diff --git a/iosApp/HoneyDueUITests/Suite11_TaskCacheRegressionTests.swift b/iosApp/HoneyDueUITests/Suite11_TaskCacheRegressionTests.swift
index e595e10..a9699ab 100644
--- a/iosApp/HoneyDueUITests/Suite11_TaskCacheRegressionTests.swift
+++ b/iosApp/HoneyDueUITests/Suite11_TaskCacheRegressionTests.swift
@@ -58,10 +58,13 @@ final class Suite11_TaskCacheRegressionTests: BaseUITestCase {
 
         // Use the same focusAndType path that OnboardingTests uses — it
         // already handles SecureTextField + iOS strong-password panel.
+        // Under --ui-testing, OrganicOnboardingSecureField defaults to
+        // visibility=ON (renders as TextField) to dodge the iOS 26 SecureField
+        // keyboard bug. Query textFields, not secureTextFields.
         let usernameField = app.textFields[AccessibilityIdentifiers.Onboarding.usernameField]
         let emailField = app.textFields[AccessibilityIdentifiers.Onboarding.emailField]
-        let passwordField = app.secureTextFields[AccessibilityIdentifiers.Onboarding.passwordField]
-        let confirmPasswordField = app.secureTextFields[AccessibilityIdentifiers.Onboarding.confirmPasswordField]
+        let passwordField = app.textFields[AccessibilityIdentifiers.Onboarding.passwordField]
+        let confirmPasswordField = app.textFields[AccessibilityIdentifiers.Onboarding.confirmPasswordField]
 
         usernameField.waitForExistenceOrFail(timeout: navigationTimeout)
         usernameField.focusAndType(creds.username, app: app)
@@ -98,10 +101,11 @@ final class Suite11_TaskCacheRegressionTests: BaseUITestCase {
             onboardingSkipButton.waitForExistence(timeout: loginTimeout),
             "Onboarding skip button should exist on the home-profile screen"
         )
-        // The skip button is always rendered but only enabled+visible on
-        // skippable steps — wait for it to be hittable so we don't tap it
-        // while still on the verify screen.
-        onboardingSkipButton.waitUntilHittable(timeout: navigationTimeout).tap()
+        // The skip button can briefly be non-hittable during the screen-in
+        // transition. Use forceTap() to bypass the strict hittable check.
+        // We confirmed existence above; if the tap doesn't land on the
+        // intended button the next assertion (Browse All tab) will catch it.
+        onboardingSkipButton.forceTap()
 
         // Step 5 — Switch to the "Browse All" tab on the First-Task screen.
         // "For You" suggestions can be empty for a fresh residence with no
diff --git a/iosApp/iosApp/Onboarding/OnboardingCreateAccountView.swift b/iosApp/iosApp/Onboarding/OnboardingCreateAccountView.swift
index 19d5c5c..ebe11b4 100644
--- a/iosApp/iosApp/Onboarding/OnboardingCreateAccountView.swift
+++ b/iosApp/iosApp/Onboarding/OnboardingCreateAccountView.swift
@@ -366,7 +366,12 @@ struct OnboardingCreateAccountContent: View {
         }
         .onChange(of: viewModel.isRegistered) { _, isRegistered in
             if isRegistered {
-                // Registration successful - user is authenticated but not verified
+                // Registration successful — server gave us a token, so we ARE
+                // authenticated (just not verified yet). Mark the iOS-side auth
+                // state to match, otherwise OnboardingState.completeOnboarding's
+                // auth guard silently no-ops at the end of the flow and the
+                // user gets stuck on the firstTask screen.
+                AuthenticationManager.shared.login(verified: false)
                 onAccountCreated(false)
             }
         }
@@ -451,7 +456,13 @@ private struct OrganicOnboardingSecureField: View {
     @Binding var text: String
     var isFocused: Bool = false
     var accessibilityIdentifier: String? = nil
-    @State private var showPassword = false
+    // iOS 26 has a known bug where tapping a SwiftUI SecureField with
+    // `.textContentType(.password)` doesn't reliably bring up the keyboard
+    // — the strong-password autofill panel steals focus. Under UI tests
+    // we force the visibility toggle ON, rendering as a plain TextField,
+    // which has reliable focus behavior. The plaintext isn't a security
+    // concern in test mode (test creds are throwaway).
+    @State private var showPassword = UITestRuntime.isEnabled
 
     var body: some View {
         HStack(spacing: 14) {