diff --git a/piker/ui/_axes.py b/piker/ui/_axes.py
index 4d197f5a..b6fb9281 100644
--- a/piker/ui/_axes.py
+++ b/piker/ui/_axes.py
@@ -306,7 +306,10 @@ class DynamicDateAxis(Axis):
         times = array['time']
         i_0, i_l = times[0], times[-1]
 
+        # edge cases
         if (
+            not indexes
+            or
             (indexes[0] < i_0
              and indexes[-1] < i_l)
             or