diff --git a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Info.plist b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Info.plist
index dccb57d..d5d5e4b 100644
--- a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Info.plist
+++ b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Info.plist
@@ -20,6 +20,14 @@
 	     target's "Stamp git commit into Info.plist" build phase (git rev-parse --short HEAD). -->
 	<key>NucleicCommit</key>
 	<string></string>
+	<!-- Wake the app in the background for the relay's silent "clear" push, which recalls the
+	     "waiting for your approval" tickle once the approval is resolved on another device
+	     (docs/CLOUD_INFRA.md §3). Without this mode iOS drops the content-available push and the
+	     stale notification lingers until the next launch. -->
+	<key>UIBackgroundModes</key>
+	<array>
+		<string>remote-notification</string>
+	</array>
 	<key>NSSupportsLiveActivities</key>
 	<true/>
 	<!-- Let the Macs' APNs pushes refresh the glance promptly while the phone is locked — without
diff --git a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/LiveActivityManager.swift b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/LiveActivityManager.swift
index 0ed2631..c0564b6 100644
--- a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/LiveActivityManager.swift
+++ b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/LiveActivityManager.swift
@@ -15,6 +15,13 @@ final class LiveActivityManager {
     /// still summarize everything, this just bounds the per-session list.
     private static let maxLines = 3
 
+    /// How long the terminal "all clear / Done" glance lingers before the Activity dismisses. Long
+    /// enough to read at a glance, short enough not to loiter on the lock screen.
+    private static let doneLinger: Duration = .seconds(4)
+    /// The delayed dismissal after the Done glance is shown, cancelled if work resumes first — so a
+    /// completed run flashes "Done" and then clears instead of vanishing the instant it finishes.
+    private var dismissTask: Task<Void, Never>?
+
     private var activity: Activity<NucleicSessionAttributes>?
 
     /// The last content we pushed. Updates that don't change it are skipped so we don't spend
@@ -44,9 +51,13 @@ final class LiveActivityManager {
         let needsYou = live.filter { $0.status.needsYou($0.disposition) }
 
         guard !running.isEmpty || !needsYou.isEmpty else {
-            end()
+            finishWithDoneGlance(hostName: hostName, live: live)
             return
         }
+        // Work is active again — abort any pending "Done" dismissal so the glance doesn't clear
+        // out from under a run that just resumed (or a new one that just started).
+        dismissTask?.cancel()
+        dismissTask = nil
 
         // Everything in flight or waiting on the user, attention-first (approvals, then waiting
         // input, then running), freshest within a rank. This is both the detail-row source and
@@ -76,10 +87,47 @@ final class LiveActivityManager {
         push(state, hostName: hostName)
     }
 
-    /// Apply `state` to the Activity — deduped against the last push and coalesced through one
-    /// serial task so the newest state always wins.
+    /// Nothing is running or waiting. If the glance was showing active work, flash a brief "Done"
+    /// summary of the just-completed sessions and then dismiss (UX_IOS §5.3 — a run should read as
+    /// *finished*, not just vanish). If nothing was on screen, there's nothing to close.
+    private func finishWithDoneGlance(hostName: String, live: [WireSessionSummary]) {
+        // Already flashing "Done" and scheduled to dismiss — let that run rather than restart it.
+        guard dismissTask == nil else { return }
+        // Nothing tracked on screen: only reach into ActivityKit if an untracked orphan is lingering.
+        guard activity != nil else {
+            if !Activity<NucleicSessionAttributes>.activities.isEmpty { end() }
+            return
+        }
+        // The sessions that just finished — completed conversational turns and finished runs. These
+        // are exactly the ones the active-work filter above drops, surfaced now as `.done` rows.
+        let done = live
+            .filter {
+                $0.status == .finished
+                    || ($0.status == .awaitingInput && $0.disposition == .completed)
+            }
+            .sorted(by: StatusStyle.attentionThenRecency)
+            .prefix(Self.maxLines)
+            .map(Self.line(for:))
+        // Nothing to celebrate (e.g. the work was discarded/deleted) → just dismiss.
+        guard !done.isEmpty else { end(); return }
+
+        let state = NucleicSessionAttributes.ContentState(
+            runningCount: 0, needsYouCount: 0, approvalCount: 0,
+            filesChanged: 0, linesAdded: 0, linesRemoved: 0, lines: Array(done))
+        push(state, hostName: hostName)
+        dismissTask = Task { [weak self] in
+            try? await Task.sleep(for: Self.doneLinger)
+            guard !Task.isCancelled else { return }
+            self?.end()
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Apply `state` to the Activity — coalesced through one serial task so the newest state always
+    /// wins, and gated on the attention signature so a mid-turn churn tick (which changes the diff
+    /// totals on every transcript edit but no status) doesn't spend ActivityKit's update budget. The
+    /// fresh churn still rides along on the next status-driven push.
     private func push(_ state: NucleicSessionAttributes.ContentState, hostName: String) {
-        guard state != lastState else { return }
+        guard state.attentionSignature != lastState?.attentionSignature else { return }
         lastState = state
 
