diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-api-tokens.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-api-tokens.tsx
index caf87bf9..680a293d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-api-tokens.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-api-tokens.tsx
@@ -854,7 +854,7 @@ function SettingsAPITokens() {
         </AppHeader>
     );
 
-    if (isLoading) {
+    if (isLoading && !data) {
         return (
             <>
                 {pageHeader}
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-prompt.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-prompt.tsx
index d67f7bf8..0c5d2ebf 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-prompt.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-prompt.tsx
@@ -741,7 +741,7 @@ function SettingsPrompt() {
         );
     }
 
-    if (error) {
+    if (error && !data) {
         return (
             <>
                 {pageHeader}
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-prompts.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-prompts.tsx
index 5a6002bb..80c63e0c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-prompts.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-prompts.tsx
@@ -792,7 +792,7 @@ function SettingsPrompts() {
         </AppHeader>
     );
 
-    if (isLoading) {
+    if (isLoading && !data) {
         return (
             <>
                 {pageHeader}
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-provider.test.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-provider.test.tsx
index 5688c160..fe631325 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-provider.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-provider.test.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { render } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { render, screen } from '@testing-library/react';
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
 
 import { ProviderType } from '@/graphql/types';
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ const settingsProviders = {
 // A stable `data` identity matters: the page's seeding effect lists `data` as a
 // dependency, so a fresh object each render would loop it (Apollo returns a
 // cached reference in production).
-const queryResult = { data: { settingsProviders }, error: undefined, loading: false };
+const queryResult = { data: { settingsProviders }, error: undefined as Error | undefined, loading: false };
 
 vi.mock('@apollo/client/react', () => ({
     useMutation: () => [vi.fn(), {}],
@@ -94,6 +94,8 @@ import SettingsProvider from './settings-provider';
 beforeEach(() => {
     navigate.mockClear();
     setSearch('');
+    queryResult.error = undefined;
+    queryResult.loading = false;
 });
 
 describe('SettingsProvider create-form type guards', () => {
@@ -124,4 +126,15 @@ describe('SettingsProvider create-form type guards', () => {
 
         expect(navigate).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
+
+    // cache-and-network means an error can arrive with cached data still present; the form must
+    // survive it rather than flip to the full-page error screen.
+    it('keeps the form on a refetch error while cached data is present', () => {
+        setSearch('type=anthropic');
+        queryResult.error = new Error('e2e induced refetch failure');
+        render(<SettingsProvider />);
+
+        expect(screen.queryByText('Error loading provider data')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+        expect(navigate).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
 });
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-provider.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-provider.tsx
index 0cbda151..e985350e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-provider.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-provider.tsx
@@ -1625,7 +1625,7 @@ function SettingsProvider() {
         );
     }
 
-    if (error) {
+    if (error && !data) {
         return (
             <>
                 <AppHeader>
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-providers.test.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-providers.test.tsx
index bd5a8a94..7d351d11 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-providers.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-providers.test.tsx
@@ -1,20 +1,9 @@
 import { render, screen } from '@testing-library/react';
 import userEvent from '@testing-library/user-event';
+import { MemoryRouter } from 'react-router-dom';
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
 
-const state = vi.hoisted(() => ({ enabled: {} as Record<string, boolean> | undefined }));
-
-vi.mock('@apollo/client/react', () => ({
-    useMutation: () => [vi.fn(), {}],
-    useQuery: () => ({ data: { settingsProviders: { enabled: state.enabled } } }),
-}));
-
-vi.mock('react-router-dom', async (importOriginal) => ({
-    ...(await importOriginal<typeof import('react-router-dom')>()),
-    useNavigate: () => vi.fn(),
-}));
-
-import { SettingsProvidersHeader } from './settings-providers';
+import { ProviderType } from '@/graphql/types';
 
 const ALL_TYPES = [
     'anthropic',
@@ -30,11 +19,57 @@ const ALL_TYPES = [
     'qwen',
 ];
 
