diff --git a/apps/mobile/src/MobileApp.tsx b/apps/mobile/src/MobileApp.tsx
index c8939ef3..f3144531 100644
--- a/apps/mobile/src/MobileApp.tsx
+++ b/apps/mobile/src/MobileApp.tsx
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ export function MobileApp() {
     setCompactNavigation((state) => selectLoadedNote(state, notes, selectedNoteId))
   }, [])
 
-  useMobileVaultRuntimeLoader({
+  const runtimeLoader = useMobileVaultRuntimeLoader({
     appStateStorage,
     loadNotes: loadDemoVaultNotes,
     metadataStorage: vaultMetadataStorage,
@@ -127,9 +127,11 @@ export function MobileApp() {
               createNoteTitle={createFlow.title}
               isCreatePromptOpen={createFlow.isPromptOpen}
               isCreatingNote={createFlow.isCreating}
+              runtimeLoadFailed={runtimeLoader.failed}
               onCancelCreateNote={createFlow.cancel}
               onChangeCreateNoteTitle={createFlow.setTitle}
               onOpenCreateNote={createFlow.open}
+              onRetryRuntimeLoad={runtimeLoader.retry}
               onSubmitCreateNote={createFlow.submit}
               onSelectNote={selectNote}
             />
@@ -155,9 +157,11 @@ export function MobileApp() {
             createNoteTitle={createFlow.title}
             isCreatePromptOpen={createFlow.isPromptOpen}
             isCreatingNote={createFlow.isCreating}
+            runtimeLoadFailed={runtimeLoader.failed}
             onCancelCreateNote={createFlow.cancel}
             onChangeCreateNoteTitle={createFlow.setTitle}
             onOpenCreateNote={createFlow.open}
+            onRetryRuntimeLoad={runtimeLoader.retry}
             onSubmitCreateNote={createFlow.submit}
             onSelectNote={selectNote}
           />
@@ -179,9 +183,11 @@ function CompactShell({
   createNoteTitle,
   isCreatePromptOpen,
   isCreatingNote,
+  runtimeLoadFailed,
   onCancelCreateNote,
   onChangeCreateNoteTitle,
   onOpenCreateNote,
+  onRetryRuntimeLoad,
   onSubmitCreateNote,
   onSelectNote,
   selectedNoteId,
@@ -194,12 +200,14 @@ function CompactShell({
   createNoteTitle: string
   isCreatePromptOpen: boolean
   isCreatingNote: boolean
+  runtimeLoadFailed: boolean
   onNavigate: (event: CompactNavigationEvent) => void
   onDeleteNote?: () => void
   onDraftChange: (draft: MobileEditorDraft) => void
   onCancelCreateNote: () => void
   onChangeCreateNoteTitle: (title: string) => void
   onOpenCreateNote: () => void
+  onRetryRuntimeLoad: () => void
   onSubmitCreateNote: () => void
   onSelectNote: (note: MobileNote) => void
   selectedNoteId: string
@@ -244,10 +252,12 @@ function CompactShell({
         createNoteTitle={createNoteTitle}
         isCreatePromptOpen={isCreatePromptOpen}
         isCreatingNote={isCreatingNote}
+        runtimeLoadFailed={runtimeLoadFailed}
         onCancelCreateNote={onCancelCreateNote}
         onChangeCreateNoteTitle={onChangeCreateNoteTitle}
         onOpenCreateNote={onOpenCreateNote}
         onOpenSidebar={() => onNavigate({ type: 'openSidebar' })}
+        onRetryRuntimeLoad={onRetryRuntimeLoad}
         onSelectNote={onSelectNote}
         onSubmitCreateNote={onSubmitCreateNote}
       />
@@ -294,10 +304,12 @@ function NoteListPanel({
   createNoteTitle,
   isCreatePromptOpen,
   isCreatingNote,
+  runtimeLoadFailed,
   onCancelCreateNote,
   onChangeCreateNoteTitle,
   onOpenCreateNote,
   onOpenSidebar,
+  onRetryRuntimeLoad,
   onSelectNote,
   onSubmitCreateNote,
   selectedNoteId,
@@ -307,10 +319,12 @@ function NoteListPanel({
   createNoteTitle: string
   isCreatePromptOpen: boolean
   isCreatingNote: boolean
+  runtimeLoadFailed: boolean
   onCancelCreateNote: () => void
   onChangeCreateNoteTitle: (title: string) => void
   onOpenCreateNote: () => void
   onOpenSidebar?: () => void
+  onRetryRuntimeLoad: () => void
   onSelectNote: (note: MobileNote) => void
   onSubmitCreateNote: () => void
   selectedNoteId: string
@@ -323,6 +337,7 @@ function NoteListPanel({
         <View style={styles.toolbarSpacer} />
         <IconButton icon={<MagnifyingGlass size={23} color={colors.textSoft} />} />
       </Toolbar>
+      {runtimeLoadFailed ? <VaultLoadErrorNotice onRetry={onRetryRuntimeLoad} /> : null}
       <FlatList
         data={notes}
         keyExtractor={(item) => item.id}
@@ -377,6 +392,17 @@ function NoteListPanel({
   )
 }
 