         guard let activity else {
@@ -88,6 +136,12 @@ final class LiveActivityManager {
             if let existing = Activity<NucleicSessionAttributes>.activities.first {
                 activity = existing
                 observePushToken(existing)
+                // Dismiss any duplicates so only the adopted Activity renders. iOS stacks multiple
+                // Activities of one type in the Dynamic Island — an orphan (from a prior launch that
+                // was killed before `end()`) then shows *its* stale state in the collapsed pill while
+                // expanding reveals the fresh one, and `end()` on completion would leave it lingering
+                // on the last "needs attention" glance. Keep exactly one.
+                endStrays(keeping: existing.id)
                 enqueue(state)
             } else {
                 // `pushType: .token` opts the activity into APNs updates — the Macs push new
@@ -135,15 +189,35 @@ final class LiveActivityManager {
         updateTask = nil
         tokenObservation?.cancel()
         tokenObservation = nil
+        dismissTask?.cancel()
+        dismissTask = nil
         pendingState = nil
         lastState = nil
-        guard let activity else { return }
+        let tracked = activity
         self.activity = nil
-        onActivityEnded?(activity.id)  // let the Macs stop pushing to this token
+        if let tracked { onActivityEnded?(tracked.id) }  // let the Macs stop pushing to this token
+        // Dismiss the tracked Activity *and any strays*: ending only the one we track would leave an
+        // orphan (from a prior launch killed before `end()`) rendering a stale "needs attention"
+        // glance in the Dynamic Island after the work it described has finished. Clear them all so
+        // "everything idle" can't get stuck on screen.
         Task {
-            await activity.end(
-                ActivityContent(state: activity.content.state, staleDate: nil),
-                dismissalPolicy: .immediate)
+            for activity in Activity<NucleicSessionAttributes>.activities {
+                await activity.end(
+                    ActivityContent(state: activity.content.state, staleDate: nil),
+                    dismissalPolicy: .immediate)
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Dismiss every live Activity except `keep` — collapses accidental duplicates down to one so
+    /// iOS can't render a stale orphan alongside the tracked glance.
+    private func endStrays(keeping keep: String) {
+        for stray in Activity<NucleicSessionAttributes>.activities where stray.id != keep {
+            Task {
+                await stray.end(
+                    ActivityContent(state: stray.content.state, staleDate: nil),
+                    dismissalPolicy: .immediate)
+            }
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Models/HostConnection.swift b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Models/HostConnection.swift
index d3234e9..7d8ce76 100644
--- a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Models/HostConnection.swift
+++ b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Models/HostConnection.swift
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@ final class HostConnection {
     private var eventTask: Task<Void, Never>?
     private var connectTask: Task<Void, Never>?
     private var retryTask: Task<Void, Never>?
+    private var revalidateTask: Task<Void, Never>?
     private var lanConnectTimeout: Task<Void, Never>?
     private var reconnectAttempts = 0
     private var seenSeq: Set<UInt64> = []
@@ -688,6 +689,36 @@ final class HostConnection {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Foreground liveness check — the fast-reconnect path. iOS suspends the app when it's
+    /// backgrounded, which silently kills the socket; but no `.closed`/`.failed` reaches us while
+    /// we're frozen, so this connection can wake still marked `.connected`. Trusting that stale
+    /// state means nothing reconnects until the 55s keepalive deadline (or ~15s TCP keepalive)
+    /// finally notices — the several-second (or worse) stall on return. Instead: if we're already
+    /// not live, re-dial now with no backoff; if we *look* live, actively ping and re-dial the
+    /// instant the link fails to answer within a tight deadline. A pinned host only (a host
+    /// mid-pairing runs its own one-shot chain and has no `pinnedHost`).
+    func revalidate() {
+        guard let host = pinnedHost else { return }
+        guard connectivity.isLive, let client else {
+            reconnectAttempts = 0
+            reconnect(to: host)
+            return
+        }
+        revalidateTask?.cancel()
+        revalidateTask = Task { [weak self] in
+            // A generous bound on a pong round-trip (LAN <10ms, relay <200ms) — only paid in full
+            // when the link is actually dead; a live one answers and exits in ~1 RTT. Kept well
+            // under the follow-on re-dial so the whole dead-link reconnect stays sub-second.
+            let alive = await client.probeAlive(within: .milliseconds(600))
+            guard !Task.isCancelled, let self, self.client === client,
+                  self.connectivity.isLive else { return }
+            if !alive {
+                self.reconnectAttempts = 0
+                self.reconnect(to: host)
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     private func scheduleRetry(host: PairedHost?) {
         guard let host else { return }
         reconnectAttempts += 1
@@ -702,6 +733,7 @@ final class HostConnection {
 
