diff --git a/examples/companion_radio/ui-new/UITask.cpp b/examples/companion_radio/ui-new/UITask.cpp
index e265cef4..7b4809f6 100644
--- a/examples/companion_radio/ui-new/UITask.cpp
+++ b/examples/companion_radio/ui-new/UITask.cpp
@@ -1946,7 +1946,7 @@ if (curr) curr->poll();
       // Without this floor, changing readings (battery, uptime) trigger
       // back-to-back renders that cause continuous flashing.
 #ifdef EINK_FULL_REFRESH_ONLY
-      unsigned long minNext = millis() + 60000;  // Full refresh: 60s idle (clock ticks per minute)
+      unsigned long minNext = millis() + 300000;  // Full refresh: 5 min idle
 #else
       unsigned long minNext = millis() + 800;   // Partial refresh: 800ms floor
 #endif
@@ -2482,9 +2482,24 @@ void UITask::injectKey(char c) {
       if (_next_refresh < earliest) {
         _next_refresh = earliest;
       }
+    }
+#ifdef EINK_FULL_REFRESH_ONLY
+    // Full-refresh displays (SSD1681): debounce printable character input.
+    // Compose typing (0x20-0x7E) pushes the render 2.5s into the future so
+    // the user can type a whole word before a ~2.2s full refresh fires.
+    // Navigation/special keys (arrows, enter, escape, etc.) refresh
+    // immediately so scrolling and screen changes remain responsive.
+    else if ((unsigned char)c >= 0x20 && (unsigned char)c <= 0x7E) {
+      unsigned long earliest = millis() + 2500;
+      if (_next_refresh < earliest) _next_refresh = earliest;
     } else {
+      _next_refresh = 100;  // navigation key — refresh now
+    }
+#else
+    else {
       _next_refresh = 100;  // trigger refresh
     }
+#endif
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/helpers/ui/DisplayDriver.h b/src/helpers/ui/DisplayDriver.h
index 9cae4e68..85793d38 100644
--- a/src/helpers/ui/DisplayDriver.h
+++ b/src/helpers/ui/DisplayDriver.h
@@ -48,21 +48,26 @@ public:
   }
   
   // Strip non-ASCII characters (emoji, etc.) from a UTF-8 string.
-  // Placeholder glyphs aren't safe across our fonts: GFXfonts (FreeSans)
-  // silently drop anything outside first..last, while the Adafruit built-in
-  // 5x7 font remaps c>=0xB0 by +1 so \xDB prints as ▄. Stripping the
-  // codepoint is the only behaviour that renders consistently across
-  // FastEPD (T5S3) and GxEPD (T-Deck Pro, T-Echo Lite, etc.) builds.
+  // Uses the same lead-byte-pattern approach as emojiDecodeUtf8() in
+  // EmojiSprites.h to determine sequence length, so both the channel
+  // message path (emojiSanitize) and the contact/advert name path
+  // consume identical byte spans for any given UTF-8 or malformed input.
   virtual void translateUTF8ToBlocks(char* dest, const char* src, size_t dest_size) {
     size_t j = 0;
-    for (size_t i = 0; src[i] != 0 && j < dest_size - 1; i++) {
+    size_t len = strlen(src);
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < len && j < dest_size - 1; ) {
       unsigned char c = (unsigned char)src[i];
-      if (c >= 32 && c <= 126) {
-        dest[j++] = c;  // ASCII printable
-      } else if (c >= 0x80) {
-        // Skip the whole UTF-8 codepoint (lead byte + continuation bytes)
-        while (src[i+1] && (src[i+1] & 0xC0) == 0x80)
-          i++;
+      if (c < 0x80) {
+        if (c >= 32) dest[j++] = c;  // ASCII printable
+        i++;
+      } else {
+        // Determine sequence length from lead byte (matches emojiDecodeUtf8)
+        int skip;
+        if      ((c & 0xE0) == 0xC0) skip = 2;
+        else if ((c & 0xF0) == 0xE0) skip = 3;
+        else if ((c & 0xF8) == 0xF0) skip = 4;
+        else                          skip = 1;  // stray continuation or invalid
+        i += skip;
       }
     }
     dest[j] = 0;