diff --git a/modules/propresenter-timers/client.js b/modules/propresenter-timers/client.js
index 8e0920d..4050e82 100644
--- a/modules/propresenter-timers/client.js
+++ b/modules/propresenter-timers/client.js
@@ -22,8 +22,9 @@
    Feedback — the state colours, and the thresholds behind them:
      running elapsed, no planned length            running
      running elapsed with a planned length         warning within
-         WARN_FLOOR_MS or WARN_FRACTION of the length (whichever is larger)
-         of the end; overrun once past it
+         WARN_FLOOR_MS or WARN_FRACTION of the length (whichever is larger,
+         but never more than half the length — a 20 s countdown warns
+         under 10 s, a 25 min one under 2:30) of the end; overrun past it
      running countdown                             warning with that much
          left; overrun at zero and below
      stopped countdown at zero ("complete")        warning
@@ -130,7 +131,8 @@ export function fmtDuration(ms) {
 }
 
 function warnWindow(targetMs) {
-  return targetMs ? Math.max(WARN_FLOOR_MS, targetMs * WARN_FRACTION) : WARN_FLOOR_MS;
+  if (!targetMs) return WARN_FLOOR_MS;
+  return Math.min(Math.max(WARN_FLOOR_MS, targetMs * WARN_FRACTION), targetMs / 2);
 }
 
 /** The state colour for a (non-clock) timer given its current value. */
@@ -242,9 +244,10 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
     label: 'Timers ▾',
     title: 'Choose which timers this tile shows',
     build(menu) {
+      // the shell hands over an emptied element on every open
       menu.classList.add('tm-menu');
       menuEl = menu;
-      rebuildMenu();
+      rebuildMenu(true);
     },
   });
 
@@ -277,11 +280,18 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
     itemsMenu.setLabel(visible === rows.length ? 'Timers ▾' : `Timers (${visible}/${rows.length}) ▾`);
   }
 
-  function rebuildMenu() {
+  let menuSignature = '';
+  function rebuildMenu(force = false) {
     updateMenuLabel();
     if (!menuEl) return; // menu not opened yet — the label is enough
-    menuEl.innerHTML = '';
     const rows = menuRows();
+    // Snapshots arrive several times a second; rebuilding the open menu's
+    // rows each time would replace them under the user's finger. Only a
+    // changed row set (or a toggled switch) is worth touching the DOM for.
+    const signature = JSON.stringify(rows.map((r) => [r.key, r.text, hidden.has(r.key)]));
+    if (!force && signature === menuSignature && menuEl.childElementCount) return;
+    menuSignature = signature;
+    menuEl.innerHTML = '';
     if (!rows.length) {
       const note = document.createElement('div');
       note.className = 'tm-menu-note';
@@ -356,6 +366,9 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
     el.className = 'tm-card';
     const nameEl = document.createElement('div');
     nameEl.className = 'tm-name';
+    const labelEl = document.createElement('span');
+    labelEl.className = 'tm-label';
+    nameEl.appendChild(labelEl);
     const timeEl = document.createElement('div');
     timeEl.className = 'tm-time';
     const statusEl = document.createElement('div');
@@ -363,7 +376,7 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
     const detailEl = document.createElement('div');
     detailEl.className = 'tm-detail';
     el.append(nameEl, timeEl, statusEl, detailEl);
-    return { key: item.key, el, nameEl, timeEl, statusEl, detailEl, item, chars: 5, cls: '' };
+    return { key: item.key, el, nameEl, labelEl, timeEl, statusEl, detailEl, item, chars: 5, cls: '' };
   }
 
