diff --git a/Plugin/unraid/pages/setup.php b/Plugin/unraid/pages/setup.php
index 9c8662f..4b689fa 100644
--- a/Plugin/unraid/pages/setup.php
+++ b/Plugin/unraid/pages/setup.php
@@ -84,6 +84,31 @@ if ($vvDetected['slot'] !== '') {
       : ((!empty($vvSt[$vvSlUp . '_PHASE1_DONE']) || !empty($vvSt[$vvDetected['slot'] . '_phase1_done'])) ? 1 : 0);
 }
 
+// ── Is Phase 2 running on the owner right now? ───────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Derived here rather than only tracked in the browser, so it survives a reload. The client flag
+// alone was set when the operator pressed Join and lost on refresh — and refreshing is the first
+// thing anyone does when a page looks stuck, which put them straight back at the phase-1 panel
+// the in-progress state exists to replace.
+//
+// The evidence is the mirror's own job record: it finishes in about three seconds because all it
+// does is notify the owner, so "this job ended recently AND our phase is still below 2" is
+// precisely the window in which the owner is mid-Phase-2. Bounded at 20 minutes so an onboard
+// abandoned days ago does not render as in progress for ever.
+$vvPhase2Since = 0;
+if ($vvDetected['role'] === 'partner' && ($vvDetected['phase'] ?? 0) < 2) {
+    $vvJob = '/var/log/varaverk/Partnership/partnership_onboard.json';
+    if (is_file($vvJob)) {
+        $vvJ = json_decode((string)@file_get_contents($vvJob), true);
+        if (is_array($vvJ)) {
+            $vvEnd = (int)($vvJ['end'] ?? 0);
+            $vvOk  = ($vvJ['status'] ?? '') === 'ok';
+            if ($vvOk && $vvEnd > 0 && (time() - $vvEnd) < 1200) {
+                $vvPhase2Since = $vvEnd * 1000;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 // ── Custom docker networks, adopted from the owner ───────────────────────────────────────────
 // master.conf names the hosts; it does not name the networks, which live in each host's own
 // host*.conf. The owner's copy is available here anyway: onboard Phase 1 caches it into
@@ -602,19 +627,29 @@ function vvRenderDone(d) {
 // expiring before the flag landed and the wizard sat unchanged on a partnership that had already
 // succeeded — the exact symptom this function exists to remove.
 let _vvPartnerPoll   = null;
-let _vvPhase2Waiting = false;   // Phase 2 is running on the owner right now
-let _vvPhase2Since   = 0;       // epoch ms, for the elapsed counter
+// Seeded from PHP so a reload mid-Phase-2 keeps showing the in-progress panel.
+let _vvPhase2Since   = <?= (int)$vvPhase2Since ?>;
+let _vvPhase2Waiting = _vvPhase2Since > 0;
+if (_vvPhase2Waiting) setTimeout(() => vvStartPhase2Watch(_vvPhase2Since), 0);
 let _vvPhase2Tick    = null;    // redraws the counter between checklist polls
 let _vvLastChecklist = null;    // last payload, so the ticker can redraw without refetching
 function vvOnJobDone(id, status) {
   if (!String(id).includes('partnership_onboard')) { vvLoadChecklist(); return; }
+  // The mirror's job ending is the START of the wait, not the end of the work — Phase 2 begins on
+  // the owner at this moment.
+  vvStartPhase2Watch(Date.now());
+}
+
+// Two ways in: pressing Join (vvOnJobDone), or loading a page while Phase 2 is already running
+// (seeded from PHP above). Both need the same watcher, and the reload path must keep the original
+// start time rather than restarting the clock at zero — an elapsed counter that resets on refresh
+// is worse than none, because it suggests the work restarted too.
+function vvStartPhase2Watch(sinceMs) {
   if (_vvPartnerPoll) clearInterval(_vvPartnerPoll);
   if (_vvPhase2Tick)  clearInterval(_vvPhase2Tick);
 
-  // The mirror's job ending is the START of the wait, not the end of the work — Phase 2 begins on
-  // the owner at this moment. Hold the in-progress panel until the checklist actually turns.
   _vvPhase2Waiting = true;
-  _vvPhase2Since   = Date.now();
+  _vvPhase2Since   = sinceMs || Date.now();
 
   const stop = () => {
     _vvPhase2Waiting = false;