diff --git a/client/src/components/shared/PlaceAvatar.test.tsx b/client/src/components/shared/PlaceAvatar.test.tsx
index 24871e47c..ddfdeb500 100644
--- a/client/src/components/shared/PlaceAvatar.test.tsx
+++ b/client/src/components/shared/PlaceAvatar.test.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { render, screen, fireEvent, act } from '../../../tests/helpers/render';
-import { getCached, isLoading, fetchPhoto, onThumbReady } from '../../services/photoService';
+import { getCached, isLoading, fetchPhoto, onThumbReady, onPhotoLoaded } from '../../services/photoService';
 
 // Mock photoService — all functions are no-ops / return null
 vi.mock('../../services/photoService', () => ({
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ vi.mock('../../services/photoService', () => ({
   isLoading: vi.fn(() => false),
   fetchPhoto: vi.fn(),
   onThumbReady: vi.fn(() => () => {}),
+  onPhotoLoaded: vi.fn(() => () => {}),
 }));
 
 // Mock IntersectionObserver as a class constructor
@@ -34,6 +35,7 @@ beforeEach(() => {
   vi.mocked(isLoading).mockReturnValue(false);
   vi.mocked(fetchPhoto).mockReset();
   vi.mocked(onThumbReady).mockReturnValue(() => {});
+  vi.mocked(onPhotoLoaded).mockReset().mockReturnValue(() => {});
 });
 
 afterEach(() => {
@@ -182,4 +184,79 @@ describe('PlaceAvatar', () => {
     render(<PlaceAvatar place={basePlaceWithImage} />);
     expect(mockObserve).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
+
+  /** The callback the self-heal handed to fetchPhoto. */
+  function photoCallback() {
+    const callback = vi.mocked(fetchPhoto).mock.calls[0]?.[5];
+    if (!callback) throw new Error('fetchPhoto was called without a callback');
+    return callback;
+  }
+
+  // A proxy image_url whose cached file is gone answers 204; the refetch then
+  // hands back the very same URL once the server has the photo again.
+  const proxyPlace = {
+    ...basePlaceNoImage,
+    google_place_id: 'G1',
+    image_url: '/api/maps/place-photo/G1/bytes',
+  };
+
+  it('FE-COMP-AVATAR-017: loads the image again when the self-heal returns the same proxy URL', () => {
+    const { container } = render(<PlaceAvatar place={proxyPlace} />);
+    const before = container.querySelector('img') as HTMLImageElement;
+    fireEvent.error(before);
+
+    expect(vi.mocked(fetchPhoto)).toHaveBeenCalledWith('refetch:G1', 'G1', proxyPlace.lat, proxyPlace.lng, proxyPlace.name, expect.any(Function));
+    const callback = photoCallback();
+    act(() => callback({ photoUrl: proxyPlace.image_url, thumbDataUrl: null }));
+
+    const after = container.querySelector('img') as HTMLImageElement;
+    expect(after).not.toBe(before);
+    expect(after.getAttribute('src')).toBe(proxyPlace.image_url);
+  });
+
+  it('FE-COMP-AVATAR-018: ends on the category icon when the reloaded image fails too', () => {
+    const { container } = render(<PlaceAvatar place={proxyPlace} />);
+    fireEvent.error(container.querySelector('img') as HTMLImageElement);
+    const callback = photoCallback();
+    act(() => callback({ photoUrl: proxyPlace.image_url, thumbDataUrl: null }));
+    fireEvent.error(container.querySelector('img') as HTMLImageElement);
+
+    expect(container.querySelector('img')).toBeNull();
+    expect(container.querySelector('svg')).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(vi.mocked(fetchPhoto)).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it('FE-COMP-AVATAR-019: ends on the category icon when the self-heal finds no photo', () => {
+    const { container } = render(<PlaceAvatar place={proxyPlace} />);
+    fireEvent.error(container.querySelector('img') as HTMLImageElement);
+    const callback = photoCallback();
+    act(() => callback({ photoUrl: null, thumbDataUrl: null }));
+
+    expect(container.querySelector('img')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('FE-COMP-AVATAR-020: a reused avatar gets the self-heal again for the next place', () => {
+    const { container, rerender } = render(<PlaceAvatar place={proxyPlace} />);
+    fireEvent.error(container.querySelector('img') as HTMLImageElement);
+
+    const next = { ...proxyPlace, id: 2, google_place_id: 'G2', image_url: '/api/maps/place-photo/G2/bytes' };
+    rerender(<PlaceAvatar place={next} />);
+    fireEvent.error(container.querySelector('img') as HTMLImageElement);
+
+    expect(vi.mocked(fetchPhoto)).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith('refetch:G2', 'G2', next.lat, next.lng, next.name, expect.any(Function));
+  });
+
+  it('FE-COMP-AVATAR-021: takes the photo of a fetch another view started, even without a thumb', () => {
+    vi.mocked(isLoading).mockReturnValue(true);
+    const { container } = render(<PlaceAvatar place={{ ...basePlaceNoImage, google_place_id: 'G3' }} />);
+    act(() => {
+      observerInstance?.callback([{ isIntersecting: true }]);
+    });
+
+    expect(vi.mocked(onPhotoLoaded)).toHaveBeenCalledWith('G3', expect.any(Function));
+    const listener = vi.mocked(onPhotoLoaded).mock.calls[0][1];
+    act(() => listener({ photoUrl: '/photo/G3.jpg', thumbDataUrl: null }));
+
+    expect((container.querySelector('img') as HTMLImageElement).getAttribute('src')).toBe('/photo/G3.jpg');
+  });
 });
diff --git a/client/src/components/shared/PlaceAvatar.tsx b/client/src/components/shared/PlaceAvatar.tsx
index cc55d85a6..538f5d74d 100644
--- a/client/src/components/shared/PlaceAvatar.tsx
+++ b/client/src/components/shared/PlaceAvatar.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import React, { useState, useEffect, useRef } from 'react'
 import { getCategoryIcon } from './categoryIcons'
-import { getCached, isLoading, fetchPhoto, onThumbReady } from '../../services/photoService'
+import { getCached, isLoading, fetchPhoto, onThumbReady, onPhotoLoaded } from '../../services/photoService'
 import { useAuthStore } from '../../store/authStore'
 import type { Place } from '../../types'
 
