diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5086f728..3c271653 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ the frozen-backend fallback mirror it for their toolchains.
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- Voice synthesis progress no longer races to a fabricated 95%; it stays indeterminate until the active generation path reports real progress (#1907) — thanks @psiberfunk!
 - Install documentation help now prints correctly on Windows consoles using legacy encodings (#1815) — thanks @dajiaohuang!
 - Saved transcriptions with missing or invalid timestamps now remain readable (#1799) — thanks @yunaremaia and @tvbht!
 - Copying a saved transcription now uses the shared clipboard helper and reports failed copies accurately (#1803) — thanks @tvbht!
diff --git a/frontend/src/App.jsx b/frontend/src/App.jsx
index e26eab75..fde9a0f2 100644
--- a/frontend/src/App.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/App.jsx
@@ -399,6 +399,7 @@ function App() {
     setPendingTrimFile,
     isGenerating,
     generationTime,
+    generationProgress,
     textAreaRef,
     ingestRefAudio,
     insertTag,
@@ -1748,6 +1749,7 @@ function App() {
                     setVdStates={setVdStates}
                     isGenerating={isGenerating}
                     generationTime={generationTime}
+                    generationProgress={generationProgress}
                     applyPreset={applyPreset}
                     insertTag={insertTag}
                     handleSelectProfile={handleSelectProfile}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/clone/ActionBar.jsx b/frontend/src/components/clone/ActionBar.jsx
index 4a20853d..fd423dcc 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/clone/ActionBar.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/clone/ActionBar.jsx
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ export default function ActionBar({
   isGenerating,
   handleGenerate,
   generationTime,
+  generationProgress,
   wasGeneratingRef,
 }) {
   return (
@@ -288,12 +289,7 @@ export default function ActionBar({
         </Button>
       )}
       {isGenerating && (
-        <Progress
-          value={Math.min((generationTime / 8) * 100, 95)}
-          tone="brand"
-          size="sm"
-          className="mt-[6px]"
-        />
+        <Progress value={generationProgress} tone="brand" size="sm" className="mt-[6px]" />
       )}
       {/* 10x P4 a11y (spec §3): persistent polite live region — screen
             readers hear generation start AND finish in-workspace, without
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/clone/ActionBar.test.jsx b/frontend/src/components/clone/ActionBar.test.jsx
index 1541ce2c..411a5b29 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/clone/ActionBar.test.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/clone/ActionBar.test.jsx
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ const baseProps = {
   isGenerating: false,
   handleGenerate: setter,
   generationTime: 0,
+  generationProgress: null,
   wasGeneratingRef: { current: false },
 };
 
@@ -97,4 +98,40 @@ describe('ActionBar', () => {
     fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: /clone.production_overrides/ }));
     expect(screen.getByRole('slider', { name: 'clone.steps' })).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
+
+  it('shows indeterminate progress instead of inventing a percentage from elapsed time', () => {
+    render(
+      <ActionBar
+        {...baseProps}
+        showOverrides={false}
+        setShowOverrides={setter}
+        isGenerating
+        generationTime="10.6"
+        generationProgress={null}
+      />,
+    );
+
+    const progress = screen.getByRole('progressbar');
+    expect(progress).not.toHaveAttribute('aria-valuenow');
+    expect(progress).toHaveAttribute('data-state', 'indeterminate');
+  });
+
+  it('shows determinate progress only when the generation path reports it', () => {
+    render(
+      <ActionBar
+        {...baseProps}
+        showOverrides={false}
+        setShowOverrides={setter}
+        isGenerating
+        generationTime="10.6"
+        generationProgress={42}
+      />,
+    );
+
+    const progress = screen.getByRole('progressbar');
+    expect(progress).toHaveAttribute('aria-valuenow', '42');
+    expect(progress.querySelector('[data-slot="progress-indicator"]')).toHaveStyle({
+      width: '42%',
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useTTS.js b/frontend/src/hooks/useTTS.js
index 6dc22030..b67ea123 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useTTS.js
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useTTS.js
@@ -70,6 +70,9 @@ export default function useTTS({ selectedProfile, setSelectedProfile, loadHistor
   const [pendingTrimFile, setPendingTrimFile] = useState(null);
   const [isGenerating, setIsGenerating] = useState(false);
   const [generationTime, setGenerationTime] = useState(0);
+  // Real 0–100 progress when the active delivery path can measure it.
+  // null means the backend has not supplied a meaningful fraction yet.
+  const [generationProgress, setGenerationProgress] = useState(null);
   const timerRef = useRef(null);
   const textAreaRef = useRef(null);
 
@@ -126,13 +129,11 @@ export default function useTTS({ selectedProfile, setSelectedProfile, loadHistor
     addBreadcrumb(`generate:start (${defineMethod})`);
     setIsGenerating(true);
     setGenerationTime(0);
+    setGenerationProgress(null);
     const st = Date.now();
     timerRef.current = setInterval(() => {
       const elapsed = ((Date.now() - st) / 1000).toFixed(1);
-      setGenerationTime((prev) => {
-        const suffix = /\(\d+%\)$/.exec(String(prev))?.[0];
-        return suffix ? `${elapsed} ${suffix}` : elapsed;
-      });
+      setGenerationTime(elapsed);
     }, 100);
     let abortTimer = null;
     try {
@@ -292,8 +293,7 @@ export default function useTTS({ selectedProfile, setSelectedProfile, loadHistor
           }
         }
       };
-      const setProgressPct = (pct) =>
-        setGenerationTime((prev) => `${prev.toString().split(' ')[0]} (${pct}%)`);
+      const setProgressPct = (pct) => setGenerationProgress(pct);
 
