diff --git a/src-tauri/src/lib.rs b/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
index 8d154e0..8ee9d0f 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -278,19 +278,12 @@ pub fn run() {
         let version_updater = get_version_updater();
         let mut updater_guard = version_updater.lock().await;
 
-        // Set the app handle
-        updater_guard.set_app_handle(app_handle).await;
-
-        // Start the background updates
+        updater_guard.set_app_handle(app_handle.clone()).await;
         updater_guard.start_background_updates().await;
       });
 
-      // Check for app updates at startup
       let app_handle_update = app.handle().clone();
       tauri::async_runtime::spawn(async move {
-        // Add a small delay to ensure the app is fully loaded
-        tokio::time::sleep(tokio::time::Duration::from_secs(3)).await;
-
         println!("Starting app update check at startup...");
         let updater = app_auto_updater::AppAutoUpdater::new();
         match updater.check_for_updates().await {
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/version_updater.rs b/src-tauri/src/version_updater.rs
index bb97bef..e998734 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/version_updater.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/version_updater.rs
@@ -300,9 +300,36 @@ impl VersionUpdater {
       browser_new_versions: 0,
       status: "updating".to_string(),
     };
-    let _ = app_handle.emit("version-update-progress", &progress);
+    if let Err(e) = app_handle.emit("version-update-progress", &progress) {
+      eprintln!("Failed to emit start progress: {e}");
+    } else {
+      println!("Emitted start progress event");
+    }
 
     for (index, browser) in browsers.iter().enumerate() {
+      println!(
+        "Processing browser {} ({}/{}): {}",
+        browser,
+        index + 1,
+        total_browsers,
+        browser
+      );
+
+      // Emit progress for current browser
+      let progress = VersionUpdateProgress {
+        current_browser: browser.to_string(),
+        total_browsers,
+        completed_browsers: index,
+        new_versions_found: total_new_versions,
+        browser_new_versions: 0,
+        status: "updating".to_string(),
+      };
+      if let Err(e) = app_handle.emit("version-update-progress", &progress) {
+        eprintln!("Failed to emit progress for {browser}: {e}");
+      } else {
+        println!("Emitted progress event for browser: {browser}");
+      }
+
       // Check if individual browser cache is expired before updating
       if !self.version_service.should_update_cache(browser) {
         println!("Skipping {browser} - cache is still fresh");
@@ -318,18 +345,7 @@ impl VersionUpdater {
         continue;
       }
 
-      println!("Updating versions for browser: {browser}");
-
-      // Emit progress for current browser
-      let progress = VersionUpdateProgress {
-        current_browser: browser.to_string(),
-        total_browsers,
-        completed_browsers: index,
-        new_versions_found: total_new_versions,
-        browser_new_versions: 0,
-        status: "updating".to_string(),
-      };
-      let _ = app_handle.emit("version-update-progress", &progress);
+      println!("Fetching new versions for browser: {browser}");
 
       let result = self.update_browser_versions(browser).await;
 
@@ -373,7 +389,11 @@ impl VersionUpdater {
       browser_new_versions: 0,
       status: "completed".to_string(),
     };
-    let _ = app_handle.emit("version-update-progress", &progress);
+    if let Err(e) = app_handle.emit("version-update-progress", &progress) {
+      eprintln!("Failed to emit completion progress: {e}");
+    } else {
+      println!("Emitted completion progress event");
+    }
 
     println!("Background version update completed. Found {total_new_versions} new versions total");
 
diff --git a/src/hooks/use-update-notifications.tsx b/src/hooks/use-update-notifications.tsx
index 1204641..4a5ce6c 100644
--- a/src/hooks/use-update-notifications.tsx
+++ b/src/hooks/use-update-notifications.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { getBrowserDisplayName } from "@/lib/browser-utils";
-import { showToast } from "@/lib/toast-utils";
+import { dismissToast, showToast } from "@/lib/toast-utils";
 import { invoke } from "@tauri-apps/api/core";
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 
@@ -83,10 +83,11 @@ export function useUpdateNotifications(
         return;
       }
 
-      // Mark download as active
+      // Mark download as active and disable browser
       activeDownloads.current.add(downloadKey);
 
       try {
+        // Set browser as updating FIRST before any async operations
         setUpdatingBrowsers((prev) => new Set(prev).add(browser));
         const browserDisplayName = getBrowserDisplayName(browser);
 
@@ -95,12 +96,12 @@ export function useUpdateNotifications(
           notificationId,
         });
 
-        // Show update available toast and start download immediately
+        // Show update started notification
         showToast({
           id: `auto-update-started-${browser}-${newVersion}`,
           type: "loading",
-          title: `${browserDisplayName} update available`,
-          description: `Version ${newVersion} is now being downloaded. Browser launch will be disabled until update completes.`,
+          title: `${browserDisplayName} update started`,
+          description: `Version ${newVersion} download will begin shortly. Browser launch is disabled until update completes.`,
           duration: 4000,
         });
 
@@ -116,9 +117,26 @@ export function useUpdateNotifications(
             console.log(
               `${browserDisplayName} ${newVersion} already exists, skipping download`,
             );
+
+            showToast({
+              id: `auto-update-skip-download-${browser}-${newVersion}`,
+              type: "success",
+              title: `${browserDisplayName} ${newVersion} already available`,
+              description: "Updating profile configurations...",
+              duration: 3000,
+            });
           } else {
-            // Don't mark as auto-update - we want to show full download progress
-            // Download the browser (progress will be handled by use-browser-download hook)
+            // Show download starting notification
+            showToast({
+              id: `auto-update-download-starting-${browser}-${newVersion}`,
+              type: "loading",
+              title: `Starting ${browserDisplayName} ${newVersion} download`,
+              description: "Download progress will be shown below...",
+              duration: 4000,
+            });
+
+            // Download the browser - this will trigger download progress events automatically
+            // The use-browser-download hook will handle showing the download progress toasts
             await invoke("download_browser", {
               browserStr: browser,
               version: newVersion,
@@ -158,13 +176,14 @@ export function useUpdateNotifications(
             });
           }
 
-          // Trigger profile refresh to update UI with new versions
           if (onProfilesUpdated) {
-            void onProfilesUpdated();
+            await onProfilesUpdated();
           }
         } catch (downloadError) {
           console.error("Failed to download browser:", downloadError);
 
+          dismissToast(`download-${browser}-${newVersion}`);
+
           showToast({
             id: `auto-update-error-${browser}-${newVersion}`,
             type: "error",