diff --git a/backend/hand_landmarker.task b/backend/hand_landmarker.task
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d53faf
Binary files /dev/null and b/backend/hand_landmarker.task differ
diff --git a/src/components/ui/HandTrackingOverlay.tsx b/src/components/ui/HandTrackingOverlay.tsx
index c8492fd..e73d720 100644
--- a/src/components/ui/HandTrackingOverlay.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ui/HandTrackingOverlay.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,16 @@
 import { useHandTrackingSnapshot } from "@/hooks/useHandTrackingSnapshot";
+import type { HandTrackingStatus } from "@/types/handTracking";
+
+const STATUS_LABELS: Record<HandTrackingStatus, string> = {
+  idle: "Idle",
+  requesting_camera: "Requesting camera",
+  starting_camera: "Starting camera",
+  connecting_server: "Connecting server",
+  connecting: "Connecting",
+  connected: "Connected",
+  disconnected: "Disconnected",
+  error: "Error",
+};
 
 export function HandTrackingOverlay(): React.JSX.Element | null {
   const { hands, status, serverStatus, error } = useHandTrackingSnapshot();
@@ -12,7 +24,7 @@ export function HandTrackingOverlay(): React.JSX.Element | null {
   return (
     <aside className="hand-tracking-overlay" aria-label="Hand tracking status">
       <strong>Hand tracking</strong>
-      <span>Status: {status}</span>
+      <span>Status: {STATUS_LABELS[status]}</span>
       {serverStatus ? <span>Server: {serverStatus}</span> : null}
       <span>Hands: {hands.length}</span>
       <span>Pinch: {pinching ? "yes" : "no"}</span>
diff --git a/src/data/handTrackingConfig.ts b/src/data/handTrackingConfig.ts
index be44a47..55b8512 100644
--- a/src/data/handTrackingConfig.ts
+++ b/src/data/handTrackingConfig.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ export const HAND_TRACKING_FRAME_WIDTH = 320;
 export const HAND_TRACKING_FRAME_HEIGHT = 240;
 export const HAND_TRACKING_TARGET_FPS = 10;
 export const HAND_TRACKING_JPEG_QUALITY = 0.55;
+export const HAND_TRACKING_CAMERA_TIMEOUT_MS = 8_000;
 export const HAND_TRACKING_RESPONSE_TIMEOUT_MS = 1_500;
 
 export function getHandTrackingWsUrl(): string {
diff --git a/src/hooks/useRemoteHandTracking.ts b/src/hooks/useRemoteHandTracking.ts
index b91ad86..03a42dc 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useRemoteHandTracking.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useRemoteHandTracking.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import {
+  HAND_TRACKING_CAMERA_TIMEOUT_MS,
   HAND_TRACKING_FRAME_HEIGHT,
   HAND_TRACKING_FRAME_WIDTH,
   HAND_TRACKING_JPEG_QUALITY,
@@ -29,6 +30,32 @@ function getBase64Payload(dataUrl: string): string {
   return dataUrl.slice(dataUrl.indexOf(",") + 1);
 }
 
+function getCameraStreamWithTimeout(
+  constraints: MediaStreamConstraints,
+): Promise<MediaStream> {
+  let didTimeout = false;
+  const streamPromise = navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia(constraints);
+
+  const timeoutPromise = new Promise<never>((_, reject) => {
+    window.setTimeout(() => {
+      didTimeout = true;
+      reject(
+        new Error(
+          "Camera request timed out. Restart Arc or check camera permissions for localhost:5173.",
+        ),
+      );
+    }, HAND_TRACKING_CAMERA_TIMEOUT_MS);
+  });
+
+  streamPromise.then((stream) => {
+    if (didTimeout) {
+      stream.getTracks().forEach((track) => track.stop());
+    }
+  });
+
+  return Promise.race([streamPromise, timeoutPromise]);
+}
+
 export function useRemoteHandTracking({
   enabled,
   websocketUrl = getHandTrackingWsUrl(),
@@ -116,13 +143,13 @@ export function useRemoteHandTracking({
 
       setSnapshot({
         hands: [],
-        status: "connecting",
+        status: "requesting_camera",
         serverStatus: null,
         error: null,
       });
 
       try {
-        const stream = await navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia({
+        const stream = await getCameraStreamWithTimeout({
           video: {
             width: HAND_TRACKING_FRAME_WIDTH,
             height: HAND_TRACKING_FRAME_HEIGHT,
@@ -136,12 +163,27 @@ export function useRemoteHandTracking({
           return;
         }
 
+        setSnapshot((current) => ({
+          ...current,
+          status: "starting_camera",
+        }));
+
         const video = document.createElement("video");
         video.muted = true;
         video.playsInline = true;
         video.srcObject = stream;
         await video.play();
 
+        if (cancelled) {
+          stream.getTracks().forEach((track) => track.stop());
+          return;
+        }
+
+        setSnapshot((current) => ({
+          ...current,
+          status: "connecting_server",
+        }));
+
         const canvas = document.createElement("canvas");
         canvas.width = HAND_TRACKING_FRAME_WIDTH;
         canvas.height = HAND_TRACKING_FRAME_HEIGHT;
diff --git a/src/index.css b/src/index.css
index f1c7e4d..14409e0 100644
--- a/src/index.css
+++ b/src/index.css
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 :root {
   color-scheme: dark;
-  font-family: Inter;
+  font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
 }
 
 html,
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ canvas {
 .hand-tracking-overlay {
   position: fixed;
   right: 16px;
-  bottom: 16px;
+  bottom: 132px;
   z-index: 20;
   display: flex;
   flex-direction: column;
diff --git a/src/types/handTracking.ts b/src/types/handTracking.ts
index f3971df..6d7e1e2 100644
--- a/src/types/handTracking.ts
+++ b/src/types/handTracking.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ export interface HandTrackingHand {
 
 export type HandTrackingStatus =
   | "idle"
+  | "requesting_camera"
+  | "starting_camera"
+  | "connecting_server"
   | "connecting"
   | "connected"
   | "disconnected"