diff --git a/apps/browser-extension/src/entrypoints/popup/hooks/useVaultMutate.ts b/apps/browser-extension/src/entrypoints/popup/hooks/useVaultMutate.ts
index 4ef05c6ff..00f82905a 100644
--- a/apps/browser-extension/src/entrypoints/popup/hooks/useVaultMutate.ts
+++ b/apps/browser-extension/src/entrypoints/popup/hooks/useVaultMutate.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { useCallback } from 'react';
 import { sendMessage } from 'webext-bridge/popup';
 
+import type { FullVaultSyncResult } from '@/entrypoints/background/VaultMessageHandler';
 import { useDb } from '@/entrypoints/popup/context/DbContext';
 
 import { EncryptionUtility } from '@/utils/EncryptionUtility';
@@ -56,6 +57,9 @@ export function useVaultMutate(): {
    * Trigger a sync in the background script.
    * This is fire-and-forget - the sync runs entirely in the background context
    * and continues even if the popup closes.
+   *
+   * If a merge happened during sync (hasNewVault=true), reload the database
+   * so the popup shows the merged data.
    */
   const triggerBackgroundSync = useCallback((): void => {
     /*
@@ -63,7 +67,11 @@ export function useVaultMutate(): {
      * The background script will handle the full sync orchestration
      * and will re-sync if mutations happened during the sync.
      */
-    sendMessage('FULL_VAULT_SYNC', {}, 'background').then(async () => {
+    sendMessage('FULL_VAULT_SYNC', {}, 'background').then(async (result: FullVaultSyncResult) => {
+      // If a merge happened, reload the database to show merged data
+      if (result.hasNewVault) {
+        await dbContext.loadStoredDatabase();
+      }
       // Refresh sync state if popup is still open
       await dbContext.refreshSyncState();
     }).catch((error) => {
diff --git a/apps/browser-extension/tests/e2e/05-vault-merge.spec.ts b/apps/browser-extension/tests/e2e/05-vault-merge.spec.ts
index 27fe6bd49..05348ff9a 100644
--- a/apps/browser-extension/tests/e2e/05-vault-merge.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/browser-extension/tests/e2e/05-vault-merge.spec.ts
@@ -73,8 +73,10 @@ test.describe.serial('5. Vault Merge', () => {
   });
 
   test('5.4 Client B vault should contain both credentials after merge', async () => {
+    // Trigger sync to ensure background merge has completed and database is reloaded
     await clientB
-      .goToVault()
+      .triggerSync()
+      .then((c) => c.goToVault())
       .then((c) => c.screenshot('5.4-client-b-vault-state.png'))
       .then((c) => c.verifyCredentialExists(credentialNameA));
 
diff --git a/apps/browser-extension/tests/e2e/06-field-level-merge.spec.ts b/apps/browser-extension/tests/e2e/06-field-level-merge.spec.ts
index cc5c33ac5..0c70238b3 100644
--- a/apps/browser-extension/tests/e2e/06-field-level-merge.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/browser-extension/tests/e2e/06-field-level-merge.spec.ts
@@ -81,7 +81,9 @@ test.describe.serial('6. Field-Level Merge', () => {
       .then((c) => c.fillNotes(clientBNotes))
       .then((c) => c.screenshot('6.4-client-b-before-save.png'))
       .then((c) => c.saveCredential())
-      .then((c) => c.screenshot('6.4-client-b-after-save.png'));
+      .then((c) => c.screenshot('6.4-client-b-after-save.png'))
+      // Wait for background sync (including merge) to complete before next test
+      .then((c) => c.triggerSync());
   });
 
