diff --git a/frontend/src/app/Main.tsx b/frontend/src/app/Main.tsx
index 7b9ece9f..8823ec31 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/Main.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/app/Main.tsx
@@ -215,6 +215,25 @@ const SettingsLoader: React.FC<{ children: React.ReactNode }> = ({ children }) =
   useEffect(() => {
     dispatch(fetchSettings());
     dispatch(fetchModels());
+    // Boot race (ENG-207): the renderer can beat the backend up by many seconds, and a hidden
+    // window's timers get App-Napped, so a one-shot fetch that lost the race stayed lost until a
+    // manual reload. Retry the two bootstrap reads until settings answer, and re-kick on focus /
+    // visibility so a napped window heals the moment anyone looks at it.
+    let bootTimer: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null = null;
+    const bootRetry = () => {
+      const st = store.getState();
+      const settingsOk = st.settings.loaded;
+      const modelsOk = st.models.loaded && !st.models.failed;
+      if (settingsOk && modelsOk) {
+        if (bootTimer) { clearInterval(bootTimer); bootTimer = null; }
+        return;
+      }
+      if (!settingsOk) dispatch(fetchSettings());
+      if (!modelsOk) dispatch(fetchModels());
+    };
+    bootTimer = setInterval(bootRetry, 3000);
+    window.addEventListener('focus', bootRetry);
+    document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', bootRetry);
     // Report the app launch with the browser's canonical tz/locale so the backend can emit analytics app_lifecycle.opened with values that work in packaged, dev, and open-source builds. Guarded once per page load; backend dedupes per process.
     reportAppOpened();
     // Connected subscriptions live in their own slice; without this the dashboard (and the onboarding gate) think no model is connected until the user opens Settings > Models, so a fresh launch shows a false "connect a model" empty state and the welcome cursor never fires. Refetched after sync + on focus below.
@@ -231,6 +250,11 @@ const SettingsLoader: React.FC<{ children: React.ReactNode }> = ({ children }) =
           // The backend arms server-side regardless of whether the browser can read the mint response (a transient boot-time CORS/timing miss makes `data` unreadable), so refetch unconditionally, the GET is the only reliable signal the UI gets that it armed.
           .finally(() => { dispatch(fetchSettings()); dispatch(fetchSubscriptionStatus()); dispatch(markFreeTrialArmSettled()); });
       });
+    return () => {
+      if (bootTimer) clearInterval(bootTimer);
+      window.removeEventListener('focus', bootRetry);
+      document.removeEventListener('visibilitychange', bootRetry);
+    };
   }, [dispatch]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/components/Layout/AppShell.tsx b/frontend/src/app/components/Layout/AppShell.tsx
index 753cba04..a125a4d3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/components/Layout/AppShell.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/app/components/Layout/AppShell.tsx
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ const AppShell: React.FC = () => {
     };
   }, []);
 
-  const modelsLoaded = useAppSelector((s) => s.models.loaded);
+  const modelsLoaded = useAppSelector((s) => s.models.loaded && !s.models.failed);
   // The models list is marked loaded even when its fetch fails, so it alone can't tell "no model" from "couldn't ask". Settings is where the user's own key/sub lives, so the banner waits for it.
   const settingsKnown = useAppSelector((s) => s.settings.loaded);
   // "Connected" = the user's OWN model (key/sub/pro/custom), NOT a non-empty /models list: the free-trial Haiku is always in that list now, so a byProvider-length check would falsely read as connected and hide the out-of-runs banner.
diff --git a/frontend/src/app/pages/DashboardAutoEnter/DashboardAutoEnter.tsx b/frontend/src/app/pages/DashboardAutoEnter/DashboardAutoEnter.tsx
index abfe9abc..88a8a1b5 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/pages/DashboardAutoEnter/DashboardAutoEnter.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/app/pages/DashboardAutoEnter/DashboardAutoEnter.tsx
@@ -33,9 +33,16 @@ const DashboardAutoEnter: React.FC = () => {
       if (!cancelled) timer = setTimeout(enter, 3000);
     };
     enter();
+    // A hidden window's timers get App-Napped, so the 3s retry could stall forever while the
+    // backend finished booting behind it (ENG-207). Focus/visibility re-kick heals it on sight.
+    const rekick = (): void => { if (!timer) return; clearTimeout(timer); timer = null; enter(); };
+    window.addEventListener('focus', rekick);
+    document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', rekick);
     return () => {
       cancelled = true;
       if (timer) clearTimeout(timer);
+      window.removeEventListener('focus', rekick);
+      document.removeEventListener('visibilitychange', rekick);
     };
   }, [dispatch, navigate]);
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/shared/config.ts b/frontend/src/shared/config.ts
index 1aba8b17..019d7219 100644
--- a/frontend/src/shared/config.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/shared/config.ts
@@ -48,7 +48,12 @@ export async function refreshAuthToken(): Promise<string> {
 /** Resolve auth token once; concurrent callers share the same promise. */
 export function ensureAuthToken(): Promise<string> {
   if (_authTokenPromise) return _authTokenPromise;
-  _authTokenPromise = refreshAuthToken();
+  _authTokenPromise = refreshAuthToken().then((tok) => {
+    // A boot race can resolve EMPTY (backend hadn't written the token file yet); memoizing that
+    // left the renderer auth-dead until a manual reload (ENG-207). Empty = not an answer; retry.
+    if (!tok) _authTokenPromise = null;
+    return tok;
+  });
   return _authTokenPromise;
 }
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/shared/state/modelsSlice.ts b/frontend/src/shared/state/modelsSlice.ts
index 2e576418..639e3276 100644
--- a/frontend/src/shared/state/modelsSlice.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/shared/state/modelsSlice.ts
@@ -21,11 +21,13 @@ export interface ModelOption {
 interface ModelsState {
   byProvider: Record<string, ModelOption[]>;
   loaded: boolean;
+  failed: boolean;
 }
 
 const initialState: ModelsState = {
   byProvider: {},
   loaded: false,
+  failed: false,
 };
 
 export const fetchModels = createAsyncThunk('models/fetchModels', async () => {
@@ -49,6 +51,11 @@ const modelsSlice = createSlice({
       .addCase(fetchModels.rejected, (state) => {
         // Mark loaded even on failure so callers fall back to hardcoded options.
         state.loaded = true;
+        // ...but remember it FAILED: a boot-race miss used to read as "loaded with no models" and lit the red banner on a fully configured install (ENG-207).
+        state.failed = true;
+      })
+      .addCase(fetchModels.pending, (state) => {
+        state.failed = false;
       });
   },
 });