diff --git a/mobile/src/session/mobile-native-chat-pending-retirement.test.ts b/mobile/src/session/mobile-native-chat-pending-retirement.test.ts
index 235ef836301..66eb6b127db 100644
--- a/mobile/src/session/mobile-native-chat-pending-retirement.test.ts
+++ b/mobile/src/session/mobile-native-chat-pending-retirement.test.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import type { NativeChatMessage } from '../../../src/shared/native-chat-types'
 import type { MobileNativeChatPendingMessage } from './mobile-native-chat-pending-echo'
 import {
+  MAX_GLUE_SPAN,
   retireLandedMobileNativeChatPending,
   selectGluedPendingIds
 } from './mobile-native-chat-pending-retirement'
@@ -187,6 +188,19 @@ describe('selectGluedPendingIds', () => {
     expect(retiredIds(messages, pending)).toEqual([])
   })
 
+  // A head that can never match must not freeze the run behind it: one stuck
+  // bubble would otherwise disable glue retirement for the rest of the session.
+  it('glues a later pair even when the head of the run can never match', () => {
+    const messages = [
+      userTurn('m0', 'unrelated', 1000),
+      userTurn('m1', 'fix the bug', 5000),
+      userTurn('m2', 'ship the fix', 6000)
+    ]
+    const stuckHead = pendingSend('p0', 'bug', 'm0')
+    const pair = [pendingSend('p1', 'ship the', 'm0'), pendingSend('p2', 'fix', 'm0')]
+    expect(retiredIds(messages, [stuckHead, ...pair])).toEqual(['p1', 'p2'])
+  })
+
   it('skips a caption-less image echo instead of gluing it', () => {
     const messages = [assistantTurn('m1', 'ready', 1000), userTurn('m2', 'one two', 5000)]
     const pending = [
@@ -214,7 +228,10 @@ describe('selectGluedPendingIds', () => {
     expect(retiredIds(messages, [pendingSend('p1', 'one', 'm1')])).toEqual([])
   })
 
-  it('inspects each pending segment at most once per transcript turn', () => {
+  // The cursor slides past a head that cannot match, so a turn may try several
+  // start positions — but each try is capped at MAX_GLUE_SPAN segments, which
+  // keeps the work linear in the run length rather than quadratic.
+  it('keeps segment inspection linear in the run length per transcript turn', () => {
     const pendingCount = 96
     const turnCount = 12
     const text = `${'a '.repeat(pendingCount)}x`
@@ -233,7 +250,7 @@ describe('selectGluedPendingIds', () => {
     } finally {
       startsWith.mockRestore()
     }
-    expect(segmentChecks).toBeLessThanOrEqual(turnCount * pendingCount)
+    expect(segmentChecks).toBeLessThanOrEqual(turnCount * pendingCount * MAX_GLUE_SPAN)
   })
 })
 
diff --git a/mobile/src/session/mobile-native-chat-pending-retirement.ts b/mobile/src/session/mobile-native-chat-pending-retirement.ts
index 43bf544537a..c990e348cbd 100644
--- a/mobile/src/session/mobile-native-chat-pending-retirement.ts
+++ b/mobile/src/session/mobile-native-chat-pending-retirement.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ import type { MobileNativeChatPendingMessage } from './mobile-native-chat-pendin
 
 const SPACE = ' '
 const NO_PENDING_IDS: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set()
+// The host shares one input line, not an unbounded one: real glue is two or
+// three sends. Capping the span keeps the cursor slide below linear-per-turn
+// instead of quadratic when a long run of identical sends is outstanding.
+export const MAX_GLUE_SPAN = 8
 
 type UserTurn = { index: number; text: string }
 type GlueSegment = { text: string; tail: number } | null
@@ -61,14 +65,27 @@ export function selectGluedPendingIds(
       if (cursor >= runEnd - 1) {
         break
       }
-      const matched = matchGluedRun(turn, segments, cursor, runEnd)
+      // A send that can never match must not freeze the run behind it. One
+      // permanently unretirable head — a pair whose own glued row arrived with
+      // the read, or a send the count pass claimed against an older row — would
+      // otherwise disable glue retirement for every later pair, for the rest of
+      // the session. Slide past it; the cursor stays monotonic, so a later turn
+      // can never claim a send an earlier one already took.
+      let start = cursor
+      let matched = 0
+      for (; start <= runEnd - 2; start++) {
+        matched = matchGluedRun(turn, segments, start, runEnd)
+        if (matched > 0) {
+          break
+        }
+      }
       if (matched === 0) {
         continue
       }
-      for (let index = cursor; index < cursor + matched; index++) {
+      for (let index = start; index < start + matched; index++) {
         retired.add(pending[index]!.id)
       }
-      cursor += matched
+      cursor = start + matched
     }
     runStart = runEnd + 1
   }
@@ -84,7 +101,8 @@ function matchGluedRun(
 ): number {
   let at = 0
   let matched = 0
-  for (let index = start; index < end; index++) {
+  const limit = Math.min(end, start + MAX_GLUE_SPAN)
+  for (let index = start; index < limit; index++) {
     const segment = segments[index]!
     // Every send carries its OWN boundary: a row that already existed when this
     // send was issued can never be part of its echo, however well it reads.
diff --git a/mobile/src/session/use-mobile-native-chat-drafts.ts b/mobile/src/session/use-mobile-native-chat-drafts.ts
index 2597a615cc5..784f025847b 100644
--- a/mobile/src/session/use-mobile-native-chat-drafts.ts
+++ b/mobile/src/session/use-mobile-native-chat-drafts.ts
@@ -291,9 +291,12 @@ export function useMobileNativeChatDrafts(args: {
     if (pending.length === 0) {
       return
     }
-    // This pass runs before the rebase below, so a send captured with no
-    // boundary would claim any image turn in the read — binding the user's fresh
-    // photo to an old one. It waits a tick and claims against a real tail.
+    // Only judge a send against a read known to be this session's. Note this
+    // does NOT give an image echo a boundary — the rebase deliberately leaves
+    // those on whatever they captured — so a caption-less photo sent before any
+    // read settled can still claim an older photo turn, exactly as it does on
+    // main. Fixing that needs a tail that excludes older image turns without
+    // excluding the send's own echo, which is a separate change.
     const landedImagePreviews = findLandedImagePreviewEchoes(
       messages,
       pending.filter((item) => item.baselineResolved)