diff --git a/FuelBoardWidgets/FuelPriceWidget.swift b/FuelBoardWidgets/FuelPriceWidget.swift
index 90eeb45..e358979 100644
--- a/FuelBoardWidgets/FuelPriceWidget.swift
+++ b/FuelBoardWidgets/FuelPriceWidget.swift
@@ -226,6 +226,16 @@ struct FuelPriceTimelineProvider<Configuration: WidgetConfigurationIntent & Widg
                 if let fetched = await Self.fetchFocused(near: location, fuel: fuel, radiusKM: radiusKM) {
                     stations = fetched
                 }
+            } else {
+                // No location (permission not granted / fix timed out): fetch
+                // fuel-only UK-wide so a fresh/default widget STILL populates
+                // with real stations. The app-group cache can be unavailable
+                // on free accounts and keychain can't hold the station dump,
+                // so the old fallback ended on sample data — the "skeleton"
+                // face that never populated.
+                if let fetched = await Self.fetchFuelOnly(fuel: fuel, limit: 500) {
+                    stations = fetched
+                }
             }
             if stations.isEmpty { stations = FuelStore.loadStations() }
             if stations.isEmpty { stations = SampleFuelProvider.sampleStations }
@@ -296,6 +306,30 @@ struct FuelPriceTimelineProvider<Configuration: WidgetConfigurationIntent & Widg
             return nil
         }
     }
+
+    /// Fuel-only UK-wide fetch (no lat/lng/radius) — the relay returns the
+    /// cheapest-first dataset for the fuel, bounded by limit. Used when the
+    /// widget has no location fix so the face shows real stations instead of
+    /// sample data. Same timeout/bounded semantics as fetchFocused.
+    private static func fetchFuelOnly(fuel: FuelType, limit: Int) async -> [FuelStation]? {
+        var components = URLComponents(
+            url: RelayFuelProvider().baseURL.appendingPathComponent("api/v1/stations"),
+            resolvingAgainstBaseURL: false
+        )!
+        components.queryItems = [
+            URLQueryItem(name: "fuel", value: fuel.rawValue),
+            URLQueryItem(name: "limit", value: String(limit)),
+        ]
+        var request = URLRequest(url: components.url!)
+        request.timeoutInterval = 5
+        do {
+            let (data, response) = try await URLSession.shared.data(for: request)
+            guard let http = response as? HTTPURLResponse, http.statusCode == 200 else { return nil }
+            return try? FuelPriceProvider.decodeStations(from: data)
+        } catch {
+            return nil
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 struct FuelPriceWidgetView: View {