diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/home.cc b/selfdrive/ui/qt/home.cc
index 71be002e..c51414f3 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/home.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/home.cc
@@ -61,7 +61,6 @@ void HomeWindow::mousePressEvent(QMouseEvent* e) {
   }
 }
 
-
 // OffroadHome: the offroad home page
 
 OffroadHome::OffroadHome(QWidget* parent) : QFrame(parent) {
@@ -99,7 +98,6 @@ OffroadHome::OffroadHome(QWidget* parent) : QFrame(parent) {
   statsAndSetup->addWidget(drive);
 
   SetupWidget* setup = new SetupWidget;
-  //setup->setFixedSize(700, 700);
   statsAndSetup->addWidget(setup);
 
   QWidget* statsAndSetupWidget = new QWidget();
@@ -117,7 +115,6 @@ OffroadHome::OffroadHome(QWidget* parent) : QFrame(parent) {
   // set up refresh timer
   timer = new QTimer(this);
   QObject::connect(timer, &QTimer::timeout, this, &OffroadHome::refresh);
-  refresh();
   timer->start(10 * 1000);
 
   setLayout(main_layout);
@@ -131,6 +128,10 @@ OffroadHome::OffroadHome(QWidget* parent) : QFrame(parent) {
   )");
 }
 
+void OffroadHome::showEvent(QShowEvent *event) {
+  refresh();
+}
+
 void OffroadHome::openAlerts() {
   center_layout->setCurrentIndex(1);
 }
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/home.h b/selfdrive/ui/qt/home.h
index f2fbf3e9..3e89386b 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/home.h
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/home.h
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ class OffroadHome : public QFrame {
 public:
   explicit OffroadHome(QWidget* parent = 0);
 
+protected:
+  void showEvent(QShowEvent *event) override;
+
 private:
   QTimer* timer;
 
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/onboarding.cc b/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/onboarding.cc
index 23b0f31d..c6d6166f 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/onboarding.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/onboarding.cc
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 #include <QLabel>
 #include <QPainter>
 #include <QVBoxLayout>
-#include <QQuickWidget>
-#include <QQmlContext>
 #include <QDesktopWidget>
+#include <QQmlContext>
+#include <QQuickWidget>
 
 #include "common/params.h"
 #include "onboarding.h"
@@ -50,7 +50,12 @@ void TrainingGuide::paintEvent(QPaintEvent *event) {
   imageCorner = rect.topLeft();
 }
 
-TermsPage::TermsPage(QWidget *parent) : QFrame(parent){
+void TermsPage::showEvent(QShowEvent *event) {
+  // late init, building QML widget takes 200ms
+  if (layout()) {
+    return;
+  }
+
   QVBoxLayout *main_layout = new QVBoxLayout;
   main_layout->setMargin(40);
   main_layout->setSpacing(40);
@@ -61,15 +66,17 @@ TermsPage::TermsPage(QWidget *parent) : QFrame(parent){
   text->setAttribute(Qt::WA_AlwaysStackOnTop);
   text->setClearColor(Qt::transparent);
 
-  text->rootContext()->setContextProperty("font_size", 55);
-
   QString text_view = util::read_file("../assets/offroad/tc.html").c_str();
   text->rootContext()->setContextProperty("text_view", text_view);
+  text->rootContext()->setContextProperty("font_size", 55);
 
   text->setSource(QUrl::fromLocalFile("qt/offroad/text_view.qml"));
 
   main_layout->addWidget(text);
 
+  QObject *obj = (QObject*)text->rootObject();
+  QObject::connect(obj, SIGNAL(qmlSignal()), SLOT(enableAccept()));
+
   // TODO: add decline page
   QHBoxLayout* buttons = new QHBoxLayout;
   main_layout->addLayout(buttons);
@@ -82,15 +89,11 @@ TermsPage::TermsPage(QWidget *parent) : QFrame(parent){
   buttons->addWidget(accept_btn);
   QObject::connect(accept_btn, &QPushButton::released, this, &TermsPage::acceptedTerms);
 
