diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/TaskPage.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/TaskPage.tsx
index acbe1a6b0e1..835a9ba26a6 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/TaskPage.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/TaskPage.tsx
@@ -205,6 +205,7 @@ import {
 } from '@/components/task-page-cache-selectors'
 import { shouldHideTaskPageListChrome } from '@/components/task-page-list-chrome-visibility'
 import {
+  applyEmptyPageClamp,
   buildSelectedReposKey,
   getTaskPagePerRepoLimit,
   resolveEmptyPageOutcome,
@@ -6190,13 +6191,15 @@ export default function TaskPage(): React.JSX.Element {
         if (items.length === 0) {
           // Why: see resolveEmptyPageOutcome — a dead click needs feedback only
           // when something actually failed; a clean empty probe is end-of-data.
-          const outcome = resolveEmptyPageOutcome({
+          // The reason never depends on the count, so it's safe to derive here;
+          // the clamp is not (see applyEmptyPageClamp) and runs in the updater.
+          const { reason } = resolveEmptyPageOutcome({
             target,
             failedCount,
             issueErrorTypes,
-            countedTotalPages
+            countedTotalPages: null
           })
-          if (outcome.reason === 'window-unreachable') {
+          if (reason === 'window-unreachable') {
             toast.error(
               translate(
                 'auto.components.TaskPage.loadPageUnreachable',
@@ -6205,7 +6208,7 @@ export default function TaskPage(): React.JSX.Element {
               ),
               { id: 'work-items-page-unreachable' }
             )
-          } else if (outcome.reason === 'load-failed') {
+          } else if (reason === 'load-failed') {
             toast.error(
               translate(
                 'auto.components.TaskPage.loadPageFailed',
@@ -6215,14 +6218,9 @@ export default function TaskPage(): React.JSX.Element {
               { id: 'work-items-page-load-failed' }
             )
           }
-          const clamp = outcome.clampTotalPagesTo
-          if (clamp !== null) {
-            // Why: 0 means the count itself failed (fallback path) — replace it
-            // like null, or the speculative fallback page is never withdrawn.
-            setCountedTotalPages((previous) =>
-              previous !== null && previous > 0 && previous < clamp ? previous : clamp
-            )
-          }
+          setCountedTotalPages((previous) =>
+            applyEmptyPageClamp(previous, { target, failedCount, issueErrorTypes })
+          )
           return
         }
         setPages((previous) => {
@@ -6247,7 +6245,6 @@ export default function TaskPage(): React.JSX.Element {
       paginationLoading,
       selectedRepos,
       currentPage,
-      countedTotalPages,
       appliedTaskSearch,
       fetchWorkItemsNextPage,
       githubPageSize,
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/task-page-work-item-pagination.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/task-page-work-item-pagination.test.ts
index a54161fd9a1..52bc565f581 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/task-page-work-item-pagination.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/task-page-work-item-pagination.test.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import type { GitHubWorkItem } from '../../../shared/types'
 import {
   accumulateWorkItemPages,
+  applyEmptyPageClamp,
   buildSelectedReposKey,
   getTaskPagePerRepoLimit,
   resolveEmptyPageOutcome,
@@ -79,9 +80,10 @@ describe('resolveEmptyPageOutcome', () => {
     ).toEqual({ reason: 'window-unreachable', clampTotalPagesTo: 33 })
   })
 
-  it('does not clamp on a window 422 when a sibling repo fetch threw', () => {
+  it('resolves as load-failed when a window 422 coincides with a thrown repo fetch', () => {
     // Repos advance independently; another repo's transient failure says
-    // nothing about the healthy repos' remaining pages.
+    // nothing about the healthy repos' remaining pages — and the transient
+    // failure is the actionable signal, so it wins the toast too.
     expect(
       resolveEmptyPageOutcome({
         ...base,
@@ -89,7 +91,7 @@ describe('resolveEmptyPageOutcome', () => {
         failedCount: 1,
         issueErrorTypes: ['validation_error']
       })
-    ).toEqual({ reason: 'window-unreachable', clampTotalPagesTo: null })
+    ).toEqual({ reason: 'load-failed', clampTotalPagesTo: null })
   })
 
   it('reports a failure without clamping for transient or unclassified errors', () => {
@@ -129,6 +131,40 @@ describe('resolveEmptyPageOutcome', () => {
   })
 })
 
