diff --git a/static/css/17-research.css b/static/css/17-research.css
index c4de5cb75..2c43aa2c8 100644
--- a/static/css/17-research.css
+++ b/static/css/17-research.css
@@ -2690,11 +2690,14 @@ body.theme-frosted .modal {
     max-height: 95dvh !important;
   }
 
+  /* Notes and Documents must respect the same viewport and safe-area
+     top as other mobile full-height sheets. Keep these authoritative rules
+     consistent with 05-documents.css and 14-email.css. */
   body.doc-view .doc-editor-pane,
   body.notes-view .notes-pane {
-    inset: auto 0 0 !important;
-    height: 95dvh !important;
-    max-height: 95dvh !important;
+    inset: var(--sheet-top) 0 0 !important;
+    height: calc(var(--app-height) - var(--sheet-top)) !important;
+    max-height: calc(var(--app-height) - var(--sheet-top)) !important;
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/static/index.html b/static/index.html
index 89836d27a..5fc386a5c 100644
--- a/static/index.html
+++ b/static/index.html
@@ -16,13 +16,6 @@
   <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/icons/icon-192.png">
   <script nonce="{{CSP_NONCE}}">
   window._odysseusLoadTime = Date.now();
-  // Stops iOS focus-zoom on every field; iOS still allows pinch-zoom, other platforms would not.
-  (function(){
-    var ua = navigator.userAgent || '';
-    var isIOS = /iPad|iPhone|iPod/.test(ua) || (/Macintosh/.test(ua) && navigator.maxTouchPoints > 1);
-    var vp = document.querySelector('meta[name="viewport"]');
-    if (isIOS && vp) vp.setAttribute('content', vp.getAttribute('content') + ', maximum-scale=1');
-  })();
   (function(){
     try {
       var t = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('odysseus-theme'));
diff --git a/static/js/init.js b/static/js/init.js
index e554deaa7..516cbe186 100644
--- a/static/js/init.js
+++ b/static/js/init.js
@@ -379,7 +379,6 @@ document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', markComposerUserEdited, { once: tr
       root.classList.toggle('keyboard-open', keyboardOpen);
       if (keyboardOpen) root.style.setProperty('--keyboard-viewport-height', vv.height + 'px');
       else root.style.removeProperty('--keyboard-viewport-height');
-      if (window.scrollY) window.scrollTo(0, 0);
     };
     // iOS fires visualViewport resize only once, mid-animation, and no focusin when
     // the tapped field already had focus (e.g. the composer after a new chat)
@@ -392,7 +391,6 @@ document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', markComposerUserEdited, { once: tr
     window.visualViewport.addEventListener('scroll', _syncKeyboardViewport);
     document.addEventListener('focusin', _syncThroughKeyboardAnimation);
     document.addEventListener('focusout', _syncThroughKeyboardAnimation);
-    window.addEventListener('scroll', () => { if (window.scrollY) window.scrollTo(0, 0); }, { passive: true });
 
     let _lastVVHeight = window.visualViewport.height;
     window.visualViewport.addEventListener('resize', function() {
diff --git a/static/js/windowResize.js b/static/js/windowResize.js
index b71feac51..33469d3ed 100644
--- a/static/js/windowResize.js
+++ b/static/js/windowResize.js
@@ -267,8 +267,9 @@ export function makeWindowResizable(content, options = {}) {
           content.style.maxWidth = 'none';
           content.style.maxHeight = 'none';
           const left = parseFloat(content.style.left);
-          if (Number.isFinite(left) && left + w > window.innerWidth - padRight) {
-            content.style.left = Math.max(padLeft, window.innerWidth - padRight - w) + 'px';
+          if (Number.isFinite(left)) {
+            const rightmostLeft = Math.max(padLeft, window.innerWidth - padRight - w);
+            content.style.left = Math.max(padLeft, Math.min(left, rightmostLeft)) + 'px';
           }
         }
       } catch (_) {}
diff --git a/tests/e2e/ios-layout.config.cjs b/tests/e2e/ios-layout.config.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..44dafc7d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/ios-layout.config.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+// Tests against the running Odysseus app, not a static mock page.
