Problem with Animated Widget on Samsung 4.4.2 ROMs

Many users have reported that after recent update of Animated Widget all widgets have disappered from home screen. The problem has appeared on Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 and Note 3. It looks like this is a bug in Touchwiz launcher, see Widgets disappearing with Samsung 4.4.2 ROMs for details. Users with other launchers (like Go Launcher) don't have this problem. Sorry, but we can't do anything with this bug on our side :(

What can be done

• Disable auto-update of Animated Widget in Google Play until your device receive next ROM update.
• Use alternative launcher instead of standard Touchwiz launcher, i.e. Go Launcher, Nova Launcher, SPB Shell, etc.
• Make backup of your widgets befor installing new update. Backup will help you to restore widgets more faster.
There is one possible workaround for the problem. It looks like this problem could appear on Animated Widget Pro only and doesn't appear on Animated Widget Free (this bug in Android 4.4.x appears on paid apps only). So, there is workaround for it. Install both Animated Widget Pro and Animated Widget Free. Free version will work exactly as Pro version if Pro version is installed. Create all widgets using Animated Widget Free and use Animated Widget Pro as unlocker only.

Update We have received several reports about such problem with non-Samsung devices (HTC eve one (m8), Xperia Z Ultra). There are some other possible related bugs in Android 4.4.2 that could produce such issue:

• App launcher shortcuts and widgets disappear after changing launcher activity
• 4.4.x: home screen icons disappear after update (paid apps only)

Update
One more description of the problem: KitKat bug may be affecting widgets on your handset
Another discussion: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/tasker/V1C1u3U2b04