diff --git a/static/boot.js b/static/boot.js
index d6476b60..1e2d4792 100644
--- a/static/boot.js
+++ b/static/boot.js
@@ -2388,9 +2388,39 @@ window._isImeEnter=_isImeEnter;
 function _hasFinePointerCoexisting(){
   try{ return matchMedia('(any-pointer:fine)').matches; }catch(_){ return false; }
 }
+// Detect mobile/touch-only devices. On some iOS Safari versions
+// matchMedia('(pointer:coarse)') can be unreliable, so also check
+// the user agent for mobile indicators as a fallback.
+function _isTouchOnlyDevice(){
+  // Phone/tablet UA is authoritative and checked FIRST. Do NOT veto it with
+  // (any-pointer:fine): several iOS Safari builds report that query as true on
+  // plain iPhones (Apple Pencil / pointer-emulation heuristics), which is
+  // exactly why the media-query-only detection failed here. On a phone the
+  // software keyboard's return key must insert a newline; a user with a real
+  // Bluetooth keyboard still has Ctrl/Cmd+Enter and the send button.
+  const ua=navigator.userAgent||'';
+  if(/iPhone|iPod|Android/i.test(ua)) return true;
+  // iPadOS 13+ Safari masquerades as Macintosh; touch points disambiguate it.
+  if(/iPad/i.test(ua)) return true;
+  try{
+    if(/Macintosh/i.test(ua)&&(navigator.maxTouchPoints||0)>1) return true;
+  }catch(_){}
+  // Non-phone fallback: pure media-query detection for touch-primary devices.
+  try{
+    return matchMedia('(pointer:coarse)').matches&&!matchMedia('(any-pointer:fine)').matches;
+  }catch(_){}
+  return false;
+}
 function _isNumpadEnter(e){
   return e.key==='Enter'&&(e.code==='NumpadEnter'||e.location===KeyboardEvent.DOM_KEY_LOCATION_NUMPAD);
 }
+// Initialise _sendKey synchronously from the localStorage cache so the keydown
+// handler below has the correct value before the async /api/settings call
+// (line ~3231) resolves. Without this, on slow mobile networks the race window
+// leaves _sendKey=undefined, _mobileDefault evaluates false, and plain Enter
+// falls through to the `else { send() }` branch — sending the message instead
+// of inserting a newline (issue: mobile Enter sends on fresh page load).
+try{ window._sendKey=localStorage.getItem('hermes-pref-send_key')||'enter'; }catch(_){ window._sendKey='enter'; }
 $('msg').addEventListener('keydown',e=>{
   // Autocomplete navigation when dropdown is open
   const dd=$('cmdDropdown');
@@ -2424,9 +2454,8 @@ $('msg').addEventListener('keydown',e=>{
   if(e.key==='Enter'){
     if(_isImeEnter(e)){return;}
     const isNumpadEnter=_isNumpadEnter(e);
-    const _mobileDefault=matchMedia('(pointer:coarse)').matches
-      &&!_hasFinePointerCoexisting()
-      &&window._sendKey==='enter';
+    const _mobileDefault=_isTouchOnlyDevice()
+      &&(window._sendKey==='enter'||typeof window._sendKey==='undefined');
     if(window._sendKey==='shift+enter'){
       if(e.shiftKey){e.preventDefault();send();}
     } else if(window._sendKey==='ctrl+enter'||_mobileDefault){
diff --git a/static/index.html b/static/index.html
index b95528e8..335868de 100644
--- a/static/index.html
+++ b/static/index.html
@@ -592,7 +592,7 @@
           <span class="voice-mode-indicator" id="voiceModeIndicator"></span>
           <span class="voice-mode-label" id="voiceModeLabel"></span>
         </div>
-        <textarea id="msg" rows="1" placeholder="Message Hermes…"></textarea>
+        <textarea id="msg" rows="1" enterkeyhint="enter" placeholder="Message Hermes…"></textarea>
         <div id="composerWorkspaceContext" class="sr-only"></div>
         <div class="composer-footer">
           <div class="composer-left">
diff --git a/tests/test_send_key_preference_live_update.py b/tests/test_send_key_preference_live_update.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6536031a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_send_key_preference_live_update.py
@@ -0,0 +1,289 @@
+"""Regression: send-key preference changes take effect without page reload.
+
+This test catches the bug where an inline capture-phase interceptor in
+index.html snapshotted ``_sendKey`` into a closure at page-parse time.
+When the user later changed the setting (which updates ``window._sendKey``
+via panels.js), the stale closure still called ``stopImmediatePropagation()``
+and blocked the newly configured shortcut from reaching the boot.js
+composer handler.
