Troubleshooting

The MoreRoom widget shows no data or is out of date

Fix a MoreRoom widget that says “Open MoreRoom to start”, shows old numbers or no “can be freed” figure.

By the MoreRoom team, Yando Pte. Ltd.This page as Markdown

In short

  • “Open MoreRoom to start” means the widget hasn’t received any data yet: open MoreRoom once, from the Applications folder.
  • The widget updates after MoreRoom’s measurements, every 30 minutes while it runs. Turn on Open at login, in the menu bar to keep it fresh.
  • Still empty? Quit MoreRoom, remove the widget, open MoreRoom again, then add the widget back.

How to fix an empty widget

  1. Open MoreRoom once Open MoreRoom from Applications. It takes a first measurement right away and shares it with the widget.
  2. Wait a moment macOS refreshes widgets on its own schedule. Give it a minute.
  3. Re-add the widget If it still says Open MoreRoom to start, Control-click the widget, choose Remove Widget, then add it again with Edit Widgets….
  4. Keep MoreRoom running Turn on Open at login, in the menu bar, in Settings › General, so the widget keeps updating with the window closed.

How the widget gets its data

The widget doesn’t measure anything itself. MoreRoom writes a small summary — free space, the 30-day history, the forecast, what can be freed — into a folder it shares with its widget, and asks macOS to refresh the widget whenever something changed. So:

  • No summary yet → the widget says Open MoreRoom to start.
  • MoreRoom not running → the widget keeps showing the last numbers it received.

It says “Open MoreRoom to start”

  1. Open MoreRoom from the Applications folder. Make sure it’s the copy in Applications — not one in Downloads or in the disk image — and that you have only one copy.
  2. Wait a minute: macOS decides when widgets redraw.
  3. Still empty? Control-click the widget, choose Remove Widget, and add it again.
  4. If nothing helps, restart your Mac: it resets the widget system.

It shows old numbers

The widget is as fresh as MoreRoom’s last measurement. MoreRoom measures every 30 minutes while it’s running, and macOS may defer measurements while your Mac sleeps or runs on battery. Turn on Open at login, in the menu bar so it keeps measuring with the window closed. See Menu bar and open at login.

“Can be freed” is missing

That figure comes from your last scan. It appears after you scan with MoreRoom, and only when the scan found items labelled “Safe to remove”. Scan again to update it.

The forecast says “Stable”

That’s good news: your free space isn’t going down. The forecast appears after three days of measurements. See Storage Weather.