diff --git a/flutter_client/lib/cache/cache_first.dart b/flutter_client/lib/cache/cache_first.dart
index 8d24d11b..274b285a 100644
--- a/flutter_client/lib/cache/cache_first.dart
+++ b/flutter_client/lib/cache/cache_first.dart
@@ -48,9 +48,22 @@ Stream<T> cacheFirst<D, T>({
   // drift re-emission (otherwise the populate cycles forever).
   var revalidated = false;
 
+  // Tracks whether we've already tried a cold-cache fetch on this
+  // subscription. Without this, providers can spin forever in the
+  // rows-empty branch when fetchAndPopulate writes rows that don't
+  // match THIS filter — e.g. three liked-tab streams sharing one
+  // populate: the track populate writes track-typed rows, drift
+  // watch fires for the cached_likes table, the album stream
+  // re-emits with rows-empty (no album likes), the rows-empty
+  // branch re-fires populate, repeats forever. Setting this guard
+  // makes the first fetch attempt also the last for any given
+  // subscription.
+  var coldFetchAttempted = false;
+
   await for (final rows in driftStream) {
     if (rows.isNotEmpty) {
       yield toResult(rows);
+      coldFetchAttempted = true;
       // Stale-while-revalidate: yield cache immediately, then kick off
       // a REST refresh in the background. Drift watch() picks up the
       // resulting writes and re-emits via this same stream loop.
@@ -62,11 +75,25 @@ Stream<T> cacheFirst<D, T>({
       }
       continue;
     }
+    // rows is empty. If we've already attempted a cold fetch and
+    // drift is still empty for this filter, yield empty so the UI
+    // shows the no-content state instead of spinning forever.
+    if (coldFetchAttempted) {
+      yield toResult(rows);
+      continue;
+    }
+    coldFetchAttempted = true;
     if (await isOnline()) {
       try {
         await fetchAndPopulate();
-        // The drift watch() stream re-emits with the populated rows on
-        // the next loop iteration. Don't yield here.
+        // Yield the current (still-empty) rows so the UI moves past
+        // loading even if populate was a no-op for this filter
+        // (server returned nothing matching, or all rows were
+        // already in drift via sync). If populate DID write rows
+        // matching this filter, the drift watch's next emission
+        // yields them via the rows.isNotEmpty branch — UI briefly
+        // shows empty then populates, instead of spinning.
+        yield toResult(rows);
       } catch (e, st) {
         if (tag != null) {
           debugPrint('cacheFirst[$tag]: fetchAndPopulate failed: $e\n$st');
diff --git a/flutter_client/lib/library/library_screen.dart b/flutter_client/lib/library/library_screen.dart
index 6b2c7693..b3e64948 100644
--- a/flutter_client/lib/library/library_screen.dart
+++ b/flutter_client/lib/library/library_screen.dart
@@ -242,7 +242,9 @@ final _likedTrackIdsProvider = StreamProvider<List<String>>((ref) {
     driftStream: query,
     fetchAndPopulate: () => _populateLikeIds(ref),
     toResult: _idsForEntity,
-    isOnline: () async => (await ref.read(connectivityProvider.future)),
+    isOnline: () async => (await ref
+        .read(connectivityProvider.future)
+        .timeout(const Duration(seconds: 3), onTimeout: () => true)),
     alwaysRefresh: true,
     tag: 'likedTrackIds',
   );
@@ -258,7 +260,9 @@ final _likedAlbumIdsProvider = StreamProvider<List<String>>((ref) {
     driftStream: query,
     fetchAndPopulate: () => _populateLikeIds(ref),
     toResult: _idsForEntity,
-    isOnline: () async => (await ref.read(connectivityProvider.future)),
+    isOnline: () async => (await ref
+        .read(connectivityProvider.future)
+        .timeout(const Duration(seconds: 3), onTimeout: () => true)),
     alwaysRefresh: true,
     tag: 'likedAlbumIds',
   );
@@ -274,7 +278,9 @@ final _likedArtistIdsProvider = StreamProvider<List<String>>((ref) {
     driftStream: query,
     fetchAndPopulate: () => _populateLikeIds(ref),
     toResult: _idsForEntity,
-    isOnline: () async => (await ref.read(connectivityProvider.future)),
+    isOnline: () async => (await ref
+        .read(connectivityProvider.future)
+        .timeout(const Duration(seconds: 3), onTimeout: () => true)),
     alwaysRefresh: true,
     tag: 'likedArtistIds',
   );