diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6fef68f2..686a4095 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/).
   used to render issue and pull request bodies.
 - Update bundled JavaScript dependencies to close the remaining high-severity
   advisories (dompurify, js-yaml, nanoid).
+- Show the message of the dashboard widget again, `NcEmptyContent` no longer has the
+  `title` prop it was passed in.
+- Ask users who did not connect a GitHub account to connect one in the dashboard widget,
+  instead of reporting an error and requesting the GitHub API without a token.
 
 ## 3.2.7 - 2026-08-18
 
diff --git a/lib/Controller/GithubAPIController.php b/lib/Controller/GithubAPIController.php
index 4bdf38b5..0e7d8a34 100644
--- a/lib/Controller/GithubAPIController.php
+++ b/lib/Controller/GithubAPIController.php
@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@ public function __construct(
 	 */
 	#[NoAdminRequired]
 	public function getNotifications(?string $since = null): DataResponse {
+		if (!$this->githubAPIService->isUserConnected($this->userId)) {
+			// the dashboard widget shows its "connect" prompt on 400
+			return new DataResponse([], Http::STATUS_BAD_REQUEST);
+		}
 		$result = $this->githubAPIService->getNotifications($this->userId, false, $since);
 		if (isset($result['error'])) {
 			$response = new DataResponse($result['error'], 401);
diff --git a/lib/Service/GithubAPIService.php b/lib/Service/GithubAPIService.php
index 12fc98b0..064c235b 100644
--- a/lib/Service/GithubAPIService.php
+++ b/lib/Service/GithubAPIService.php
@@ -45,6 +45,13 @@ public function __construct(
 		$this->client = $clientService->newClient();
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Whether the user connected a GitHub account, with OAuth or with a personal access token
+	 */
+	public function isUserConnected(string $userId): bool {
+		return $this->secretService->getEncryptedUserValue($userId, 'token') !== '';
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Request an avatar image
 	 * @param string $userId
diff --git a/src/views/Dashboard.vue b/src/views/Dashboard.vue
index 9bf81937..a2bc5f8e 100644
--- a/src/views/Dashboard.vue
+++ b/src/views/Dashboard.vue
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 		@markRead="onMarkRead">
 		<template #empty-content>
 			<NcEmptyContent v-if="emptyContentMessage"
-				:title="emptyContentMessage">
+				:name="emptyContentMessage">
 				<template #icon>
 					<component :is="emptyContentIcon" />
 				</template>
@@ -89,7 +89,6 @@ export default {
 			loop: null,
 			state: 'loading',
 			settingsUrl: generateUrl('/settings/user/connected-accounts'),
-			darkThemeColor: OCA.Accessibility?.theme === 'dark' ? '181818' : 'ffffff',
 			itemMenu: {
 				markRead: {
 					text: t('integration_github', 'Mark as read'),
diff --git a/tests/unit/Controller/GithubAPIControllerTest.php b/tests/unit/Controller/GithubAPIControllerTest.php
index 7f7ab0a0..71923210 100644
--- a/tests/unit/Controller/GithubAPIControllerTest.php
+++ b/tests/unit/Controller/GithubAPIControllerTest.php
@@ -105,6 +105,15 @@ public function testGetNotifications(): void {
 		$this->assertEquals($correctResult, $result->getData());
 	}
 
+	public function testGetNotificationsWithoutAGithubAccount(): void {
+		\OC::$server->get(IConfig::class)->deleteUserValue(self::TEST_USER1, self::APP_NAME, 'token');
+		$this->iClient->expects($this->never())->method('get');
+
+		$result = $this->githubApiController->getNotifications();
+
+		$this->assertEquals(400, $result->getStatus());
+	}
+
 	public function testUnsubscribeNotification(): void {
 		$id = 12345;