diff --git a/src/components/clinical-dashboard/global-search-shell.tsx b/src/components/clinical-dashboard/global-search-shell.tsx
index 5211d335..446994c5 100644
--- a/src/components/clinical-dashboard/global-search-shell.tsx
+++ b/src/components/clinical-dashboard/global-search-shell.tsx
@@ -726,9 +726,11 @@ function GlobalStandaloneSearchShellClient({
             desktopSearchPlacement={desktopSearchPlacement === "hero" && isStandaloneModeHome ? "hero" : "default"}
             searchComposerVisible={shouldShowSearchComposer}
             desktopHomeComposerSlotId={isStandaloneModeHome ? modeHomeDesktopComposerSlotId : undefined}
-            // Standalone mode homes keep the hero pill from sm up; phones get
-            // the compact bottom dock (only the answer home hero owns phones).
-            heroComposerBreakpoint="sm-up"
+            // Standalone mode homes keep the in-flow hero pill at every width,
+            // phones included — the composer sits in the middle of the hero and
+            // scrolls with the content, matching the answer home rather than
+            // docking to the bottom edge.
+            heroComposerBreakpoint="all"
             // Phone-only: #main-content owns vertical scroll, so hide-on-scroll
             // collapses the header/composer to hand space back to content.
             hideOnScroll={{ strategy: "collapse", scrollHidden: phoneScrollHide.hidden }}
diff --git a/src/components/clinical-dashboard/mobile-composer-reserve.ts b/src/components/clinical-dashboard/mobile-composer-reserve.ts
index 9b794bcd..e4a19c25 100644
--- a/src/components/clinical-dashboard/mobile-composer-reserve.ts
+++ b/src/components/clinical-dashboard/mobile-composer-reserve.ts
@@ -79,9 +79,11 @@ export function resolveShellVisibleMobileComposerReserve(input: {
     // DocumentViewer owns its dock; shell keeps only the hidden-size pad.
     return input.documentViewerOwnedRoute ? mobileComposerHiddenReserve : mobileComposerIdleReserve;
   }
-  // Standalone mode homes keep the hero composer from sm up but dock the
-  // compact pill on phones, so they reserve the same clearance as result docks.
-  if (input.isStandaloneModeHome) return mobileComposerVisibleReserve.shellDock;
+  // Standalone mode homes keep the in-flow hero pill at every width (phones
+  // included), so the composer sits in the content flow rather than docking to
+  // the bottom edge. Reserve only the idle content pad — matching the answer
+  // home hero — so no empty band opens below the pill.
+  if (input.isStandaloneModeHome) return mobileComposerIdleReserve;
   if (input.searchMode === "answer") return mobileComposerVisibleReserve.shellAnswer;
   if (input.differentialsCompareAddonActive) return mobileComposerVisibleReserve.differentialsCompare;
   return mobileComposerVisibleReserve.shellDock;
diff --git a/tests/mobile-composer-reserve.test.ts b/tests/mobile-composer-reserve.test.ts
index 732f27b3..92afcc60 100644
--- a/tests/mobile-composer-reserve.test.ts
+++ b/tests/mobile-composer-reserve.test.ts
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ describe("mobile composer reserve contract", () => {
     ).toBe(mobileComposerHiddenReserve);
   });
 
-  it("reserves compact dock clearance on standalone mode homes (phone dock, hero from sm up)", () => {
+  it("keeps only the idle content pad on standalone mode homes (in-flow hero pill, no dock)", () => {
     expect(
       resolveShellVisibleMobileComposerReserve({
         shouldShowSearchComposer: true,
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ describe("mobile composer reserve contract", () => {
         searchMode: "services",
         differentialsCompareAddonActive: false,
       }),
-    ).toBe(mobileComposerVisibleReserve.shellDock);
+    ).toBe(mobileComposerIdleReserve);
   });
 
   it("uses the compact dock reserve for every non-answer dashboard dock (mode homes included)", () => {
diff --git a/tests/ui-phone-scroll.spec.ts b/tests/ui-phone-scroll.spec.ts
index c9afad82..49528976 100644
--- a/tests/ui-phone-scroll.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/ui-phone-scroll.spec.ts
@@ -18,8 +18,11 @@ import { expect, test, type Page } from "playwright/test";
  * page.emulateMedia({ reducedMotion: "no-preference" }).
  */
 
-// Standalone mode homes share GlobalSearchShell's phone scroller and compact
-// bottom dock (list mirrors global-search-shell.tsx isStandaloneModeHome).
+// Standalone mode homes share GlobalSearchShell's phone scroller. They keep the
+// in-flow hero pill on phones (the composer sits in the hero and scrolls with the
+// content — no bottom dock), while the sticky header still collapses on scroll;
+// this sweep guards that the scroll geometry stays stable through that collapse.
+// (list mirrors global-search-shell.tsx isStandaloneModeHome).
 const modeHomeRoutes = [
   "/formulation",
   "/dsm",
diff --git a/tests/ui-tools.spec.ts b/tests/ui-tools.spec.ts
index 38edf578..469b07ec 100644
--- a/tests/ui-tools.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/ui-tools.spec.ts
@@ -599,7 +599,7 @@ test.describe("Clinical KB tools launcher", () => {
     await expectNoPageHorizontalOverflow(page);
   });
 
