diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/pair-live.test.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/pair-live.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9bab9f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/pair-live.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from "vitest";
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server";
+import type { ReactNode } from "react";
+
+// PairLive uses these client-only modules. Stub them so the component
+// can be rendered server-side for assertion. The default state on first
+// render is `phase: "waiting"` — exactly the case we want to verify here.
+vi.mock("next/navigation", () => ({
+  useRouter: () => ({ push: vi.fn() }),
+}));
+vi.mock("next/link", () => ({
+  default: ({ href, children, ...rest }: { href: string; children: ReactNode } & Record<string, unknown>) => (
+    <a href={href} {...rest}>
+      {children}
+    </a>
+  ),
+}));
+// useEvents subscribes to the SSE stream; on the server-render side we
+// just want it to no-op so the component stays in its initial state.
+vi.mock("@/hooks/use-events", () => ({
+  useEvents: () => {},
+}));
+
+import { PairLive } from "./pair-live";
+
+describe("PairLive — initial 'waiting' state shows a spinner placeholder", () => {
+  it("renders an aria-live spinner block before any QR arrives", () => {
+    const html = renderToStaticMarkup(
+      <PairLive accountId="acc-1" label="Personal" />,
+    );
+
+    // The placeholder is a labelled, aria-live region so screen readers
+    // announce it as soon as it appears.
+    expect(html).toMatch(/data-testid="pair-loading"/);
+    expect(html).toMatch(/role="status"/);
+    expect(html).toMatch(/aria-live="polite"/);
+    expect(html).toMatch(/aria-label="Generating QR code"/);
+  });
+
+  it("uses an animated spinner icon (lucide Loader2)", () => {
+    const html = renderToStaticMarkup(
+      <PairLive accountId="acc-1" label="Personal" />,
+    );
+    // Lucide tags every icon with a stable `lucide-<name>` class.
+    expect(html).toMatch(/lucide-loader-?2|lucide-loader/);
+    // The animation hook (Tailwind's animate-spin) must be applied so
+    // the spinner actually rotates.
+    expect(html).toContain("animate-spin");
+  });
+
+  it("shows the 'Generating QR…' helper text", () => {
+    const html = renderToStaticMarkup(
+      <PairLive accountId="acc-1" label="Personal" />,
+    );
+    expect(html).toContain("Generating QR…");
+  });
+
+  it("does NOT yet render the QR image, countdown bar, or Save QR button", () => {
+    const html = renderToStaticMarkup(
+      <PairLive accountId="acc-1" label="Personal" />,
+    );
+    // No <img> for the QR.
+    expect(html).not.toMatch(/<img[^>]+alt="WhatsApp QR code"/);
+    // No "QR expires" / "Pairing expires" countdown copy.
+    expect(html).not.toContain("Pairing expires");
+    // No download CTA.
+    expect(html).not.toContain("Save QR");
+  });
+
+  it("placeholder occupies the same 64x64 footprint as the eventual QR", () => {
+    // Avoids a layout jump when the QR finally lands. Both the spinner
+    // tile and the rendered QR use Tailwind's `size-64` (16rem).
+    const html = renderToStaticMarkup(
+      <PairLive accountId="acc-1" label="Personal" />,
+    );
+    expect(html).toMatch(/class="[^"]*\bsize-64\b/);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/pair-live.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/pair-live.tsx
index daab21b..49b372a 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/pair-live.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/pair-live.tsx
@@ -3,9 +3,14 @@
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
 import Link from "next/link";
-import { CheckCircle2Icon, XCircleIcon, ScanLineIcon, DownloadIcon } from "lucide-react";
+import {
+  CheckCircle2Icon,
+  XCircleIcon,
+  ScanLineIcon,
+  DownloadIcon,
+  Loader2Icon,
+} from "lucide-react";
 import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
-import { Skeleton } from "@/components/ui/skeleton";
 import { useEvents } from "@/hooks/use-events";
 import { countdownRender } from "@/lib/qr-dedupe";
 
@@ -133,10 +138,21 @@ export function PairLive({ accountId, label }: PairLiveProps) {
         {label}
       </div>
 
-      {/* State display */}
+      {/* State display — spinner placeholder until the bot pushes the
+          first session.qr event through SSE. The 64x64-tile area is the
+          same size as the rendered QR so the layout doesn't jump when
+          the image arrives. */}
       {pairingState.phase === "waiting" && (
-        <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-3">
-          <Skeleton className="size-64 rounded-lg" />
+        <div
+          role="status"
+          aria-live="polite"
+          aria-label="Generating QR code"
+          data-testid="pair-loading"
+          className="flex flex-col items-center gap-3"
+        >
+          <div className="flex size-64 items-center justify-center rounded-lg border border-border bg-muted/30">
+            <Loader2Icon className="size-10 text-muted-foreground animate-spin" aria-hidden />
+          </div>
           <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">Generating QR…</p>
         </div>
       )}