diff --git a/test/test_onboarding_checklist.py b/test/test_onboarding_checklist.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..52fd2e69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test_onboarding_checklist.py
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+"""
+Getting Started checklist: what the server decides, and what it must not.
+
+The timezone step used to tick server-side when the saved timezone differed
+from the shipped default, OR-ed with the saved city. That made the step
+unsatisfiable for anyone genuinely in the default zone (the card nagged
+forever), and let a saved city tick it off while the timezone was still wrong.
+The step is now verified in the browser against its own zone, so the server's
+only job is to hand over the configured value and stay out of the decision.
+
+These tests pin that contract: the panel-size step still reflects config, the
+timezone step never pre-ticks, it carries the configured zone, and the city
+has no influence on it.
+"""
+
+import copy
+import re
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock
+
+import pytest
+from flask import Flask
+
+PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).parent.parent
+sys.path.insert(0, str(PROJECT_ROOT))
+
+BASE_CONFIG = {
+    "timezone": "America/New_York",
+    "location": {"city": "Tampa", "state": "Florida", "country": "US"},
+    "display": {
+        "hardware": {"rows": 32, "cols": 64, "chain_length": 2, "parallel": 1},
+        "runtime": {},
+        "double_sided": {"enabled": False},
+        "vegas_scroll": {"plugin_order": [], "excluded_plugins": []},
+        "plugin_rotation_order": [],
+    },
+    "plugin_system": {},
+    "schedule": {},
+    "dim_schedule": {},
+    "sync": {},
+}
+
+
+def render(config):
+    """Render the overview partial against one config, as app.py would."""
+    base = PROJECT_ROOT / "web_interface"
+    app = Flask(
+        __name__,
+        template_folder=str(base / "templates"),
+        static_folder=str(base / "static"),
+    )
+    app.config["TESTING"] = True
+
+    from web_interface.blueprints import pages_v3 as pv
+
+    # pages_v3 is a module-level singleton shared across the test process;
+    # restore whatever the previous test left on it.
+    original_cm = getattr(pv.pages_v3, "config_manager", None)
+    original_pm = getattr(pv.pages_v3, "plugin_manager", None)
+
+    mock_cm = MagicMock()
+    mock_cm.load_config.return_value = config
+    mock_cm.get_raw_file_content.return_value = config
+    pv.pages_v3.config_manager = mock_cm
+
+    mock_pm = MagicMock()
+    mock_pm.plugins = {}
+    mock_pm.get_all_plugin_info.return_value = []
+    mock_pm.get_plugin_display_modes.side_effect = lambda pid: []
+    pv.pages_v3.plugin_manager = mock_pm
+
+    app.register_blueprint(pv.pages_v3, url_prefix="")
+    try:
+        resp = app.test_client().get("/partials/overview")
+        assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.status_code
+        return resp.get_data(as_text=True)
+    finally:
+        pv.pages_v3.config_manager = original_cm
+        pv.pages_v3.plugin_manager = original_pm
+
+
+def timezone_step(body):
+    """The checklist <button> for the timezone step."""
+    match = re.search(r"<button[^>]*data-check=\"timezone\"[^>]*>", body)
+    assert match, "timezone step not found in the rendered checklist"
+    return match.group(0)
+
+
+def config_with(**overrides):
+    config = copy.deepcopy(BASE_CONFIG)
+    for key, value in overrides.items():
+        config[key] = value
+    return config
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "timezone",
+    ["America/New_York", "America/Los_Angeles", "Europe/Madrid", "Asia/Kolkata"],
+)
+def test_timezone_step_never_pre_ticks_server_side(timezone):
+    """The browser owns this decision; the server must not pre-empt it.
+
+    The default zone is in the list deliberately: that is the case the old
+    default-comparison could never tick.
+    """
+    step = timezone_step(render(config_with(timezone=timezone)))
+    assert 'data-done="0"' in step, step
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "timezone",
+    ["America/New_York", "Europe/Madrid", "Pacific/Auckland"],
+)
+def test_timezone_step_carries_the_configured_zone(timezone):
+    """JS compares data-tz against the browser, so it has to be the real value."""
+    assert f'data-tz="{timezone}"' in timezone_step(render(config_with(timezone=timezone)))
+
+
+def test_city_does_not_influence_the_timezone_step():
+    """The coupling this change removes: city said nothing about the timezone,
+    and OR-ing it let a saved city tick the step off with the zone still wrong."""
+    tampa = timezone_step(render(config_with(
+        location={"city": "Tampa", "state": "Florida", "country": "US"})))
+    seattle = timezone_step(render(config_with(
+        location={"city": "Seattle", "state": "Washington", "country": "US"})))
+    assert tampa == seattle
+
+
+def test_missing_timezone_leaves_the_step_open():
+    """Nothing saved means nothing to verify: the step stays unticked and the
+    JS bails on the empty value rather than comparing against ''."""
+    step = timezone_step(render(config_with(timezone="")))
+    assert 'data-tz=""' in step
+    assert 'data-done="0"' in step
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "hardware,expected",
+    [
+        ({"rows": 32, "cols": 64, "chain_length": 2, "parallel": 1}, "1"),
+        ({"rows": 0, "cols": 0, "chain_length": 0, "parallel": 1}, "0"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_panel_size_step_still_reflects_config(hardware, expected):
+    """Regression guard: the hardware step is still decided server-side."""
