diff --git a/src/app/features/settings/account/Profile.tsx b/src/app/features/settings/account/Profile.tsx
index a2f3f930c..223bd44e3 100644
--- a/src/app/features/settings/account/Profile.tsx
+++ b/src/app/features/settings/account/Profile.tsx
@@ -751,22 +751,32 @@ function ProfilePronouns() {
 
   const [pronouns, setPronouns] = useState<string>('');
   const [savedPronouns, setSavedPronouns] = useState<string>('');
+  // True once the user has edited the field — guards against the mount-time
+  // fetch below clobbering a fresh edit if it resolves late (mirrors
+  // ProfileStatus's statusDirtyRef in this file).
+  const pronounsDirtyRef = useRef(false);
 
   useEffect(() => {
+    let cancelled = false;
     mx.http
       .authedRequest<{ 'm.pronouns': string }>(
         Method.Get,
         `/profile/${encodeURIComponent(userId)}/m.pronouns`,
       )
       .then((res) => {
+        if (cancelled || pronounsDirtyRef.current) return;
         const val = res['m.pronouns'] ?? '';
         setPronouns(val);
         setSavedPronouns(val);
       })
       .catch(() => {
+        if (cancelled || pronounsDirtyRef.current) return;
         setPronouns('');
         setSavedPronouns('');
       });
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true;
+    };
   }, [mx, userId]);
 
   const [saveState, savePronouns] = useAsyncCallback(
@@ -788,10 +798,12 @@ function ProfilePronouns() {
   const saving = saveState.status === AsyncStatus.Loading;
 
   const handleChange: ChangeEventHandler<HTMLInputElement> = (evt) => {
+    pronounsDirtyRef.current = true;
     setPronouns(evt.currentTarget.value);
   };
 
   const handleReset = () => {
+    pronounsDirtyRef.current = true;
     setPronouns(savedPronouns);
   };
 
@@ -875,10 +887,15 @@ function ProfileTimezone() {
 
   const [timezone, setTimezone] = useState<string>('');
   const [savedTimezone, setSavedTimezone] = useState<string>('');
+  // True once the user has edited the field — guards against the mount-time
+  // fetch below clobbering a fresh edit if it resolves late (mirrors
+  // ProfileStatus's statusDirtyRef in this file).
+  const timezoneDirtyRef = useRef(false);
 
   useEffect(() => {
+    let cancelled = false;
     const cached = getAccountData<{ timezone: string }>(mx, 'im.lotus.timezone');
-    if (cached?.timezone) {
+    if (cached?.timezone && !timezoneDirtyRef.current) {
       setTimezone(cached.timezone);
       setSavedTimezone(cached.timezone);
     }
@@ -889,6 +906,7 @@ function ProfileTimezone() {
         `/user/${encodeURIComponent(userId)}/account_data/im.lotus.timezone`,
       )
       .then((res) => {
+        if (cancelled || timezoneDirtyRef.current) return;
         const val = res.timezone ?? '';
         setTimezone(val);
         setSavedTimezone(val);
@@ -896,6 +914,9 @@ function ProfileTimezone() {
       .catch(() => {
         /* no stored timezone yet */
       });
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true;
+    };
   }, [mx, userId]);
 
   const [saveState, saveTimezone] = useAsyncCallback(
@@ -921,7 +942,13 @@ function ProfileTimezone() {
   );
   const saving = saveState.status === AsyncStatus.Loading;
 
+  const handleChange = (value: string) => {
+    timezoneDirtyRef.current = true;
+    setTimezone(value);
+  };
+
   const handleReset = () => {
+    timezoneDirtyRef.current = true;
     setTimezone(savedTimezone);
   };
 
@@ -955,7 +982,7 @@ function ProfileTimezone() {
                 { value: '', label: '— select timezone —' },
                 ...COMMON_TIMEZONES.map((tz) => ({ value: tz, label: tz })),
               ]}
-              onChange={setTimezone}
+              onChange={handleChange}
               disabled={saving}
               aria-label="Timezone"
             />
diff --git a/src/app/features/settings/account/ProfileDecoration.tsx b/src/app/features/settings/account/ProfileDecoration.tsx
index 8dd5fdaad..2a93a2ed6 100644
--- a/src/app/features/settings/account/ProfileDecoration.tsx
+++ b/src/app/features/settings/account/ProfileDecoration.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from 'react';
+import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 import { Box, Button, Text, Spinner, color } from 'folds';
 import { Method } from 'matrix-js-sdk';
 import { useMatrixClient } from '../../../hooks/useMatrixClient';
@@ -67,24 +67,47 @@ export function ProfileDecoration() {
 
   const [current, setCurrent] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [selected, setSelected] = useState<string | null>(null);
+  // Distinguish "confirmed no decoration" from "failed to load": a fetch
+  // failure must not be shown as (and saved over) "None".
+  const [loadError, setLoadError] = useState(false);
+  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
+  // True once the user has picked/cleared a decoration — guards against the
+  // mount-time fetch below clobbering a fresh selection if it resolves late
+  // (mirrors ProfileStatus's statusDirtyRef in Profile.tsx).
+  const dirtyRef = useRef(false);
 