+function VaultLoadErrorNotice({ onRetry }: { onRetry: () => void }) {
+  return (
+    <View style={styles.vaultLoadError}>
+      <Text style={styles.vaultLoadErrorText}>Could not load vault notes.</Text>
+      <Pressable onPress={onRetry} style={({ pressed }) => [styles.vaultLoadRetry, pressed ? styles.pressed : null]}>
+        <Text style={styles.vaultLoadRetryText}>Retry</Text>
+      </Pressable>
+    </View>
+  )
+}
+
 function selectLoadedNote(
   state: ReturnType<typeof createCompactNavigationState>,
   loadedNotes: MobileNote[],
diff --git a/apps/mobile/src/styles.ts b/apps/mobile/src/styles.ts
index 89963889..55bc67cb 100644
--- a/apps/mobile/src/styles.ts
+++ b/apps/mobile/src/styles.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { noteCreateStyles } from './styles/noteCreateStyles'
 import { noteListStyles } from './styles/noteListStyles'
 import { propertiesStyles } from './styles/propertiesStyles'
 import { sidebarStyles } from './styles/sidebarStyles'
+import { vaultLoadStyles } from './styles/vaultLoadStyles'
 
 export const styles = {
   ...commonStyles,
@@ -14,4 +15,5 @@ export const styles = {
   ...noteListStyles,
   ...propertiesStyles,
   ...sidebarStyles,
+  ...vaultLoadStyles,
 }
diff --git a/apps/mobile/src/styles/vaultLoadStyles.ts b/apps/mobile/src/styles/vaultLoadStyles.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..07b2e448
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/mobile/src/styles/vaultLoadStyles.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+import { StyleSheet } from 'react-native'
+import { colors, spacing } from '../theme'
+
+export const vaultLoadStyles = StyleSheet.create({
+  vaultLoadError: {
+    marginHorizontal: spacing.lg,
+    marginBottom: spacing.sm,
+    padding: spacing.md,
+    borderColor: colors.chipRed,
+    borderWidth: StyleSheet.hairlineWidth,
+    borderRadius: 8,
+    backgroundColor: '#fff8f7',
+  },
+  vaultLoadErrorText: {
+    color: colors.text,
+    fontSize: 14,
+    fontWeight: '600',
+  },
+  vaultLoadRetry: {
+    alignSelf: 'flex-start',
+    marginTop: spacing.sm,
+    paddingHorizontal: spacing.md,
+    paddingVertical: spacing.xs,
+    borderRadius: 6,
+    backgroundColor: colors.primarySoft,
+  },
+  vaultLoadRetryText: {
+    color: colors.primary,
+    fontSize: 13,
+    fontWeight: '700',
+  },
+})
diff --git a/apps/mobile/src/useMobileVaultRuntimeLoader.ts b/apps/mobile/src/useMobileVaultRuntimeLoader.ts
index 3fe62f27..6de5927c 100644
--- a/apps/mobile/src/useMobileVaultRuntimeLoader.ts
+++ b/apps/mobile/src/useMobileVaultRuntimeLoader.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useEffect } from 'react'
+import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from 'react'
 import type { MobileAppStateStorage } from './mobileAppStateStorage'
 import type { MobileNote } from './demoData'
 import type { MobileVaultMetadata } from './mobileVaultMetadata'
@@ -20,19 +20,42 @@ export function useMobileVaultRuntimeLoader({
     selectedNoteId: string | null
   }) => void
 }) {
+  const [loadState, setLoadState] = useState<'loading' | 'ready' | 'failed'>('loading')
+  const [reloadKey, setReloadKey] = useState(0)
+
+  const retry = useCallback(() => {
+    setLoadState('loading')
+    setReloadKey((key) => key + 1)
+  }, [])
+
   useEffect(() => {
     let isActive = true
 
