diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index fad6f4b0..7349eb83 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 ## [Unreleased]
 
 ### Fixed
+- Pre-update / pre-uninstall skip flag is now **time-bounded**. It records the moment it was armed and is honoured only within a short TTL (5 min), always consumed one-shot. Previously a bare boolean: if a user ran the full-screen pre-update backup then abandoned the flow (closed the tab before the update re-fired), the flag lingered for the whole session and could silently suppress a later, unrelated pre-action backup — i.e. a real update running with **no** backup. Now a stale flag is ignored and the server backs up as normal.
 - Pre-update / pre-uninstall backup can no longer run **twice**. The one-shot "skip the synchronous server-side backup" flag is now armed **server-side** the moment the full-screen backup completes (in `AjaxController::step`, keyed by the `msb_action` it is fronting), instead of relying solely on the best-effort client `ajax.preupdateAck` POST (whose failure was silently swallowed in a `catch()`). If that ack ever fails to land, the re-fired extension update/uninstall no longer triggers a second backup behind the "update is running" overlay. The flag is armed **only** on genuine completion (`done`, no error), so a failed or cancelled backup still lets the server back up before the action — the failure mode stays "one extra backup", never "no backup".
 - Component **Options** page showed the raw `COM_MOKOSUITEBACKUP_CONFIGURATION` constant instead of a translated title. Joomla's `com_config` derives the Options-page title (and the component name) from the extension *element* (`com_mokosuitebackup`), but the language files defined those keys only under the legacy `COM_MOKOJOOMBACKUP_` stem. Added the element-derived `COM_MOKOSUITEBACKUP` and `COM_MOKOSUITEBACKUP_CONFIGURATION` keys to all four language files (en-GB/en-US, `.ini` and `.sys.ini`), matching the already-migrated `COM_MOKOSUITEBACKUP_ACTION_*` ACL keys. The 400+ explicitly-referenced `COM_MOKOJOOMBACKUP_*` keys are unaffected and left as-is. (#234)
 
diff --git a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Controller/AjaxController.php b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Controller/AjaxController.php
index 9f741f32..76cc781f 100644
--- a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Controller/AjaxController.php
+++ b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Controller/AjaxController.php
@@ -144,15 +144,19 @@ class AjaxController extends BaseController
 	 * Called from two places: ajax.step on genuine completion (authoritative) and
 	 * ajax.preupdateAck (best-effort client ack) — either one arming the flag is
 	 * enough, and re-arming it is harmless.
+	 *
+	 * Stores the unix time it was armed (not a bare bool) so the plugin can honour
+	 * the skip only within a short TTL and never let a stale flag from an abandoned
+	 * backup suppress a genuine, unrelated pre-action backup later in the session.
 	 */
 	private function armPreactionSkip(string $action): void
 	{
 		$session = Factory::getSession();
 
 		if ($action === 'update') {
-			$session->set('mokosuitebackup.skip_preaction_backup_before_update', true);
+			$session->set('mokosuitebackup.skip_preaction_backup_before_update', time());
 		} elseif ($action === 'uninstall') {
-			$session->set('mokosuitebackup.skip_preaction_backup_before_uninstall', true);
+			$session->set('mokosuitebackup.skip_preaction_backup_before_uninstall', time());
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/source/packages/plg_system_mokosuitebackup/src/Extension/MokoSuiteBackup.php b/source/packages/plg_system_mokosuitebackup/src/Extension/MokoSuiteBackup.php
index c6f869da..e466ff22 100644
--- a/source/packages/plg_system_mokosuitebackup/src/Extension/MokoSuiteBackup.php
+++ b/source/packages/plg_system_mokosuitebackup/src/Extension/MokoSuiteBackup.php
@@ -35,6 +35,17 @@ final class MokoSuiteBackup extends CMSPlugin implements SubscriberInterface
 	/** @var array<string,bool> Per-request cache of the one-shot "client already backed up" skip flag. */
 	private array $preactionSkip = [];
 
+	/**
+	 * Max age (seconds) of the client "already backed up" skip flag that this
+	 * plugin will honour. The flag stores the unix time it was armed (by the
+	 * full-screen backup's ajax.step completion / ajax.preupdateAck); the re-fired
+	 * update/uninstall follows within a second or two, so a small window is ample.
+	 * Bounding it means a backup that was run then ABANDONED (browser closed before
+	 * the update re-fired) cannot silently suppress a genuine, unrelated pre-action
+	 * backup minutes or hours later in the same session.
+	 */
+	private const PREACTION_SKIP_TTL = 300;
+
 	public static function getSubscribedEvents(): array
 	{
 		return [
@@ -648,12 +659,16 @@ JS;
 		$skipKey = 'mokosuitebackup.skip_preaction_' . $paramName;
 
 		if (!array_key_exists($paramName, $this->preactionSkip)) {
-			$this->preactionSkip[$paramName] = (bool) $session->get($skipKey, false);
-			$session->set($skipKey, false);
+			/* The flag stores the unix time it was armed. Consume it one-shot (reset
+			   to 0) and honour the skip ONLY if it was armed within the TTL — a
+			   stale flag from an abandoned backup must not suppress a real one. */
+			$armedAt = (int) $session->get($skipKey, 0);
+			$session->set($skipKey, 0);
+			$this->preactionSkip[$paramName] = ($armedAt > 0 && (time() - $armedAt) <= self::PREACTION_SKIP_TTL);
 		}
 
 		if ($this->preactionSkip[$paramName]) {
-			// Client already backed up; skip this whole re-fired (possibly batch) request.
+			// Client already backed up (recently); skip this re-fired (possibly batch) request.
 			$this->preactionRan[$paramName] = true;
 
 			return;