diff --git a/Sources/Panels/BrowserPanel.swift b/Sources/Panels/BrowserPanel.swift
index da61b37e..827b6b28 100644
--- a/Sources/Panels/BrowserPanel.swift
+++ b/Sources/Panels/BrowserPanel.swift
@@ -2525,6 +2525,7 @@ final class BrowserPanel: Panel, ObservableObject {
         navigationDelegate.didFinish = { [weak self] webView in
             Task { @MainActor [weak self] in
                 guard let self, self.isCurrentWebView(webView, instanceID: boundWebViewInstanceID) else { return }
+                self.realignRestoredSessionHistoryToLiveCurrentIfPossible()
                 boundHistoryStore.recordVisit(url: webView.url, title: webView.title)
                 self.refreshFavicon(from: webView)
                 self.applyBrowserThemeModeIfNeeded()
@@ -2867,20 +2868,109 @@ final class BrowserPanel: Panel, ObservableObject {
         backHistoryURLStrings: [String],
         forwardHistoryURLStrings: [String]
     ) {
+        realignRestoredSessionHistoryToLiveCurrentIfPossible()
+
+        let nativeBack = webView.backForwardList.backList.compactMap {
+            Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString($0.url)
+        }
+        let nativeForward = webView.backForwardList.forwardList.compactMap {
+            Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString($0.url)
+        }
+
         if usesRestoredSessionHistory {
             let back = restoredBackHistoryStack.compactMap { Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString($0) }
             // `restoredForwardHistoryStack` stores nearest-forward entries at the end.
-            let forward = restoredForwardHistoryStack.reversed().compactMap { Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString($0) }
-            return (back, forward)
+            let restoredForward = restoredForwardHistoryStack.reversed().compactMap {
+                Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString($0)
+            }
+
+            if isLiveSessionHistoryAlignedWithRestoredCurrent {
+                return (
+                    back,
+                    restoredForward.isEmpty ? nativeForward : restoredForward
+                )
+            }
+
+            return (back + nativeBack, nativeForward)
         }
 
-        let back = webView.backForwardList.backList.compactMap {
-            Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString($0.url)
+        return (nativeBack, nativeForward)
+    }
+
+    private func resolvedLiveSessionHistoryURL() -> URL? {
+        if let webViewURL = Self.remoteProxyDisplayURL(for: webView.url),
+           Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString(webViewURL) != nil {
+            return webViewURL
         }
-        let forward = webView.backForwardList.forwardList.compactMap {
-            Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString($0.url)
+        if let currentURL,
+           Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString(currentURL) != nil {
+            return currentURL
         }
-        return (back, forward)
+        return nil
+    }
+
+    private var isLiveSessionHistoryAlignedWithRestoredCurrent: Bool {
+        let liveCurrent = Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString(resolvedLiveSessionHistoryURL())
+        let restoredCurrent = Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString(restoredHistoryCurrentURL)
+        guard let liveCurrent, let restoredCurrent else { return true }
+        return liveCurrent == restoredCurrent
+    }
+
+    private func realignRestoredSessionHistoryToLiveCurrentIfPossible() {
+        guard usesRestoredSessionHistory else { return }
+        guard let liveCurrent = resolvedLiveSessionHistoryURL(),
+              let liveCurrentString = Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString(liveCurrent) else {
+            return
+        }
+        guard Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString(restoredHistoryCurrentURL) != liveCurrentString else {
+            return
+        }
+
+        let restoredBack = restoredBackHistoryStack.compactMap { Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString($0) }
+        let restoredForward = restoredForwardHistoryStack.reversed().compactMap {
+            Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString($0)
+        }
+        let restoredCurrent = Self.serializableSessionHistoryURLString(restoredHistoryCurrentURL)
+
+        if let backIndex = restoredBack.lastIndex(of: liveCurrentString) {
+            let newBack = Array(restoredBack[..<backIndex])
+            var newForward = Array(restoredBack[(backIndex + 1)...])
+            if let restoredCurrent {
+                newForward.append(restoredCurrent)
+            }
+            newForward.append(contentsOf: restoredForward)
+
+            restoredBackHistoryStack = Self.sanitizedSessionHistoryURLs(newBack)
+            restoredForwardHistoryStack = Array(Self.sanitizedSessionHistoryURLs(newForward).reversed())
+            restoredHistoryCurrentURL = liveCurrent
+            refreshNavigationAvailability()
+            return
+        }
+
+        if let forwardIndex = restoredForward.firstIndex(of: liveCurrentString) {
+            var newBack = restoredBack
+            if let restoredCurrent {
+                newBack.append(restoredCurrent)
+            }
+            newBack.append(contentsOf: restoredForward[..<forwardIndex])
+            let newForward = Array(restoredForward[(forwardIndex + 1)...])
+
+            restoredBackHistoryStack = Self.sanitizedSessionHistoryURLs(newBack)
+            restoredForwardHistoryStack = Array(Self.sanitizedSessionHistoryURLs(newForward).reversed())
+            restoredHistoryCurrentURL = liveCurrent
+            refreshNavigationAvailability()
+            return
+        }
+
+        guard !restoredForwardHistoryStack.isEmpty else { return }
+#if DEBUG
+        dlog(
+            "browser.history.restore.forward.clear panel=\(id.uuidString.prefix(5)) " +
+            "current=\(liveCurrentString)"
+        )
+#endif
+        restoredForwardHistoryStack.removeAll(keepingCapacity: false)
+        refreshNavigationAvailability()
     }
 
