diff --git a/frontend/e2e/channel.spec.ts b/frontend/e2e/channel.spec.ts
index 7106bd1f..a2136228 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/channel.spec.ts
+++ b/frontend/e2e/channel.spec.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { test, expect } from "@playwright/test";
-import { openApp } from "./helpers";
+import { clickVisibleChannelLink, openApp } from "./helpers";
 
 // Locks channel-view entry + exit: opening a channel from a feed card replaces the view, and
 // both the in-page Back and the browser Back return to the feed. (This orthogonal channel branch
@@ -44,7 +44,11 @@ test.describe("channel view", () => {
     const saved = await main.evaluate((el) => el.scrollTop);
     expect(saved).toBeGreaterThan(1500);
 
-    await page.getByTestId("video-card-channel").first().click();
+    // Click a channel card that is actually ON SCREEN — a real user clicks what they see. Clicking
+    // `.first()` here would grab an overscan card ABOVE the viewport, and Playwright's scroll-into-
+    // view would move the feed before navigating, so Back would restore that moved position, not
+    // the one under test. (This is what made the test fail while the app was in fact correct.)
+    expect(await clickVisibleChannelLink(page)).toBe(true);
     await expect(page.getByTestId("channel-title")).toBeVisible();
     await page.getByTestId("channel-back").click();
     await expect(page.getByTestId("video-card").first()).toBeVisible();
diff --git a/frontend/e2e/helpers.ts b/frontend/e2e/helpers.ts
index e69ae936..de3c4693 100644
--- a/frontend/e2e/helpers.ts
+++ b/frontend/e2e/helpers.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,27 @@ export async function gotoPage(page: Page, id: string): Promise<void> {
   await expect(page.getByTestId(`nav-${id}`)).toHaveAttribute("aria-current", "page");
 }
 
+/**
+ * Click a channel link that is currently WITHIN the viewport — what a real user does. Never use
+ * `.first()` for this after scrolling: the first rendered card lives in the virtualizer's overscan
+ * ABOVE the viewport, so Playwright would scroll it into view to click it, moving the scroll
+ * position — fatal to any test that then asserts on where the feed was. Returns false if none found.
+ */
+export async function clickVisibleChannelLink(page: Page): Promise<boolean> {
+  const links = page.getByTestId("video-card-channel").filter({ visible: true });
+  const viewport = page.viewportSize();
+  const height = viewport?.height ?? 800;
+  const count = await links.count();
+  for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
+    const box = await links.nth(i).boundingBox();
+    if (box && box.y >= 0 && box.y + box.height <= height) {
+      await links.nth(i).click();
+      return true;
+    }
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
 /** Open the in-app player from the first feed card (clicks its thumbnail link). */
 export async function openFirstVideo(page: Page): Promise<void> {
   await expect(page.getByTestId("video-card").first()).toBeVisible();