diff --git a/client/src/app.jsx b/client/src/app.jsx
index 2c4db6ac..da24a95e 100644
--- a/client/src/app.jsx
+++ b/client/src/app.jsx
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import {
   dockHideTimeoutMs,
   wantsActivityListeners,
 } from './utils/dockIdleHide.js';
+import { createDialogWatcher } from './utils/dialogVisibility.js';
 import {
   BLOCK_PINCH_TOUCH_ACTION,
   attachTwoFingerSwipe,
@@ -1211,6 +1212,15 @@ const App = () => {
   // phone, where the dock is the navigation, and never while Admin is open.
   const dockHideMs = isMobile ? null : dockHideTimeoutMs(screensaverSettings.dockHideMinutes);
   const [dockHidden, setDockHidden] = useState(false);
+  // A dialog anywhere hides the dock too: the dock sits above MUI dialogs,
+  // so a dialog opened from a widget would end up with its bottom buttons
+  // under it. Any open dialog hides it, on any screen, and it returns when
+  // the last dialog closes (stacked dialogs included — the watcher counts).
+  const [dialogOpen, setDialogOpen] = useState(false);
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const watcher = createDialogWatcher({ onChange: setDialogOpen });
+    return () => watcher.dispose();
+  }, []);
   // How big the expanded widget is, if any (utils/widgetExpand.js).
   const [expandedWidgetSize, setExpandedWidgetSize] = useState('normal');
   const dockIdleRef = useRef(null);
@@ -2922,9 +2932,11 @@ const App = () => {
         </DialogContent>
       </Dialog>
 
-      {/* Floating Dock TabBar. The dock renders above MUI dialogs, so hide it
-          while the Admin Panel is open full-screen on mobile — otherwise it
-          covers the bottom action buttons of the panel's dialogs. */}
+      {/* Floating Dock TabBar. The dock renders above MUI dialogs, so it
+          hides whenever one is open (any dialog, any screen — dialogOpen
+          above), and while the Admin Panel is open full-screen on mobile it
+          is not rendered at all — otherwise it covers the bottom action
+          buttons of the dialogs. */}
       {!(isMobile && showAdminPanel) && (
       <TabBar
         dropTarget={carry.hoverTarget}
@@ -2941,7 +2953,7 @@ const App = () => {
         onOpenSettings={toggleAdminPanel}
         onRefresh={handlePageRefresh}
         // A widget filling the whole page covers the dock too.
-        hidden={!carry.dragging && (dockHidden || expandedWidgetSize === 'full')}
+        hidden={!carry.dragging && (dockHidden || expandedWidgetSize === 'full' || dialogOpen)}
         underDialogs={showAdminPanel}
         theme={displayTheme}
         themeMode={themeMode}
diff --git a/client/src/utils/dialogVisibility.js b/client/src/utils/dialogVisibility.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..12edbc00
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/utils/dialogVisibility.js
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+// Helpers behind "hide the dock while a dialog is open". The floating dock
+// renders above MUI dialogs (z-index 9999), so on a phone it covers the
+// bottom action buttons of a dialog opened from a widget — the dialog's own
+// buttons end up under the dock. The rule is general: any open dialog hides
+// the dock, whatever opened it and on whatever screen, and the dock returns
+// when the last dialog closes.
+//
+// How an open dialog is recognised: a MUI Dialog renders its paper
+// (role="dialog") inside a .MuiModal-root portal on document.body. Menus,
+// select popups and other Modal users carry a different role (menu,
+// listbox), so they never hide the dock. No dialog in this app uses
+// keepMounted, so a closed dialog's modal root is removed from the document
+// entirely — presence means open, including while it fades out. Counting
+// (not a boolean) is what makes stacked dialogs work: two dialogs open at
+// once must not bring the dock back when only one closes.
+//
+// What this does not cover: dialogs inside plugin iframes live in their own
+// documents, which this watcher cannot see from the parent page. A plugin
+// dialog's buttons can still end up under the dock; that needs a
+// per-iframe approach, not this one.
+
+export const OPEN_DIALOG_SELECTOR = '.MuiModal-root [role="dialog"]';
+
+// How many dialogs are open in a document-like root. A root without
+// querySelectorAll (or no root at all) counts as none open.
+export function countOpenDialogs(root) {
+  if (!root || typeof root.querySelectorAll !== 'function') return 0;
+  return root.querySelectorAll(OPEN_DIALOG_SELECTOR).length;
+}
+
+// Watches the document for open dialogs. `onChange(open)` fires only when
+// the state flips — open on the first dialog, closed again only when the
+// last one goes. The initial scan covers a dialog that is already open
+// when the watcher starts (for example the mirror PIN gate). Pass a
+// MutationObserver implementation only to test with; the real one is used
+// otherwise, and with no observer at all the watcher still reports the
+// initial scan and never crashes.