-  QObject *obj = (QObject*)text->rootObject();
-  QObject::connect(obj, SIGNAL(qmlSignal()), SLOT(enableAccept()));
   setLayout(main_layout);
   setStyleSheet(R"(
-    * {
-      font-size: 50px;
-    }
     QPushButton {
       padding: 50px;
+      font-size: 50px;
       border-radius: 10px;
       background-color: #292929;
     }
@@ -136,7 +139,6 @@ OnboardingWindow::OnboardingWindow(QWidget *parent) : QStackedWidget(parent) {
   });
   addWidget(tr);
 
-
   setStyleSheet(R"(
     * {
       color: white;
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/onboarding.h b/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/onboarding.h
index 227090fd..30bae2ea 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/onboarding.h
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/onboarding.h
@@ -57,7 +57,10 @@ class TermsPage : public QFrame {
   Q_OBJECT
 
 public:
-  explicit TermsPage(QWidget *parent = 0);
+  explicit TermsPage(QWidget *parent = 0) : QFrame(parent) {};
+
+protected:
+  void showEvent(QShowEvent *event) override;
 
 private:
   QPushButton *accept_btn;
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/settings.cc b/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/settings.cc
index e1a8913d..f0b61919 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/settings.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/settings.cc
@@ -263,7 +263,13 @@ QWidget * network_panel(QWidget * parent) {
   return w;
 }
 
-SettingsWindow::SettingsWindow(QWidget *parent) : QFrame(parent) {
+void SettingsWindow::showEvent(QShowEvent *event) {
+  if (layout()) {
+    panel_widget->setCurrentIndex(0);
+    nav_btns->buttons()[0]->setChecked(true);
+    return;
+  }
+
   // setup two main layouts
   QVBoxLayout *sidebar_layout = new QVBoxLayout();
   sidebar_layout->setMargin(0);
@@ -366,9 +372,3 @@ void SettingsWindow::hideEvent(QHideEvent *event){
     }
   }
 }
-
-void SettingsWindow::showEvent(QShowEvent *event){
-  panel_widget->setCurrentIndex(0);
-  nav_btns->buttons()[0]->setChecked(true);
-}
-
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/settings.h b/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/settings.h
index 34447829..1b5e78ba 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/settings.h
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/offroad/settings.h
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ class SettingsWindow : public QFrame {
   Q_OBJECT
 
 public:
-  explicit SettingsWindow(QWidget *parent = 0);
+  explicit SettingsWindow(QWidget *parent = 0) : QFrame(parent) {};
 
 protected:
   void hideEvent(QHideEvent *event);
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/drive_stats.cc b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/drive_stats.cc
index 2d7debb2..65064ea1 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/drive_stats.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/drive_stats.cc
@@ -35,35 +35,35 @@ void DriveStats::parseResponse(const QString& response) {
     labels.hours->setText(QString::number((int)(obj["minutes"].toDouble() / 60)));
   };
 
-  bool metric = Params().getBool("IsMetric");
   QJsonObject json = doc.object();
   update(json["all"].toObject(), all_, metric);
   update(json["week"].toObject(), week_, metric);
 }
 
 DriveStats::DriveStats(QWidget* parent) : QWidget(parent) {
-  setStyleSheet("QLabel {font-size: 48px; font-weight: 500;}");
+  metric = Params().getBool("IsMetric");
+  QString distance_unit = metric ? "KM" : "MILES";
 
-  auto add_stats_layouts = [&](QGridLayout* gl, StatsLabels& labels, int row, const char* distance_unit) {
+  auto add_stats_layouts = [&](QGridLayout* gl, StatsLabels& labels, int row, const QString &distance_unit) {
     gl->addLayout(build_stat_layout(&labels.routes, "DRIVES"), row, 0, 3, 1);
     gl->addLayout(build_stat_layout(&labels.distance, distance_unit), row, 1, 3, 1);
     gl->addLayout(build_stat_layout(&labels.hours, "HOURS"), row, 2, 3, 1);
   };
 
-  const char* distance_unit = Params().getBool("IsMetric") ? "KM" : "MILES";
-  QGridLayout* gl = new QGridLayout();
+  QGridLayout* gl = new QGridLayout(this);
   gl->setMargin(0);
+
   gl->addWidget(new QLabel("ALL TIME"), 0, 0, 1, 3);
   add_stats_layouts(gl, all_, 1, distance_unit);
+
   gl->addWidget(new QLabel("PAST WEEK"), 6, 0, 1, 3);
   add_stats_layouts(gl, week_, 7, distance_unit);
 
