Quick answer
When you change your Android launcher, the new launcher manages a different home-screen layout. Your saved widget designs may still exist inside the original app, but their old home-screen placements usually do not transfer automatically. Open the new launcher's widget picker, add a fresh instance and select your saved design. Keep the original launcher setup available until you confirm the new placement and data work as expected.
A new launcher is a new home-screen layout
On Android, a launcher manages the home screens where widgets appear. A widget-making app may keep your saved design, but the placement of that design belongs to the launcher hosting it. Changing from the phone's default launcher to another can therefore leave the new home screen without your old widgets.
That does not automatically mean your designs have been deleted. There are two different things to check: whether the widget is saved inside its original app, and whether it is currently placed on a particular home screen.
Before switching launchers
- Open the widget-making app and confirm your important designs still appear in its Gallery or saved-items area.
- If there is a supported export option, test it with a non-sensitive design. Do not assume launcher backup includes the underlying design files.
- Take a personal reference screenshot of your current layout if you want to recreate the same positions. A screenshot documents placement; it is not a backup of working widgets.
- Check the new launcher's grid settings. A 4×2 widget on one launcher may fit differently on another.
- Keep the old launcher available until you have checked the new layout, instead of immediately clearing app data.
For WidgetCraft, authored Gallery designs are stored locally; a Pro purchase or template unlock is not a cloud backup of them. Do not uninstall or clear app storage assuming a purchase restore will recreate artwork.
Re-add a saved widget on the new launcher
Open an empty home-screen area, long-press it and look for the Widgets menu. Find the app you used to make your widget. Drag its offered widget size into the new launcher, then follow the app's selection or configuration screen if one appears. Some launchers use a tap-and-place flow instead of drag-and-drop.
If no widget appears in the picker, check that the app is installed and compatible, then use widget missing from the picker. If it appears but is squashed, read why a widget won't resize.
Switching back does not guarantee an exact restore
Some launchers preserve their old arrangement while another launcher is active. Others reset or rebuild the layout during updates, data clearing, or migration. There is no universal Android promise that returning to a launcher will restore every old widget placement or configuration.
Recheck any permission-dependent calendar, media or health widgets. Data access can be separate from home-screen placement, so a newly placed widget may need its app-specific setup again. When troubleshooting, compare a simple local text widget with a network-connected one to find out whether the host or data source is the problem.
A practical way to test a launcher
Create a spare home screen with a static clock, a simple task widget and a photo widget. Observe their size and touch behavior. Only after they work should you rebuild a complex multi-widget layout. This small test can save you from redoing a whole home screen.
Google's Android help for adding widgets describes the standard workflow, but launcher menus vary. See also Samsung, Pixel and Xiaomi differences and local widget storage.