diff --git a/internal/web/public/css/wall.css b/internal/web/public/css/wall.css
index aa3aea5..ebb91d5 100644
--- a/internal/web/public/css/wall.css
+++ b/internal/web/public/css/wall.css
@@ -276,6 +276,19 @@ body.cursor-idle * {
   text-transform: uppercase;
   letter-spacing: 0.1em;
 }
+/* Shown while a camera is on but pump-cv hasn't decoded a frame yet
+   (cold start / RTSP disconnected) — beats a broken-image icon. */
+.wall-cam-wait {
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: 0;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  font-size: 0.8rem;
+  color: #6a6a72;
+  letter-spacing: 0.04em;
+}
+.wall-cam-wait[hidden] { display: none; }
 /* Toggle switch — small, kiosk-friendly */
 .wall-cam-toggle {
   position: relative;
@@ -448,7 +461,14 @@ body.sleeping .wall-sleep { cursor: pointer; }
    Hidden by default; wall.js toggles `hidden` based on the state poll. */
 .wall-calib {
   position: fixed;
-  inset: 0;
+  /* Start below the shared navbar (header.html) so the kiosk operator can
+     still navigate away from the AI page while calibration is pending —
+     inset:0 here used to paint the overlay over the navbar entirely.
+     wall.js measures the real navbar height into --wall-navbar-h. */
+  top: var(--wall-navbar-h, 56px);
+  right: 0;
+  bottom: 0;
+  left: 0;
   background: var(--wall-bg, #0a0a0c);
   z-index: 1000;
   display: flex;
@@ -497,6 +517,12 @@ body.sleeping .wall-sleep { cursor: pointer; }
   height: 100%;
   object-fit: cover;
 }
+.wall-calib-prev-wait {
+  font-size: 0.9rem;
+  color: #6a6a72;
+  letter-spacing: 0.04em;
+}
+.wall-calib-prev-wait[hidden] { display: none; }
 .wall-calib-prev-label {
   position: absolute;
   top: 6px;
diff --git a/internal/web/public/js/wall.js b/internal/web/public/js/wall.js
index e287513..85e17d3 100644
--- a/internal/web/public/js/wall.js
+++ b/internal/web/public/js/wall.js
@@ -28,6 +28,21 @@
     clipClose: document.getElementById('wallClipClose'),
   };
 
+  // ─── Navbar height → CSS var ────────────────────────────────────────
+  // The shared navbar (header.html) sits above the wall grid. Its real
+  // height depends on the logo size and font metrics, so measure it and
+  // publish it as --wall-navbar-h. Both the grid's height calc and the
+  // calibration overlay's top offset read this var; without it they fall
+  // back to a 56px guess that's ~25px short of the actual navbar.
+  function measureNavbar() {
+    const nav = document.querySelector('.navbar');
+    if (!nav) return;
+    const h = Math.round(nav.getBoundingClientRect().height);
+    if (h > 0) document.documentElement.style.setProperty('--wall-navbar-h', h + 'px');
+  }
+  measureNavbar();
+  window.addEventListener('resize', measureNavbar, { passive: true });
+
   // ─── Header date + clock ────────────────────────────────────────────
   function renderHeader() {
     const now = new Date();
@@ -156,6 +171,7 @@
         </div>
         <div class="wall-cam-frame">
           <img class="wall-cam-img" alt="${escapeHTML(c.name)} preview" hidden>
+          <div class="wall-cam-wait" hidden>waiting for camera…</div>
           <div class="wall-cam-off">off</div>
         </div>
       </div>
@@ -180,8 +196,16 @@
     if (!tile) return;
     const img = tile.querySelector('.wall-cam-img');
     const off = tile.querySelector('.wall-cam-off');
-    img.hidden = false;
+    const wait = tile.querySelector('.wall-cam-wait');
     off.hidden = true;
+    // Until the first frame decodes, show a "waiting" tile rather than a
+    // broken-image icon. pump-cv 404s the snapshot endpoint while a camera
+    // has no decoded frame yet (cold start / RTSP disconnected), so the
+    // <img> error fires every poll until the stream comes up.
+    img.hidden = true;
+    if (wait) wait.hidden = false;
+    img.onload = () => { img.hidden = false; if (wait) wait.hidden = true; };
+    img.onerror = () => { img.hidden = true; if (wait) wait.hidden = false; };
     const tick = () => {
       // Cache-buster — the snapshot endpoint sends Cache-Control: no-store
       // anyway, but `?t=` defends against any intermediate caching layer.
@@ -198,8 +222,11 @@
     if (!tile) return;
     const img = tile.querySelector('.wall-cam-img');
     const off = tile.querySelector('.wall-cam-off');
+    const wait = tile.querySelector('.wall-cam-wait');
+    img.onload = img.onerror = null;
     img.hidden = true;
     img.removeAttribute('src');
+    if (wait) wait.hidden = true;
     off.hidden = false;
   }
 
@@ -448,10 +475,21 @@
     calib.prevs.innerHTML = camNames.map(n => `
       <div class="wall-calib-prev" data-cam="${escapeHTML(n)}">
         <span class="wall-calib-prev-label">${escapeHTML(n)}</span>
-        <img alt="${escapeHTML(n)} preview">
+        <img alt="${escapeHTML(n)} preview" hidden>
+        <span class="wall-calib-prev-wait">waiting for camera…</span>
         <span class="wall-calib-prev-detect" hidden></span>
       </div>
     `).join('');
+    // Show the frame once it decodes; fall back to the "waiting" label
+    // whenever the snapshot 404s (no frame yet) instead of a broken image.
+    camNames.forEach(n => {
+      const tile = calib.prevs.querySelector(`.wall-calib-prev[data-cam="${cssEscape(n)}"]`);
+      if (!tile) return;
+      const img  = tile.querySelector('img');
+      const wait = tile.querySelector('.wall-calib-prev-wait');
+      img.onload  = () => { img.hidden = false; if (wait) wait.hidden = true; };
+      img.onerror = () => { img.hidden = true;  if (wait) wait.hidden = false; };
+    });
   }
 
   function calibStartPreviews(camNames) {
diff --git a/internal/web/public/wall-sw.js b/internal/web/public/wall-sw.js
index ee9f2ca..cccf209 100644
--- a/internal/web/public/wall-sw.js
+++ b/internal/web/public/wall-sw.js
@@ -16,7 +16,10 @@
 // cache. v4: the /wall/ HTML shell is now served network-first (below), so a
 // stale shell can no longer be pinned on a long-lived kiosk — this bump also
 // flushes any v3 cache still holding the pre-navbar shell.
-const CACHE_NAME = "pump-wall-v4";
+// v5: wall.css/wall.js changed (calibration overlay no longer paints over the
+// navbar; navbar height measured into --wall-navbar-h) — flush the v4 precache
+// so the cache-first /fs/ handler stops serving the old shell assets.
+const CACHE_NAME = "pump-wall-v5";
 const SHELL = [
   "/wall/",
   "/fs/public/css/wall.css",