diff --git a/firmware/main/CMakeLists.txt b/firmware/main/CMakeLists.txt
index 2a6dcbd..635665c 100644
--- a/firmware/main/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/firmware/main/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
-idf_component_register(SRCS main.c wifi_provisioning.c frame_client.c qr_onboarding.c
-                       PRIV_REQUIRES esp_event nvs_flash esp_wifi esp_netif esp_http_server dns_server epd7in3e qrcode epaper_fonts
+idf_component_register(SRCS main.c wifi_provisioning.c frame_client.c qr_onboarding.c status_screen.c epd_draw.c
+                       PRIV_REQUIRES esp_event nvs_flash esp_wifi esp_netif esp_http_server esp_http_client dns_server epd7in3e qrcode epaper_fonts
                        EMBED_FILES root.html)
diff --git a/firmware/main/Kconfig.projbuild b/firmware/main/Kconfig.projbuild
index 8e8c79a..9f7aa9d 100644
--- a/firmware/main/Kconfig.projbuild
+++ b/firmware/main/Kconfig.projbuild
@@ -44,4 +44,11 @@ menu "ESPresso Frame Configuration"
             How long to wait for an IP address on each connection attempt to the
             stored home WiFi network before counting it as a failed retry.
 
+    config FRAME_SERVER_CHECK_TIMEOUT_MS
+        int "Tools server reachability check timeout (ms)"
+        default 3000
+        help
+            How long to wait for an HTTP response from the tools server
+            when checking reachability on the post-connect status screen.
+
 endmenu
diff --git a/firmware/main/frame_client.c b/firmware/main/frame_client.c
index 4d3ebf7..819cd0b 100644
--- a/firmware/main/frame_client.c
+++ b/firmware/main/frame_client.c
@@ -3,12 +3,17 @@
 #include "esp_event.h"
 #include "esp_log.h"
 #include "esp_wifi.h"
+#include "esp_wifi_default.h"
 #include "esp_netif.h"
+#include "esp_http_client.h"
 
 #include "freertos/FreeRTOS.h"
 #include "freertos/task.h"
 #include "freertos/event_groups.h"
 
+#include "epd7in3e.h"
+#include "status_screen.h"
+
 #include "frame_client.h"
 
 static const char *TAG = "frame_client";
@@ -50,7 +55,7 @@ esp_err_t frame_wifi_connect_sta(const frame_config_t *cfg)
 {
     s_sta_event_group = xEventGroupCreate();
 
-    esp_netif_create_default_wifi_sta();
+    esp_netif_t *sta_netif = esp_netif_create_default_wifi_sta();
 
     wifi_init_config_t init_cfg = WIFI_INIT_CONFIG_DEFAULT();
     ESP_ERROR_CHECK(esp_wifi_init(&init_cfg));
@@ -93,14 +98,55 @@ esp_err_t frame_wifi_connect_sta(const frame_config_t *cfg)
     s_sta_event_group = NULL;
 
     if (result != ESP_OK) {
+        /* Fully tear the WiFi driver back down on failure -- the caller
+         * falls back to provisioning, which calls esp_wifi_init() again
+         * for AP mode. Leaving the driver merely stopped (rather than
+         * deinitialized) made that second esp_wifi_init() call fail with
+         * ESP_ERR_INVALID_STATE and abort, confirmed on hardware. */
         esp_wifi_stop();
+        esp_wifi_deinit();
+        esp_netif_destroy_default_wifi(sta_netif);
     }
 
