diff --git a/Flipcash/Core/AppDelegate.swift b/Flipcash/Core/AppDelegate.swift
index e733640cf..182616a7f 100644
--- a/Flipcash/Core/AppDelegate.swift
+++ b/Flipcash/Core/AppDelegate.swift
@@ -134,6 +134,7 @@ class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate {
         case .background:
             logger.info("scenePhase → background")
             sessionContainer?.session.didEnterBackground()
+            sessionContainer?.conversationController.handleBackground()
             container.preferences.appDidEnterBackground()
             sessionContainer?.pushController.clearBadgeCount()
             shutDownForBackground()
diff --git a/Flipcash/Core/Controllers/ConversationController.swift b/Flipcash/Core/Controllers/ConversationController.swift
index cd73bdbd3..53ee0c450 100644
--- a/Flipcash/Core/Controllers/ConversationController.swift
+++ b/Flipcash/Core/Controllers/ConversationController.swift
@@ -265,6 +265,9 @@ final class ConversationController {
     @ObservationIgnored private var startTask: Task<Void, Never>?
     /// The feed load in flight, joined by every caller that arrives before it finishes.
     @ObservationIgnored private var feedLoadTask: Task<Void, Never>?
+    /// Whether the app was backgrounded while `feedLoadTask` was in flight. Its requests went out
+    /// before suspension, so it answers with what the server held then.
+    @ObservationIgnored private var feedLoadInterrupted = false
     /// How long a reconcile waits for the slowest feed, and for unread counts, before applying what landed.
     @ObservationIgnored private let reconcileTiming: FeedReconcileTiming
     /// The transcript fetches waiting to run, shared by every feed load.
@@ -627,7 +630,25 @@ final class ConversationController {
     func handleForeground() {
         reloadFromDatabase()
         catchUpOpenChat()
-        Task { await loadFeed() }
+        // Joining a load that was in flight across a suspension would leave the feed as it was
+        // before the app went away, so wait that one out and fetch again.
+        let interrupted = feedLoadInterrupted ? feedLoadTask : nil
+        feedLoadInterrupted = false
+        Task {
+            if let interrupted {
+                await interrupted.value
+                if feedLoadTask == interrupted {
+                    feedLoadTask = nil
+                }
+            }
+            await loadFeed()
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Background hook (`AppDelegate` `.background`): marks a feed load still in flight as stale, so
+    /// the next `handleForeground()` fetches again instead of joining it.
+    func handleBackground() {
+        feedLoadInterrupted = feedLoadTask != nil
     }
 
     /// Re-reads every known conversation's transcript and feed preview straight from disk, with no
@@ -781,6 +802,7 @@ final class ConversationController {
         startTask = nil
         feedLoadTask?.cancel()
         feedLoadTask = nil
+        feedLoadInterrupted = false
         if let extensionStoreWriteToken {
             ChatStoreWriteNotification.stopObserving(extensionStoreWriteToken)
             self.extensionStoreWriteToken = nil
@@ -879,7 +901,10 @@ final class ConversationController {
         }
         feedLoadTask = task
         await task.value
-        feedLoadTask = nil
+        // A foreground that outwaited an interrupted load may already have started the next one.
+        if feedLoadTask == task {
+            feedLoadTask = nil
+        }
     }
 
     private func loadFeeds() async -> [Conversation] {
diff --git a/FlipcashTests/ConversationControllerTests.swift b/FlipcashTests/ConversationControllerTests.swift
index 669f3fc94..e25d6e0d5 100644
--- a/FlipcashTests/ConversationControllerTests.swift
+++ b/FlipcashTests/ConversationControllerTests.swift
@@ -1016,6 +1016,34 @@ struct ConversationControllerTests {
         controller.stop()
     }
 
+    @Test("a foreground after the app was backgrounded mid-load fetches the feed again instead of joining the stale load")
+    func foregroundAfterBackgroundMidLoadRefetchesFeed() async throws {
+        let mock = MockConversations()
+        mock.feed = [Conversation(id: ConversationID.test(1), members: [], lastMessage: nil, lastActivity: Date(timeIntervalSince1970: 100))]
+        mock.messages = [ConversationMessage(id: MessageID(value: 1), senderID: nil, content: .text("one"), date: Date(timeIntervalSince1970: 10), unreadSeq: 1, eventSequence: 1)]
+        mock.feedDelay = .milliseconds(300)
+        let controller = makeController(mock)
+        controller.visibleConversationID = nil
+
+        controller.start()
+        // start()'s feed requests are out, holding the feed as it was when they were sent.
+        try await waitUntil { mock.dmFeedCalls > 0 }
+        controller.handleBackground()
+
+        mock.feed = [Conversation(id: ConversationID.test(1), members: [], lastMessage: nil, lastActivity: Date(timeIntervalSince1970: 200), latestEventSequence: 2)]
+        mock.deltaHead = 2
+        mock.deltaBatches = [MockConversations.DeltaBatch(
+            messages: [ConversationMessage(id: MessageID(value: 2), senderID: nil, content: .text("missed while backgrounded"), date: Date(timeIntervalSince1970: 20), unreadSeq: 2, eventSequence: 2)],
+            checkpoint: 2
+        )]
+
+        controller.handleForeground()
+
+        try await waitUntil { controller.messages(for: ConversationID.test(1)).map(\.id.value) == [1, 2] }
+        #expect(mock.deltaAfterSequences == [1])
+        controller.stop()
+    }
+
     @Test("foreground re-fetches via GetDelta even when the extension already persisted the message to the shared store")
     func foregroundRefetchesViaGetDeltaEvenWhenExtensionAlreadyPersistedMessage() async throws {
         let (database, _) = try Database.makeTemp()
diff --git a/FlipcashTests/TestSupport/MockConversations.swift b/FlipcashTests/TestSupport/MockConversations.swift
index fa1e3ec67..cb73629e9 100644
--- a/FlipcashTests/TestSupport/MockConversations.swift
+++ b/FlipcashTests/TestSupport/MockConversations.swift
@@ -288,6 +288,8 @@ final class MockConversations: ConversationFetching, ConversationMembership, Con
 
     func getDmChatFeed(owner: KeyPair, type: ConversationType) async throws -> [Conversation] {
         lock.withLock { _dmFeedCalls += 1 }
+        // Read on arrival: like the server, the answer reflects the state when the request was made.
+        let feed = feed
         if feedDelay > .zero { try? await Task.sleep(for: feedDelay) }
         return feed
     }