diff --git a/src/components/Channel/Channel.tsx b/src/components/Channel/Channel.tsx
index 4817f500e..36bf68a7d 100644
--- a/src/components/Channel/Channel.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Channel/Channel.tsx
@@ -341,6 +341,13 @@ const ChannelInner = (
       originalTitle.current = document.title;
 
       if (!errored) {
+        // Re-derive the unread snapshot from the current read state on every (re)open. A cached
+        // channel is NOT re-queried on reopen, so the LLC's first-page-query auto-seed does not run
+        // and the separator/"N new" banner would otherwise show a stale boundary (or never clear).
+        // Must run before markChannelRead below so it captures the unread boundary before the
+        // server read advances it.
+        channel.messagePaginator.seedUnreadSnapshot();
+
         const ownReadState = client.userID
           ? channel.state.read[client.userID]
           : undefined;
diff --git a/src/components/MessageList/MessageList.tsx b/src/components/MessageList/MessageList.tsx
index 7055599bf..0cd6671a2 100644
--- a/src/components/MessageList/MessageList.tsx
+++ b/src/components/MessageList/MessageList.tsx
@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ const MessageListWithContext = (props: MessageListWithContextProps) => {
     messageFocusSignalSelector,
   );
   const focusedMessageId = messageFocusSignal?.messageId;
+  const focusToken = messageFocusSignal?.token;
 
   const {
     hasNewMessages,
@@ -152,6 +153,7 @@ const MessageListWithContext = (props: MessageListWithContextProps) => {
   });
 
   useMarkRead({
+    hasMoreNewer,
     isMessageListScrolledToBottom,
     messageListIsThread: isThreadList,
   });
@@ -245,8 +247,15 @@ const MessageListWithContext = (props: MessageListWithContextProps) => {
   React.useLayoutEffect(() => {
     if (!focusedMessageId) return;
     const element = listElement?.querySelector(`[data-message-id='${focusedMessageId}']`);
-    element?.scrollIntoView({ block: 'center' });
-  }, [focusedMessageId, listElement]);
+    if (!element) return;
+    element.scrollIntoView({ block: 'center' });
+    messagePaginator.scheduleMessageFocusSignalClear({ token: focusToken });
+  }, [focusedMessageId, focusToken, listElement, messagePaginator]);
+
+  React.useEffect(() => {
+    const paginator = messagePaginator;
+    return () => paginator.clearMessageFocusSignal();
+  }, [messagePaginator]);
 
   const id = useStableId();
 
diff --git a/src/components/MessageList/UnreadMessagesNotification.tsx b/src/components/MessageList/UnreadMessagesNotification.tsx
index 0c88f0cdf..1fd04d742 100644
--- a/src/components/MessageList/UnreadMessagesNotification.tsx
+++ b/src/components/MessageList/UnreadMessagesNotification.tsx
@@ -66,11 +66,8 @@ export const UnreadMessagesNotification = ({
         appearance='outline'
         aria-label={t('aria/Mark messages as read')}
         onClick={() => {
-          if (thread) {
-            client.messageDeliveryReporter.throttledMarkRead(thread);
-            return;
-          }
-          client.messageDeliveryReporter.throttledMarkRead(channel);
+          messagePaginator.clearUnreadSnapshot();
+          client.messageDeliveryReporter.throttledMarkRead(thread ?? channel);
         }}
         variant='secondary'
       >
diff --git a/src/components/MessageList/VirtualizedMessageList.tsx b/src/components/MessageList/VirtualizedMessageList.tsx
index fe0fa0603..220582ded 100644
--- a/src/components/MessageList/VirtualizedMessageList.tsx
+++ b/src/components/MessageList/VirtualizedMessageList.tsx
@@ -293,6 +293,7 @@ const VirtualizedMessageListWithContext = (
     unreadStateSnapshotSelector,
   );
   const focusedMessageId = messageFocusSignal?.messageId;
+  const focusToken = messageFocusSignal?.token;
 
   const virtuoso = useRef<VirtuosoHandle>(null);
 
@@ -406,6 +407,7 @@ const VirtualizedMessageListWithContext = (
   } = useNewMessageNotification(processedMessages, client.userID);
 
   useMarkRead({
+    hasMoreNewer,
     isMessageListScrolledToBottom,
     messageListIsThread: isThreadList,
   });
@@ -514,13 +516,19 @@ const VirtualizedMessageListWithContext = (
       if (index !== -1) {
         scrollTimeout = setTimeout(() => {
           virtuoso.current?.scrollToIndex({ align: 'center', index });
+          messagePaginator.scheduleMessageFocusSignalClear({ token: focusToken });
         }, 0);
       }
     }
     return () => {
       clearTimeout(scrollTimeout);
     };
-  }, [focusedMessageId, processedMessages]);
+  }, [focusedMessageId, focusToken, processedMessages, messagePaginator]);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const paginator = messagePaginator;
+    return () => paginator.clearMessageFocusSignal();
+  }, [messagePaginator]);
 
   const id = useStableId();
 
diff --git a/src/components/MessageList/hooks/useMarkRead.ts b/src/components/MessageList/hooks/useMarkRead.ts
index 99fc86061..bade4ca83 100644
--- a/src/components/MessageList/hooks/useMarkRead.ts
+++ b/src/components/MessageList/hooks/useMarkRead.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useCallback, useEffect } from 'react';
+import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
 import { useChannel, useChatContext } from '../../../context';
 import { useMessagePaginator } from '../../../hooks';
 import { useThreadContext } from '../../Threads';
@@ -11,18 +11,19 @@ const hasReadLastMessage = (channel: Channel, userId: string) => {
 };
 
 type UseMarkReadParams = {
+  hasMoreNewer: boolean;
   isMessageListScrolledToBottom: boolean;
   // todo: remove and infer only from useThreadContext return value - if undefined, not a thread list
   messageListIsThread: boolean;
 };
 