     func restoreSessionNavigationHistory(
@@ -2927,10 +3017,16 @@ final class BrowserPanel: Panel, ObservableObject {
         webViewObservers.append(titleObserver)
 
         // Loading state
-        let loadingObserver = webView.observe(\.isLoading, options: [.new]) { [weak self] webView, _ in
+        // Capture the KVO-provided value at observation time rather than reading
+        // webView.isLoading inside the deferred Task. For fast navigations (e.g.
+        // back-forward cache), isLoading can flip true→false before the first Task
+        // runs, causing handleWebViewLoadingChanged(true) to be missed entirely.
+        // That skips favicon/loading-state cleanup and leaves stale icons visible.
+        let loadingObserver = webView.observe(\.isLoading, options: [.new]) { [weak self] webView, change in
+            let newValue = change.newValue ?? webView.isLoading
             Task { @MainActor in
                 guard let self, self.isCurrentWebView(webView, instanceID: observedWebViewInstanceID) else { return }
-                self.handleWebViewLoadingChanged(webView.isLoading)
+                self.handleWebViewLoadingChanged(newValue)
             }
         }
         webViewObservers.append(loadingObserver)
@@ -3209,6 +3305,27 @@ final class BrowserPanel: Panel, ObservableObject {
             guard self.isCurrentWebView(webView, instanceID: refreshWebViewInstanceID) else { return }
             guard self.isCurrentFaviconRefresh(generation: refreshGeneration) else { return }
 
+            // SPAs often inject <link rel="icon"> via JavaScript after the initial
+            // HTML loads. If no link tag was found, wait briefly and retry once to
+            // give client-side scripts time to add the tag.
+            if discoveredURL == nil {
+                try? await Task.sleep(nanoseconds: 600_000_000)
+                guard self.isCurrentWebView(webView, instanceID: refreshWebViewInstanceID) else { return }
+                guard self.isCurrentFaviconRefresh(generation: refreshGeneration) else { return }
+                if let href = await self.evaluateJavaScriptString(
+                    js,
+                    in: webView,
+                    timeoutNanoseconds: 400_000_000
+                ) {
+                    let trimmed = href.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
+                    if !trimmed.isEmpty, let u = URL(string: trimmed) {
+                        discoveredURL = u
+                    }
+                }
+                guard self.isCurrentWebView(webView, instanceID: refreshWebViewInstanceID) else { return }
+                guard self.isCurrentFaviconRefresh(generation: refreshGeneration) else { return }
+            }
+
             let fallbackURL = URL(string: "/favicon.ico", relativeTo: pageURL)
             let iconURL = discoveredURL ?? fallbackURL
             guard let iconURL else { return }
@@ -3879,20 +3996,29 @@ extension BrowserPanel {
     func goBack() {
         guard canGoBack else { return }
         if usesRestoredSessionHistory {
-            guard let targetURL = restoredBackHistoryStack.popLast() else {
+            realignRestoredSessionHistoryToLiveCurrentIfPossible()
+
+            if (isLiveSessionHistoryAlignedWithRestoredCurrent || !nativeCanGoBack),
+               let targetURL = restoredBackHistoryStack.popLast() {
+                if let current = resolvedCurrentSessionHistoryURL() {
+                    restoredForwardHistoryStack.append(current)
+                }
+                restoredHistoryCurrentURL = targetURL
                 refreshNavigationAvailability()
+                navigateWithoutInsecureHTTPPrompt(
+                    to: targetURL,
+                    recordTypedNavigation: false,
+                    preserveRestoredSessionHistory: true
+                )
                 return
             }
-            if let current = resolvedCurrentSessionHistoryURL() {
-                restoredForwardHistoryStack.append(current)
+
+            if nativeCanGoBack {
+                webView.goBack()
+                return
             }
-            restoredHistoryCurrentURL = targetURL
+
             refreshNavigationAvailability()
-            navigateWithoutInsecureHTTPPrompt(
-                to: targetURL,
-                recordTypedNavigation: false,
-                preserveRestoredSessionHistory: true
-            )
             return
         }
 