-  QVBoxLayout* vlayout = new QVBoxLayout(this);
-  vlayout->addLayout(gl);
-
-  // TODO: do we really need to update this frequently?
   QString dongleId = QString::fromStdString(Params().get("DongleId"));
   QString url = "https://api.commadotai.com/v1.1/devices/" + dongleId + "/stats";
-  RequestRepeater *repeater = new RequestRepeater(this, url, "ApiCache_DriveStats", 13);
+  RequestRepeater *repeater = new RequestRepeater(this, url, "ApiCache_DriveStats", 30);
   QObject::connect(repeater, &RequestRepeater::receivedResponse, this, &DriveStats::parseResponse);
+
+  setLayout(gl);
+  setStyleSheet(R"(QLabel {font-size: 48px; font-weight: 500;})");
 }
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/drive_stats.h b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/drive_stats.h
index d90e296b..deeb80f6 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/drive_stats.h
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/drive_stats.h
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ public:
   explicit DriveStats(QWidget* parent = 0);
 
 private:
+  bool metric;
   struct StatsLabels {
     QLabel *routes, *distance, *hours;
   } all_, week_;
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/offroad_alerts.cc b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/offroad_alerts.cc
index e395d1cf..a67918e1 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/offroad_alerts.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/offroad_alerts.cc
@@ -8,34 +8,18 @@
 #include "selfdrive/common/util.h"
 
 OffroadAlert::OffroadAlert(QWidget* parent) : QFrame(parent) {
-  QVBoxLayout *layout = new QVBoxLayout();
+  QVBoxLayout *layout = new QVBoxLayout;
   layout->setMargin(50);
   layout->setSpacing(30);
 
-  QWidget *alerts_widget = new QWidget;
-  QVBoxLayout *alerts_layout = new QVBoxLayout;
+  QWidget *alerts_widget = new QWidget(this);
+  alerts_layout = new QVBoxLayout;
   alerts_layout->setMargin(0);
   alerts_layout->setSpacing(30);
+  alerts_layout->addStretch(1);
   alerts_widget->setLayout(alerts_layout);
   alerts_widget->setStyleSheet("background-color: transparent;");
 
-  // setup labels for each alert
-  QString json = QString::fromStdString(util::read_file("../controls/lib/alerts_offroad.json"));
-  QJsonObject obj = QJsonDocument::fromJson(json.toUtf8()).object();
-  for (auto &k : obj.keys()) {
-    QLabel *l = new QLabel(this);
-    alerts[k.toStdString()] = l;
-    int severity = obj[k].toObject()["severity"].toInt();
-
-    l->setMargin(60);
-    l->setWordWrap(true);
-    l->setStyleSheet("background-color: " + QString(severity ? "#E22C2C" : "#292929"));
-    l->setVisible(false);
-    alerts_layout->addWidget(l);
-  }
-
-  alerts_layout->addStretch(1);
-
   // release notes
   releaseNotes.setWordWrap(true);
   releaseNotes.setVisible(false);
@@ -80,10 +64,26 @@ OffroadAlert::OffroadAlert(QWidget* parent) : QFrame(parent) {
       background-color: white;
     }
   )");
-
 }
 
 void OffroadAlert::refresh() {
+  if (alerts.empty()) {
+    // setup labels for each alert
+    QString json = QString::fromStdString(util::read_file("../controls/lib/alerts_offroad.json"));
+    QJsonObject obj = QJsonDocument::fromJson(json.toUtf8()).object();
+    for (auto &k : obj.keys()) {
+      QLabel *l = new QLabel(this);
+      alerts[k.toStdString()] = l;
+      int severity = obj[k].toObject()["severity"].toInt();
+
+      l->setMargin(60);
+      l->setWordWrap(true);
+      l->setStyleSheet("background-color: " + QString(severity ? "#E22C2C" : "#292929"));
+      l->setVisible(false);
+      alerts_layout->addWidget(l);
+    }
+  }
+
   updateAlerts();
 
   rebootBtn.setVisible(updateAvailable);
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/offroad_alerts.h b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/offroad_alerts.h
index ae6c03b3..871f7197 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/offroad_alerts.h
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/offroad_alerts.h
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 #include <QFrame>
 #include <QPushButton>
 #include <QLabel>
+#include <QVBoxLayout>
 