+describe('applyEmptyPageClamp', () => {
+  const clean = { failedCount: 0, issueErrorTypes: [] as const }
+
+  it('keeps a real count that resolved between click and response', () => {
+    // The count promise routinely lands mid-flight; the committed value, not
+    // the click-time closure, must decide whether end-of-data may clamp.
+    expect(applyEmptyPageClamp(33, { ...clean, target: 2 })).toBe(33)
+  })
+
+  it('clamps while the count is unknown or failed', () => {
+    expect(applyEmptyPageClamp(null, { ...clean, target: 2 })).toBe(2)
+    expect(applyEmptyPageClamp(0, { ...clean, target: 2 })).toBe(2)
+  })
+
+  it('never raises an earlier clamp', () => {
+    // A prior probe clamped to 20; a later window 422 at page 33 must not
+    // re-advertise pages 21-33.
+    expect(
+      applyEmptyPageClamp(20, { target: 33, failedCount: 0, issueErrorTypes: ['validation_error'] })
+    ).toBe(20)
+  })
+
+  it('clamps a real count on a window 422 — the count over-advertising is the bug', () => {
+    expect(
+      applyEmptyPageClamp(39, { target: 33, failedCount: 0, issueErrorTypes: ['validation_error'] })
+    ).toBe(33)
+  })
+
+  it('leaves the count alone on failures', () => {
+    expect(applyEmptyPageClamp(33, { target: 5, failedCount: 2, issueErrorTypes: [] })).toBe(33)
+    expect(applyEmptyPageClamp(null, { target: 5, failedCount: 2, issueErrorTypes: [] })).toBe(null)
+  })
+})
+
 describe('buildSelectedReposKey', () => {
   const contextFor = (r: { id: string }) => ({ provider: 'github', repoId: r.id })
 
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/task-page-work-item-pagination.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/task-page-work-item-pagination.ts
index 1a7cf450a78..89a90f36b47 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/task-page-work-item-pagination.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/task-page-work-item-pagination.ts
@@ -45,8 +45,11 @@ export type EmptyPageOutcome = {
  * An empty page load has three distinct meanings, and only the caller-side
  * error channels can tell them apart (#11485):
  * - a `validation_error` is GitHub's 422 for pages past its 1000-result search
- *   window — the page can never load, so stop advertising it (unless a sibling
- *   repo's fetch threw, which says nothing about the other repos' windows);
+ *   window — the page can never load, so stop advertising it. When a sibling
+ *   repo's fetch also threw, the transient failure wins (load-failed, no
+ *   clamp) so the toast and the clamp never disagree. Note this branch is
+ *   issue-scope-only: the PR list path self-caps at the window and never 422s,
+ *   so PR-tab dead clicks resolve as end-of-data.
  * - any other per-repo error (thrown or issue-side envelope) may be transient
  *   (rate limit, permissions), so surface it but keep the advertised count;
  * - no error at all is end-of-data. That only warrants a clamp while the count
@@ -62,11 +65,8 @@ export function resolveEmptyPageOutcome(args: {
   countedTotalPages: number | null
 }): EmptyPageOutcome {
   const clamp = Math.max(1, Math.floor(args.target))
-  if (args.issueErrorTypes.includes('validation_error')) {
-    return {
-      reason: 'window-unreachable',
-      clampTotalPagesTo: args.failedCount === 0 ? clamp : null
-    }
+  if (args.issueErrorTypes.includes('validation_error') && args.failedCount === 0) {
+    return { reason: 'window-unreachable', clampTotalPagesTo: clamp }
   }
   if (args.failedCount > 0 || args.issueErrorTypes.length > 0) {
     return { reason: 'load-failed', clampTotalPagesTo: null }
@@ -75,6 +75,28 @@ export function resolveEmptyPageOutcome(args: {
   return { reason: 'end-of-data', clampTotalPagesTo: countUnknown ? clamp : null }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Functional-updater body for the advertised-count clamp. Must be evaluated
+ * against the COMMITTED count (React updater `previous`), not a click-time
+ * closure — the count promise routinely resolves between click and response,
+ * and a stale-null closure would let an end-of-data clamp overwrite a real
+ * count. Math.min preserves the never-raise property of earlier clamps.
+ */
+export function applyEmptyPageClamp(
+  previous: number | null,
+  args: {
+    target: number
+    failedCount: number
+    issueErrorTypes: readonly ClassifiedError['type'][]
+  }
+): number | null {
+  const next = resolveEmptyPageOutcome({ ...args, countedTotalPages: previous }).clampTotalPagesTo
+  if (next === null) {
+    return previous
+  }
+  return previous !== null && previous > 0 ? Math.min(previous, next) : next
+}
+
 /**
  * Stable identity string for a repo selection. The repos store installs a fresh
  * array on every repos:changed event, so effects keyed on array identity re-fire