diff --git a/scripts/lib/deploy-smoke-display.mjs b/scripts/lib/deploy-smoke-display.mjs
index 1291faa..f888afb 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/deploy-smoke-display.mjs
+++ b/scripts/lib/deploy-smoke-display.mjs
@@ -435,14 +435,22 @@ async function seedSignage(owner) {
         context.fillStyle = ${JSON.stringify(colour)};
         context.fillRect(0, 0, 640, 360);
         const blob = await new Promise((resolve) => canvas.toBlob(resolve, "image/png"));
-        const response = await fetch(${JSON.stringify(`${apiOrigin}${base}/images?filename=slide-${index}.png&displayName=Slide%20${index}`)}, {
+        return fetch(${JSON.stringify(`${apiOrigin}${base}/images?filename=slide-${index}.png&displayName=Slide%20${index}`)}, {
           body: blob, credentials: "include", headers: { "content-type": "image/png" }, method: "POST",
           signal: AbortSignal.timeout(${requestTimeoutMs}),
-        });
-        return { status: response.status, body: await response.json().catch(() => null) };
+        }).then(
+          async (response) => ({ status: response.status, body: await response.json().catch(() => null) }),
+          (error) => ({ status: error && error.name === "TimeoutError" ? "timeout" : "network-error" }),
+        );
       })()`,
       `uploading slide ${index}`,
     );
+    if (uploaded.status === "timeout") {
+      throw new HangError(`HTTP POST ${base}/images from page "owner"`, requestTimeoutMs);
+    }
+    if (uploaded.status !== 200 && uploaded.status !== 201) {
+      throw new Error(`Uploading slide ${index} returned HTTP ${uploaded.status}.`);
+    }
     images.push(uploaded.body?.image?.id);
   }
   check(
diff --git a/scripts/smoke-deploy.sh b/scripts/smoke-deploy.sh
index a7bc73d..7e311fc 100755
--- a/scripts/smoke-deploy.sh
+++ b/scripts/smoke-deploy.sh
@@ -659,6 +659,7 @@ if [[ "$topology" == split ]]; then
         --network "$edge_network" \
         -e SMOKE_CDP_ADDRESS="${browser_address}:9222" \
         -e SMOKE_KIOSK_CDP_ADDRESS="${kiosk_address}:9222" \
+        -e SMOKE_CALL_TIMEOUT_MS="${EKKLESIA_SMOKE_CALL_TIMEOUT_MS:-30000}" \
         -e SMOKE_STEP_BUDGET_MS="$((budget * 1000))" \
         -e SMOKE_WATCH_MS="${EKKLESIA_SMOKE_WATCH_MS:-120000}" \
         -e SMOKE_RECYCLE_WATCH_MS="${EKKLESIA_SMOKE_RECYCLE_WATCH_MS:-330000}" \
diff --git a/tests/ci-scripts.test.ts b/tests/ci-scripts.test.ts
index 4130fd7..33439b9 100644
--- a/tests/ci-scripts.test.ts
+++ b/tests/ci-scripts.test.ts
@@ -235,6 +235,12 @@ describe("CI scripts on a shared Docker daemon", () => {
     expect(deploy).toContain("the restored display runtime did not return with its data");
   });
 
+  it("gives page-side display requests enough time on a constrained shared runner", async () => {
+    const deploy = await source("scripts/smoke-deploy.sh");
+    expect(deploy).toContain('-e SMOKE_CALL_TIMEOUT_MS="');
+    expect(deploy).toContain("EKKLESIA_SMOKE_CALL_TIMEOUT_MS:-30000");
+  });
+
   it("run every deploy smoke against the one generic image, never a second image with a module in it", async () => {
     // ADR 0048: the split topology installs its test module into module storage at run time.
     const deploy = (await source("scripts/smoke-deploy.sh")).replace(/\\\n\s*/gu, " ");