     void loadMobileVaultRuntime({ appStateStorage, loadNotes, metadataStorage })
       .then((runtime) => {
-        if (isActive && runtime.notes.length > 0) {
+        if (!isActive) {
+          return
+        }
+
+        if (runtime.notes.length > 0) {
           onLoaded(runtime)
         }
+        setLoadState('ready')
+      })
+      .catch(() => {
+        if (isActive) {
+          setLoadState('failed')
+        }
       })
-      .catch(() => {})
 
     return () => {
       isActive = false
     }
-  }, [appStateStorage, loadNotes, metadataStorage, onLoaded])
+  }, [appStateStorage, loadNotes, metadataStorage, onLoaded, reloadKey])
+
+  return {
+    failed: loadState === 'failed',
+    isLoading: loadState === 'loading',
+    retry,
+  }
 }
diff --git a/docs/MOBILE_PROGRESS.md b/docs/MOBILE_PROGRESS.md
index 6d457f72..8f0d06da 100644
--- a/docs/MOBILE_PROGRESS.md
+++ b/docs/MOBILE_PROGRESS.md
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ This file is the resumable working log for Tolaria mobile. The strategy and road
 - Replaced the demo vault's hardcoded identity with the shared default vault metadata boundary.
 - Wired mobile runtime loading through the persisted vault metadata catalog boundary, so app state, note loading, autosave, note creation, and deletion all operate against the active vault metadata.
 - Extracted runtime loading into a hook plus tested pure loader to keep `MobileApp.tsx` at CodeScene `10.0`.
+- Added first-class runtime vault load failure state with a visible retry notice in the note list, replacing the previous silent failure path.
 
 ## Next Action
 
@@ -79,7 +80,7 @@ Continue Phase 3 with app-managed vault storage hardening:
 
 1. Add a focused simulator interaction path for create/open/edit/autosave/delete once Expo Go's overlay no longer blocks clean screenshots.
 2. Decide whether archive should be modeled as a first-class note state or deferred until the mobile vault schema exists.
-3. Add first-class error/retry state for vault runtime load failures instead of silently falling back to fixture notes.
+3. Add a small runtime empty-vault state once user-created blank vaults exist.
 
 ## Verification Log
 
@@ -248,6 +249,11 @@ Continue Phase 3 with app-managed vault storage hardening:
 - CodeScene after runtime vault metadata wiring: `apps/mobile/src/MobileApp.tsx`, `apps/mobile/src/mobileDemoVault.ts`, `apps/mobile/src/mobileVaultRuntime.ts`, and `apps/mobile/src/mobileVaultRuntime.test.ts` scored `10`; `apps/mobile/src/useMobileVaultRuntimeLoader.ts` returned no scorable code and no findings.
 - `pnpm --filter @tolaria/mobile test` passed after runtime vault metadata wiring: 22 files / 70 tests.
 - `pnpm --filter @tolaria/mobile exec expo export --platform ios --output-dir /tmp/tolaria-mobile-export` passed after runtime vault metadata wiring.
+- `pnpm --filter @tolaria/mobile test -- src/mobileVaultRuntime.test.ts` passed after runtime load retry UI: 22 files / 70 tests.
+- `pnpm --filter @tolaria/mobile typecheck` passed after runtime load retry UI.
+- CodeScene after runtime load retry UI: `apps/mobile/src/MobileApp.tsx`, `apps/mobile/src/styles/noteListStyles.ts`, and `apps/mobile/src/styles/vaultLoadStyles.ts` scored `10`; `apps/mobile/src/useMobileVaultRuntimeLoader.ts` returned no scorable code and no findings.
+- `pnpm --filter @tolaria/mobile test` passed after runtime load retry UI: 22 files / 70 tests.
+- `pnpm --filter @tolaria/mobile exec expo export --platform ios --output-dir /tmp/tolaria-mobile-export` passed after runtime load retry UI.
 
 ## Risks / Watch Items