diff --git a/internal/browser/manager.go b/internal/browser/manager.go
index 7955ee2..421c3b0 100644
--- a/internal/browser/manager.go
+++ b/internal/browser/manager.go
@@ -190,7 +190,14 @@ func (bm *BrowserManager) handleBuildIndexSuccess(result pool.Result) bool {
 	// name, size, mtime, isdir — and excludes the synthetic ".." row, whose
 	// mtime is rebuilt on every pass and would otherwise always differ.
 	sig := directorySignature(browserEntries)
-	if bm.lastIndexPath == bm.state.CurrentPath && bm.lastIndexSignature == sig {
+	// The no-change fast path assumes the view already shows this content.
+	// A failed navigation's recovery (handleError) breaks that: it resets the
+	// rows (navigateToDirectory zeros TotalEntries/Pages) and re-reads the
+	// previous directory, whose index is unchanged — without this guard the
+	// re-read would take the fast path and the browser would sit on an empty
+	// list forever. A torn-down view always takes the full rebuild below.
+	if bm.state.TotalEntries != 0 &&
+		bm.lastIndexPath == bm.state.CurrentPath && bm.lastIndexSignature == sig {
 		return false
 	}
 	bm.lastIndexPath = bm.state.CurrentPath
diff --git a/internal/browser/manager_test.go b/internal/browser/manager_test.go
index 4936380..7c0c372 100644
--- a/internal/browser/manager_test.go
+++ b/internal/browser/manager_test.go
@@ -474,3 +474,80 @@ func TestHandleResult_UnknownType(t *testing.T) {
 	// Should not panic
 	bm.HandleResult(result)
 }
+
+// TestHandleResult_NavigationFailureRecoveryReloads reproduces the empty-list
+// bug: navigating into an unreadable directory fails, the manager reverts to
+// the previous path and re-reads it; that re-read finds the directory
+// UNCHANGED, and the no-change fast path must not skip restoring the rows the
+// failed navigation's reset wiped — or the browser sits on an empty list
+// forever (header correct, list dead).
+func TestHandleResult_NavigationFailureRecoveryReloads(t *testing.T) {
+	state := NewBrowserState()
+	fs := mock.NewFileSystem()
+	wp := pool.NewWorkerPool(1)
+	// Started (unlike the direct-result tests above): the recovery path
+	// dispatches REAL follow-up tasks (BuildIndex, LoadPages), and three of
+	// them would overflow the unstarted pool's high-priority channel.
+	wp.Start()
+	defer wp.Stop()
+
+	bm, err := NewBrowserManager(state, wp, fs)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("NewBrowserManager failed: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// A FIXED mtime: the two index results must carry byte-identical content
+	// (same directorySignature) so the recovery re-read genuinely hits the
+	// no-change fast path that the bug lived in.
+	fixed := time.Date(2026, 5, 15, 10, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	entries := func() []types.DirEntry {
+		return []types.DirEntry{
+			testDirEntry{name: "file1.txt", size: 8, mod: fixed},
+			testDirEntry{name: "subdir", isDir: true, mod: fixed},
+		}
+	}
+	indexResult := func(dirPath string) pool.Result {
+		return pool.Result{TaskType: pool.TypeBuildIndex, Success: true, DirPath: dirPath, Data: entries()}
+	}
+
+	// Land in /test/docs with a populated view.
+	state.CurrentPath = "/test/docs"
+	bm.indexInFlightPath = "/test/docs"
+	bm.indexInFlightIsNav = true
+	if !bm.HandleResult(indexResult("/test/docs")) {
+		t.Fatal("initial index did not change the view")
+	}
+	if state.TotalEntries != 3 { // 2 entries + ".."
+		t.Fatalf("TotalEntries = %d, want 3", state.TotalEntries)
+	}
+
+	// The user taps into an unreadable directory (as NavigateTo would set up).
+	state.History = append(state.History, state.CurrentPath)
+	navigateToDirectory(state, "/missing")
+	state.Loading = true
+	bm.indexInFlightPath = "/missing"
+	bm.indexInFlightIsNav = true
+
+	// That read fails: the manager must revert to /test/docs.
+	failed := pool.Result{TaskType: pool.TypeBuildIndex, Success: false, Error: ErrDirNotFound, DirPath: "/missing"}
+	bm.HandleResult(failed)
+	if state.CurrentPath != "/test/docs" {
+		t.Fatalf("CurrentPath = %q, want reverted /test/docs", state.CurrentPath)
+	}
+	if state.TotalEntries != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("TotalEntries = %d after failed navigation, want 0 (rows reset)", state.TotalEntries)
+	}
+
+	// The recovery re-read of /test/docs lands with the directory unchanged.
+	// This is where the bug lived: the no-change fast path returned early and
+	// the view stayed empty.
+	if !bm.HandleResult(indexResult("/test/docs")) {
+		t.Fatal("recovery re-read reported no view change; the list would stay empty")
+	}
+	if state.TotalEntries != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("TotalEntries = %d after recovery re-read, want 3", state.TotalEntries)
+	}
+	if page, ok := state.Pages[0]; !ok || page == nil || !page.Loaded {
+		t.Fatal("page 0 not restored after recovery re-read")
+	}
+}