diff --git a/scripts/lib/control-pane/ui.js b/scripts/lib/control-pane/ui.js
index eb4b0ec0c..2d7db4ae2 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/control-pane/ui.js
+++ b/scripts/lib/control-pane/ui.js
@@ -438,9 +438,10 @@ function renderControlPaneHtml() {
 
     // The board keeps the last snapshot on screen, so a failed refresh has to
     // say that the data is no longer live, and since when.
+    let loadedAt = null;
     function showRefreshFailure(error) {
-      const since = state.loadedAt
-        ? ' The data below is from ' + state.loadedAt.toLocaleTimeString() + '.'
+      const since = loadedAt
+        ? ' The data below is from ' + loadedAt.toLocaleString() + '.'
         : '';
       showError('#app', 'Live refresh failed.' + since + '\\n' + formatError(error));
     }
@@ -651,7 +652,7 @@ function renderControlPaneHtml() {
         ...action,
         executable: snapshot.execution.allowActions && action.executable
       })));
-      state.loadedAt = new Date();
+      loadedAt = new Date();
       clearError('#app');
     }
 
@@ -692,7 +693,12 @@ function renderControlPaneHtml() {
     // Live board: refresh on a gentle interval; pause while a prompt/tab is hidden.
     setInterval(() => {
       if (document.hidden) return;
-      load().catch(showRefreshFailure);
+      const shownSince = loadedAt;
+      load().catch(error => {
+        // A load that finished in the meantime already replaced the data this
+        // refresh was for, so its failure no longer describes the board.
+        if (loadedAt === shownSince) showRefreshFailure(error);
+      });
     }, 15000);
 
     load().catch(error => showError('#app', error));
diff --git a/tests/lib/control-pane-ui.test.js b/tests/lib/control-pane-ui.test.js
index 747228988..6e883c3ad 100644
--- a/tests/lib/control-pane-ui.test.js
+++ b/tests/lib/control-pane-ui.test.js
@@ -28,7 +28,8 @@ function inlineScript(html) {
 
 // Runs the page script against a stand-in for the few browser APIs it uses:
 // elements looked up by selector, fetch, and a setInterval whose callback the
-// test fires itself.
+// test fires itself. While `hold` is set, a fetch waits in `pending` until the
+// test settles it.
 function openPage(snapshot) {
   const elements = new Map();
   const element = selector => {
@@ -44,17 +45,23 @@ function openPage(snapshot) {
     }
     return elements.get(selector);
   };
-  const page = { online: true, refresh: null, element };
+  const page = { online: true, hold: false, pending: [], refresh: null, element };
   vm.runInNewContext(inlineScript(renderControlPaneHtml()), {
     document: { hidden: false, querySelector: element, querySelectorAll: () => [] },
     window: { location: { href: 'http://127.0.0.1:8765/' } },
     URL,
     Intl,
     console,
-    fetch: async () => {
-      if (!page.online) throw new TypeError('Failed to fetch');
-      return { ok: true, status: 200, statusText: 'OK', json: async () => snapshot };
-    },
+    fetch: () =>
+      new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+        const reply = {
+          succeed: () => resolve({ ok: true, status: 200, statusText: 'OK', json: async () => snapshot }),
+          fail: () => reject(new TypeError('Failed to fetch'))
+        };
+        if (page.hold) page.pending.push(reply);
+        else if (page.online) reply.succeed();
+        else reply.fail();
+      }),
     setInterval: callback => {
       page.refresh = callback;
     }
@@ -92,6 +99,7 @@ async function runTests() {
       const box = page.element('#app');
       assert.strictEqual(box.hidden, false, 'the failure is shown');
       assert.match(box.textContent, /Live refresh failed\. The data below is from /);
+      assert.ok(box.textContent.includes(String(new Date().getFullYear())), 'the time of the data includes its date');
       assert.match(box.textContent, /Failed to fetch/);
 
       page.online = true;
@@ -103,6 +111,24 @@ async function runTests() {
     passed++;
   else failed++;
 
+  if (
+    await test('a refresh that fails after a newer load succeeded is not reported', async () => {
+      const page = openPage(snapshot);
+      await settle();
+
+      page.hold = true;
+      page.refresh();
+      page.hold = false;
+      page.refresh();
+      await settle();
+      page.pending[0].fail();
+      await settle();
+      assert.strictEqual(page.element('#app').hidden, true, 'the newer data is not marked as stale');
+    })
+  )
+    passed++;
+  else failed++;
+
   console.log(`\nResults: Passed: ${passed}, Failed: ${failed}`);
   process.exit(failed > 0 ? 1 : 0);
 }