   test('6.5 Client B verifies field-level merge result', async () => {
diff --git a/apps/browser-extension/tests/fixtures/waits.ts b/apps/browser-extension/tests/fixtures/waits.ts
index 78544a789..cd4fc73cd 100644
--- a/apps/browser-extension/tests/fixtures/waits.ts
+++ b/apps/browser-extension/tests/fixtures/waits.ts
@@ -65,6 +65,11 @@ export async function waitForVaultReady(popup: Page, timeout: number = Timeouts.
  * Wait for a sync operation to complete.
  * Waits for vault UI to be ready, then waits for sync/pending indicators to disappear.
  *
+ * Indicator elements:
+ * - Syncing (green): <div> with bg-green-100
+ * - Pending (blue): <button> with bg-blue-100
+ * - Offline (amber): <button> with bg-amber-100
+ *
  * @param popup - The popup page
  * @param timeout - Timeout in milliseconds
  */
@@ -78,20 +83,38 @@ export async function waitForSyncComplete(popup: Page, timeout: number = Timeout
     // Loading overlay might not exist, which is fine
   });
 
-  // Wait for the sync indicator (green spinning icon) to disappear
+  // Wait for the sync indicator (green spinning div) to disappear
   const syncIndicator = popup.locator('div.bg-green-100, div.bg-green-900\\/30');
   await syncIndicator.waitFor({ state: 'hidden', timeout }).catch(() => {
     // Sync indicator might not exist or sync was very fast, which is fine
   });
 
-  // Also wait for pending sync indicator (blue icon) to disappear
-  const pendingSyncIndicator = popup.locator('div.bg-blue-100, div.bg-blue-900\\/30');
+  // Also wait for pending sync indicator (blue button) to disappear
+  const pendingSyncIndicator = popup.locator('button.bg-blue-100, button.bg-blue-900\\/30');
   await pendingSyncIndicator.waitFor({ state: 'hidden', timeout }).catch(() => {
     // Pending sync indicator might not exist, which is fine
   });
 
-  // Small buffer to ensure async operations complete after UI indicators disappear
-  await popup.waitForTimeout(100);
+  // Wait for isDirty to be false, indicating sync completed successfully.
+  // This is more reliable than UI indicators since sync now runs in background.
+  const startTime = Date.now();
+  while (Date.now() - startTime < timeout) {
+    const isDirty = await popup.evaluate(() => {
+      return new Promise<boolean>((resolve) => {
+        chrome.storage.local.get('isDirty', (result) => {
+          resolve(result.isDirty ?? false);
+        });
+      });
+    });
+
+    if (!isDirty) {
+      break;
+    }
+    await popup.waitForTimeout(100);
+  }
+
+  // Additional buffer to ensure React state updates and database reload have completed
+  await popup.waitForTimeout(500);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -152,12 +175,13 @@ export async function waitForNavigation(popup: Page, timeout: number = Timeouts.
 
 /**
  * Wait for the offline indicator to appear on the page.
+ * The offline indicator is a <button> element with amber background.
  *
  * @param popup - The popup page
  * @param timeout - Timeout in milliseconds
  */
 export async function waitForOfflineIndicator(popup: Page, timeout: number = Timeouts.SHORT): Promise<void> {
-  const offlineIndicator = popup.locator('div.bg-amber-100, div.bg-amber-900\\/30').filter({ hasText: 'Offline' });
+  const offlineIndicator = popup.locator('button.bg-amber-100, button.bg-amber-900\\/30').filter({ hasText: 'Offline' });
   await expect(offlineIndicator).toBeVisible({ timeout });
 }
 
@@ -173,11 +197,12 @@ export async function waitForLoginForm(popup: Page, timeout: number = Timeouts.S
 
 /**
  * Check if the offline indicator is visible.
+ * The offline indicator is a <button> element with amber background.
  *
  * @param popup - The popup page
  * @returns True if the offline indicator is visible
  */
 export async function isOfflineIndicatorVisible(popup: Page): Promise<boolean> {
-  const offlineIndicator = popup.locator('div.bg-amber-100, div.bg-amber-900\\/30').filter({ hasText: 'Offline' });
+  const offlineIndicator = popup.locator('button.bg-amber-100, button.bg-amber-900\\/30').filter({ hasText: 'Offline' });
   return offlineIndicator.isVisible().catch(() => false);
 }