diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/screens/tabs/LiveArt.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/screens/tabs/LiveArt.tsx
index f86dbea..a6669e7 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/screens/tabs/LiveArt.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/screens/tabs/LiveArt.tsx
@@ -44,16 +44,11 @@ function LiveThumb({ target, tile, name }: { target: string; tile: LiveArtTile;
   const [src, setSrc] = useState<string | null | undefined>(tile.thumb ? cache.get(`${target}|${tile.thumb}`) : null);
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!tile.thumb || src !== undefined) return;
-    const el = ref.current;
-    if (!el) return;
+    // loaded right away, not on scroll: an IntersectionObserver may never fire in a hidden (tray) window, and a store
+    // has at most a few dozen live images
     let alive = true;
-    const io = new IntersectionObserver(es => {
-      if (!es.some(x => x.isIntersecting)) return;
-      io.disconnect();
-      loadThumb(target, tile.thumb).then(u => { if (alive) setSrc(u); });
-    }, { rootMargin: '300px' });
-    io.observe(el);
-    return () => { alive = false; io.disconnect(); };
+    loadThumb(target, tile.thumb).then(u => { if (alive) setSrc(u); });
+    return () => { alive = false; };
   }, [target, tile.thumb, src]);
   const w = tile.w ?? 9, h = tile.h ?? 16;
   const state = tile.state === 'n/a' ? null : tile.state;