     func teardown() {
         retryTask?.cancel(); retryTask = nil
+        revalidateTask?.cancel(); revalidateTask = nil
         connectTask?.cancel(); connectTask = nil
         connectPlan = nil
         teardownClient()
diff --git a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Models/RemoteStore.swift b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Models/RemoteStore.swift
index 8260c82..297536e 100644
--- a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Models/RemoteStore.swift
+++ b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Models/RemoteStore.swift
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ import Network
 import SwiftUI
 import NucleicProtocol
 import NucleicTailnet
+#if canImport(UIKit)
+import UIKit
+#endif
 
 /// On the phone there's no app-side `SessionSummary` view-model to collide with, so the wire
 /// type *is* the model. Alias it under the host's name so the shared vocabulary reads the same.
@@ -73,6 +76,19 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
     private var openSessionHostID: String?
     @Published private(set) var openEvents: [AgentEvent] = []
     @Published private(set) var openApprovals: [ApprovalRequest] = []
+
+    /// The open session is blocked on an approval whose details haven't arrived yet — the state
+    /// right after opening from a Live Activity or notification while the channel is still
+    /// (re)connecting. The summary says `.awaitingApproval`, but `openApprovals` (which is filled
+    /// from the live snapshot) is empty because there's no live channel yet. Drives a lightweight
+    /// "loading approval" placeholder so a tap from the lock screen lands on the request-in-progress
+    /// instead of a blank transcript; it flips off the instant the real card arrives (sub-second,
+    /// thanks to the fast foreground reconnect). Never shown once live — then the snapshot is truth.
+    var openApprovalLoading: Bool {
+        guard !connectivity.isLive, openApprovals.isEmpty, let id = openSessionID,
+              let summary = sessions.first(where: { $0.sessionID == id }) else { return false }
+        return summary.status == .awaitingApproval || summary.pendingApprovalCount > 0
+    }
     /// Whether the compact (iPhone) Sessions tab currently has a session detail pushed. Distinct
     /// from `openSessionID`, which is the *data* subscription and is only torn down on the detail's
     /// `onDisappear` — and SwiftUI fires that at the *end* of the pop transition, so keying the
@@ -317,12 +333,48 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
     }
 
