need

• An iPhone running iOS 14 or later for Home Screen widgets.
• iOS 16 or later if you also want a Lock Screen countdown.
• A countdown app installed from the App Store.
• The date you actually want to count down to — the rest is mechanics.

If you have not picked an app yet, our honest comparison of countdown widgets for iPhone runs through the major categories.

Step 1 — Add a D-day inside your app

Open the countdown app first. Widgets read from app data, so the D-day has to exist before iOS can render it. In OnDay:

1. Open OnDay.
2. Tap the "+" in the top corner.
3. Enter the date and a short label (for example, "Exam Day" or "Tokyo Trip").
4. Pick a theme — the same theme will be applied when you add the widget.
5. Tap "Save."

Keep the label short. Long labels truncate on the smaller widget sizes — twelve characters or fewer reads cleanly across every size.

Step 2 — Open the widget picker

1. Go to the Home Screen page where you want the widget.
2. Long-press an empty area until the icons start jiggling.
3. Tap the "+" button in the top-left corner.
4. The widget gallery slides up from the bottom of the screen.

Step 3 — Find the OnDay widget

1. Type "OnDay" in the search bar at the top of the gallery.
2. Tap the OnDay row to open its widget options.
3. Swipe between Small, Medium, and Large to preview each size.

For most home screens, Medium is the right size for a single D-day. It carries the day count, the label, and a small date footer comfortably. Small is good for a row of three on a single page. Large is dramatic — use it for one date you really want to live with.

Step 4 — Add the widget and pick the D-day

1. Tap "Add Widget."
2. The widget appears on your Home Screen with a placeholder D-day.
3. Tap "Done" in the top-right corner to leave edit mode.
4. Long-press the new widget and choose "Edit Widget" to assign it to the D-day you created in Step 1.
5. Tap anywhere outside the widget to confirm the choice.

From here you can drag the widget to wherever it belongs on the page. iOS will reflow the icons around it.

Step 5 (optional) — Add a Lock Screen widget

If you want the countdown on your Lock Screen too, the flow is slightly different:

1. Wake your iPhone but do not unlock it.
2. Long-press anywhere on the Lock Screen.
3. Tap "Customize," then "Lock Screen."
4. Tap one of the widget slots above or below the clock.
5. Find OnDay in the list and tap to add it.
6. Tap "Done" in the top-right.

The Lock Screen widget shares the same D-day source as your Home Screen widget, but renders in a smaller, system-monochrome layout. We unpack the trade-offs in iPhone Lock Screen vs Home Screen countdown.

Troubleshooting

The widget says "Configure" or shows a placeholder

This means the widget has not been linked to a D-day yet. Long-press the widget, choose "Edit Widget," and pick the D-day from the list.

The day count is wrong by one

Most countdown apps round to whole days based on local time midnight. If your D-day is late at night and you are looking at the widget early in the morning, the count can feel one off. Double-check the time stamp on the D-day inside the app.

The widget is not refreshing

iOS schedules widget refreshes — you cannot force one directly. The fastest workaround is to remove the widget, then re-add it from the gallery. Low Power Mode also pauses widget timelines, so check the battery icon if your phone has been low all day.

OnDay does not appear in the widget picker

The widget picker only lists apps after they have been opened at least once. Open OnDay, create a D-day, then return to the widget gallery. If it still does not appear, restart your iPhone — iOS occasionally needs a reboot to refresh the widget registry.

Pricing — what you pay, what stays free

OnDay's free tier covers the entire flow above — unlimited D-days, three base themes, both surfaces, no ads. Paid options layer on more themes:

• $1.99 per theme pack — one-time, kept forever.
• $9.99 per year for All Access — every theme we have shipped, plus everything we ship next.

Both options are clearly labeled before purchase, and there are no ads on any tier — the App Store privacy label reflects this.

Where to go next

If you want a definition-first read on what a countdown widget actually is and when it earns home screen space, start with the complete guide to countdown widgets for iPhone. If you are still picking between apps, our honest comparison is the calmer place to make the decision.