+
+The fix removes the inline interceptor entirely — boot.js already
+initialises ``window._sendKey`` synchronously and its composer handler
+reads the live value on every event.
+
+This Playwright test loads a minimal HTML page that includes the real
+boot.js composer keydown handler (extracted verbatim), simulates a
+preference change at runtime, and verifies the correct behaviour for
+each send-key mode — including the transition from one mode to another
+without a page reload.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import re
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+try:
+    from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
+except Exception:
+    sync_playwright = None
+
+REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+BOOT_JS = (REPO / "static" / "boot.js").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+INDEX_HTML = (REPO / "static" / "index.html").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+
+def _require_playwright():
+    if sync_playwright is None:
+        pytest.skip("playwright is unavailable; run `playwright install chromium`")
+    return sync_playwright
+
+
+def _extract_composer_handler() -> str:
+    """Extract the real ``$('msg').addEventListener('keydown', …)`` handler
+    from boot.js, including its full body and the closing ``);``."""
+    signature = "$('msg').addEventListener('keydown',e=>"
+    start = BOOT_JS.index(signature)
+    brace = BOOT_JS.index("{", start)
+    depth = 0
+    for idx in range(brace, len(BOOT_JS)):
+        char = BOOT_JS[idx]
+        if char == "{":
+            depth += 1
+        elif char == "}":
+            depth -= 1
+            if depth == 0:
+                # Include the closing ``);`` that completes the addEventListener call.
+                end = BOOT_JS.index(");", idx) + 2
+                return BOOT_JS[start:end]
+    raise AssertionError("could not extract composer keydown listener")
+
+
+def _extract_function(name: str, source: str) -> str:
+    """Extract a function by name, matching braces properly."""
+    pattern = f"function {name}("
+    start = source.index(pattern)
+    brace_start = source.index("{", start)
+    depth = 0
+    for i in range(brace_start, len(source)):
+        c = source[i]
+        if c == "{":
+            depth += 1
+        elif c == "}":
+            depth -= 1
+            if depth == 0:
+                return source[start : i + 1]
+    raise ValueError(f"Could not extract function {name}")
+
+
+def _extract_helper_functions() -> str:
+    """Extract the helper functions the composer handler depends on."""
+    names = ("_isImeEnter", "_isNumpadEnter", "_isTouchOnlyDevice")
+    return "\n".join(_extract_function(n, BOOT_JS) for n in names)
+
+
+# Minimal HTML that loads the real handler logic.
+HARNESS_HTML = """
+<!doctype html>
+<html><head><meta charset="utf-8"></head>
+<body>
+<textarea id="msg" rows="1"></textarea>
+<script>
+// _imeComposing is a module-level flag in boot.js that _isImeEnter references.
+var _imeComposing = false;
+// Minimal $ shim (boot.js uses $('msg') === document.getElementById('msg'))
+function $(id) { return document.getElementById(id); }
+
+// --- Real helper functions extracted from boot.js ---
+__HELPERS__
+
+// --- Synchronous _sendKey init (from boot.js line ~2362) ---
+try { window._sendKey = localStorage.getItem('hermes-pref-send_key') || 'enter'; } catch(_) { window._sendKey = 'enter'; }
+
+// --- Real composer handler extracted from boot.js ---
+// send() stub: count invocations instead of doing real work.
+window.__sendCount = 0;
+window.send = function() { window.__sendCount++; };
+var send = window.send;  // local alias so extracted handler's send() resolves
+
+__HANDLER__
+</script>
+</body></html>
+"""
+
+
+def _build_harness_html() -> str:
+    handlers = _extract_helper_functions() + "\n" + _extract_composer_handler()
+    return HARNESS_HTML.replace("__HELPERS__", _extract_helper_functions()).replace(
+        "__HANDLER__", _extract_composer_handler()
+    )
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def page():
+    _require_playwright()
+    with sync_playwright() as p:
+        browser = p.chromium.launch(args=["--no-sandbox", "--disable-dev-shm-usage"])
+        context = browser.new_context()
+        pg = context.new_page()
+        html = _build_harness_html()
+        import tempfile
+
+        tmp = Path(tempfile.mkstemp(suffix=".html")[1])
+        tmp.write_text(html, encoding="utf-8")
+        pg.goto(tmp.as_uri())
+        pg.wait_for_load_state("domcontentloaded")
+        yield pg
+        browser.close()
+
+
+def _set_send_key(page, mode: str):
+    """Simulate panels.js applying a saved settings preference at runtime."""
+    page.evaluate(
+        f"""() => {{
+            localStorage.setItem('hermes-pref-send_key', '{mode}');
+            window._sendKey = '{mode}';
+        }}"""
+    )
+
+
+def _press_enter(page, *, shift=False, ctrl=False, meta=False, numpad=False):
+    """Dispatch a real Enter keydown on #msg with optional modifiers."""