+const fs = require('node:fs');
+const os = require('node:os');
+const path = require('node:path');
+const { defineConfig } = require('@playwright/test');
+
+const repositoryRoot = path.resolve(__dirname, '../..');
+const port = Number(process.env.ODYSSEUS_LAYOUT_PORT || '17739');
+const baseURL = `http://127.0.0.1:${port}`;
+const pythonInVenv = path.join(repositoryRoot, '.venv', 'bin', 'python');
+const python = process.env.ODYSSEUS_TEST_PYTHON || (fs.existsSync(pythonInVenv) ? pythonInVenv : 'python3');
+const dataDirectory = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'odysseus-pr6396-'));
+const evidenceDir = process.env.ODYSSEUS_LAYOUT_EVIDENCE_DIR || path.join(os.homedir(), 'Pictures', 'Odysseus-6396-followup');
+
+module.exports = defineConfig({
+  testDir: path.join(__dirname, 'ios-layout'),
+  testMatch: ['**/*.spec.cjs'],
+  outputDir: path.join(dataDirectory, 'playwright-output'),
+  timeout: 90_000,
+  expect: { timeout: 15_000 },
+  retries: 0,
+  workers: 1,
+  reporter: [['line']],
+  use: {
+    baseURL,
+    headless: true,
+    serviceWorkers: 'block',
+    screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
+    trace: 'retain-on-failure',
+  },
+  projects: [
+    { name: 'desktop-chromium', use: { browserName: 'chromium', viewport: { width: 1440, height: 900 } } },
+    { name: 'phone-webkit-portrait', use: { browserName: 'webkit', viewport: { width: 390, height: 844 }, hasTouch: true, isMobile: true } },
+    { name: 'phone-webkit-landscape', use: { browserName: 'webkit', viewport: { width: 844, height: 390 }, hasTouch: true, isMobile: true } },
+    { name: 'tablet-webkit', use: { browserName: 'webkit', viewport: { width: 820, height: 1000 }, hasTouch: true, isMobile: true } },
+  ],
+  metadata: { evidenceDir },
+  webServer: {
+    command: `${JSON.stringify(python)} -m uvicorn app:app --host 127.0.0.1 --port ${port}`,
+    cwd: repositoryRoot,
+    url: baseURL,
+    timeout: 120_000,
+    reuseExistingServer: false,
+    env: {
+      ...process.env,
+      AUTH_ENABLED: 'false',
+      // Never connect the disposable app to the host's real ChromaDB.
+      CHROMADB_HOST: '127.0.0.1',
+      CHROMADB_PORT: String(port + 1),
+      LLM_HOST: '127.0.0.1',
+      EMBEDDING_URL: `http://127.0.0.1:${port + 1}/v1/embeddings`,
+      DATABASE_URL: `sqlite:///${path.join(dataDirectory, 'app.db')}`,
+      ODYSSEUS_DATA_DIR: dataDirectory,
+      ODYSSEUS_STARTUP_WARMUPS: '0',
+      RESPONSE_COMPRESSION_ENABLED: 'false',
+    },
+  },
+});
diff --git a/tests/e2e/ios-layout/postmerge-layout.spec.cjs b/tests/e2e/ios-layout/postmerge-layout.spec.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1e0214de5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/ios-layout/postmerge-layout.spec.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
+const { test, expect } = require('@playwright/test');
+const fs = require('node:fs');
+const path = require('node:path');
+
+async function openApp(page) {
+  const response = await page.goto('/', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
+  expect(response?.ok()).toBeTruthy();
+  // The runtime currently produces two #message nodes. Select the
+  // initialized composer while diagnosing whether both are visible.
+  const composers = await page.locator('textarea#message').evaluateAll(nodes =>
+    nodes.map((el, index) => ({
+      index,
+      initialized: el.dataset.startupPreserveBound === '1',
+      visible: !!el.getClientRects().length &&
+        getComputedStyle(el).visibility !== 'hidden',
+      parent: el.parentElement?.className || '',
+    }))
+  );
+  if (composers.length !== 1) {
+    console.log('Composer DOM diagnostic:', JSON.stringify(composers));
+  }
+  const activeComposer = page.locator(
+    'textarea#message[data-startup-preserve-bound="1"]'
+  );
+  await expect(activeComposer).toHaveCount(1);
+  await expect(activeComposer).toBeVisible();
+  expect(
+    composers.filter(composer => composer.visible).length,
+    'Exactly one composer should be visible'
+  ).toBe(1);
+}
+
+test('renders actual Odysseus UI and captures review screenshots', async ({ page }, testInfo) => {
+  await openApp(page);
+  const out = testInfo.config.metadata.evidenceDir;
+  fs.mkdirSync(out, { recursive: true });
+  const name = testInfo.project.name;
+  await page.screenshot({ path: path.join(out, `${name}-chat.png`), fullPage: false, animations: 'disabled' });
+
+  // Screenshot the actual Settings UI only if a real user-visible Settings
+  // control is reachable; never fabricate a modal for PR screenshots.
+  const settingsButton = page.locator('#rail-settings:visible, #user-bar-settings:visible').first();
+  if (await settingsButton.count()) {
+    await settingsButton.click();
+    const dialog = page.locator('#settings-modal');
+    if (await dialog.isVisible()) {
+      await page.screenshot({ path: path.join(out, `${name}-settings.png`), fullPage: false, animations: 'disabled' });
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Open the real Notes route via an existing UI action when it is reachable.
+  // These screenshots reflect genuine runtime content, not test-injected panes.
