diff --git a/src/screens/ContactDetailScreen.tsx b/src/screens/ContactDetailScreen.tsx
index 3c835af9..5d905da2 100644
--- a/src/screens/ContactDetailScreen.tsx
+++ b/src/screens/ContactDetailScreen.tsx
@@ -146,6 +146,17 @@ export default function ContactDetailScreen() {
   const [moreOpen, setMoreOpen] = React.useState(false);
   const [moveOpen, setMoveOpen] = React.useState(false);
   const [groupPickerOpen, setGroupPickerOpen] = React.useState(false);
+  // Every hook runs before the not-found return: deleting the contact (or a
+  // sync removing it) re-renders this screen without it, and a hook that only
+  // ran with a contact crashed React with "fewer hooks than expected".
+  const members = contact?.members;
+  const memberContacts = React.useMemo(() => {
+    if (!members) return [];
+    const memberIds = Object.keys(members).filter((k) => members[k]);
+    return memberIds
+      .map((mid) => allContacts.find((c) => c.id === mid || c.uid === mid))
+      .filter(Boolean) as ContactCard[];
+  }, [members, allContacts]);
 
   if (!contact) {
     return (
@@ -214,14 +225,6 @@ export default function ContactDetailScreen() {
     return 0;
   })();
 
-  const memberContacts = React.useMemo(() => {
-    if (!contact.members) return [];
-    const memberIds = Object.keys(contact.members).filter((k) => contact.members![k]);
-    return memberIds
-      .map((mid) => allContacts.find((c) => c.id === mid || c.uid === mid))
-      .filter(Boolean) as ContactCard[];
-  }, [contact.members, allContacts]);
-
   const openMail = (addr: string) => {
     navigation.navigate('Compose', {
       prefillTo: [{ name, email: addr }],
diff --git a/src/screens/GroupDetailScreen.tsx b/src/screens/GroupDetailScreen.tsx
index f1f23741..f0e36b83 100644
--- a/src/screens/GroupDetailScreen.tsx
+++ b/src/screens/GroupDetailScreen.tsx
@@ -54,6 +54,9 @@ export default function GroupDetailScreen() {
   const [pickerOpen, setPickerOpen] = React.useState(false);
   const [confirmDelete, setConfirmDelete] = React.useState(false);
   const [removingMember, setRemovingMember] = React.useState<ContactCard | null>(null);
+  // Before the not-found return, so deleting the group doesn't change the
+  // number of hooks (React throws on that).
+  const excludedIds = React.useMemo(() => new Set(members.map((m) => m.id)), [members]);
 
   if (!group) {
     return (
@@ -127,8 +130,6 @@ export default function GroupDetailScreen() {
     }
   };
 
-  const excludedIds = React.useMemo(() => new Set(members.map((m) => m.id)), [members]);
-
   return (
     <SafeAreaView style={styles.container} edges={['top']}>
       <View style={styles.header}>
diff --git a/src/screens/__tests__/hooks-before-not-found.test.ts b/src/screens/__tests__/hooks-before-not-found.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9c770d6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/screens/__tests__/hooks-before-not-found.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+// A detail screen whose record disappears (deleted here, or removed by a
+// sync) re-renders down its not-found branch. Any hook placed after that
+// early return then runs one time fewer and React throws "Rendered fewer
+// hooks than expected", which took the whole screen down on delete. This
+// scans the screen components for hook calls after their not-found return.
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { join } from 'node:path';
+
+const SCREENS = join(__dirname, '..');
+
+/** Hook calls in `component` after the line `marker`, up to its closing brace. */
+function hooksAfter(file: string, component: string, marker: string): string[] {
+  const src = readFileSync(join(SCREENS, file), 'utf8');
+  const start = src.indexOf(`export default function ${component}(`);
+  expect(start).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+  const rest = src.slice(start);
+  const body = rest.slice(0, rest.search(/\r?\n\}\r?\n/));
+  const at = body.indexOf(marker);
+  expect(at).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+  return body.slice(at).match(/\b(?:React\.)?use[A-Z]\w*\(/g) ?? [];
+}
+
+describe('hooks run before the not-found return', () => {
+  it('ContactDetailScreen', () => {
+    expect(hooksAfter('ContactDetailScreen.tsx', 'ContactDetailScreen', 'if (!contact) {')).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('GroupDetailScreen', () => {
+    expect(hooksAfter('GroupDetailScreen.tsx', 'GroupDetailScreen', 'if (!group) {')).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});