+    code = "NumpadEnter" if numpad else "Enter"
+    location = 3 if numpad else 0
+    page.evaluate(
+        """
+        ({shift, ctrl, meta, code, location}) => {
+            const el = document.getElementById('msg');
+            el.focus();
+            el.dispatchEvent(new KeyboardEvent('keydown', {
+                key: 'Enter',
+                code: code,
+                keyCode: 13,
+                which: 13,
+                location: location,
+                shiftKey: shift,
+                ctrlKey: ctrl,
+                metaKey: meta,
+                bubbles: true,
+                cancelable: true,
+            }));
+        }
+        """,
+        {"shift": shift, "ctrl": ctrl, "meta": meta, "code": code, "location": location},
+    )
+
+
+def _send_count(page) -> int:
+    return page.evaluate("__sendCount")
+
+
+# ─── Static guard ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_no_inline_interceptor_remains():
+    """The stale-snapshot interceptor must be gone from index.html."""
+    assert "stopImmediatePropagation" not in INDEX_HTML, (
+        "index.html still contains a capture-phase interceptor with "
+        "stopImmediatePropagation — this reintroduces the stale _sendKey bug"
+    )
+
+
+# ─── Behavioural tests ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_enter_mode_plain_enter_sends(page):
+    _set_send_key(page, "enter")
+    _press_enter(page)
+    assert _send_count(page) == 1
+
+
+def test_enter_mode_shift_enter_does_not_send(page):
+    _set_send_key(page, "enter")
+    _press_enter(page, shift=True)
+    assert _send_count(page) == 0
+
+
+def test_shift_enter_mode_plain_enter_does_not_send(page):
+    _set_send_key(page, "shift+enter")
+    _press_enter(page)
+    assert _send_count(page) == 0
+
+
+def test_shift_enter_mode_shift_enter_sends(page):
+    _set_send_key(page, "shift+enter")
+    _press_enter(page, shift=True)
+    assert _send_count(page) == 1
+
+
+def test_ctrl_enter_mode_plain_enter_does_not_send(page):
+    _set_send_key(page, "ctrl+enter")
+    _press_enter(page)
+    assert _send_count(page) == 0
+
+
+def test_ctrl_enter_mode_ctrl_enter_sends(page):
+    _set_send_key(page, "ctrl+enter")
+    _press_enter(page, ctrl=True)
+    assert _send_count(page) == 1
+
+
+def test_ctrl_enter_mode_cmd_enter_sends(page):
+    _set_send_key(page, "ctrl+enter")
+    _press_enter(page, meta=True)
+    assert _send_count(page) == 1
+
+
+# ─── Core regression: live preference change ─────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_preference_change_enter_to_shift_enter_without_reload(page):
+    """The bug: interceptor snapshotted 'enter' at load time. Changing to
+    'shift+enter' at runtime didn't update the closure, so Shift+Enter was
+    still blocked. After the fix, the live window._sendKey is read on every
+    event, so the transition takes effect immediately."""
+    # Start in 'enter' mode — plain Enter sends.
+    _set_send_key(page, "enter")
+    _press_enter(page)
+    assert _send_count(page) == 1
+
+    # Switch to 'shift+enter' without reloading.
+    _set_send_key(page, "shift+enter")
+
+    # Plain Enter should no longer send.
+    _press_enter(page)
+    assert _send_count(page) == 1  # unchanged
+
+    # Shift+Enter should now send.
+    _press_enter(page, shift=True)
+    assert _send_count(page) == 2
+
+
+def test_preference_change_shift_enter_to_enter_without_reload(page):
+    """Reverse transition: 'shift+enter' → 'enter'."""
+    _set_send_key(page, "shift+enter")
+    _press_enter(page)  # no send
+    _press_enter(page, shift=True)  # sends
+    assert _send_count(page) == 1
+
+    _set_send_key(page, "enter")
+    _press_enter(page)  # now sends
+    assert _send_count(page) == 2
+
+    _press_enter(page, shift=True)  # no longer sends
+    assert _send_count(page) == 2
+
+
+def test_preference_change_enter_to_ctrl_enter_without_reload(page):
+    """Transition: 'enter' → 'ctrl+enter'."""
+    _set_send_key(page, "enter")
+    _press_enter(page)  # sends
+    assert _send_count(page) == 1
+
+    _set_send_key(page, "ctrl+enter")
+    _press_enter(page)  # no longer sends
+    assert _send_count(page) == 1
+
+    _press_enter(page, ctrl=True)  # sends
+    assert _send_count(page) == 2