diff --git a/apps/desktop/e2e/update/first-run.spec.ts b/apps/desktop/e2e/update/first-run.spec.ts
index b38c39f537..fef9ef6928 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/e2e/update/first-run.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/e2e/update/first-run.spec.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
  * straight to chat — on the first launch and on every later one — and never
  * show the first-run setup chooser or start the bootstrap installer
  * (#123888, #123800: the chooser / installer came back on every launch while
- * the local install was healthy).
+ * the local install was healthy). The second launch drops the Desktop
+ * bootstrap marker first: a usable install is recognised off the filesystem.
  *
  * Real entry point: the packaged app the install built, launched with the
  * install's environment and no HERMES_DESKTOP_HERMES_ROOT override, so the app
@@ -66,7 +67,13 @@ test('a healthy local install opens straight to chat on every launch: no setup c
 
   try {
     for (const launch of [1, 2]) {
-      await test.step(`launch ${launch}`, async () => {
+      await test.step(launch === 1 ? 'launch 1' : 'launch 2, bootstrap marker absent', async () => {
+        if (launch === 2) {
+          // A usable install the Desktop bootstrap never stamped (a CLI install from before the
+          // marker, or one whose marker was lost): usability, not the marker, decides.
+          fs.rmSync(path.join(facts.checkout, '.hermes-bootstrap-complete'), { force: true })
+        }
+
         const installer = startInstallerSampler(facts)
         const { app, page, logTail } = await launchInstalledApp(facts, env)
 
@@ -77,6 +84,11 @@ test('a healthy local install opens straight to chat on every launch: no setup c
             throw new Error(`${(error as Error).message}\n${diagnostics(facts, logTail())}`)
           })
 
+          expect(
+            await firstRunScreensSeen(page),
+            `launch ${launch} of a healthy install showed the first-run setup chooser\n${diagnostics(facts, logTail())}`
+          ).toEqual([])
+
           // The backend the app started is the user's install, not something it provisioned.
           const serve = backendServeProcesses(facts)
           expect(serve.length, `one backend for the install\n${diagnostics(facts)}`).toBe(1)
@@ -90,10 +102,6 @@ test('a healthy local install opens straight to chat on every launch: no setup c
           await send(page, `${U(launch)} hello`, 'Enter', ws)
           await expect(page.getByText(`${A(launch)} healthy install`)).toBeVisible({ timeout: 120_000 })
 
-          expect(
-            await firstRunScreensSeen(page),
-            `launch ${launch} of a healthy install showed the first-run setup chooser\n${diagnostics(facts, logTail())}`
-          ).toEqual([])
           expect(
             installer.stop(),
             `launch ${launch} of a healthy install started the bootstrap installer\n${diagnostics(facts, logTail())}`
diff --git a/apps/desktop/e2e/update/update-concurrency.spec.ts b/apps/desktop/e2e/update/update-concurrency.spec.ts
index f8f60d7e90..381632667b 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/e2e/update/update-concurrency.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/e2e/update/update-concurrency.spec.ts
@@ -148,11 +148,12 @@ test('Update now while a terminal update runs is refused, and the panel is truth
               message: 'the app reports the install current on the new commit'
             })
             .toEqual({ currentSha: target, updateAvailable: false })
-          await openAbout(reopened.page)
-          await expect(reopened.page.getByRole('button', { name: /^update now$/i })).toHaveCount(0, { timeout: 60_000 })
+          // Chat first: the About panel replaces the chat view.
           provider.script(U(1), [{ text: [`${A(1)} `, 'after ', 'terminal ', 'update'] }])
           await send(reopened.page, `${U(1)} still here?`, 'Enter', ws2)
           await expect(reopened.page.getByText(`${A(1)} after terminal update`)).toBeVisible({ timeout: 120_000 })
+          await openAbout(reopened.page)
+          await expect(reopened.page.getByRole('button', { name: /^update now$/i })).toHaveCount(0, { timeout: 60_000 })
         } finally {
           await closeQuietly(reopened.app)
         }