       // Streaming preview (feat: streaming-tts-preview): playback starts from
       // the FIRST synthesized chunk while the rest is still rendering, via
@@ -355,6 +355,7 @@ export default function useTTS({ selectedProfile, setSelectedProfile, loadHistor
             'Streaming preview failed mid-stream; falling back to the classic generate:',
             err?.message || err,
           );
+          setGenerationProgress(null);
           addBreadcrumb('generate:stream-fallback');
         }
       }
@@ -410,6 +411,7 @@ export default function useTTS({ selectedProfile, setSelectedProfile, loadHistor
       if (abortTimer) clearTimeout(abortTimer);
       clearInterval(timerRef.current);
       setIsGenerating(false);
+      setGenerationProgress(null);
     }
   }, [
     text,
@@ -444,6 +446,7 @@ export default function useTTS({ selectedProfile, setSelectedProfile, loadHistor
     setPendingTrimFile,
     isGenerating,
     generationTime,
+    generationProgress,
     textAreaRef,
     ingestRefAudio,
     insertTag,
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/CloneDesignTab.jsx b/frontend/src/pages/CloneDesignTab.jsx
index 816011c7..19c7254b 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/CloneDesignTab.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/CloneDesignTab.jsx
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ export default function CloneDesignTab(props) {
     setVdStates,
     isGenerating,
     generationTime,
+    generationProgress,
     applyPreset,
     insertTag,
     handleSaveProfile,
@@ -595,6 +596,7 @@ export default function CloneDesignTab(props) {
                 isGenerating={isGenerating}
                 handleGenerate={handleGenerate}
                 generationTime={generationTime}
+                generationProgress={generationProgress}
                 wasGeneratingRef={wasGeneratingRef}
               />
             )}
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/CloneDesignTab.test.jsx b/frontend/src/pages/CloneDesignTab.test.jsx
index 7311d4b9..a8ce1a18 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/CloneDesignTab.test.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/CloneDesignTab.test.jsx
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ function baseProps(overrides = {}) {
     setVdStates: NOOP,
     isGenerating: false,
     generationTime: 0,
+    generationProgress: null,
     applyPreset: NOOP,
     insertTag: NOOP,
     handleSaveProfile: NOOP,
@@ -121,6 +122,16 @@ function renderDesignTab(overrides = {}) {
 }
 
 describe('CloneDesignTab — Voice Design panel redesign regressions', () => {
+  it('forwards measurable generation progress to the action bar', () => {
+    renderDesignTab({ isGenerating: true, generationTime: '10.6', generationProgress: 42 });
+
+    const progress = screen.getByRole('progressbar');
+    expect(progress).toHaveAttribute('aria-valuenow', '42');
+    expect(progress.querySelector('[data-slot="progress-indicator"]')).toHaveStyle({
+      width: '42%',
+    });
+  });
+
   it.each([
     ['recording is active', { isRecording: true }],
     ['microphone startup is pending', { isStartingRecording: true }],
diff --git a/frontend/src/test/useTTSAutoplayPref.test.jsx b/frontend/src/test/useTTSAutoplayPref.test.jsx
index 4e2dcd6c..4d34ee8a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/test/useTTSAutoplayPref.test.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/test/useTTSAutoplayPref.test.jsx
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
-import { renderHook, act } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { renderHook, act, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react';
 import useTTS from '../hooks/useTTS';
 import { useAppStore } from '../store';
 import { playBlobAudio } from '../utils/media';
 import {
+  StreamingPreviewError,
   resolveRemoteTtsTarget,
   streamGenerateSpeech,
   supportsStreamingPreview,
@@ -129,6 +130,69 @@ describe('useTTS delivery path vs the chosen GPU', () => {
     expect(generateSpeech).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it('keeps real stream progress separate from the elapsed timer', async () => {
+    let release;
+    const gate = new Promise((resolve) => {
+      release = resolve;
+    });
+    vi.mocked(streamGenerateSpeech).mockImplementationOnce(async (_formData, { onProgress }) => {
+      onProgress(42);
+      await gate;
+      return { id: 'x', audio_path: 'x.wav' };
+    });
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useTTS(hookProps()));
+    let generation;
+    act(() => {
+      generation = result.current.handleGenerate();
+    });
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.generationProgress).toBe(42));
+    expect(String(result.current.generationTime)).not.toContain('%');
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      release();
+      await generation;
+    });
+    expect(result.current.generationProgress).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('clears stale stream progress before a classic fallback', async () => {
+    let releaseClassic;
+    const classicGate = new Promise((resolve) => {
+      releaseClassic = resolve;
+    });
+    vi.mocked(streamGenerateSpeech).mockImplementationOnce(async (_formData, { onProgress }) => {
+      onProgress(42);
+      throw new StreamingPreviewError('stream transport dropped');
+    });
+    vi.mocked(generateSpeech).mockImplementationOnce(async () => ({
+      body: {
+        getReader: () => ({
+          read: async () => {
+            await classicGate;
+            return { done: true, value: undefined };
+          },
+        }),
+      },
+      headers: { get: () => null },
+    }));
+
+    const { result } = renderHook(() => useTTS(hookProps()));
+    let generation;
+    act(() => {
+      generation = result.current.handleGenerate();
+    });
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(generateSpeech).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(result.current.generationProgress).toBeNull());
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      releaseClassic();
+      await generation;
+    });
+  });
+
   it('takes the classic path when the resolved target is a worker', async () => {
     // Streaming would have rendered here — a local job wearing the badge of
     // the 4090 the user picked. The classic path is the one that goes remote.