diff --git a/firmware/components/epd7in3e/epd7in3e.c b/firmware/components/epd7in3e/epd7in3e.c
index 9a4f846..0ed3596 100644
--- a/firmware/components/epd7in3e/epd7in3e.c
+++ b/firmware/components/epd7in3e/epd7in3e.c
@@ -234,7 +234,17 @@ esp_err_t epd_display_stream(epd_read_fn_t read_fn, void *ctx)
     EPD_CHECK(err);
 
     if (total != EPD_FRAME_BYTES) {
-        ESP_LOGW(TAG, "Stream supplied %u bytes, expected %u", (unsigned)total, (unsigned)EPD_FRAME_BYTES);
+        /* Whatever was received has already been clocked into the panel's
+         * internal RAM over SPI, but epd_turn_on_display() (the actual
+         * physical refresh trigger) hasn't been called yet -- returning
+         * here instead leaves the visible screen exactly as it was, rather
+         * than refreshing onto a mostly-garbage buffer. Confirmed on
+         * hardware: a misdirected fetch that returned a ~10KB error page
+         * instead of a 192,000-byte frame still triggered a refresh before
+         * this check existed, painting garbage over a previously-good image. */
+        ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Stream supplied %u bytes, expected %u -- aborting refresh",
+                 (unsigned)total, (unsigned)EPD_FRAME_BYTES);
+        return ESP_ERR_INVALID_SIZE;
     }
 
     return epd_turn_on_display();
diff --git a/firmware/main/frame_client.c b/firmware/main/frame_client.c
index 244282d..9d0e77a 100644
--- a/firmware/main/frame_client.c
+++ b/firmware/main/frame_client.c
@@ -213,13 +213,12 @@ static size_t http_read_fn(uint8_t *chunk, size_t chunk_size, void *ctx_)
 }
 
 /* GETs /frame/image and streams the response directly into the panel.
- * *out_started_stream tells the caller whether the panel was actually
- * touched -- false means the failure happened before any pixel data was
- * sent (bad status, connection error), so nothing was drawn this cycle. */
-static esp_err_t fetch_and_display(const frame_config_t *cfg, bool *out_started_stream)
+ * Returning non-ESP_OK means the panel was never actually refreshed --
+ * epd_display_stream() (see epd7in3e.c) refuses to trigger a physical
+ * refresh on a short/wrong-size stream, so a failure here always leaves
+ * the visible screen exactly as it was. */
+static esp_err_t fetch_and_display(const frame_config_t *cfg)
 {
-    *out_started_stream = false;
-
     char url[160];
     snprintf(url, sizeof(url), "http://%s/frame/image", cfg->toolsserver);
 
@@ -247,7 +246,6 @@ static esp_err_t fetch_and_display(const frame_config_t *cfg, bool *out_started_
     }
     ESP_LOGI(TAG, "Fetching frame (%d bytes) from '%s'", content_length, url);
 
-    *out_started_stream = true;
     http_read_ctx_t ctx = { .client = client };
     err = epd_display_stream(http_read_fn, &ctx);
 
@@ -294,20 +292,16 @@ void frame_client_run(const frame_config_t *cfg)
             status_screen_show(cfg->sta_ssid, STATUS_OK, cfg->toolsserver, STATUS_OK);
         }
         if (have_display) {
-            bool stream_started = false;
-            esp_err_t fetch_err = fetch_and_display(cfg, &stream_started);
+            esp_err_t fetch_err = fetch_and_display(cfg);
             if (fetch_err != ESP_OK) {
+                /* epd_display_stream() never triggers a physical refresh on
+                 * a failed/short/wrong-size stream (see epd7in3e.c), so the
+                 * visible screen is guaranteed untouched here -- always
+                 * safe to show what went wrong instead of leaving stale
+                 * content with no indication anything failed. */
                 ESP_LOGW(TAG, "Fetch/display failed (%s), retrying sooner", esp_err_to_name(fetch_err));
                 sleep_seconds = CONFIG_FRAME_RETRY_INTERVAL_S;
-                if (!stream_started) {
-                    /* The panel was never touched this cycle (e.g. a bad
-                     * HTTP status before any pixel data was sent) -- show
-                     * the failure instead of leaving whatever was on
-                     * screen before. A mid-stream failure, by contrast,
-                     * already refreshed the panel with something, so
-                     * skip compounding it with a second refresh here. */
-                    status_screen_show(cfg->sta_ssid, STATUS_OK, cfg->toolsserver, STATUS_FAILED);
-                }
+                status_screen_show(cfg->sta_ssid, STATUS_OK, cfg->toolsserver, STATUS_FAILED);
             }
         }
     }