diff --git a/Controls/LeftPanel.xaml b/Controls/LeftPanel.xaml
index a625fcd..021b574 100644
--- a/Controls/LeftPanel.xaml
+++ b/Controls/LeftPanel.xaml
@@ -452,7 +452,14 @@
 
                             <!-- Scoreboard config (creator 2026-10-30): the ego wall's billboard —
                                  which eight facts show, and how the strip is painted. -->
-                            <StackPanel Visibility="{Binding SelectedElement.IsScoreboard, Converter={StaticResource BoolToVis}}" Margin="0,0,0,8">
+                            <!-- The scoreboard is fed by the signed-in channel, so its controls are
+                                 inert until there is an account; signing in re-enables them through
+                                 the ordinary IsConnected notification. -->
+                            <StackPanel Visibility="{Binding SelectedElement.IsScoreboard, Converter={StaticResource BoolToVis}}"
+                                        IsEnabled="{Binding IsConnected}" Margin="0,0,0,8">
+                                <TextBlock Text="Sign in to YouTube to use the scoreboard."
+                                           Foreground="{StaticResource Brush.OnSurfaceVariant}" FontSize="11" Margin="0,0,0,4"
+                                           Visibility="{Binding IsConnected, Converter={StaticResource InverseBoolToVis}}"/>
                                 <CheckBox Style="{StaticResource YtCheckBox}" Margin="0,0,0,4"
                                           Content="Show the scoreboard" IsChecked="{Binding ScoreboardEnabled, Mode=TwoWay}"
                                           ToolTip="Off hides the strip in every scene AND stops the channel polling."/>
diff --git a/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardPropertiesTests.cs b/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardPropertiesTests.cs
index 69fa007..84913e6 100644
--- a/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardPropertiesTests.cs
+++ b/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardPropertiesTests.cs
@@ -17,6 +17,14 @@ public class ScoreboardPropertiesTests
         // Gated on the selected layer being a scoreboard.
         Assert.Contains("SelectedElement.IsScoreboard", panel);
 
+        // Signed out: the whole block is inert (the board is fed by the signed-in channel), with a
+        // one-line explanation. Signing in re-enables it through the ordinary IsConnected raise.
+        var block = panel[panel.IndexOf("Scoreboard config", System.StringComparison.Ordinal)..];
+        block = block[..block.IndexOf("<!-- Countdown config -->", System.StringComparison.Ordinal)];
+        Assert.Contains("IsEnabled=\"{Binding IsConnected}\"", block);
+        Assert.Contains("Sign in to YouTube to use the scoreboard.", block);
+        Assert.Contains("InverseBoolToVis", block);
+
         // The master switch sits in the same panel: off hides the strip and stops the polling.
         Assert.Contains("ScoreboardEnabled", panel);
 
@@ -39,8 +47,6 @@ public class ScoreboardPropertiesTests
 
         // Theme widgets only: the colour pickers are the app's drop-down (YtComboBox), never a
         // hand-built menu, and the toggles are YtCheckBox.
-        var block = panel[panel.IndexOf("Scoreboard config", System.StringComparison.Ordinal)..];
-        block = block[..block.IndexOf("<!-- Countdown config -->", System.StringComparison.Ordinal)];
         Assert.Contains("Style=\"{StaticResource YtComboBox}\"", block);
         Assert.Contains("Style=\"{StaticResource YtCheckBox}\"", block);
         Assert.DoesNotContain("ContextMenu", block);