 #include "common/params.h"
 #include "widgets/scrollview.h"
@@ -17,14 +18,16 @@ public:
   bool updateAvailable;
 
 private:
-  Params params;
-  QLabel releaseNotes;
-  std::map<std::string, QLabel*> alerts;
-  QPushButton rebootBtn;
   void updateAlerts();
 
-  ScrollView *releaseNotesScroll;
+  Params params;
+  std::map<std::string, QLabel*> alerts;
+
+  QLabel releaseNotes;
+  QPushButton rebootBtn;
   ScrollView *alertsScroll;
+  ScrollView *releaseNotesScroll;
+  QVBoxLayout *alerts_layout;
 
 signals:
   void closeAlerts();
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/setup.cc b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/setup.cc
index 342c2ff4..c15301f5 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/setup.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/setup.cc
@@ -24,12 +24,16 @@ PairingQRWidget::PairingQRWidget(QWidget* parent) : QWidget(parent) {
   QTimer* timer = new QTimer(this);
   timer->start(30 * 1000);
   connect(timer, &QTimer::timeout, this, &PairingQRWidget::refresh);
-  refresh(); // don't wait for the first refresh
+}
+
+void PairingQRWidget::showEvent(QShowEvent *event){
+  refresh();
 }
 
 void PairingQRWidget::refresh(){
-  QString IMEI = QString::fromStdString(Params().get("IMEI"));
-  QString serial = QString::fromStdString(Params().get("HardwareSerial"));
+  Params params;
+  QString IMEI = QString::fromStdString(params.get("IMEI"));
+  QString serial = QString::fromStdString(params.get("HardwareSerial"));
 
   if (std::min(IMEI.length(), serial.length()) <= 5) {
     qrCode->setText("Error getting serial: contact support");
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/setup.h b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/setup.h
index 5259d92e..83a41530 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/setup.h
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/setup.h
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ public:
 private:
   QLabel* qrCode;
   void updateQrCode(QString text);
+  void showEvent(QShowEvent *event);
 
 private slots:
   void refresh();
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/ssh_keys.cc b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/ssh_keys.cc
index 42f77c47..f118fafd 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/ssh_keys.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/ssh_keys.cc
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ SshControl::SshControl() : AbstractControl("SSH Keys", "Warning: This grants SSH
         getUserKeys(username);
       }
     } else {
-      Params().remove("GithubUsername");
-      Params().remove("GithubSshKeys");
+      params.remove("GithubUsername");
+      params.remove("GithubSshKeys");
       refresh();
     }
   });
@@ -51,9 +51,9 @@ SshControl::SshControl() : AbstractControl("SSH Keys", "Warning: This grants SSH
 }
 
 void SshControl::refresh() {
-  QString param = QString::fromStdString(Params().get("GithubSshKeys"));
+  QString param = QString::fromStdString(params.get("GithubSshKeys"));
   if (param.length()) {
-    username_label.setText(QString::fromStdString(Params().get("GithubUsername")));
+    username_label.setText(QString::fromStdString(params.get("GithubUsername")));
     btn.setText("REMOVE");
   } else {
     username_label.setText("");
@@ -82,8 +82,8 @@ void SshControl::parseResponse(){
     networkTimer->stop();
     QString response = reply->readAll();
     if (reply->error() == QNetworkReply::NoError && response.length()) {
-      Params().put("GithubUsername", username.toStdString());
-      Params().put("GithubSshKeys", response.toStdString());
+      params.put("GithubUsername", username.toStdString());
+      params.put("GithubSshKeys", response.toStdString());
     } else if(reply->error() == QNetworkReply::NoError){
       err = "Username '" + username + "' has no keys on GitHub";
     } else {
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/ssh_keys.h b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/ssh_keys.h
index 04eba835..bae98af1 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/ssh_keys.h
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/ssh_keys.h
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ public:
   SshControl();
 
 private:
+  Params params;
+
   QPushButton btn;
   QString username;
   QLabel username_label;