+export function createDialogWatcher({
+  root = typeof document !== 'undefined' ? document : null,
+  onChange,
+  MutationObserverImpl = typeof MutationObserver !== 'undefined' ? MutationObserver : null,
+} = {}) {
+  let open = false;
+  let observer = null;
+
+  const refresh = () => {
+    const next = countOpenDialogs(root) > 0;
+    if (next === open) return;
+    open = next;
+    onChange(open);
+  };
+
+  if (root && root.body && MutationObserverImpl) {
+    observer = new MutationObserverImpl(() => refresh());
+    observer.observe(root.body, { childList: true, subtree: true });
+  }
+  refresh();
+
+  return {
+    refresh,
+    dispose() {
+      if (observer) observer.disconnect();
+      observer = null;
+    },
+  };
+}
diff --git a/client/src/utils/dialogVisibility.test.js b/client/src/utils/dialogVisibility.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ba353c8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/utils/dialogVisibility.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { countOpenDialogs, createDialogWatcher, OPEN_DIALOG_SELECTOR } from './dialogVisibility.js';
+
+// A document-like root whose dialog count the test controls.
+const fakeRoot = (count) => ({
+  body: {},
+  querySelectorAll: (selector) => {
+    expect(selector).toBe(OPEN_DIALOG_SELECTOR);
+    return Array.from({ length: count }, () => ({}));
+  },
+});
+
+describe('countOpenDialogs', () => {
+  it('counts the dialogs the selector finds', () => {
+    expect(countOpenDialogs(fakeRoot(0))).toBe(0);
+    expect(countOpenDialogs(fakeRoot(1))).toBe(1);
+    expect(countOpenDialogs(fakeRoot(3))).toBe(3);
+  });
+
+  it('counts none open without a searchable root', () => {
+    expect(countOpenDialogs(null)).toBe(0);
+    expect(countOpenDialogs(undefined)).toBe(0);
+    expect(countOpenDialogs({})).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('createDialogWatcher', () => {
+  // A MutationObserver stand-in the test drives by hand: the watcher gets
+  // the callback, the test fires it after changing the fake root's count.
+  const fakeObserverClass = () => {
+    const instances = [];
+    return {
+      instances,
+      Impl: class {
+        constructor(callback) {
+          this.callback = callback;
+          this.observed = null;
+          this.disconnected = false;
+          instances.push(this);
+        }
+
+        observe(target, options) {
+          this.observed = { target, options };
+        }
+
+        disconnect() {
+          this.disconnected = true;
+        }
+      },
+    };
+  };
+
+  it('fires only when the open state flips, so stacked dialogs keep the dock hidden', () => {
+    const changes = [];
+    let count = 0;
+    const root = {
+      body: {},
+      querySelectorAll: () => Array.from({ length: count }, () => ({})),
+    };
+    const { instances, Impl } = fakeObserverClass();
+    const watcher = createDialogWatcher({ root, onChange: (open) => changes.push(open), MutationObserverImpl: Impl });
+
+    expect(changes).toEqual([]);
+    expect(instances).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(instances[0].observed.options).toEqual({ childList: true, subtree: true });
+
+    count = 1;
+    instances[0].callback();
+    expect(changes).toEqual([true]);
+
+    count = 2;
+    instances[0].callback();
+    expect(changes).toEqual([true]);
+
+    count = 1;
+    instances[0].callback();
+    expect(changes).toEqual([true]);
+
+    count = 0;
+    instances[0].callback();
+    expect(changes).toEqual([true, false]);
+
+    watcher.dispose();
+    expect(instances[0].disconnected).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('reports a dialog that is already open on start', () => {
+    const changes = [];
+    const { Impl } = fakeObserverClass();
+    createDialogWatcher({ root: fakeRoot(1), onChange: (open) => changes.push(open), MutationObserverImpl: Impl });
+    expect(changes).toEqual([true]);
+  });
+
+  it('still reports the initial scan with no observer available', () => {
+    const changes = [];
+    const watcher = createDialogWatcher({ root: fakeRoot(1), onChange: (open) => changes.push(open), MutationObserverImpl: null });
+    expect(changes).toEqual([true]);
+    expect(() => watcher.dispose()).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() => watcher.refresh()).not.toThrow();
+  });
+});