diff --git a/apps/desktop/e2e/onboarding-settings.spec.ts b/apps/desktop/e2e/onboarding-settings.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3608f500db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/e2e/onboarding-settings.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { createRequire } from 'node:module'
+import path from 'node:path'
+
+import { setupNoProvider } from './fixtures'
+import { type ElectronApplication, expect, type Page, test } from './test'
+
+const { prepareWindowForInput } = createRequire(import.meta.url)(
+  '../../../tests/install/e2e-assets/window-input.cjs',
+) as { prepareWindowForInput: (app: ElectronApplication, page: Page) => Promise<void> }
+
+// Exercise the install driver's input setup against the real renderer/backend,
+// with no installer, update, credentials, or live user data.
+for (const lifecycleEvent of ['focus', 'navigation'] as const) {
+  test(`onboarding input zoom survives ${lifecycleEvent} and opens Settings`, async () => {
+    const fixture = await setupNoProvider()
+    const { app, page, sandbox } = fixture
+
+    try {
+      const later = page.getByRole('button', { name: /choose a provider later/i })
+      await expect(later).toBeVisible({ timeout: 60_000 })
+      const zoomFile = path.join(sandbox.userDataDir, 'zoom-state.json')
+      const savedLevel = () => JSON.parse(readFileSync(zoomFile, 'utf8')).zoomLevel as number
+      await page.evaluate(() => {
+        const desktop = (window as unknown as { hermesDesktop: { zoom: { setPercent: (percent: number) => void } } }).hermesDesktop
+        desktop.zoom.setPercent(90)
+      })
+      await expect.poll(savedLevel).toBeCloseTo(Math.log(0.9) / Math.log(1.2))
+
+      await prepareWindowForInput(app, page)
+      const appWindow = await app.browserWindow(page)
+
+      // The same lifecycle callback that fires when another window takes focus
+      // must restore our input scale, not the original 90% preference.
+      if (lifecycleEvent === 'focus') {
+        await appWindow.evaluate(win => win.emit('focus'))
+      } else {
+        await page.evaluate(() => { window.location.hash = '#/settings' })
+      }
+
+      await expect.poll(() => appWindow.evaluate(win => win.webContents.getZoomFactor())).toBeCloseTo(1)
+      expect(savedLevel()).toBe(0)
+      await later.click({ timeout: 5_000 })
+      await expect(later).toBeHidden()
+
+      if (lifecycleEvent === 'navigation') {
+        await page.evaluate(() => { window.location.hash = '#/' })
+      }
+
+      await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Open settings', exact: true }).click({ timeout: 5_000 })
+      await expect(page).toHaveURL(/settings/)
+    } finally {
+      await fixture.cleanup()
+    }
+  })
+}
diff --git a/tests/install/e2e-assets/drive-update.cjs b/tests/install/e2e-assets/drive-update.cjs
index edf4838e1b..ffb33d2658 100644
--- a/tests/install/e2e-assets/drive-update.cjs
+++ b/tests/install/e2e-assets/drive-update.cjs
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ const path = require('node:path')
 const fs = require('node:fs')
 
 const { _electron } = require('@playwright/test')
+const { prepareWindowForInput } = require('./window-input.cjs')
 
 const exePath = process.argv[2]
 const proofDir = process.argv[3]
@@ -117,29 +118,8 @@ async function main() {
   log(`window picked (${app.windows().length} windows, url=${page.url()})`)
   log('first window acquired')
 
-  // The app ships a 90% UI-zoom default, so a fresh install renders at
-  // devicePixelRatio 0.9 and Playwright's input coordinates land ~10% off
-  // target on the CI runners. Force 100% through the same webContents API
-  // the app's zoom control uses. A single set gets reverted (the boot path
-  // re-applies the default asynchronously), so set-verify-retry until dpr
-  // reads 1.
-  try {
-    const before = await page.evaluate(() => window.devicePixelRatio)
-    let after = before
-    for (let i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
-      await app.evaluate(({ BrowserWindow }) => {
-        for (const w of BrowserWindow.getAllWindows()) {
-          w.webContents.setZoomLevel(0)
-        }
-      })
-      await page.waitForTimeout(1000)
-      after = await page.evaluate(() => window.devicePixelRatio)
-      if (Math.abs(after - 1) < 0.001) break
-    }
-    log(`[zoom] forced 100% via webContents.setZoomLevel(0): dpr ${before} -> ${after}`)
-  } catch (e) {
-    log(`[zoom] direct zoom set failed (continuing): ${e.message}`)
-  }
+  await prepareWindowForInput(app, page)
+  log('[zoom] app window prepared at 100%')
 
   // Boot: wait for the composer to exist — the shell is mounted by then.
   // The real backend (`hermes serve`) is booting underneath; give it time.
diff --git a/tests/install/e2e-assets/launch-from-spec.mjs b/tests/install/e2e-assets/launch-from-spec.mjs
index eaf87f28d1..49db869218 100644
--- a/tests/install/e2e-assets/launch-from-spec.mjs
+++ b/tests/install/e2e-assets/launch-from-spec.mjs
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import path from 'node:path';
 import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process';
 import { parseArgs } from 'node:util';
 import { _electron } from '@playwright/test';
+import { prepareWindowForInput } from './window-input.cjs';
 
 /**
  * @typedef {{argv: string[], cwd: string, env: Record<string, string>,
@@ -150,29 +151,8 @@ async function main() {
   log(`window up: ${await window.title()} (${app.windows().length} windows, picked url=${window.url()})`);
   await window.screenshot({ path: `${values.spec}.window.png` }).catch(() => {});
 