   function setText(el, text) {
@@ -380,18 +393,16 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
   function updateCard(card, item) {
     card.item = item;
     const isLtc = item.source?.kind === 'ltc';
-    if (isLtc && !card.nameEl.querySelector('.tm-ltc-badge')) {
-      const badge = document.createElement('span');
-      badge.className = 'tm-ltc-badge';
-      badge.textContent = 'LTC';
-      card.nameEl.replaceChildren(badge, document.createTextNode(''));
-    } else if (!isLtc && card.nameEl.querySelector('.tm-ltc-badge')) {
-      card.nameEl.replaceChildren(document.createTextNode(''));
+    const badge = card.nameEl.querySelector('.tm-ltc-badge');
+    if (isLtc && !badge) {
+      const b = document.createElement('span');
+      b.className = 'tm-ltc-badge';
+      b.textContent = 'LTC';
+      card.nameEl.prepend(b);
+    } else if (!isLtc && badge) {
+      badge.remove();
     }
-    const label = item.missing ? (lastSoloLabel || 'Timer') : item.timer.label;
-    const textNode = card.nameEl.lastChild;
-    if (textNode && textNode.nodeType === Node.TEXT_NODE) setText(textNode, label);
-    else card.nameEl.appendChild(document.createTextNode(label));
+    setText(card.labelEl, item.missing ? (lastSoloLabel || 'Timer') : item.timer.label);
   }
 
   function updateMissingCard(card) {
diff --git a/modules/propresenter-timers/server.js b/modules/propresenter-timers/server.js
index 391c9a4..0e826f4 100644
--- a/modules/propresenter-timers/server.js
+++ b/modules/propresenter-timers/server.js
@@ -402,7 +402,7 @@ function createProPresenterSource({ config, log }) {
       lastError = '';
     } catch (err) {
       reachable = false;
-      lastError = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+      lastError = errorText(err); // "ECONNREFUSED" beats fetch's "fetch failed"
     }
     publish();
     if (stopped) return;
@@ -949,11 +949,12 @@ module.exports = {
     function rebuild() {
       if (stopped) return;
       latest = buildState();
-      // updatedAt / serverNow move on every poll; the tiles extrapolate from
-      // them but don't need a frame for that alone.
+      // updatedAt / serverNow move on every poll, and a startedAt derived
+      // from a whole-second value jitters with them; the tiles extrapolate
+      // from the values but don't need a frame for that alone.
       let key;
       try {
-        key = JSON.stringify(latest.sources.map((v) => [v.id, v.label, v.status, v.message, v.timers]));
+        key = JSON.stringify(latest.sources.map((v) => [v.id, v.label, v.status, v.message, v.timers.map(({ startedAt, ...rest }) => rest)]));
       } catch {
         return;
       }
diff --git a/modules/propresenter-timers/style.css b/modules/propresenter-timers/style.css
index 598e3a9..9a9c8a4 100644
--- a/modules/propresenter-timers/style.css
+++ b/modules/propresenter-timers/style.css
@@ -164,8 +164,15 @@
   text-transform: uppercase;
   color: var(--muted);
   white-space: nowrap;
+}
+
+/* The label is its own box so a long name ends in an ellipsis (a flex
+   container's bare text won't). */
+[data-module="propresenter-timers"] .tm-label {
+  min-width: 0;
   overflow: hidden;
   text-overflow: ellipsis;
+  white-space: nowrap;
 }
 
 [data-module="propresenter-timers"] .tm-time {
@@ -306,7 +313,9 @@
 [data-module="propresenter-timers"] .tm-menu-item .name { font-weight: 600; }
 [data-module="propresenter-timers"] .tm-menu-item:not(.on) .name { color: var(--muted); }
 
-/* A small switch: off = hollow pill, on = filled with the running colour. */
+/* A small switch: off = hollow pill, on = filled with the accent. (The menu
+   hangs off the tile's title bar, outside .tm-wrap, so the tile's own colour
+   properties don't reach it — the shell's palette does.) */
 [data-module="propresenter-timers"] .tm-switch {
   flex: none;
   position: relative;
@@ -329,8 +338,8 @@
   transition: transform 0.15s ease;
 }
 [data-module="propresenter-timers"] .tm-menu-item.on .tm-switch {
-  border-color: var(--tm-ok);
-  background: var(--tm-ok);
+  border-color: var(--accent);
+  background: var(--accent);
 }
 [data-module="propresenter-timers"] .tm-menu-item.on .tm-switch::after {
   transform: translateX(12px);