     /// Returning to the foreground: the network may have changed while the app was suspended (and
-    /// path/keepalive callbacks were frozen). Re-read the path and re-dial anything not live so the
-    /// transport is correct by the time the UI is on screen, rather than after a backoff.
+    /// path/keepalive callbacks were frozen). Re-read the path, re-dial anything not live, then
+    /// actively revalidate the connections that still *look* live — a socket the OS killed while we
+    /// were suspended wakes marked `.connected`, and trusting that would stall the reconnect until
+    /// the 55s keepalive deadline. `revalidate` pings each such link and re-dials the instant it
+    /// fails to answer, so the transport is correct (and fast) by the time the UI is on screen.
     func onForeground() {
+        endBackgroundHold()
         guard !demoMode, isPaired else { return }
         pathMonitor.refresh()
+        // Ensure a connection exists for every paired host (and drop unpaired); this re-dials the
+        // ones already known to be offline.
         reconnect()
+        // The zombies from suspension still read `.connected` — probe and re-dial the dead ones.
+        for conn in connections.values where conn.connectivity.isLive { conn.revalidate() }
+    }
+
+    #if canImport(UIKit)
+    /// Held while backgrounded so iOS keeps the process (and thus the live sockets + 20s keepalive)
+    /// running for its short grant, instead of suspending us the moment we background.
+    private var backgroundTask: UIBackgroundTaskIdentifier = .invalid
+    #endif
+
+    /// Entering the background: ask iOS to keep us running briefly so a quick app-switch (glance at
+    /// another app, tap a Live Activity, answer a banner) doesn't tear the connection down and force
+    /// a cold reconnect on return. The grant is short (~30s) and best-effort; once it lapses the OS
+    /// suspends us and the socket dies, which the next `onForeground` revalidation reconnects fast.
+    func onBackground() {
+        guard !demoMode else { return }
+        #if canImport(UIKit)
+        endBackgroundHold()
+        backgroundTask = UIApplication.shared.beginBackgroundTask(withName: "nucleic.sync.hold") {
+            [weak self] in self?.endBackgroundHold()
+        }
+        #endif
+    }
+
+    private func endBackgroundHold() {
+        #if canImport(UIKit)
+        guard backgroundTask != .invalid else { return }
+        UIApplication.shared.endBackgroundTask(backgroundTask)
+        backgroundTask = .invalid
+        #endif
     }
 
     private func seedDemo() {
@@ -721,6 +773,17 @@ final class RemoteStore: ObservableObject {
     /// Activity summary. `sessions`/`liveSessions` are already the merged aggregate.
     private func refreshAggregate() {
         NotificationRouter.shared.updateBadge(needsYouCount)
+        // When no session is blocked on an approval anymore, recall the "waiting for your approval"
+        // wake tickle a prior push may have left on the lock screen. Complements the relay's silent
+        // clear (which covers phones that were away): this catches the phone that saw the tickle and
+        // then connected, so the resolution arrives as a broadcast rather than a push. Idempotent —
+        // a no-op when the tickle isn't there. Per-approval locals are withdrawn as each resolves.
+        let approvalsPending = liveSessions.contains {
+            $0.pendingApprovalCount > 0 || $0.status == .awaitingApproval
+        }
+        if !approvalsPending {
+            NotificationRouter.shared.withdrawApprovalAttention()
+        }
         LiveActivityManager.shared.sync(hostName: hostName, sessions: liveSessions)
     }
 
diff --git a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Notifications.swift b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Notifications.swift
index c12a4b5..fb2d0dc 100644
--- a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Notifications.swift
+++ b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Notifications.swift
@@ -20,6 +20,12 @@ final class NotificationRouter: NSObject {
     /// The store notifications act on; set once at app start.
     weak var store: RemoteStore?
 