 /**
- * Takes care of marking the active message collection read (channel or thread).
- * The collection is marked read only if:
- * 1. the list is scrolled to the bottom
- * 2. it was not explicitly marked unread by the user
+ * Marks the active message collection (channel or thread) read when the user is caught up at the
+ * bottom, and keeps the paginator's unread snapshot (the "Unread messages" separator / "N new"
+ * banner) in sync.
  */
 export const useMarkRead = ({
+  hasMoreNewer,
   isMessageListScrolledToBottom,
   messageListIsThread,
 }: UseMarkReadParams) => {
@@ -34,13 +35,46 @@ export const useMarkRead = ({
   const isThreadList = !!thread || messageListIsThread;
 
   const markRead = useCallback(() => {
-    if (thread) {
-      client.messageDeliveryReporter.throttledMarkRead(thread);
-      return;
-    }
-    client.messageDeliveryReporter.throttledMarkRead(channel);
+    client.messageDeliveryReporter.throttledMarkRead(thread ?? channel);
   }, [channel, client.messageDeliveryReporter, thread]);
 
+  // Advance the frozen unread snapshot the separator/banner render from. The LLC never clears it on
+  // `message.read`, so on a genuine catch-up we clear it ourselves; deliberately NOT called on the
+  // initial open (see the effect below) so the separator persists where the user left off.
+  const resetUnreadSnapshot = useCallback(() => {
+    const loadedItems = messagePaginator.state.getLatestValue().items ?? [];
+    const previous = messagePaginator.unreadStateSnapshot.getLatestValue();
+    messagePaginator.unreadStateSnapshot.next({
+      ...previous,
+      firstUnreadMessageId: null,
+      lastReadAt: new Date(),
+      lastReadMessageId:
+        loadedItems[loadedItems.length - 1]?.id ?? previous.lastReadMessageId,
+      unreadCount: 0,
+    });
+  }, [messagePaginator]);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    // Tell the state layer whether the user is actively viewing the latest messages (tab
+    // foregrounded AND at the bottom AND no newer messages beyond the loaded window). While live,
+    // the LLC skips the own-unread bump on `message.new` so the separator/banner never flash.
+    const pushViewingLive = () =>
+      messagePaginator.setViewingLive(
+        !document.hidden && isMessageListScrolledToBottom && !hasMoreNewer,
+      );
+
+    pushViewingLive();
+    document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', pushViewingLive);
+
+    return () => {
+      document.removeEventListener('visibilitychange', pushViewingLive);
+      messagePaginator.setViewingLive(false);
+    };
+  }, [hasMoreNewer, isMessageListScrolledToBottom, messagePaginator]);
+
+  const wasAtBottomRef = useRef(isMessageListScrolledToBottom);
+  const hasLeftBottomRef = useRef(false);
+
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!channel.getConfig()?.read_events) return;
     const shouldMarkRead = () => {
@@ -56,8 +90,19 @@ export const useMarkRead = ({
       );
     };
 
+    const wasAtBottom = wasAtBottomRef.current;
+    wasAtBottomRef.current = isMessageListScrolledToBottom;
+    if (wasAtBottom && !isMessageListScrolledToBottom) {
+      hasLeftBottomRef.current = true;
+    }
+    const scrolledBackToBottom =
+      !wasAtBottom && isMessageListScrolledToBottom && hasLeftBottomRef.current;
+
     const onVisibilityChange = () => {
-      if (shouldMarkRead()) markRead();
+      if (shouldMarkRead()) {
+        resetUnreadSnapshot();
+        markRead();
+      }
     };
 
     const handleMessageNew = (event: Event) => {
@@ -73,6 +118,7 @@ export const useMarkRead = ({
       // unreadStateSnapshot, and the thread-vs-channel guard above. Verify at runtime
       // that thread replies do NOT bump the channel's unread UI under the paginator model.
       if (shouldMarkRead()) {
+        resetUnreadSnapshot();
         markRead();
       }
     };
@@ -81,6 +127,12 @@ export const useMarkRead = ({
     document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', onVisibilityChange);
 
     if (shouldMarkRead()) {
+      // On open (no scroll-back) mark read on the SERVER only and keep the snapshot so the
+      // separator/banner persist; on a real scroll-back-to-bottom also clear the snapshot.
+      if (scrolledBackToBottom) {
+        resetUnreadSnapshot();
+        hasLeftBottomRef.current = false;
+      }
       markRead();
     }
 
@@ -93,23 +145,9 @@ export const useMarkRead = ({
     client,
     isMessageListScrolledToBottom,
     markRead,
+    resetUnreadSnapshot,
     isThreadList,
     messagePaginator,
     thread,
   ]);
 };
-
-// todo: remove?
-// function getPreviousLastMessage(messages: LocalMessage[], newMessage?: MessageResponse) {
-//   if (!newMessage) return;
-//   let previousLastMessage;
-//   for (let i = messages.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
-//     const msg = messages[i];
-//     if (!msg?.id) break;
-//     if (msg.id !== newMessage.id) {
-//       previousLastMessage = msg;
-//       break;
-//     }
-//   }
-//   return previousLastMessage;
-// }