Why can’t I finish setup or enable the helper or Launch at Login?

Why is Open Controls unavailable on my MacBook?

On a MacBook, the main panel requires the sleep helper to be registered, approved by macOS, and connected to the app. Setup must also have finished its current enabling, checking, or removal operation. Selecting Automatic as your lid mode does not bypass this requirement.

1. Open Welcome & Help… from the menu bar icon's right-click menu.
2. Check that Background sleep helper is on.
3. Read the macOS approval and Helper connection rows separately.
4. Complete the relevant checks below.

Closing setup does not finish helper setup. Clicking the menu bar icon again reopens setup while the gate remains incomplete. A desktop Mac does not have the MacBook helper gate.

What should I do with Needs approval?

1. Click Open System Settings in the helper card.
2. Open General → Login Items & Extensions → Allow in the Background.
3. Turn on Radar Display for the background helper.
4. Return to Radar Display Setup and use Check Again if it has not updated.

The app checks periodically while setup is visible and when it regains focus. Approval can be revoked later in System Settings; setup will need to confirm it again.

This background permission is different from Launch at Login. Approving the app's login startup alone does not approve the sleep helper. The setup flow does not ask you to grant Screen Recording or Accessibility access to solve a helper connection problem.

What should I do if approval is present but the helper is not connected?

Wait for Connecting… or Checking… to finish. Then use Check Again. If the card shows Needs attention and offers Retry, click it once and wait for the result.

Messages such as The approved helper did not respond. Try connecting again. describe a failed verification. The helper connection or approval changed. Check again. asks for a fresh check. A requested helper change can also report The sleep helper did not respond. Radar Display will retry the requested change.

If repeated checks fail:

1. Confirm that Radar Display is still allowed in the background.
2. Read the full error rather than relying only on the switch position.
3. Quit Radar Display normally and reopen the intended Radar Display.app copy.
4. Return to setup and check again.

If the app reports that its sleep helper or launch configuration is missing, the app bundle is incomplete or its bundled configuration cannot be found. Use a complete copy of Radar Display.app from the intended distribution source. Do not move individual helper files into system folders as a workaround.

Changing Launch at Login is not a connection retry. If the helper is Ready but sleep behavior is still wrong, follow sleep and battery problems.

What if disabling the helper fails?

Disabling first stops the helper-based lid policy and restores policy-darkened external displays. A selected Stay awake or Screens off mode returns to Automatic. The app then asks macOS to unregister the helper.

During Disabling…, wait for the operation to finish. If it shows a removal failure, read the detail and use Retry when offered. The app retains the failure rather than pretending removal succeeded.

A MacBook cannot reopen the main controls with the helper disabled. Turn it on and complete approval/connection again if you want to continue using the panel. Disabling the helper does not disable Launch at Login or quit the main app.

Use the app's helper switch for this operation. There is no supported in-app full uninstall or preferences-reset workflow documented here.

What if Launch at Login is pending or fails?

Turn on Launch at Login in setup or in the menu bar utility menu. If approval is pending, use Open Login Items in setup or Allow Launch at Login… in the utility menu, then approve the startup entry in System Settings.

The setup status can show Enabled, Off, Needs approval, or Needs attention. Couldn't change Launch at Login (…) means the requested registration change failed; read the detail and try the requested switch change again after checking System Settings.

Turning the switch off cancels a pending registration as well as disabling an enabled one. The setting controls this app's login registration; it is not a general editor for other Login Items.

If the app does not appear at login, first confirm that the intended Radar Display.app copy opens normally and that the login status is Enabled rather than awaiting approval. On a MacBook, login startup does not remove the separate requirement to finish helper setup before accessing controls.

What should I include in a setup support request?

Include the app and macOS versions, whether the Mac is a MacBook, the app's location, and the exact helper status, macOS approval status, connection status, and error detail. Say whether the problem started after an update or after changing a background permission.

For login issues, report Launch at Login's own status separately. For a stuck removal, say whether external displays were darkened by Screens off and whether opening the lid restored them.