+    /// The delivered identifier of the remote wake tickle ("A session is waiting for your
+    /// approval"). A remote notification's identifier equals its `apns-collapse-id`, so this must
+    /// match the relay's `APPROVAL_COLLAPSE_ID` (cloud/nucleic-edge/src/apns.ts) for the recall to
+    /// target the right notification.
+    static let approvalTickleIdentifier = "approval-pending"
+
     // Category / action identifiers (also referenced from the notification service side).
     static let approvalCategory = "NUCLEIC_APPROVAL"
     static let approvalActionableCategory = "NUCLEIC_APPROVAL_ACTIONABLE"
@@ -102,6 +108,23 @@ final class NotificationRouter: NSObject {
         center.removePendingNotificationRequests(withIdentifiers: [identifier])
     }
 
+    /// Recall the shared "waiting for your approval" attention notification once nothing is pending
+    /// anywhere. This is the remote wake tickle (delivered under `approvalTickleIdentifier`) that a
+    /// prior push left on the lock screen — the counterpart to the per-approval `withdrawApproval`.
+    /// Arrives two ways: the relay's silent `clear` push (phone was away), or the store's own
+    /// reconcile when a live socket sees the last approval resolve. Also sweeps any per-approval
+    /// locals a live socket posted but hasn't individually withdrawn, so the lock screen ends clean.
+    func withdrawApprovalAttention() {
+        let center = UNUserNotificationCenter.current()
+        center.removeDeliveredNotifications(withIdentifiers: [Self.approvalTickleIdentifier])
+        center.removePendingNotificationRequests(withIdentifiers: [Self.approvalTickleIdentifier])
+        center.getDeliveredNotifications { delivered in
+            let stale = delivered.map(\.request.identifier).filter { $0.hasPrefix("approval-") }
+            guard !stale.isEmpty else { return }
+            UNUserNotificationCenter.current().removeDeliveredNotifications(withIdentifiers: stale)
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Keep the app-icon badge equal to the NEEDS YOU count (UX_IOS §8).
     func updateBadge(_ count: Int) {
         UNUserNotificationCenter.current().setBadgeCount(count)
diff --git a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemoteApp.swift b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemoteApp.swift
index 3546d9a..0337176 100644
--- a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemoteApp.swift
+++ b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemoteApp.swift
@@ -31,11 +31,18 @@ struct NucleicRemoteApp: App {
                 // activity flag current so it only notifies for background transitions.
                 .onChange(of: scenePhase) { _, phase in
                     store.setScenePhaseActive(phase == .active)
-                    if phase == .active {
+                    switch phase {
+                    case .active:
                         // Re-plan transports immediately on foreground — the network may have
                         // changed while suspended, so don't wait for a dead socket to notice.
                         store.onForeground()
                         Task { await HeartbeatReporter.reportIfDue() }
+                    case .background:
+                        // Hold the process (and its live sockets) briefly so a quick app-switch
+                        // doesn't drop the connection and force a cold reconnect on return.
+                        store.onBackground()
+                    default:
+                        break
                     }
                 }
         }
diff --git a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/PushRegistrar.swift b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/PushRegistrar.swift
index e2b1b32..0f0b7b5 100644
--- a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/PushRegistrar.swift
+++ b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/PushRegistrar.swift
@@ -45,4 +45,21 @@ final class PushAppDelegate: NSObject, UIApplicationDelegate {
     ) {
         // Best-effort: no token → the phone still works on LAN, just no remote wake.
     }
+
+    /// Silent pushes. The relay sends a content-free `clear` (content-available) to recall the
+    /// "waiting for your approval" tickle once the approval is resolved on another device — we
+    /// wake in the background just long enough to withdraw the stale notification. Other silent
+    /// pushes (e.g. the wake tickle itself, which is an alert) don't route here.
+    func application(
+        _ application: UIApplication,
+        didReceiveRemoteNotification userInfo: [AnyHashable: Any],
+        fetchCompletionHandler completionHandler: @escaping (UIBackgroundFetchResult) -> Void
+    ) {
+        if userInfo["clear"] != nil {
+            // Fire-and-forget on the main actor (NotificationRouter is @MainActor); the removal is a
+            // quick UNUserNotificationCenter call, so we can report .noData right away.
+            Task { @MainActor in NotificationRouter.shared.withdrawApprovalAttention() }
+        }
+        completionHandler(.noData)
+    }
 }
diff --git a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/SessionDetailView.swift b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/SessionDetailView.swift
index 7bbcefd..8247caf 100644
--- a/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/SessionDetailView.swift
+++ b/NucleicRemote/NucleicRemote/Views/SessionDetailView.swift
@@ -310,6 +310,12 @@ struct SessionDetailView: View {
                 } else {
                     ApprovalCardView(approval: approval, availableHeight: availableHeight)
                 }
+            } else if store.openApprovalLoading {
+                // Opened from a Live Activity / notification for a session blocked on approval, but
+                // the channel is still (re)connecting — bridge the gap with a placeholder so the tap
+                // lands on the request-in-progress, not a blank transcript. Replaced by the real
+                // ApprovalCardView the instant the snapshot arrives (sub-second reconnect).
+                approvalLoadingCard
             } else if let status = summary?.status {
                 let running = status == .running
                 let canCompose = running || status == .awaitingInput || status.isTerminal
@@ -369,6 +375,28 @@ struct SessionDetailView: View {
         }
     }
 
