diff --git a/packages/desktop/__tests__/laser-view.test.ts b/packages/desktop/__tests__/laser-view.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d13d22
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/desktop/__tests__/laser-view.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+/**
+ * The embedded laser view is the one surface that can silently go black: a load
+ * that fails while the brain restarts leaves a native view with nothing painted
+ * in it, and the renderer has no reason to ask again. These tests pin the
+ * recovery, not the Electron plumbing.
+ */
+const webContents = {
+  isDestroyed: () => false,
+  setWindowOpenHandler: jest.fn(),
+  on: jest.fn(),
+  loadURL: jest.fn<Promise<void>, [string]>()
+};
+const viewInstance = {
+  webContents,
+  setVisible: jest.fn(),
+  setBounds: jest.fn()
+};
+
+jest.mock('electron', () => ({
+  shell: { openExternal: jest.fn() },
+  WebContentsView: jest.fn(() => viewInstance)
+}));
+jest.mock('@/main/brain', () => ({ status: () => ({ project: 'grace' }) }));
+jest.mock('@/main/operator-session', () => ({ embeddedUrl: (url: string) => `${url}#wg_token=t` }));
+jest.mock('@/main/runtime', () => ({
+  runtime: { mainWindow: { isDestroyed: () => false, contentView: { addChildView: jest.fn() } } }
+}));
+
+import { invalidateLaserView, resetLaserView, syncLaser } from '@/main/laser-view';
+
+const URL = 'http://127.0.0.1:3000/';
+const show = (url: string | null = URL) =>
+  syncLaser({ url, bounds: { x: 0, y: 0, width: 100, height: 100 }, visible: url != null });
+
+const flush = () => new Promise((r) => setImmediate(r));
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  // setImmediate stays real so `flush()` can drain the promise queue between
+  // the retry timers this exercises.
+  jest.useFakeTimers({ doNotFake: ['setImmediate'] });
+  resetLaserView();
+  webContents.loadURL.mockReset().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+  viewInstance.setVisible.mockClear();
+});
+
+afterEach(() => jest.useRealTimers());
+
+const visibility = () => viewInstance.setVisible.mock.calls.map(([v]) => v);
+
+it('shows the view only once the page has painted', async () => {
+  let resolveLoad: () => void = () => undefined;
+  webContents.loadURL.mockReturnValueOnce(new Promise<void>((r) => (resolveLoad = r)));
+
+  show();
+  expect(visibility().at(-1)).toBe(false);
+
+  resolveLoad();
+  await flush();
+  expect(visibility().at(-1)).toBe(true);
+});
+
+it('retries a load that failed while the brain was restarting', async () => {
+  webContents.loadURL.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED'));
+
+  show();
+  await flush();
+  expect(visibility().at(-1)).toBe(false);
+
+  jest.advanceTimersByTime(250);
+  await flush();
+  expect(webContents.loadURL).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+  expect(visibility().at(-1)).toBe(true);
+});
+
+it('backs off rather than hammering a brain that is still down', async () => {
+  webContents.loadURL.mockRejectedValue(new Error('down'));
+
+  show();
+  await flush();
+  for (const delay of [250, 500, 1000]) {
+    jest.advanceTimersByTime(delay);
+    await flush();
+  }
+  expect(webContents.loadURL).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(4);
+});
+
+it('stops retrying once the operator leaves the show', async () => {
+  webContents.loadURL.mockRejectedValue(new Error('down'));
+
+  show();
+  await flush();
+  show(null);
+  jest.advanceTimersByTime(5000);
+  await flush();
+  expect(webContents.loadURL).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  expect(visibility().at(-1)).toBe(false);
+});
+
+it('reloads on a project switch, hiding the stale page until the new one paints', async () => {
+  show();
+  await flush();
+  viewInstance.setVisible.mockClear();
+
+  let resolveLoad: () => void = () => undefined;
+  webContents.loadURL.mockReturnValueOnce(new Promise<void>((r) => (resolveLoad = r)));
+  invalidateLaserView();
+  expect(webContents.loadURL).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+
+  resolveLoad();
+  await flush();
+  expect(visibility().at(-1)).toBe(true);
+});
+
+it('does not reload an unchanged url on every sync', async () => {
+  show();
+  await flush();
+  show();
+  show();
+  expect(webContents.loadURL).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+});
diff --git a/packages/desktop/src/main/laser-view.ts b/packages/desktop/src/main/laser-view.ts
index d1a81af..b4ce643 100644
--- a/packages/desktop/src/main/laser-view.ts
+++ b/packages/desktop/src/main/laser-view.ts
@@ -16,28 +16,91 @@ import type { LaserSyncState } from '@/types/ipc';
 export type { LaserSyncState } from '@/types/ipc';
 
 let view: WebContentsView | null = null;
+/** What the renderer wants shown, independent of what has actually loaded. */
+let desiredUrl: string | null = null;
+/** The URL currently loaded (or loading). Null means "nothing usable is up". */
 let loadedUrl: string | null = null;
+/** True once the current load painted; a loading view is a black rectangle. */
+let painted = false;
+let retryTimer: NodeJS.Timeout | null = null;
+let attempts = 0;
+/** Bumped per load so a superseded one (which rejects with ERR_ABORTED) cannot
+ *  report failure for the load that replaced it. */
+let loadSeq = 0;
+
+const MAX_RETRY_MS = 2000;
 
 export function resetLaserView(): void {
+  if (retryTimer) clearTimeout(retryTimer);
+  retryTimer = null;
+  attempts = 0;
+  loadSeq += 1;
   view = null;
+  desiredUrl = null;
   loadedUrl = null;
+  painted = false;
 }
 