+    config = config_with()
+    config["display"]["hardware"] = hardware
+    body = render(config)
+    match = re.search(r"<button[^>]*data-tab=\"display\"[^>]*>", body)
+    assert match, "panel-size step not found"
+    assert f'data-done="{expected}"' in match.group(0), match.group(0)
diff --git a/web_interface/templates/v3/partials/overview.html b/web_interface/templates/v3/partials/overview.html
index 47713d8d..08eb9ac2 100644
--- a/web_interface/templates/v3/partials/overview.html
+++ b/web_interface/templates/v3/partials/overview.html
@@ -63,13 +63,13 @@
 
 <!-- Getting Started checklist: non-gating, dismissible (localStorage), items
      auto-check from existing config/endpoints — no new persisted state.
-     Known heuristic limits (acceptable, disclosed): values left at legitimate
-     defaults (e.g. a user actually in Tampa) read as "not done". -->
+     The timezone step is verified against the browser's own zone rather than
+     compared to the shipped default; see the data-check="timezone" block below
+     for why. -->
 {% set _hw = main_config.display.hardware if main_config and main_config.display else {} %}
 {% set _hw_done = (_hw.rows or 0) > 0 and (_hw.cols or 0) > 0 and (_hw.chain_length or 0) > 0 %}
 {% set _loc = main_config.location if main_config and main_config.location else {} %}
-{% set _loc_done = (main_config.timezone and main_config.timezone != 'America/New_York')
-                   or (_loc.city and _loc.city != 'Tampa') %}
+{% set _tz = (main_config.timezone if main_config else '') or '' %}
 <div id="getting-started-card" class="bg-blue-50 border border-blue-200 rounded-lg p-4 mb-4" style="display:none" role="region" aria-label="Getting started checklist">
     <div class="flex items-start justify-between">
         <div class="flex-1">
@@ -78,8 +78,8 @@
             <ul class="space-y-1 text-sm" id="getting-started-items">
                 <li><button type="button" class="gs-item text-left w-full" data-done="{{ '1' if _hw_done else '0' }}" data-tab="display">
                     <i class="far fa-square mr-2"></i>Set your panel size (Display tab)</button></li>
-                <li><button type="button" class="gs-item text-left w-full" data-done="{{ '1' if _loc_done else '0' }}" data-tab="general">
-                    <i class="far fa-square mr-2"></i>Set your timezone and location (General tab)</button></li>
+                <li><button type="button" class="gs-item text-left w-full" data-done="0" data-check="timezone" data-tz="{{ _tz }}" data-tab="general">
+                    <i class="far fa-square mr-2"></i>Set your timezone{% if _tz %} — currently {{ _tz }}{% if _loc.city %}, {{ _loc.city }}{% endif %}{% endif %} (General tab)<span data-gs-tz-note class="text-xs"></span></button></li>
                 <li><button type="button" class="gs-item text-left w-full" data-done="0" data-check="installed" data-tab="plugins">
                     <i class="far fa-square mr-2"></i>Install a plugin from the Plugin Store</button></li>
                 <li><button type="button" class="gs-item text-left w-full" data-done="0" data-check="enabled" data-tab="plugins">
@@ -165,6 +165,65 @@
     });
     maybeAutoHide();
 
+    // Timezone: verified against the browser's own zone.
+    //
+    // This step used to tick when the saved timezone differed from the value
+    // config.template.json ships (America/New_York), with the saved city
+    // OR-ed in. Two things were wrong with that. "Differs from the default"
+    // answers "did somebody edit this?", but what the checklist needs to know
+    // is whether the value is RIGHT — so anyone who genuinely lives in the
+    // default zone could never satisfy it and the card nagged forever. And
+    // the city has no bearing on whether the timezone is set: because the two
+    // were OR-ed, saving a city ticked the step off with the timezone still
+    // wrong, which is the direction that actually breaks displays (event
+    // times render in the wrong zone).
+    //
+    // The browser already knows its zone, so compare against that: no new
+    // persisted state, no network, and it catches the reverse case too — a
+    // panel still set to the old zone after a move now stays unticked, where
+    // the old test ticked it the moment the value stopped being the default.
+    function sameZone(a, b) {
+        if (a === b) return true;
+        // Compare the wall-clock time each zone yields for one instant, not
+        // the identifiers: aliases (Asia/Calcutta vs Asia/Kolkata,
+        // Europe/Kiev vs Europe/Kyiv) name one zone and must not read as a
+        // mismatch.
+        try {
+            var now = new Date();
+            var stamp = function (tz) {
+                return new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', {
+                    timeZone: tz, dateStyle: 'short', timeStyle: 'short'
+                }).format(now);
+            };
+            return stamp(a) === stamp(b);
+        } catch (e) {
+            // An unparseable zone in the config is worth surfacing, not hiding.
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    (function () {
+        var tzBtn = card.querySelector('[data-check="timezone"]');
+        if (!tzBtn) return;
+        var configured = tzBtn.dataset.tz || '';
+        if (!configured) return;          // nothing saved yet: leave it open
+        var local = '';
+        try {
+            local = (Intl.DateTimeFormat().resolvedOptions().timeZone) || '';
+        } catch (e) {
+            return;                        // no Intl: leave it to the manual tick
+        }
+        if (!local) return;
+        if (sameZone(configured, local)) {
+            markDone(tzBtn);
+            return;
+        }
+        // Unticked on its own says "wrong" without saying why; name the zone
+        // the browser is in so the step is actionable.
+        var note = tzBtn.querySelector('[data-gs-tz-note]');
+        if (note) note.textContent = ' — this browser is in ' + local;
+    }());
+
     // Plugin-derived states from the existing installed-plugins endpoint.
     fetch('/api/v3/plugins/installed')
         .then(function (r) { return r.json(); })