diff --git a/docs/web/control-ui.md b/docs/web/control-ui.md
index ade9ac3537da..f949e7da97db 100644
--- a/docs/web/control-ui.md
+++ b/docs/web/control-ui.md
@@ -283,9 +283,9 @@ The terminal is also available as a full-screen, terminal-only document at `/?vi
 ## Connection loss and reconnect
 
 Once a session is established, a dropped Gateway connection does not log you out. The dashboard
-stays visible with an amber "Gateway connection lost — reconnecting…" banner while the client
-retries automatically with backoff (800 ms up to 15 s). Live updates and actions pause until the
-connection returns; **Retry now** in the banner forces an immediate attempt.
+stays visible with a floating amber "Gateway connection lost — Reconnecting…" pill under the top
+bar while the client retries automatically with backoff (800 ms up to 15 s). Live updates and
+actions pause until the connection returns; **Retry now** in the pill forces an immediate attempt.
 
 The login gate only appears when there is no established session yet (first open, page reload
 before connect) or when the Gateway actively rejects the credentials (bad token/password, revoked
diff --git a/ui/src/components/connection-banner.ts b/ui/src/components/connection-banner.ts
index 0af60047e4d5..474ddb86bc2a 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/connection-banner.ts
+++ b/ui/src/components/connection-banner.ts
@@ -13,19 +13,18 @@ export type ConnectionBannerProps = {
 
 function renderConnectionBanner(props: ConnectionBannerProps) {
   const detail = props.lastError ? redactLoginFailureError(props.lastError) : null;
+  const hint = t("connection.offlineHint");
   return html`
-    <div class="connection-banner callout warn" role="status" aria-live="polite">
-      <span class="connection-banner__spinner" aria-hidden="true">${icons.loader}</span>
-      <span class="connection-banner__text">
-        <strong>${t("connection.lostTitle")}</strong>
-        ${t("connection.reconnecting")}
-        <span class="connection-banner__hint" title=${detail ?? ""}
-          >${t("connection.offlineHint")}</span
-        >
-      </span>
-      <button class="btn btn--sm connection-banner__retry" type="button" @click=${props.onRetry}>
-        ${t("connection.retryNow")}
-      </button>
+    <div class="connection-banner" role="status" aria-live="polite">
+      <div class="connection-banner__pill" title=${detail ? `${hint}\n${detail}` : hint}>
+        <span class="connection-banner__spinner" aria-hidden="true">${icons.loader}</span>
+        <strong class="connection-banner__title">${t("connection.lostTitle")}</strong>
+        <span class="connection-banner__state">${t("connection.reconnecting")}</span>
+        <span class="connection-banner__sr-hint">${hint}</span>
+        <button class="btn btn--sm connection-banner__retry" type="button" @click=${props.onRetry}>
+          ${t("connection.retryNow")}
+        </button>
+      </div>
     </div>
   `;
 }
diff --git a/ui/src/styles/components.css b/ui/src/styles/components.css
index 993e1a62b11e..7dc56a2e1ab6 100644
--- a/ui/src/styles/components.css
+++ b/ui/src/styles/components.css
@@ -312,31 +312,69 @@
    Connection Banner (gateway offline / reconnecting)
    =========================================== */
 
+/* Fixed overlay lane under the topbar: connection flaps must not reflow the
+   page the way the old in-flow banner did, so the pill floats over content. */
 .connection-banner {
-  position: sticky;
-  top: 0;
-  z-index: 11;
+  position: fixed;
+  top: calc(var(--shell-topbar-height, 44px) + 10px);
+  left: var(--shell-nav-width, 0px);
+  right: 0;
+  /* Above content, below the mobile nav drawer/backdrop (65+). */
+  z-index: 50;
   display: flex;
-  align-items: center;
   justify-content: center;
+  padding: 0 16px;
+  pointer-events: none;
+}
+
+.connection-banner__pill {
+  pointer-events: auto;
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
   gap: 10px;
-  flex-wrap: wrap;
-  margin: 0 calc(-1 * var(--shell-pad)) 0;
-  border-radius: 0;
-  border-left: none;
-  border-right: none;
-  font-weight: 500;
-  padding: 10px 16px;
+  min-width: 0;
+  max-width: 100%;
+  padding: 6px 6px 6px 14px;
+  border-radius: var(--radius-full);
+  border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--warn) 36%, var(--border));
+  background: color-mix(
+    in srgb,
+    var(--warn) 10%,
+    color-mix(in srgb, var(--bg-elevated) 86%, transparent)
+  );
+  backdrop-filter: blur(12px) saturate(1.4);
+  -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(12px) saturate(1.4);
+  box-shadow: var(--shadow-md);
+  font-size: 13px;
+  animation: connection-banner-enter 0.25s var(--ease-out);
+}
+
+@keyframes connection-banner-enter {
+  from {
+    opacity: 0;
+    transform: translateY(-6px);
+  }
+  to {
+    opacity: 1;
+    transform: translateY(0);
+  }
+}
+
+@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
+  .connection-banner__pill {
+    animation: none;
+  }
 }
 
 .connection-banner__spinner {
   display: inline-flex;
   align-items: center;
+  color: var(--warn);
 }
 
 .connection-banner__spinner svg {
-  width: 16px;
-  height: 16px;
+  width: 14px;
+  height: 14px;
   fill: none;
   stroke: currentColor;
   stroke-width: 2;
@@ -350,22 +388,49 @@
   }
 }
 
-.connection-banner__hint {
-  margin-left: 6px;
-  font-weight: 400;
-  opacity: 0.75;
+.connection-banner__title {
+  color: var(--text-strong);
+  font-weight: 600;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+
+.connection-banner__state {
+  color: var(--muted);
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+
+/* Announced by the role="status" region and mirrored in the pill tooltip;
+   too long to keep visible in the compact pill. */
+.connection-banner__sr-hint {
+  position: absolute;
+  width: 1px;
+  height: 1px;
+  margin: -1px;
+  padding: 0;
+  overflow: hidden;
+  clip: rect(0 0 0 0);
+  white-space: nowrap;
 }
 
 .connection-banner .connection-banner__retry {
-  border-color: currentColor;
-  color: currentColor;
+  border-radius: var(--radius-full);
+  border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--warn) 42%, var(--border));
+  background: transparent;
+  color: var(--text-strong);
   font-size: 12px;
   padding: 4px 12px;
+  white-space: nowrap;
 }
 
 .connection-banner .connection-banner__retry:hover:not(:disabled) {
-  border-color: currentColor;
-  background: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 14%, transparent);
+  border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--warn) 60%, var(--border));
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--warn) 14%, transparent);
+}
+
+@media (max-width: 640px) {
+  .connection-banner__state {
+    display: none;
+  }
 }
 
 /* ===========================================