 /**
- * Drop the loaded-URL memo so the next sync reloads the page. The brain serves
- * a different project on the same origin after a project switch, so without
- * this the embedded UI keeps rendering the previous project's layout.
+ * A load can fail for a perfectly ordinary reason — the brain is mid-restart,
+ * or a second load aborted this one — and the renderer has no reason to send
+ * another sync afterwards, so nothing would ever ask again and the panel would
+ * stay black until the operator reloaded the app. Retry it here instead.
  */
-export function invalidateLaserView(): void {
-  const previous = loadedUrl;
+function retryLater(url: string): void {
   loadedUrl = null;
-  if (!view || view.webContents.isDestroyed() || !previous) return;
+  painted = false;
+  if (retryTimer || desiredUrl !== url) return;
+  const delay = Math.min(MAX_RETRY_MS, 250 * 2 ** attempts);
+  attempts += 1;
+  retryTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+    retryTimer = null;
+    if (desiredUrl === url) load(url);
+  }, delay);
+}
+
+function load(url: string): void {
+  const v = ensureView();
+  if (!v) return;
+  loadedUrl = url;
+  painted = false;
+  const seq = ++loadSeq;
+  // Carries a session for the active project, so a project switch doesn't
+  // strand the operator on a login screen inside their own app.
+  v.webContents
+    .loadURL(embeddedUrl(url, status().project))
+    .then(() => {
+      if (seq !== loadSeq) return;
+      attempts = 0;
+      painted = true;
+      applyVisibility();
+    })
+    .catch(() => {
+      if (seq === loadSeq) retryLater(url);
+    });
+}
+
+/** Keep the black rectangle of an unpainted view off-screen: until the page has
+ *  loaded the renderer's own empty state is the better thing to look at. */
+function applyVisibility(): void {
+  if (!view || view.webContents.isDestroyed()) return;
+  view.setVisible(Boolean(desiredUrl) && painted);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Reload the embedded UI. The brain serves a different project on the same
+ * origin after a project switch, so without this the embedded UI keeps
+ * rendering the previous project's layout.
+ */
+export function invalidateLaserView(): void {
+  attempts = 0;
+  if (!view || view.webContents.isDestroyed() || !desiredUrl) {
+    loadedUrl = null;
+    return;
+  }
   // Not `reload()`: the UI strips the session token out of the address once it
   // has consumed it, so reloading would land on the new project's login screen.
-  void view.webContents.loadURL(embeddedUrl(previous, status().project)).catch(() => {
-    // Brain restarting — the next sync loads it.
-  });
-  loadedUrl = previous;
+  load(desiredUrl);
 }
 
 function ensureView(): WebContentsView | null {
@@ -53,10 +116,8 @@ function ensureView(): WebContentsView | null {
     void shell.openExternal(url);
     return { action: 'deny' };
   });
-  // A load that failed (brain not listening yet) must not count as loaded, or
-  // the URL gate below would never retry and the panel would stay blank.
-  created.webContents.on('did-fail-load', () => {
-    loadedUrl = null;
+  created.webContents.on('did-fail-load', (_e, _code, _desc, _url, isMainFrame) => {
+    if (isMainFrame && desiredUrl && loadedUrl === desiredUrl) retryLater(desiredUrl);
   });
   win.contentView.addChildView(created);
   view = created;
@@ -67,24 +128,21 @@ function ensureView(): WebContentsView | null {
 export function syncLaser(state: LaserSyncState): void {
   const { url, bounds, visible } = state;
   if (!url || !visible) {
-    if (view && !view.webContents.isDestroyed()) view.setVisible(false);
+    desiredUrl = null;
+    if (retryTimer) clearTimeout(retryTimer);
+    retryTimer = null;
+    applyVisibility();
     return;
   }
+  desiredUrl = url;
   const v = ensureView();
   if (!v) return;
-  if (loadedUrl !== url) {
-    loadedUrl = url;
-    // Carries a session for the active project, so a project switch doesn't
-    // strand the operator on a login screen inside their own app.
-    void v.webContents.loadURL(embeddedUrl(url, status().project)).catch(() => {
-      // Brain not up yet / refused — the renderer shows its own empty state.
-    });
-  }
+  if (loadedUrl !== url) load(url);
   v.setBounds({
     x: Math.round(bounds.x),
     y: Math.round(bounds.y),
     width: Math.round(bounds.width),
     height: Math.round(bounds.height)
   });
-  v.setVisible(true);
+  applyVisibility();
 }