diff --git a/test/pty/notes.test.ts b/test/pty/notes.test.ts
index c0df1e3d..8193b9ca 100644
--- a/test/pty/notes.test.ts
+++ b/test/pty/notes.test.ts
@@ -306,7 +306,9 @@ describe("PTY notes", () => {
       );
       expect(whileFocused).toContain("Draft note");
 
-      await session.type("\x1b");
+      // Keyboard cancellation is covered above; click the explicit control here so this test can
+      // focus on whether app-level shortcuts are blocked only while the composer is active.
+      await session.click(/Cancel \(Esc\)/);
       await harness.waitForSnapshot(session, (text) => !text.includes("Draft note"), 5_000);
       await session.press("]");
       const afterCancel = await harness.waitForSnapshot(
diff --git a/test/pty/pager.test.ts b/test/pty/pager.test.ts
index ef9d75d4..d8de4e8e 100644
--- a/test/pty/pager.test.ts
+++ b/test/pty/pager.test.ts
@@ -1,15 +1,41 @@
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, setDefaultTimeout, test } from "bun:test";
+import type { Session } from "tuistory";
 import { createPtyHarness } from "./harness";
 
 const harness = createPtyHarness();
 
-/** Give PTY-backed startup and redraws enough headroom for slower CI machines. */
-setDefaultTimeout(20_000);
+/** Give PTY-backed startup, redraws, and wheel retries enough headroom for slower CI machines. */
+setDefaultTimeout(45_000);
 
 afterEach(() => {
   harness.cleanup();
 });
 
+/** Retry PTY wheel ticks one at a time so slow CI does not drop a whole scroll burst. */
+async function scrollWheelUntil(
+  session: Session,
+  direction: "down" | "up",
+  predicate: (text: string) => boolean,
+) {
+  let lastErrorMessage = `Timed out waiting for pager wheel scroll ${direction}.`;
+
+  for (let attempt = 0; attempt < 12; attempt += 1) {
+    if (direction === "down") {
+      await session.scrollDown(1);
+    } else {
+      await session.scrollUp(1);
+    }
+
+    try {
+      return await harness.waitForSnapshot(session, predicate, 700);
+    } catch (error) {
+      lastErrorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+    }
+  }
+
+  throw new Error(lastErrorMessage);
+}
+
 describe("PTY pager", () => {
   test("pager mode hides chrome and pages forward on space", async () => {
     const fixture = harness.createPagerPatchFixture();
@@ -155,22 +181,20 @@ describe("PTY pager", () => {
       expect(initial).not.toContain("before_12");
 
       await session.waitIdle({ timeout: 200 });
-      await session.scrollDown(10);
-      const scrolled = await harness.waitForSnapshot(
+      const scrolled = await scrollWheelUntil(
         session,
+        "down",
         (text) => !text.includes("before_01") && text.includes("before_12"),
-        5_000,
       );
 
       expect(scrolled).not.toContain("View  Navigate  Theme  Agent  Help");
       expect(scrolled).not.toContain("before_01");
       expect(scrolled).toContain("before_12");
 
-      await session.scrollUp(10);
-      const restored = await harness.waitForSnapshot(
+      const restored = await scrollWheelUntil(
         session,
+        "up",
         (text) => text.includes("before_01") && !text.includes("before_12"),
-        5_000,
       );
 
       expect(restored).toContain("before_01");
@@ -196,11 +220,10 @@ describe("PTY pager", () => {
       expect(initial).not.toContain("before_12");
 
       await session.waitIdle({ timeout: 200 });
-      await session.scrollDown(10);
-      const scrolled = await harness.waitForSnapshot(
+      const scrolled = await scrollWheelUntil(
         session,
+        "down",
         (text) => !text.includes("before_01") && text.includes("before_12"),
-        5_000,
       );
 
       expect(scrolled).toContain("before_12");
@@ -226,22 +249,20 @@ describe("PTY pager", () => {
       expect(initial).not.toContain("before_12");
 
       await session.waitIdle({ timeout: 200 });
-      await session.scrollDown(10);
-      const scrolled = await harness.waitForSnapshot(
+      const scrolled = await scrollWheelUntil(
         session,
+        "down",
         (text) => !text.includes("before_01") && text.includes("before_12"),
-        5_000,
       );
 
       expect(scrolled).not.toContain("View  Navigate  Theme  Agent  Help");
       expect(scrolled).not.toContain("before_01");
       expect(scrolled).toContain("before_12");
 
-      await session.scrollUp(10);
-      const restored = await harness.waitForSnapshot(
+      const restored = await scrollWheelUntil(
         session,
+        "up",
         (text) => text.includes("before_01") && !text.includes("before_12"),
-        5_000,
       );
 
       expect(restored).toContain("before_01");
@@ -297,22 +318,20 @@ describe("PTY pager", () => {
       expect(initial).not.toContain("before_12");
 
       await session.waitIdle({ timeout: 200 });
-      await session.scrollDown(10);
-      const scrolled = await harness.waitForSnapshot(
+      const scrolled = await scrollWheelUntil(
         session,
+        "down",
         (text) => !text.includes("before_01") && text.includes("before_12"),
-        5_000,
       );
 
       expect(scrolled).not.toContain("View  Navigate  Theme  Agent  Help");
       expect(scrolled).not.toContain("before_01");
       expect(scrolled).toContain("before_12");
 
-      await session.scrollUp(10);
-      const restored = await harness.waitForSnapshot(
+      const restored = await scrollWheelUntil(
         session,
+        "up",
         (text) => text.includes("before_01") && !text.includes("before_12"),
-        5_000,
       );
 
       expect(restored).toContain("before_01");