diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4d585a5..7385f29 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+- Extension recovers from an empty-then-configured activation without a window reload. Previously, if a user activated the extension before setting `tfvc.adoProject` (and without a `.vscode-tfvc/` folder), `activate()` early-returned without resolving a workspace root. After the user filled in settings, the config-change listener re-built the REST client but `root` stayed undefined, so `repo`/`scmProvider` were never created — every TFVC command then showed a misleading "Not configured" toast even though all settings were correct. The recovery now retries the root resolution from the config/PAT-change listener so the extension comes fully alive on the spot.
+
 ## [0.4.1]
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/src/extension.ts b/src/extension.ts
index e29977a..79daa7b 100644
--- a/src/extension.ts
+++ b/src/extension.ts
@@ -252,6 +252,21 @@ export async function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext): Promise<void>
     // no visible cue. Surface the error as a warning toast pointing the
     // user at their settings.
     function reinitOrWarn(cause: string): void {
+        // Activation may have early-returned without resolving a workspace
+        // root (no .vscode-tfvc/ + no tfvc.adoProject at activation time).
+        // Now that the user has changed config or set a PAT, retry the
+        // root resolution so the extension can come fully alive without
+        // requiring a window reload — otherwise initRestClient builds the
+        // REST client but never creates `repo`/`scmProvider`, and any TFVC
+        // command shows a misleading "Not configured" toast.
+        if (!root) {
+            const tfvcRoots = findTfvcRoots();
+            const folders = vscode.workspace.workspaceFolders;
+            root = tfvcRoots[0] ?? folders?.[0]?.uri.fsPath;
+            if (root) {
+                outputChannel.appendLine(`TFVC workspace root resolved on ${cause.toLowerCase()} change: ${root}`);
+            }
+        }
         initRestClient().catch(err => {
             logError(`${cause} re-init failed: ${err}`);
             const detail = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);