-  // The app ships a 90% UI-zoom default, so a fresh install renders at
-  // devicePixelRatio 0.9 and Playwright's input coordinates land ~10% off
-  // target on the CI runners. Force 100% through the same webContents API
-  // the app's zoom control uses. A single set gets reverted (the boot path
-  // re-applies the default asynchronously), so set-verify-retry until dpr
-  // reads 1.
-  try {
-    const before = await window.evaluate(() => window.devicePixelRatio);
-    let after = before;
-    for (let i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
-      await app.evaluate(({ BrowserWindow }) => {
-        for (const w of BrowserWindow.getAllWindows()) {
-          w.webContents.setZoomLevel(0);
-        }
-      });
-      await window.waitForTimeout(1000);
-      after = await window.evaluate(() => window.devicePixelRatio);
-      if (Math.abs(after - 1) < 0.001) break;
-    }
-    log(`[zoom] forced 100% via webContents.setZoomLevel(0): dpr ${before} -> ${after}`);
-  } catch (e) {
-    log(`[zoom] direct zoom set failed (continuing): ${e.message}`);
-  }
+  await prepareWindowForInput(app, window);
+  log('[zoom] app window prepared at 100%');
 
   if (values['no-update']) {
     log('smoke mode: window proven, closing');
diff --git a/tests/install/e2e-assets/window-input.cjs b/tests/install/e2e-assets/window-input.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a05846209f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/install/e2e-assets/window-input.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+// Shared input setup for the install drivers. Only the selected app window
+// is changed; helper windows retain their own coordinate system.
+async function prepareWindowForInput(app, page) {
+  const window = await app.browserWindow(page)
+  // Use the same persistent setting as Appearance. A bare setZoomLevel is
+  // overwritten by the app's focus/navigation handlers restoring saved zoom.
+  const persistent = await page.evaluate(() => {
+    const zoom = globalThis.hermesDesktop?.zoom
+    if (!zoom?.setPercent || !zoom?.get) return false
+    zoom.setPercent(100)
+    return true
+  })
+  if (persistent) {
+    await page.waitForFunction(async () => {
+      const state = await globalThis.hermesDesktop.zoom.get()
+      return state.percent === 100
+    }, undefined, { timeout: 15_000 })
+  } else {
+    // Older sampled releases have no zoom preference bridge.
+    await window.evaluate(win => win.webContents.setZoomLevel(0))
+  }
+  // DPR includes OS display scaling; 100% page zoom is not always DPR 1.
+  const factor = await window.evaluate(win => win.webContents.getZoomFactor())
+  if (Math.abs(factor - 1) > 0.001) {
+    throw new Error(`could not set app window zoom to 100% (factor ${factor})`)
+  }
+}
+
+module.exports = { prepareWindowForInput }
diff --git a/tests/install/installer-script-e2e.sh b/tests/install/installer-script-e2e.sh
index 834ec143f2..2c028ce366 100755
--- a/tests/install/installer-script-e2e.sh
+++ b/tests/install/installer-script-e2e.sh
@@ -397,7 +397,7 @@ case "$UPDATE_METHOD" in
     (cd "$PW_DIR" && npm install --no-save --no-audit --no-fund \
       "@playwright/test@1.58.2" 2>&1 | ts_prefix > "$LOG_DIR/playwright-install.log") \
       || { log_group "playwright install transcript" "$LOG_DIR/playwright-install.log"; fail "playwright install failed"; }
-    cp "$ASSETS/launch-from-spec.mjs" "$PW_DIR/"
+    cp "$ASSETS/launch-from-spec.mjs" "$ASSETS/window-input.cjs" "$PW_DIR/"
     rc=0
     (cd "$PW_DIR" && node launch-from-spec.mjs \
       --spec "$SPEC" \
diff --git a/tests/install/macos-desktop-e2e.sh b/tests/install/macos-desktop-e2e.sh
index 613ce8a80f..da74976971 100755
--- a/tests/install/macos-desktop-e2e.sh
+++ b/tests/install/macos-desktop-e2e.sh
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ run_playwright_update() {
   local spec="$1"
   local pw_dir
   pw_dir="$(ensure_playwright)"
-  cp "$ASSETS/launch-from-spec.mjs" "$pw_dir/"
+  cp "$ASSETS/launch-from-spec.mjs" "$ASSETS/window-input.cjs" "$pw_dir/"
   local rc=0
   (cd "$pw_dir" && node launch-from-spec.mjs \
     --spec "$spec" \
diff --git a/tests/install/windows-e2e.ps1 b/tests/install/windows-e2e.ps1
index ec8bc61d67..e9af0a9ec4 100644
--- a/tests/install/windows-e2e.ps1
+++ b/tests/install/windows-e2e.ps1
@@ -429,6 +429,7 @@ function Invoke-HermesDesktopAppUpdate([string]$TargetSha) {
     Assert-True ($npmExit -eq 0) "npm install @playwright/test@$PlaywrightVersion into the driver dir"
 
     Copy-Item (Join-Path $AssetsDir "launch-from-spec.mjs") (Join-Path $driverDir "launch-from-spec.mjs") -Force
+    Copy-Item (Join-Path $AssetsDir "window-input.cjs") (Join-Path $driverDir "window-input.cjs") -Force
     $prevEap = $ErrorActionPreference; $ErrorActionPreference = "Continue"
     Push-Location $driverDir
     try {
@@ -755,6 +756,7 @@ function Invoke-GuiUpdateDesktopRoute([string]$TargetSha) {
         # node_modules.
         $driver = Join-Path $driverDir "e2e-drive-update.cjs"
         Copy-Item (Join-Path $AssetsDir "drive-update.cjs") $driver -Force
+        Copy-Item (Join-Path $AssetsDir "window-input.cjs") (Join-Path $driverDir "window-input.cjs") -Force
         Push-Location $driverDir
         try {
             & $node $driver $desktopExe $proof 2>&1 |