-beforeEach(() => {
-    state.enabled = Object.fromEntries(ALL_TYPES.map((type) => [type, type !== 'minimax' && type !== 'custom']));
+const emptyProvider = { agents: {} };
+
+const makeData = (userDefined: unknown[]) => ({
+    settingsProviders: {
+        default: { anthropic: emptyProvider, openai: emptyProvider },
+        enabled: Object.fromEntries(ALL_TYPES.map((type) => [type, type !== 'minimax' && type !== 'custom'])),
+        models: {},
+        userDefined,
+    },
 });
 
+const queryResult = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+    current: { data: undefined, error: undefined, loading: false, refetch: () => {} } as Record<string, unknown>,
+}));
+
+vi.mock('@apollo/client/react', () => ({
+    useMutation: () => [vi.fn(), {}],
+    useQuery: () => queryResult.current,
+}));
+
+vi.mock('react-router-dom', async (importOriginal) => ({
+    ...(await importOriginal<typeof import('react-router-dom')>()),
+    useNavigate: () => vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+vi.mock('@/hooks/use-table-state', () => ({
+    useTableState: () => ({ filter: '', pageIndex: 0, setFilter: vi.fn(), setPage: vi.fn() }),
+}));
+
+// AppHeader pulls in SidebarTrigger (needs a SidebarProvider context); stub the family so the
+// list's load-state branches render without that scaffolding. SettingsProvidersHeader builds its
+// own trigger from a plain Button, so this does not touch the create-menu tests.
+vi.mock('@/components/layouts/app/app-header', () => {
+    const Pass = ({ children }: { children?: React.ReactNode }) => <div>{children}</div>;
+
+    return {
+        AppHeader: Pass,
+        AppHeaderAction: Pass,
+        AppHeaderActions: Pass,
+        AppHeaderContent: Pass,
+        AppHeaderTitle: Pass,
+    };
+});
+
+import SettingsProviders, { SettingsProvidersHeader } from './settings-providers';
+
 describe('SettingsProvidersHeader create menu', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        queryResult.current = { data: makeData([]), error: undefined, loading: false, refetch: () => {} };
+    });
+
     it('offers only provider types whose API key is configured', async () => {
         const user = userEvent.setup();
         render(<SettingsProvidersHeader />);
@@ -48,7 +83,17 @@ describe('SettingsProvidersHeader create menu', () => {
     });
 
     it('shows a placeholder, not an empty menu, when no type is enabled', async () => {
-        state.enabled = Object.fromEntries(ALL_TYPES.map((type) => [type, false]));
+        queryResult.current = {
+            data: {
+                settingsProviders: {
+                    ...makeData([]).settingsProviders,
+                    enabled: Object.fromEntries(ALL_TYPES.map((type) => [type, false])),
+                },
+            },
+            error: undefined,
+            loading: false,
+            refetch: () => {},
+        };
         const user = userEvent.setup();
         render(<SettingsProvidersHeader />);
 
@@ -58,3 +103,31 @@ describe('SettingsProvidersHeader create menu', () => {
         expect(screen.queryByRole('menuitem', { name: /OpenAI/ })).not.toBeInTheDocument();
     });
 });
+
+describe('SettingsProviders list load states', () => {
+    const seeded = [
+        {
+            agents: {},
+            createdAt: '2026-01-15T00:00:00Z',
+            id: '1',
+            name: 'Seeded Provider',
+            type: ProviderType.Custom,
+            updatedAt: '2026-01-15T00:00:00Z',
+        },
+    ];
+
+    // cache-and-network flips loading true with cached rows still present; the table must survive
+    // it rather than flip to the full-page spinner.
+    it('keeps the populated table on a background refetch instead of flashing the loader', () => {
+        queryResult.current = { data: makeData(seeded), error: undefined, loading: true, refetch: () => {} };
+
+        render(
+            <MemoryRouter>
+                <SettingsProviders />
+            </MemoryRouter>,
+        );
+
+        expect(screen.getByText('Seeded Provider')).toBeInTheDocument();
+        expect(screen.queryByText('Loading providers...')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-providers.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-providers.tsx
index cfd8766e..fe0c9181 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-providers.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/settings/settings-providers.tsx
@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@ function SettingsProviders() {
         </AppHeader>
     );
 
-    if (isLoading) {
+    if (isLoading && !data) {
         return (
             <>
                 {pageHeader}