diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 0d02744a..9ce02f52 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "theseus-navigator",
-  "version": "0.3.65",
+  "version": "0.3.66",
   "license": "MPL-2.0",
   "description": "Theseus Navigator — a browser that follows the thread. By Silent Mode, a Deviant project.",
   "author": "Silent Mode",
diff --git a/settings.html b/settings.html
index ce7870dd..892d41fe 100644
--- a/settings.html
+++ b/settings.html
@@ -821,6 +821,47 @@
     { tag: "he-IL", label: "עברית" },
     { tag: "zh-TW", label: "中文（繁體）" },
   ];
+  // Updates panel — intentionally runs STANDALONE, before anything else.
+  // Previously this lived inside the big C.get().then((s)=>…) settings init,
+  // and any throw earlier in that block (an unrelated feature failing on a
+  // specific profile) left this panel stuck on "Loading…" forever because
+  // the version read never ran. It only needs the appVersion/recheckUpdate
+  // IPCs and the two DOM elements — all available at script time — so run it
+  // immediately and in its own try, isolated from everything else.
+  (function initUpdatesPanel() {
+    const updStatus = document.getElementById("updStatus");
+    const updCheck  = document.getElementById("updCheck");
+    if (!updStatus) return;
+    try {
+      if (C && typeof C.appVersion === "function") {
+        C.appVersion().then((v) => {
+          updStatus.textContent = v ? `You're on v${v}.` : "Version unavailable — try Check for updates.";
+        }).catch((e) => {
+          updStatus.textContent = "Could not read version: " + (e?.message || e) + " — try Check for updates.";
+        });
+      } else {
+        updStatus.textContent = "This build is missing the version IPC — restart Theseus to refresh the panel.";
+      }
+      if (updCheck) updCheck.onclick = async () => {
+        const orig = updCheck.textContent;
+        updCheck.disabled = true; updCheck.textContent = "Checking…";
+        updStatus.textContent = "Checking…";
+        try {
+          if (!C || typeof C.recheckUpdate !== "function") throw new Error("recheck-update IPC not exposed");
+          const r = await C.recheckUpdate();
+          if (r && r.updateAvailable && r.updateAvailable.version) {
+            updStatus.innerHTML = `<b style="color:var(--acid-text)">v${r.updateAvailable.version}</b> is available — the update chip in the toolbar will offer it.`;
+          } else {
+            updStatus.textContent = `You're on the latest (v${(r && r.currentVersion) || "?"}).`;
+          }
+        } catch (e) { updStatus.textContent = "Check failed: " + (e?.message || e); }
+        finally { updCheck.disabled = false; updCheck.textContent = orig; }
+      };
+    } catch (e) {
+      updStatus.textContent = "Updates panel init failed: " + (e?.message || e);
+      console.error("Updates panel init failed:", e);
+    }
+  })();
   // sidebar navigation
   // "naming" is intentionally absent: the Registries section was folded
   // into General in 0.3.21. Leaving the id in this list threw a
@@ -1782,48 +1823,9 @@
       refreshAegis();
     })();
 
-    // ---- Manual "Check for updates" -----------------------------------------
-    // Fires an IPC that un-dismisses any lingering session chip and hits the
-    // release manifest. Renders either "you're on the latest (vN.M.O)" or
-    // "vX.Y.Z is available — the update chip in the toolbar will offer it".
-    // Wrap the Updates panel init in its own try — any earlier failure in
-    // this big C.get().then((s)=>…) block would otherwise leave the panel
-    // stuck on "Loading…" forever (silent `.catch(()=>{})` on the version
-    // fetch). We also always react to the fetch's reject, instead of
-    // swallowing it, so the user has a status line they can act on.
-    try {
-      const updStatus = document.getElementById("updStatus");
-      // Show the current version by default so the user doesn't have to
-      // click "Check for updates" just to find out which Theseus they're on.
-      if (C && C.appVersion) {
-        C.appVersion().then((v) => {
-          updStatus.textContent = v ? `You're on v${v}.` : "Version unavailable — try Check for updates.";
-        }).catch((e) => {
-          updStatus.textContent = "Could not read version: " + (e?.message || e) + " — try Check for updates.";
-        });
-      } else {
-        updStatus.textContent = "This build is missing the version IPC — restart Theseus to refresh the panel.";
-      }
-      const updCheck  = document.getElementById("updCheck");
-      if (updCheck) updCheck.onclick = async () => {
-        const orig = updCheck.textContent;
-        updCheck.disabled = true; updCheck.textContent = "Checking…";
-        updStatus.textContent = "Checking…";
-        try {
-          if (!C.recheckUpdate) throw new Error("recheck-update IPC not exposed");
-          const r = await C.recheckUpdate();
-          if (r && r.updateAvailable && r.updateAvailable.version) {
-            updStatus.innerHTML = `<b style="color:var(--acid-text)">v${r.updateAvailable.version}</b> is available — the update chip in the toolbar will offer it.`;
-          } else {
-            updStatus.textContent = `You're on the latest (v${(r && r.currentVersion) || "?"}).`;
-          }
-        } catch (e) { updStatus.textContent = "Check failed: " + (e?.message || e); }
-        finally { updCheck.disabled = false; updCheck.textContent = orig; }
-      };
-    } catch (e) {
-      try { document.getElementById("updStatus").textContent = "Updates panel init failed: " + (e?.message || e); } catch {}
-      console.error("Updates panel init failed:", e);
-    }
+    // Updates panel moved OUT of this block — it runs standalone right after
+    // the shared WEB_LANG_LIST so a thrown exception anywhere in this big
+    // C.get().then((s)=>…) init can never block it again.
 
     // ---- Passwords section: three states (setup / locked / unlocked) ---------
     // The vault lives in main.js — this UI just calls IPC. No plaintext ever