diff --git a/tests/ui/app.spec.js b/tests/ui/app.spec.js
index 1cc624d..a514682 100644
--- a/tests/ui/app.spec.js
+++ b/tests/ui/app.spec.js
@@ -188,7 +188,15 @@ test('while an episode plays, its play buttons all say pause, and pause it', asy
   const downloaded = page.locator('.ep', { has: page.locator('.kind.here') }).first();
   await expect(downloaded).toBeVisible({ timeout: 20_000 });
   await downloaded.click();
-  await page.evaluate(() => { audio.muted = true; });
+  // What the buttons do, not whether this browser decodes the fixture: it does not, reliably,
+  // and a load error pauses the player, rightly turning every button back to play. So the
+  // player plays and pauses here as a real one does, events and all, with no file behind it.
+  await page.evaluate(() => {
+    let paused = true;
+    Object.defineProperty(audio, 'paused', { get: () => paused, configurable: true });
+    audio.play = async () => { paused = false; audio.dispatchEvent(new Event('play')); };
+    audio.pause = () => { paused = true; audio.dispatchEvent(new Event('pause')); };
+  });
   const pane = page.locator('#files [data-a="play"]');
   await pane.click();
   await expect.poll(() => page.evaluate(() => !audio.paused)).toBe(true);