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ interface PlaceAvatarProps {
 
 export default React.memo(function PlaceAvatar({ place, size = 32, category }: PlaceAvatarProps) {
   const [photoSrc, setPhotoSrc] = useState<string | null>(place.image_url || null)
+  // Bumped to remount the <img> when the photo should be loaded again from the
+  // same URL, which a src change alone cannot do.
+  const [loadAttempt, setLoadAttempt] = useState(0)
   const [visible, setVisible] = useState(false)
   const imageUrlFailed = useRef(false)
   const ref = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null)
@@ -39,6 +42,8 @@ export default React.memo(function PlaceAvatar({ place, size = 32, category }: P
   }, [place.id])
 
   useEffect(() => {
+    // A new place or a new picture gets its own self-heal below.
+    imageUrlFailed.current = false
     if (!visible) return
     if (place.image_url) { setPhotoSrc(place.image_url); return }
     if (!placesPhotosEnabled) return
@@ -57,7 +62,12 @@ export default React.memo(function PlaceAvatar({ place, size = 32, category }: P
     }
 
     if (isLoading(cacheKey)) {
-      return onThumbReady(cacheKey, thumb => setPhotoSrc(thumb))
+      // Another view started this fetch. Take its photo as soon as it lands,
+      // and the thumb when that follows; a failed thumb must not leave the
+      // category icon standing in for a photo that loaded.
+      const offPhoto = onPhotoLoaded(cacheKey, entry => setPhotoSrc(entry.thumbDataUrl || entry.photoUrl))
+      const offThumb = onThumbReady(cacheKey, thumb => setPhotoSrc(thumb))
+      return () => { offPhoto(); offThumb() }
     }
 
     fetchPhoto(cacheKey, photoId || `coords:${place.lat}:${place.lng}`, place.lat, place.lng, place.name,
@@ -83,6 +93,7 @@ export default React.memo(function PlaceAvatar({ place, size = 32, category }: P
     return (
       <div ref={ref} style={containerStyle}>
         <img
+          key={loadAttempt}
           src={photoSrc}
           alt={place.name}
           decoding="async"
@@ -92,8 +103,16 @@ export default React.memo(function PlaceAvatar({ place, size = 32, category }: P
               imageUrlFailed.current = true
               const photoId = place.google_place_id || place.osm_id!
               const cacheKey = `refetch:${photoId}`
+              // The server answers a missing cache file with an empty 204 and
+              // fetches the photo again on this call. It hands back the same
+              // proxy URL, so the <img> has to be remounted to ask once more;
+              // setting an unchanged src would leave it broken (5.0.0-pre.1
+              // feedback). A second failure ends on the category icon.
               fetchPhoto(cacheKey, photoId, place.lat ?? undefined, place.lng ?? undefined, place.name,
-                entry => { setPhotoSrc(entry.thumbDataUrl || entry.photoUrl) }
+                entry => {
+                  setPhotoSrc(entry.thumbDataUrl || entry.photoUrl)
+                  setLoadAttempt(n => n + 1)
+                }
               )
             } else {
               setPhotoSrc(null)