diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ec552be..4660fda 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,33 @@
 All notable changes to MeshCore GUI are documented in this file.
 Format follows [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/) and [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
 
+---
+## [1.13.2] - 2026-03-11 — Map Display Bugfix
+
+### Fixed
+- 🛠 **MAP panel blank when contacts list is empty at startup** — dashboard update loop
+  had two separate conditional map-update blocks that both silently stopped firing after
+  tick 1 when `data['contacts']` was empty (e.g. device just booted or no contacts
+  stored). Map panel received no further snapshots and remained blank indefinitely.
+- 🛠 **Route map not rendered when no node has GPS coordinates** — `_render_map` in
+  `route_page.py` returned early before creating the Leaflet container when
+  `payload['nodes']` was empty. `MeshCoreRouteMapBoot` handles an empty nodes list
+  correctly (renders map at home area), so the early return was incorrect.
+
+### Changed
+- 🔄 `meshcore_gui/gui/dashboard.py` — Consolidated two conditional map-update blocks
+  into a single unconditional `self._map.update(data)` that fires on every timer tick
+  while the MAP panel is active. The JS runtime coalesces pending payloads so only the
+  newest snapshot is ever applied; the extra calls are cheap.
+- 🔄 `meshcore_gui/gui/route_page.py` — Removed early `return` from `_render_map` when
+  no GPS nodes are present. The Leaflet container is now always created. A small inline
+  notice is shown when there is no location data instead of skipping the map entirely.
+
+### Impact
+- MAP panel now renders reliably on first open regardless of contact/GPS availability
+- Route map now always shows even when route nodes carry no GPS coordinates
+- No breaking changes — only the two files above are modified
+
 ---
 ## [1.13.1] - 2026-03-09 — Message Icon Consistency
 
diff --git a/meshcore_gui/config.py b/meshcore_gui/config.py
index 2bbd75d..7c1b8fa 100644
--- a/meshcore_gui/config.py
+++ b/meshcore_gui/config.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ from typing import Any, Dict, List
 # ==============================================================================
 
 
-VERSION: str = "1.13.1"
+VERSION: str = "1.13.2"
 
 
 # ==============================================================================
diff --git a/meshcore_gui/gui/dashboard.py b/meshcore_gui/gui/dashboard.py
index 72afd2d..e037aa2 100644
--- a/meshcore_gui/gui/dashboard.py
+++ b/meshcore_gui/gui/dashboard.py
@@ -756,16 +756,14 @@ class DashboardPage:
             if data['device_updated'] or is_first:
                 self._device.update(data)
 
-            # Map updates are intentionally limited to when the map panel
-            # is visible. Updating Leaflet every 500 ms while hidden can
-            # trigger excessive tile/layer work in the browser and make the
-            # rest of the UI feel unresponsive (for example the hamburger
-            # menu appearing to do nothing). The explicit update in
-            # _show_panel('map') still refreshes and recenters the map when
-            # the user opens it.
-            if self._active_panel == 'map' and (
-                data['device_updated'] or is_first
-            ):
+            # Map: always send a snapshot while the panel is active.
+            # The JS runtime coalesces pending payloads — only the newest
+            # is ever applied — so calling update() on every tick is cheap.
+            # This ensures the Leaflet runtime always gets at least one
+            # valid snapshot after it finishes loading, regardless of
+            # whether device_updated or is_first happened to be True
+            # on the tick that fired before MeshCoreLeafletBoot was defined.
+            if self._active_panel == 'map':
                 self._map.update(data)
 
             # Channel-dependent UI: always ensure consistency when
@@ -790,18 +788,6 @@ class DashboardPage:
             if data['contacts_updated'] or is_first:
                 self._contacts.update(data)
 
-            # Map
-            if (
-                self._active_panel == 'map'
-                and data['contacts']
-                and (
-                    data['contacts_updated']
-                    or not self._map.has_markers
-                    or is_first
-                )
-            ):
-                self._map.update(data)
-
             # Messages (always — for live filter changes)
             self._messages.update(
                 data,
diff --git a/meshcore_gui/gui/route_page.py b/meshcore_gui/gui/route_page.py
index bd445f2..9377866 100644
--- a/meshcore_gui/gui/route_page.py
+++ b/meshcore_gui/gui/route_page.py
@@ -230,14 +230,24 @@ class RoutePage:
 
     @staticmethod
     def _render_map(data: Dict, route: Dict) -> None:
-        """Render the route map in browser JS using the shared MAP icons."""
+        """Render the route map in browser JS using the shared MAP icons.
+
+        The Leaflet container is always rendered.  When no nodes carry GPS
+        coordinates a notice is shown inside the card, but the map itself
+        still initialises so the user sees the configured home area.
+        MeshCoreRouteMapBoot handles an empty nodes array gracefully by
+        displaying the map at payload.center with no markers.
+        """
         with ui.card().classes('w-full'):
             payload = RoutePage._build_route_map_payload(data, route)
+
+            # Show a notice when no node carries GPS, but do NOT skip the
+            # Leaflet container.  The JS runtime renders the map at the
+            # configured home area (DEFAULT_MAP_CENTER) with no markers.
             if not payload['nodes']:
                 ui.label(
-                    '📍 No location data available for map display'
-                ).classes('text-gray-500 italic p-4')
-                return
+                    '📍 No GPS location data — map shows home area'
+                ).classes('text-xs text-gray-400 italic px-2 pt-2')
 
             container_id = f'route-map-{uuid4().hex}'
             ui.html(