-  test("phone mode homes dock the compact shared search at the bottom edge", async ({ page }) => {
+  test("phone mode homes keep the in-flow hero pill, matching the answer home", async ({ page }) => {
     await mockAnswerDashboardApi(page);
     await page.setViewportSize({ width: 390, height: 820 });
 
@@ -614,27 +614,29 @@ test.describe("Clinical KB tools launcher", () => {
       await expect(page.getByTestId(home.testId)).toBeVisible();
       await expect(visibleGlobalSearchInput(page)).toHaveCount(1, { timeout: 15_000 });
 
-      // Phones dock the composer as the compact single-row pill; the hero slot
-      // stays empty below sm (it hosts the pill again from the sm breakpoint).
-      const dock = page.locator('form.answer-footer-search-dock[data-footer-variant="compact"]');
-      await expect(dock, home.path).toHaveCount(1);
-      await expect(dock.getByTestId("global-search-input")).toBeVisible();
-      await expect(page.locator(".mode-home-composer-slot").getByTestId("global-search-input")).toHaveCount(0);
+      // The composer sits in the middle of the hero (in-flow) at phone width too,
+      // not docked to the bottom edge: it renders inside the mode-home composer
+      // slot and there is no fixed bottom dock.
+      await expect(page.locator(".mode-home-composer-slot").getByTestId("global-search-input"), home.path).toHaveCount(
+        1,
+      );
+      await expect(page.locator("form.answer-footer-search-dock"), home.path).toHaveCount(0);
 
-      const metrics = await globalSearchComposerMetrics(page);
+      const metrics = await globalSearchComposerMetrics(page, home.testId);
       expect(metrics, home.path).not.toBeNull();
-      expect(metrics?.position).toBe("fixed");
-      expect(metrics?.formBottom ?? 0).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(820 - 48);
+      // In-flow (not viewport-fixed), scrolls with the content, and stays within
+      // the phone column. The pill class is shared with the dock, so it still
+      // reads answer-footer-search-pill.
+      expect(metrics?.position, home.path).not.toBe("fixed");
       expect(metrics?.formWidth ?? 0).toBeLessThanOrEqual(390);
       expect(metrics?.pillClassName).toContain("answer-footer-search-pill");
-      // Compact docks drop the chip row and the privacy notice on phones.
-      await expect(page.locator(".answer-footer-search-chip:visible")).toHaveCount(0);
-      await expect(page.getByTestId("answer-composer-privacy-warning")).toHaveCount(0);
-
-      // Phone dock composers must not cover the page with the universal sheet.
-      const dockInput = dock.getByTestId("global-search-input");
-      await dockInput.click();
-      await dockInput.press("ArrowDown");
+      // The APP-5 privacy notice rides the hero pill on phones too (as on desktop).
+      await expect(page.getByTestId("answer-composer-privacy-warning"), home.path).toBeVisible();
+
+      // The in-flow composer must not cover the page with the universal sheet.
+      const heroInput = page.locator(".mode-home-composer-slot").getByTestId("global-search-input");
+      await heroInput.click();
+      await heroInput.press("ArrowDown");
       await expect(page.locator(".universal-command-dropdown:visible")).toHaveCount(0);
       await expect(page.getByRole("listbox")).toHaveCount(0);
       await expectNoPageHorizontalOverflow(page);
@@ -664,14 +666,9 @@ test.describe("Clinical KB tools launcher", () => {
         await expect(page.getByTestId(home.testId)).toBeVisible();
         // The composer must never vanish: exactly one visible search input.
         await expect(visibleGlobalSearchInput(page)).toHaveCount(1, { timeout: 15_000 });
-        if (viewport.name === "phone" && home.path !== "/?mode=answer") {
-          // Phones dock the standalone mode-home composer at the bottom edge.
-          await expect(page.locator("form.answer-footer-search-dock").getByTestId("global-search-input")).toBeVisible();
-        } else {
-          // The hero owns the composer: the answer home at every width, and
-          // every mode home from the sm breakpoint up.
-          await expect(page.getByTestId(home.testId).getByTestId("global-search-input")).toBeVisible();
-        }
+        // The hero owns the composer at every width: the answer home and every
+        // standalone mode home keep the in-flow hero pill, phones included.
+        await expect(page.getByTestId(home.testId).getByTestId("global-search-input")).toBeVisible();
       });
     }
   }