     return result;
 }
 
+/* Probes cfg->toolsserver with a plain HTTP HEAD -- any HTTP response
+ * (even a 404, since there's no server yet to define real routes) means
+ * the socket-level connection succeeded, which is all this is checking. */
+static bool check_server_reachable(const char *toolsserver)
+{
+    char url[160];
+    snprintf(url, sizeof(url), "http://%s/", toolsserver);
+
+    esp_http_client_config_t config = {
+        .url = url,
+        .method = HTTP_METHOD_HEAD,
+        .timeout_ms = CONFIG_FRAME_SERVER_CHECK_TIMEOUT_MS,
+    };
+    esp_http_client_handle_t client = esp_http_client_init(&config);
+    esp_err_t err = esp_http_client_perform(client);
+    esp_http_client_cleanup(client);
+
+    if (err != ESP_OK) {
+        ESP_LOGW(TAG, "Server '%s' not reachable: %s", toolsserver, esp_err_to_name(err));
+    }
+    return err == ESP_OK;
+}
+
 void frame_client_run(const frame_config_t *cfg)
 {
+    esp_err_t epd_err = epd_init();
+    if (epd_err != ESP_OK) {
+        ESP_LOGW(TAG, "EPD init failed (%s), continuing without display", esp_err_to_name(epd_err));
+    } else {
+        status_screen_show(cfg->sta_ssid, STATUS_OK, cfg->toolsserver, STATUS_PENDING);
+        vTaskDelay(pdMS_TO_TICKS(1000));
+
+        bool reachable = check_server_reachable(cfg->toolsserver);
+        status_screen_show(cfg->sta_ssid, STATUS_OK, cfg->toolsserver, reachable ? STATUS_OK : STATUS_FAILED);
+    }
+
     /* TODO(step 6): HTTP fetch from cfg->toolsserver -> epd_write_stream ->
      * epd_refresh -> esp_deep_sleep. Idling here for now so the device
      * stays observable over serial while STA connectivity is verified. */
diff --git a/firmware/main/status_screen.c b/firmware/main/status_screen.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d82d612
--- /dev/null
+++ b/firmware/main/status_screen.c
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+#include "esp_check.h"
+
+#include "epd7in3e.h"
+#include "epd_draw.h"
+#include "fonts.h"
+
+#include "status_screen.h"
+
+static const char *TAG = "status_screen";
+
+#define TITLE_Y 40
+#define ROW1_Y 160
+#define ROW2_Y 240
+#define LABEL_X 80
+#define MARKER_X 640
+#define CHECKMARK_SIZE 40
+
+static void draw_status_marker(uint8_t *frame, int x, int y, status_state_t state)
+{
+    switch (state) {
+    case STATUS_OK:
+        epd_draw_checkmark(frame, x, y - 8, CHECKMARK_SIZE);
+        break;
+    case STATUS_FAILED:
+        epd_draw_text(frame, &Font24, "FAILED", x, y);
+        break;
+    case STATUS_PENDING:
+    default:
+        epd_draw_text(frame, &Font24, "...", x, y);
+        break;
+    }
+}
+
+esp_err_t status_screen_show(const char *wifi_ssid, status_state_t wifi_state, const char *server_addr,
+                              status_state_t server_state)
+{
+    /* Allocated on demand rather than statically reserved -- see
+     * qr_onboarding.c for why that's fine memory-budget-wise here. */
+    uint8_t *frame = malloc(EPD_FRAME_BYTES);
+    ESP_RETURN_ON_FALSE(frame != NULL, ESP_ERR_NO_MEM, TAG, "Failed to allocate frame buffer");
+    memset(frame, (EPD_COLOR_WHITE << 4) | EPD_COLOR_WHITE, EPD_FRAME_BYTES);
+
+    epd_draw_text_centered(frame, &Font24, "CONNECTING", EPD_WIDTH / 2, TITLE_Y);
+
+    char wifi_line[64];
+    snprintf(wifi_line, sizeof(wifi_line), "WIFI: %s", wifi_ssid);
+    epd_draw_text(frame, &Font24, wifi_line, LABEL_X, ROW1_Y);
+    draw_status_marker(frame, MARKER_X, ROW1_Y, wifi_state);
+
+    char server_line[96];
+    snprintf(server_line, sizeof(server_line), "SERVER: %s", server_addr);
+    epd_draw_text(frame, &Font24, server_line, LABEL_X, ROW2_Y);
+    draw_status_marker(frame, MARKER_X, ROW2_Y, server_state);
+
+    esp_err_t err = epd_display_buffer(frame, EPD_FRAME_BYTES);
+    free(frame);
+
+    return err;
+}
diff --git a/firmware/main/status_screen.h b/firmware/main/status_screen.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..50e284d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/firmware/main/status_screen.h
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include "esp_err.h"
+
+typedef enum {
+    STATUS_PENDING,
+    STATUS_OK,
+    STATUS_FAILED,
+} status_state_t;
+
+/**
+ * Renders a two-row connection checklist onto the e-ink panel: a WiFi row
+ * (SSID + a checkmark once connected) and a server row (toolsserver
+ * address + a checkmark once reachable), each showing a checkmark on
+ * STATUS_OK, "FAILED" on STATUS_FAILED, or "..." while STATUS_PENDING.
+ * Call once per stage as connection progress is confirmed, so the panel
+ * visibly updates as each step completes.
+ */
+esp_err_t status_screen_show(const char *wifi_ssid, status_state_t wifi_state, const char *server_addr,
+                              status_state_t server_state);