@@ -3903,6 +4029,13 @@ extension BrowserPanel {
     func goForward() {
         guard canGoForward else { return }
         if usesRestoredSessionHistory {
+            realignRestoredSessionHistoryToLiveCurrentIfPossible()
+
+            if nativeCanGoForward {
+                webView.goForward()
+                return
+            }
+
             guard let targetURL = restoredForwardHistoryStack.popLast() else {
                 refreshNavigationAvailability()
                 return
@@ -5168,8 +5301,8 @@ extension BrowserPanel {
         let resolvedCanGoBack: Bool
         let resolvedCanGoForward: Bool
         if usesRestoredSessionHistory {
-            resolvedCanGoBack = !restoredBackHistoryStack.isEmpty
-            resolvedCanGoForward = !restoredForwardHistoryStack.isEmpty
+            resolvedCanGoBack = nativeCanGoBack || !restoredBackHistoryStack.isEmpty
+            resolvedCanGoForward = nativeCanGoForward || !restoredForwardHistoryStack.isEmpty
         } else {
             resolvedCanGoBack = nativeCanGoBack
             resolvedCanGoForward = nativeCanGoForward
diff --git a/cmuxTests/BrowserConfigTests.swift b/cmuxTests/BrowserConfigTests.swift
index b60ccef8..ae60de6b 100644
--- a/cmuxTests/BrowserConfigTests.swift
+++ b/cmuxTests/BrowserConfigTests.swift
@@ -1515,6 +1515,49 @@ final class BrowserJavaScriptDialogDelegateTests: XCTestCase {
 
 @MainActor
 final class BrowserSessionHistoryRestoreTests: XCTestCase {
+    private func writeBrowserFixturePage(
+        at url: URL,
+        title: String,
+        file: StaticString = #filePath,
+        line: UInt = #line
+    ) throws {
+        let html = """
+        <html>
+        <head><title>\(title)</title></head>
+        <body>\(title)</body>
+        </html>
+        """
+
+        do {
+            try html.write(to: url, atomically: true, encoding: .utf8)
+        } catch {
+            XCTFail("Failed to write browser fixture page: \(error)", file: file, line: line)
+            throw error
+        }
+    }
+
+    private func waitForBrowserPanel(
+        _ panel: BrowserPanel,
+        url: URL,
+        timeout: TimeInterval = 5.0,
+        file: StaticString = #filePath,
+        line: UInt = #line
+    ) {
+        let deadline = Date().addingTimeInterval(timeout)
+        while Date() < deadline {
+            RunLoop.current.run(mode: .default, before: Date().addingTimeInterval(0.01))
+            if panel.preferredURLStringForOmnibar() == url.absoluteString && !panel.isLoading {
+                return
+            }
+        }
+
+        XCTFail(
+            "Timed out waiting for browser panel to load \(url.absoluteString). Current=\(panel.preferredURLStringForOmnibar() ?? "nil") loading=\(panel.isLoading)",
+            file: file,
+            line: line
+        )
+    }
+
     func testSessionNavigationHistorySnapshotUsesRestoredStacks() {
         let panel = BrowserPanel(workspaceId: UUID())
 
@@ -1578,6 +1621,47 @@ final class BrowserSessionHistoryRestoreTests: XCTestCase {
         XCTAssertTrue(panel.canGoForward)
     }
 
+    func testGoBackPrefersLiveWKWebViewHistoryBeforeRestoredFallback() throws {
+        let tempDir = FileManager.default.temporaryDirectory
+            .appendingPathComponent("cmux-browser-history-\(UUID().uuidString)", isDirectory: true)
+        try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: tempDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+        defer { try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: tempDir) }
+
+        let pageA = tempDir.appendingPathComponent("a.html")
+        let pageB = tempDir.appendingPathComponent("b.html")
+        let pageC = tempDir.appendingPathComponent("c.html")
+        try writeBrowserFixturePage(at: pageA, title: "A")
+        try writeBrowserFixturePage(at: pageB, title: "B")
+        try writeBrowserFixturePage(at: pageC, title: "C")
+
+        let panel = BrowserPanel(
+            workspaceId: UUID(),
+            initialURL: pageB
+        )
+        waitForBrowserPanel(panel, url: pageB)
+
+        panel.restoreSessionNavigationHistory(
+            backHistoryURLStrings: [pageA.absoluteString],
+            forwardHistoryURLStrings: [],
+            currentURLString: pageB.absoluteString
+        )
+
+        _ = browserLoadRequest(URLRequest(url: pageC), in: panel.webView)
+        waitForBrowserPanel(panel, url: pageC)
+
+        let snapshot = panel.sessionNavigationHistorySnapshot()
+        XCTAssertEqual(
+            snapshot.backHistoryURLStrings,
+            [pageA.absoluteString, pageB.absoluteString]
+        )
+
+        panel.goBack()
+        waitForBrowserPanel(panel, url: pageB)
+
+        panel.goBack()
+        waitForBrowserPanel(panel, url: pageA)
+    }
+
     func testWebViewReplacementAfterProcessTerminationUpdatesInstanceIdentity() {
         let panel = BrowserPanel(
             workspaceId: UUID(),