diff --git a/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/category-management.e2e.ts b/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/category-management.e2e.ts
index 77f94b635..a7480e4db 100644
--- a/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/category-management.e2e.ts
+++ b/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/category-management.e2e.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,12 @@ test.describe('Electron Xtream Category Management', () => {
             });
             await waitForXtreamWorkspaceReady(app.mainWindow);
             await openWorkspaceSection(app.mainWindow, 'Live TV');
+            // Wait for the route to settle on the live TV section so that
+            // the sidebar shows live categories (not VOD/series from a
+            // previous section) before we read from it.
+            await app.mainWindow.waitForURL(
+                /\/workspace\/xtreams\/[^/]+\/live/
+            );
 
             const targetCategory = await pickSidebarCategory(app.mainWindow);
 
@@ -73,6 +79,9 @@ test.describe('Electron Xtream Category Management', () => {
             await sourceRowByTitle(app.mainWindow, portalName).first().click();
             await waitForXtreamWorkspaceReady(app.mainWindow);
             await openWorkspaceSection(app.mainWindow, 'Live TV');
+            await app.mainWindow.waitForURL(
+                /\/workspace\/xtreams\/[^/]+\/live/
+            );
             await expect(sidebarCategoryById(app.mainWindow, targetCategory.id)).toHaveCount(
                 0
             );
diff --git a/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/electron-test-fixtures.ts b/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/electron-test-fixtures.ts
index e05ecb13a..247f1e10c 100644
--- a/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/electron-test-fixtures.ts
+++ b/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/electron-test-fixtures.ts
@@ -635,6 +635,25 @@ export async function waitForFirstGridListCardTitle(page: Page): Promise<string>
     return ((await card.locator('.title').textContent()) ?? '').trim();
 }
 
+/**
+ * Waits for the first grid card to appear with a non-empty title, clicks it,
+ * and returns the title. Use this instead of waitForFirstGridListCardTitle +
+ * clickGridListCardByTitle to avoid a race condition where the grid re-renders
+ * between the title read and the subsequent search-by-title click.
+ */
+export async function clickFirstGridListCard(page: Page): Promise<string> {
+    const card = page.locator('.category-content-layout mat-card').first();
+    await expect(card).toBeVisible({ timeout: 20000 });
+    const titleEl = card.locator('.title');
+    let title = '';
+    await expect(async () => {
+        title = ((await titleEl.textContent()) ?? '').trim();
+        expect(title.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    }).toPass({ timeout: 10000 });
+    await card.click();
+    return title;
+}
+
 export async function clickGridListCardByTitle(
     page: Page,
     title: string
diff --git a/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/favorites.e2e.ts b/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/favorites.e2e.ts
index bdba8d573..05660ff32 100644
--- a/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/favorites.e2e.ts
+++ b/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/favorites.e2e.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import {
     channelItemByTitle,
     clickCategoryById,
     clickCategoryByNameExact,
-    clickGridListCardByTitle,
+    clickFirstGridListCard,
     closeElectronApp,
     contentCardByTitle,
     defaultXtreamPassword,
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import {
     switchUnifiedCollectionContent,
     switchUnifiedCollectionScope,
     test,
-    waitForFirstGridListCardTitle,
     waitForM3uCatalog,
     waitForStalkerCatalog,
     waitForXtreamWorkspaceReady,
@@ -138,10 +137,11 @@ test.describe('Electron Favorites', () => {
                 app.mainWindow,
                 vodFixture.categoryName
             );
-            // Pick the title from the first displayed card (grid sorts by date-desc,
-            // so fixture order ≠ display order; pagination may hide some items).
-            const movieTitle = await waitForFirstGridListCardTitle(app.mainWindow);
-            await clickGridListCardByTitle(app.mainWindow, movieTitle);
+            // Use clickFirstGridListCard: grid sorts by date-desc so fixture order ≠
+            // display order; this atomically reads the first card's title and clicks
+            // it, avoiding a race where the grid re-renders between the title read
+            // and a separate search-by-title click.
+            const movieTitle = await clickFirstGridListCard(app.mainWindow);
             await addCurrentDetailToFavorites(app.mainWindow);
             await goBackFromDetail(app.mainWindow);
 
@@ -150,8 +150,7 @@ test.describe('Electron Favorites', () => {
                 app.mainWindow,
                 seriesFixture.categoryName
             );
-            const seriesTitle = await waitForFirstGridListCardTitle(app.mainWindow);
-            await clickGridListCardByTitle(app.mainWindow, seriesTitle);
+            const seriesTitle = await clickFirstGridListCard(app.mainWindow);
             await addCurrentDetailToFavorites(app.mainWindow);
             await goBackFromDetail(app.mainWindow);
 
diff --git a/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/recent.e2e.ts b/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/recent.e2e.ts
index 4257ad69c..31a741bc7 100644
--- a/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/recent.e2e.ts
+++ b/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/recent.e2e.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import {
     channelItemByTitle,
     clickCategoryById,
     clickCategoryByNameExact,
-    clickGridListCardByTitle,
+    clickFirstGridListCard,
     closeElectronApp,
     contentCardByTitle,
     defaultXtreamPassword,
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ import {
     switchUnifiedCollectionContent,
     switchUnifiedCollectionScope,
     test,
-    waitForFirstGridListCardTitle,
     waitForM3uCatalog,
     waitForStalkerCatalog,
     waitForXtreamWorkspaceReady,
@@ -142,8 +141,10 @@ test.describe('Electron Recently Viewed', () => {
             );
             // Pick from the displayed grid: fixture order ≠ display order (date-desc
             // sort + pagination), so the first fixture item may not be on page 1.
-            const movieTitle = await waitForFirstGridListCardTitle(app.mainWindow);
-            await clickGridListCardByTitle(app.mainWindow, movieTitle);
+            // Use clickFirstGridListCard to atomically read + click the first visible
+            // card, avoiding a race where the grid re-renders between title read and
+            // a separate search-by-title click.
+            const movieTitle = await clickFirstGridListCard(app.mainWindow);
             await playCurrentDetail(app.mainWindow);
             await goBackFromDetail(app.mainWindow);
 
@@ -152,8 +153,7 @@ test.describe('Electron Recently Viewed', () => {
                 app.mainWindow,
                 seriesFixture.categoryName
             );
-            const seriesTitle = await waitForFirstGridListCardTitle(app.mainWindow);
-            await clickGridListCardByTitle(app.mainWindow, seriesTitle);
+            const seriesTitle = await clickFirstGridListCard(app.mainWindow);
             await playFirstSeriesEpisode(app.mainWindow);
 
             await openPlaylistRecent(app.mainWindow);