diff --git a/components/email/__tests__/composer-reply-signature.test.tsx b/components/email/__tests__/composer-reply-signature.test.tsx
index 9205d4c35..fa15f205c 100644
--- a/components/email/__tests__/composer-reply-signature.test.tsx
+++ b/components/email/__tests__/composer-reply-signature.test.tsx
@@ -304,6 +304,33 @@ describe('reply signature above the quote (#842)', () => {
       expect(html).toContain('<i>Sales team</i>');
       expect(html.indexOf('<i>Sales team</i>')).toBeLessThan(html.indexOf('reply_line'));
     });
+
+    // #1503: with the delimiter on, a reply started with the "-- " line, so
+    // there was no line above the signature to type the reply into.
+    it('leaves an empty line above the delimiter', () => {
+      useSettingsStore.setState({ signaturePosition: 'above_quote' });
+      setIdentities([ME]);
+      render(<EmailComposer mode="reply" replyTo={TO_ME} />);
+
+      const html = screen.getByTestId('rich-text-editor').getAttribute('data-html')!;
+      expect(html.startsWith('<p></p><p data-signature-block="separator">-- </p>')).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('leaves an empty line above a delimiter that arrives with late identities', async () => {
+      useSettingsStore.setState({ signaturePosition: 'above_quote' });
+      setIdentities([]);
+      const props = { mode: 'reply' as const, replyTo: TO_ME };
+      const { rerender } = render(<EmailComposer {...props} />);
+      setIdentities([ME]);
+      rerender(<EmailComposer {...props} />);
+
+      await waitFor(() => expect(editorState.html).toContain('<b>Alice</b>'));
+      const lines = new DOMParser().parseFromString(editorState.html, 'text/html').body.children;
+      expect(lines[0].tagName).toBe('P');
+      expect(lines[0].textContent).toBe('');
+      expect(lines[0].hasAttribute('data-signature-block')).toBe(false);
+      expect(lines[1].getAttribute('data-signature-block')).toBe('separator');
+    });
   });
 
   it('still signs a reply below the quote at send time by default', async () => {
diff --git a/components/email/compose-format.ts b/components/email/compose-format.ts
index 82e9e9081..2d3b83cf7 100644
--- a/components/email/compose-format.ts
+++ b/components/email/compose-format.ts
@@ -139,7 +139,19 @@ export function replaceEmbeddedSignature(
       ? children.find((node) => node.textContent?.includes(options.quoteHeader!))
       : undefined;
     const quote = header ?? children.find(isQuoteBoundary) ?? null;
-    removed = { parent: doc.body, insertBefore: quote };
+    // With no line above it, the signature would open the body and leave no
+    // place to type (#1503). Put an empty one first, as getInitialBody does,
+    // and keep the bare line breaks for the gap down to the quote.
+    const above = quote ? children.slice(0, children.indexOf(quote)) : children;
+    const hasLineAbove = above.some((node) => node.nodeType === 1
+      ? (node as Element).tagName !== 'BR'
+      : !!node.textContent?.trim());
+    if (!hasLineAbove) {
+      removed = { parent: doc.body, insertBefore: above[0] ?? quote };
+      signatureHtml = `<p></p>${signatureHtml}`;
+    } else {
+      removed = { parent: doc.body, insertBefore: quote };
+    }
   }
   const host = doc.createElement('div');
   host.innerHTML = signatureHtml;
diff --git a/components/email/email-composer.tsx b/components/email/email-composer.tsx
index dbab1a316..1f0ad42ae 100644
--- a/components/email/email-composer.tsx
+++ b/components/email/email-composer.tsx
@@ -771,10 +771,13 @@ export function EmailComposer({
           : (from.email || from.name || tCommon('unknown')))
       : tCommon('unknown');
 