+    /// The placeholder shown while an approval's details are still loading — mirrors the approval
+    /// card's frame (orange warning header, glass surface) so the real `ApprovalCardView` swaps in
+    /// without a jump. Non-actionable: the real approval id isn't known yet, so there's nothing to
+    /// Allow/Deny until the snapshot lands.
+    private var approvalLoadingCard: some View {
+        VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 10) {
+            HStack(spacing: 6) {
+                Image(systemName: "exclamationmark.triangle.fill").foregroundStyle(.orange)
+                Text("Permission requested").font(.subheadline.weight(.semibold))
+            }
+            HStack(spacing: 8) {
+                ProgressView().controlSize(.small)
+                Text("Connecting to your Mac to load this approval…")
+                    .font(.footnote).foregroundStyle(.secondary)
+                Spacer(minLength: 0)
+            }
+        }
+        .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: .leading)
+        .padding(.horizontal, 14).padding(.vertical, 12)
+        .glassSurface(cornerRadius: 26)
+    }
+
     /// A queued follow-up shown above the composer: its text (or attachment names) with the
     /// attachments as chips, and — at control scope — a ✕ that cancels just this message.
     @ViewBuilder
diff --git a/NucleicRemote/Shared/SessionActivityAttributes.swift b/NucleicRemote/Shared/SessionActivityAttributes.swift
index 281d720..9809710 100644
--- a/NucleicRemote/Shared/SessionActivityAttributes.swift
+++ b/NucleicRemote/Shared/SessionActivityAttributes.swift
@@ -64,6 +64,19 @@ struct NucleicSessionAttributes: ActivityAttributes {
         /// The most urgent sessions, attention-first (capped, typically ≤3): the detail rows.
         var lines: [SessionLine]
 
+        /// The attention-bearing fingerprint of the glance: the headline counts plus each row's
+        /// identity and `kind`. Deliberately EXCLUDES the mid-turn churn (files/±lines and the
+        /// churn-derived detail), which ticks on every transcript edit while the agent works.
+        /// `LiveActivityManager` gates its `activity.update` on this so the glance refreshes on a
+        /// status change — a session starting, finishing, needing approval/input — not on every diff
+        /// delta mid-turn (which would burn ActivityKit's update budget for an illegible number).
+        /// Mirrors the host's `LiveActivitySnapshot.attentionSignature`.
+        var attentionSignature: [String] {
+            var parts = ["run:\(runningCount)", "need:\(needsYouCount)", "appr:\(approvalCount)"]
+            parts.append(contentsOf: lines.map { "\($0.id):\($0.kind.rawValue)" })
+            return parts
+        }
+
         /// The single most urgent session (drives the compact/minimal regions).
         var top: SessionLine? { lines.first }
         /// Whether anything needs the user (waiting session or a pending approval).