+  await openApp(page);
+  const notesButton = page.locator('#rail-notes:visible, #tool-notes-btn:visible').first();
+  if (await notesButton.count()) {
+    await notesButton.click();
+    const realNotes = page.locator('.notes-pane:visible').first();
+    if (await realNotes.count()) {
+      await page.screenshot({ path: path.join(out, `${name}-notes.png`), fullPage: false, animations: 'disabled' });
+    }
+  }
+  testInfo.annotations.push({ type: 'evidence', description: out });
+});
+
+test('viewport meta does not restrict user zoom', async ({ page }) => {
+  await openApp(page);
+  const meta = await page.locator('meta[name="viewport"]').getAttribute('content');
+  expect(meta || '').not.toMatch(/maximum-scale\s*=\s*1(?:\b|\.)/i);
+  expect(meta || '').not.toMatch(/user-scalable\s*=\s*no/i);
+});
+
+test('browser-owned window scrolling is not globally reset', async ({ page }) => {
+  await openApp(page);
+  const value = await page.evaluate(async () => {
+    document.documentElement.style.overflowY = 'auto';
+    document.body.style.overflowY = 'auto';
+    document.body.style.height = 'auto';
+    document.body.style.minHeight = '3200px';
+    const spacer = document.createElement('div');
+    spacer.style.cssText = 'position:absolute;top:3100px;width:1px;height:10px;pointer-events:none;';
+    document.body.appendChild(spacer);
+    window.scrollTo(0, 250);
+    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 150));
+    return window.scrollY;
+  });
+  expect(value).toBeGreaterThan(100);
+});
+
+test('mobile Notes and Documents panes honor the safe-area top', async ({ page }, testInfo) => {
+  test.skip(testInfo.project.name !== 'phone-webkit-portrait', 'Only mobile <=768px');
+  await openApp(page);
+  const results = await page.evaluate(() => {
+    document.documentElement.style.setProperty('--safe-top', '44px');
+    document.documentElement.style.setProperty('--sheet-top', '68px');
+    document.documentElement.style.setProperty('--app-height', '844px');
+    const values = {};
+    for (const [key, bodyClass, paneClass] of [
+      ['notes', 'notes-view', 'notes-pane'],
+      ['document', 'doc-view', 'doc-editor-pane'],
+    ]) {
+      const pane = document.createElement('section');
+      pane.className = paneClass;
+      pane.style.opacity = '0'; // CSS-only fixture, not a screenshot of fake app content
+      document.body.appendChild(pane);
+      document.body.classList.add(bodyClass);
+      const style = window.getComputedStyle(pane);
+      values[key] = {
+        top: style.top,
+        height: style.height,
+        insetTop: pane.getBoundingClientRect().top,
+      };
+      pane.remove();
+      document.body.classList.remove(bodyClass);
+    }
+    return values;
+  });
+  for (const key of ['notes', 'document']) {
+    expect(results[key].top, key).toBe('68px');
+    expect(parseFloat(results[key].height), key).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(770);
+  }
+});
+
+test('restored floating windows clamp away from a left safe area', async ({ page }, testInfo) => {
+  test.skip(testInfo.project.name !== 'desktop-chromium', 'Geometry test uses desktop resizable windows');
+  await openApp(page);
+  const value = await page.evaluate(async () => {
+    document.documentElement.style.setProperty('--safe-left', '58px');
+    document.body.style.setProperty('padding-left', '58px', 'important');
+    const probe = document.createElement('div');
+    probe.style.cssText = 'position:fixed;left:10px;top:80px;width:420px;height:250px;z-index:999999;';
+    document.body.appendChild(probe);
+    const key = 'odysseus-layout-restore-test';
+    localStorage.setItem(key, JSON.stringify({ w: 480, h: 280 }));
+    try {
+      // Body horizontal padding transitions over 160ms. Wait for the
+      // simulated safe-area change to settle before restoring geometry.
+      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 300));
+
+      const padAtRestore = parseFloat(
+        getComputedStyle(document.body).paddingLeft
+      );
+      console.log('PADDING AT RESTORE:', padAtRestore);
+
+      if (Math.abs(padAtRestore - 58) > 0.5) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `Safe-area fixture did not settle: ${padAtRestore}px`
+        );
+      }
+
+      // Verify the running server actually serves the patched module.
+      const response = await fetch(
+        '/static/js/windowResize.js',
+        { cache: 'no-store' }
+      );
+      if (!response.ok) {
+        throw new Error('Cannot fetch windowResize.js');
+      }
+      const moduleSource = await response.text();
+      if (!moduleSource.includes('const rightmostLeft = Math.max(padLeft')) {
+        throw new Error('Running server is serving unpatched windowResize.js');
+      }
+
+      const { makeWindowResizable } = await import('/static/js/windowResize.js');
+      makeWindowResizable(probe, { storageKey: key, mobileSkip: 768 });
+      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 300));
+      return {
+        left: parseFloat(probe.style.left),
+        width: parseFloat(probe.style.width),
+        paddingLeft: parseFloat(getComputedStyle(document.body).paddingLeft),
+        viewportWidth: window.innerWidth,
+      };
+    } finally {
+      localStorage.removeItem(key);
+      probe.remove();
+    }
+  });
+  console.log('WINDOW RESTORE DIAGNOSTIC:', JSON.stringify(value));
+  expect(value.paddingLeft).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(58);
+  expect(value.width).toBe(480);
+  expect(value.left).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(value.paddingLeft);
+});