+    // Like a new mail, an empty line above the signature gives the cursor a
+    // place for the reply. Without it the reply started on the "-- " line (#1503).
     const signatureBlock = buildEmbeddedSignatureHtml(initialSignatureIdentity, {
       embed: shouldEmbedSignatureAboveQuote,
       separator: signatureSeparatorEnabled,
     });
+    const head = `${prefix || (signatureBlock ? '<p></p>' : '')}${signatureBlock}`;
 
     // Whether the quoted original may show its remote images in the editor:
     // the viewer's rule, minus the per-message "load" click it doesn't know.
@@ -798,7 +801,7 @@ export function EmailComposer({
           rewriteCidImagesForEditor(sanitizeEmailHtml(replyTo.htmlBody)),
           { remoteAllowed: quoteRemoteAllowed, showQuoteBorder: replyTo.quoteWrapInBlockquote !== false },
         );
-        return `${prefix}${signatureBlock}<br>${replyHeader(replyTo.quoteHeaderHtml)}${island}`;
+        return `${head}<br>${replyHeader(replyTo.quoteHeaderHtml)}${island}`;
       }
       const escaped = replyTo.body
         ? replyTo.body.replace(/&/g, '&amp;').replace(/</g, '&lt;').replace(/>/g, '&gt;').replace(/\n/g, '<br>')
@@ -807,7 +810,7 @@ export function EmailComposer({
       const bodyHtml = wrap
         ? `<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 0.8ex;border-left:2px solid #ccc;padding-left:1ex">${escaped}</blockquote>`
         : escaped;
-      return `${prefix}${signatureBlock}<br>${replyHeader(replyTo.quoteHeaderHtml)}${bodyHtml}`;
+      return `${head}<br>${replyHeader(replyTo.quoteHeaderHtml)}${bodyHtml}`;
     }
 
     // Build quoted content as HTML
@@ -825,15 +828,15 @@ export function EmailComposer({
         rewriteCidImagesForEditor(sanitizeEmailHtml(replyTo.htmlBody)),
         { remoteAllowed: quoteRemoteAllowed },
       );
-      return `${prefix}${signatureBlock}<br>${replyHeader(`<div>${quoteHeader}</div>`)}${island}`;
+      return `${head}<br>${replyHeader(`<div>${quoteHeader}</div>`)}${island}`;
     }
 
     if (replyTo.body) {
       const escapedOriginal = replyTo.body.replace(/&/g, '&amp;').replace(/</g, '&lt;').replace(/>/g, '&gt;').replace(/\n/g, '<br>');
       if (mode === 'forward') {
-        return `${prefix}${signatureBlock}<br><br>${tQuote('forwarded_separator')}<br>${tQuote('from_label')}: ${escapeHtml(fromStrFull)}<br>${tQuote('date_label')}: ${escapeHtml(date)}<br>${tQuote('subject_label')}: ${escapeHtml(replyTo.subject || '')}<br><br>${escapedOriginal}`;
+        return `${head}<br><br>${tQuote('forwarded_separator')}<br>${tQuote('from_label')}: ${escapeHtml(fromStrFull)}<br>${tQuote('date_label')}: ${escapeHtml(date)}<br>${tQuote('subject_label')}: ${escapeHtml(replyTo.subject || '')}<br><br>${escapedOriginal}`;
       } else if (mode === 'reply' || mode === 'replyAll') {
-        return `${prefix}${signatureBlock}<br><br>${replyHeader(`<p>${tQuote('reply_line', { date: escapeHtml(date), from: escapeHtml(fromStrFull) })}<br></p>`)}<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 0.8ex;border-left:2px solid #ccc;padding-left:1ex">${escapedOriginal}</blockquote>`;
+        return `${head}<br><br>${replyHeader(`<p>${tQuote('reply_line', { date: escapeHtml(date), from: escapeHtml(fromStrFull) })}<br></p>`)}<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 0.8ex;border-left:2px solid #ccc;padding-left:1ex">${escapedOriginal}</blockquote>`;
       }
     }
     return prefix;