-  useEffect(() => {
+  const fetchDecoration = useCallback(() => {
+    let cancelled = false;
+    setLoading(true);
     // Fetch the whole profile, not the `/{field}` sub-resource: an unset field
     // 404s (a console error for anyone without a decoration). The full profile
     // returns 200 with all fields incl. custom MSC4133 ones — read it out.
     mx.http
       .authedRequest<Record<string, string>>(Method.Get, `/profile/${encodeURIComponent(userId)}`)
       .then((res) => {
+        if (cancelled) return;
+        setLoadError(false);
+        setLoading(false);
+        if (dirtyRef.current) return;
         const val = (res[PROFILE_FIELD] as string | undefined) ?? null;
         setCurrent(val);
         setSelected(val);
       })
       .catch(() => {
-        setCurrent(null);
-        setSelected(null);
+        if (cancelled) return;
+        setLoading(false);
+        // Do NOT touch current/selected here — a network failure is not proof
+        // there's no decoration, and defaulting to null risks the user saving
+        // "None" over a real, still-set decoration (see #46).
+        setLoadError(true);
       });
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true;
+    };
   }, [mx, userId]);
 
+  useEffect(() => fetchDecoration(), [fetchDecoration]);
+
   const [saveState, save] = useAsyncCallback(
     useCallback(
       async (slug: string | null) => {
@@ -105,16 +128,27 @@ export function ProfileDecoration() {
   const hasChanges = selected !== current;
 
   const handleSelect = (slug: string) => {
+    dirtyRef.current = true;
     setSelected((prev) => (prev === slug ? null : slug));
   };
 
-  const handleClear = () => setSelected(null);
+  const handleClear = () => {
+    dirtyRef.current = true;
+    setSelected(null);
+  };
 
   const handleSave = () => {
-    if (!hasChanges || saving) return;
+    // Refuse to save while the initial load failed: `current`/`selected` are
+    // not known-good, so saving could silently overwrite a real decoration.
+    if (!hasChanges || saving || loadError) return;
     save(selected);
   };
 
+  const handleRetry = () => {
+    dirtyRef.current = false;
+    fetchDecoration();
+  };
+
   return (
     <SettingTile
       title={
@@ -159,13 +193,15 @@ export function ProfileDecoration() {
           </div>
           <Box grow="Yes" direction="Column" gap="100">
             <Text size="T300">
-              {selected
-                ? (DECORATION_CATEGORIES.flatMap((c) => c.decorations).find(
-                    (d) => d.slug === selected,
-                  )?.name ?? selected)
-                : 'None'}
+              {loadError
+                ? 'Failed to load'
+                : selected
+                  ? (DECORATION_CATEGORIES.flatMap((c) => c.decorations).find(
+                      (d) => d.slug === selected,
+                    )?.name ?? selected)
+                  : 'None'}
             </Text>
-            {selected && (
+            {selected && !loadError && (
               <Button
                 type="button"
                 size="300"
@@ -178,7 +214,7 @@ export function ProfileDecoration() {
               </Button>
             )}
           </Box>
-          {hasChanges && (
+          {hasChanges && !loadError && (
             <Button
               type="button"
               size="400"
@@ -194,6 +230,26 @@ export function ProfileDecoration() {
           )}
         </Box>
 
+        {loadError && (
+          <Box alignItems="Center" gap="200">
+            <Text size="T200" style={{ color: color.Critical.Main }}>
+              Could not load your current decoration. Saving is disabled until this succeeds, so you
+              don’t overwrite it based on a wrong display.
+            </Text>
+            <Button
+              type="button"
+              size="300"
+              radii="300"
+              variant="Secondary"
+              fill="Soft"
+              onClick={handleRetry}
+              disabled={loading}
+            >
+              <Text size="B300">{loading ? 'Retrying…' : 'Retry'}</Text>
+            </Button>
+          </Box>
+        )}
+
         {saveState.status === AsyncStatus.Error && (
           <Text size="T200" style={{ color: color.Critical.Main }}>
             Failed to save. Try again.