diff --git a/macos/Sources/App/macOS/AppDelegate.swift b/macos/Sources/App/macOS/AppDelegate.swift
index 216373e7e..cf717993a 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/App/macOS/AppDelegate.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/App/macOS/AppDelegate.swift
@@ -998,8 +998,8 @@ class AppDelegate: NSObject,
     }
 
     @IBAction func checkForUpdates(_ sender: Any?) {
-        updateController.checkForUpdates()
-        //UpdateSimulator.permissionRequest.simulate(with: updateViewModel)
+        //updateController.checkForUpdates()
+        UpdateSimulator.happyPath.simulate(with: updateViewModel)
     }
 
 
diff --git a/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdateBadge.swift b/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdateBadge.swift
index fd1eb3498..afd0849be 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdateBadge.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdateBadge.swift
@@ -17,14 +17,14 @@ struct UpdateBadge: View {
         switch model.state {
         case .downloading(let download):
             if let expectedLength = download.expectedLength, expectedLength > 0 {
-                let progress = Double(download.progress) / Double(expectedLength)
+                let progress = min(1, max(0, Double(download.progress) / Double(expectedLength)))
                 ProgressRingView(progress: progress)
             } else {
                 Image(systemName: "arrow.down.circle")
             }
             
         case .extracting(let extracting):
-            ProgressRingView(progress: extracting.progress)
+            ProgressRingView(progress: min(1, max(0, extracting.progress)))
             
         case .checking, .installing:
             if let iconName = model.iconName {
diff --git a/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdateController.swift b/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdateController.swift
index 8dc24698b..446b82ebc 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdateController.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdateController.swift
@@ -32,9 +32,22 @@ class UpdateController {
     /// Start the updater.
     ///
     /// This must be called before the updater can check for updates. If starting fails,
-    /// an error alert will be shown after a short delay.
+    /// the error will be shown to the user.
     func startUpdater() {
-        try? updater.start()
+        do {
+            try updater.start()
+        } catch {
+            userDriver.viewModel.state = .error(.init(
+                error: error,
+                retry: { [weak self] in
+                    self?.userDriver.viewModel.state = .idle
+                    self?.startUpdater()
+                },
+                dismiss: { [weak self] in
+                    self?.userDriver.viewModel.state = .idle
+                }
+            ))
+        }
     }
     
     /// Check for updates.
diff --git a/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdateDriver.swift b/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdateDriver.swift
index cd1d051e2..9196d9ad9 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdateDriver.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdateDriver.swift
@@ -86,9 +86,10 @@ class UpdateDriver: NSObject, SPUUserDriver {
                           acknowledgement: @escaping () -> Void) {
         viewModel.state = .error(.init(
             error: error,
-            retry: { [weak viewModel] in
+            retry: { [weak self, weak viewModel] in
                 viewModel?.state = .idle
-                DispatchQueue.main.async {
+                DispatchQueue.main.async { [weak self] in
+                    guard let self else { return }
                     guard let delegate = NSApp.delegate as? AppDelegate else { return }
                     delegate.checkForUpdates(self)
                 }
diff --git a/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdatePill.swift b/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdatePill.swift
index b975e81c9..3b48ac218 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdatePill.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdatePill.swift
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ struct UpdatePill: View {
     /// Whether the update popover is currently visible
     @State private var showPopover = false
     
+    /// Task for auto-dismissing the "No Updates" state
+    @State private var resetTask: Task<Void, Never>?
+    
     /// The font used for the pill text
     private let textFont = NSFont.systemFont(ofSize: 11, weight: .medium)
     
@@ -19,13 +22,15 @@ struct UpdatePill: View {
                 }
                 .transition(.opacity.combined(with: .scale(scale: 0.95)))
                 .onChange(of: model.state) { newState in
+                    resetTask?.cancel()
                     if case .notFound = newState {
-                        Task {
+                        resetTask = Task { [weak model] in
                             try? await Task.sleep(for: .seconds(5))
-                            if case .notFound = model.state {
-                                model.state = .idle
-                            }
+                            guard !Task.isCancelled, case .notFound? = model?.state else { return }
+                            model?.state = .idle
                         }
+                    } else {
+                        resetTask = nil
                     }
                 }
         }
diff --git a/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdatePopoverView.swift b/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdatePopoverView.swift
index a73116ca0..7634d27de 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdatePopoverView.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Features/Update/UpdatePopoverView.swift
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ fileprivate struct DownloadingView: View {
                     .font(.system(size: 13, weight: .semibold))
                 
                 if let expectedLength = download.expectedLength, expectedLength > 0 {
-                    let progress = Double(download.progress) / Double(expectedLength)
+                    let progress = min(1, max(0, Double(download.progress) / Double(expectedLength)))
                     VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 6) {
                         ProgressView(value: progress)
                         Text(String(format: "%.0f%%", progress * 100))
@@ -264,8 +264,8 @@ fileprivate struct ExtractingView: View {
                 .font(.system(size: 13, weight: .semibold))
             
             VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 6) {
-                ProgressView(value: extracting.progress, total: 1.0)
-                Text(String(format: "%.0f%%", extracting.progress * 100))
+                ProgressView(value: min(1, max(0, extracting.progress)), total: 1.0)
+                Text(String(format: "%.0f%%", min(1, max(0, extracting.progress)) * 100))
                     .font(.system(size: 11))
                     .foregroundColor(.secondary)
             }