ExplorerPatcher weather widget not working
Update ExplorerPatcher to 71.1, then open Properties, Weather and use 'Clear weather widget local data'. The widget is a small WebView2 browser that loads a Google search page, so it needs internet, the WebView2 runtime and a Windows 10 taskbar style. In our re-run it showed an icon, a temperature and a description on all three machines after about 70 seconds.
Checked against ExplorerPatcher 71.1 (26100.9711.71.1) on Windows Server 2025 (24H2 shell) 26100.33674 and Windows 11 Enterprise 25H2 26200.9725 and Windows Server 2022 (Windows 10 21H2 shell) 20348.5773 · Nov 6, 2026On this page
What to do
- Update to version 71.1 from GitHub. Its notes say it fixes Google weather script failures. Earlier fixes arrived in 69.1 (pre-release, 9 Sep 2025) and in the stable releases from 69.4 on.
- Clear the widget’s data. Open Properties, Weather, click Clear weather widget local data, and confirm. Upstream’s 69.x release notes say you may need this after an update. The dialog says it resets the widget’s internal components and keeps your preferences.
- Use a Windows 10 taskbar style. Open Properties, Taskbar, and check that Taskbar style is “Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)”. The weather options need one of the Windows 10 styles: see taskbar not changing.
- Check that “Show Weather on the taskbar” is on, then restart File Explorer.
- Check internet access and the WebView2 runtime. The widget needs both. Settings, Apps should list “Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime”. If it is missing, ExplorerPatcher tries to download and run Microsoft’s installer by itself, according to the source; you can also install it from Microsoft.
- Try the Location and Language fields. Leave both empty first. If you typed something, try a plain city name, and a two-letter language code such as
en. - Wait. The default refresh is every 20 minutes (setting “Update frequency”).
Still nothing: report it upstream with your Windows build, ExplorerPatcher version and WebView2 version.
How the widget works
According to ExplorerPatcher’s source, the weather button on the Windows 10 taskbar talks to a separate helper program (ep_weather_host) that creates a WebView2 control, the same embedded browser engine used by many Windows apps. The helper opens a Google search page for “weather” plus your location text and your language, runs a script that extracts the forecast, and draws a cropped result. When the page cannot be loaded it shows an error page titled “Unable to load weather information”. The browser’s working data lives in %APPDATA%\ExplorerPatcher\ep_weather_host, and “Clear weather widget local data” deletes that folder.
Three consequences follow:
- It depends on Google’s page, so a change on Google’s side can break it with no Windows update involved. Upstream’s issue 4351 (“Weather widget is broken”, closed 28 Jul 2025) and the notes of 69.x describe such a break.
- It depends on WebView2 and an internet connection.
- It shows only with a Windows 10 taskbar style.
What we saw in our tests
We switched the weather widget on with the Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher) taskbar style on all three test machines (on Server 2022 the taskbar is the stock Windows 10 one) and captured the taskbar after an Explorer restart and a wait of about 70 seconds. In our first run only one of three machines showed a temperature, so give the widget a minute to load before you decide it is broken.
| Machine | WebView2 runtime | Result in our capture |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2025 (24H2 shell, x64) | 156.0.4314.58 | “23 °C Mostly sunny” with an icon |
| Windows 11 25H2 (Arm64) | 156.0.4314.58 | “7 °C Mostly cloudy” with an icon |
| Windows Server 2022 (Windows 10 shell, x64) | 131.0.2903.86 | “24 °C Mostly sunny” with an icon |
The weather differs per machine, probably because Google picks the place from each machine’s IP address when the location box is empty (upstream’s description). In our first run two of the three machines showed only a small icon, which may have been the widget still loading; we did not confirm that. Read this as: the widget works on 71.1 and 24H2-shell builds, and it needs some time to load after Explorer restarts. If you still see only an icon after a minute, follow the steps above.
Known weather issues upstream
These are reports and notes from the project, not tested by us.
| Report | What it says | State on 6 Nov 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Issue 1289 | WebView2 CPU usage from the weather widget (opened 10 Apr 2023, 58 comments) | Open |
| Issue 4351 | Weather widget broken (opened 31 May 2025) | Closed 28 Jul 2025; the 69.x release notes cite it as fixed |
| Issue 4545 | Weather symbol missing (opened 2 Sep 2025) | Closed 5 Oct 2025; fixed in 69.4 and later, with “Clear weather widget local data” suggested |
| Issue 5220 | Weather pop-out starts fine, then goes blank (31 Oct 2026) | Open |
| Issue 5222 | A weather patch does not work with the latest ExplorerPatcher (31 Oct 2026) | Open |
| Issue 5233 | Weather widget not appearing on the taskbar (5 Nov 2026) | Open |
The 69.x release notes also list a known issue: changing the weather icon pack to “Microsoft” has no effect.
Fixes that are not documented upstream
Some of these may help you. We have not tested them, and upstream does not recommend them.
- Reinstall the WebView2 runtime from Microsoft if the runtime entry exists but the widget stays blank.
- Turn the widget off and on again with the Weather switch, then restart File Explorer.
- Delete
%APPDATA%\ExplorerPatcher\ep_weather_hostby hand while Explorer is restarting. The “Clear weather widget local data” button does the same, so use the button.
If you do not need the widget, turning it off is the simplest fix. The CPU report (issue 1289) is another reason some people do.
Common questions
Why does the weather widget say 'Unable to load weather information'?
The widget shows a cropped Google weather page, and its error page carries that text when the page does not load. Upstream says Google changes broke it in 2025 and release 69.1 and later fixed that, and 71.1 fixes another script failure. Update, then clear the widget's local data.
Where is the weather setting?
In Properties, Weather. The switch 'Show Weather on the taskbar' is Windows' own PeopleBand value. The section only has an effect with a Windows 10 taskbar style, either 'Windows 10' or 'Windows 10 (ExplorerPatcher)', not with the Windows 11 taskbar.
Does the weather widget use a lot of CPU?
Upstream issue 1289, opened in April 2023 and still open, reports high WebView2 CPU use from the weather widget. Our memory and CPU measurements covered Explorer without the weather widget, so we cannot confirm or deny it.
Does the widget send my location to Google?
It loads a Google search page for 'weather' plus your location text, according to the source. With the Location field empty it uses the default, the current location. Leave the widget off if that bothers you. We did not inspect the network traffic of the widget itself.