diff --git a/pkg/driver/devicelab/keyboard.go b/pkg/driver/devicelab/keyboard.go
index cf7d07f..152babc 100644
--- a/pkg/driver/devicelab/keyboard.go
+++ b/pkg/driver/devicelab/keyboard.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"regexp"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/devicelab-dev/maestro-runner/pkg/core"
 	"github.com/devicelab-dev/maestro-runner/pkg/flow"
@@ -150,35 +151,81 @@ func (d *Driver) consumeInputFlag() bool {
 
 var errKeyboardOpen = fmt.Errorf("keyboard is open — add a `- hideKeyboard` step before this step")
 
+// keyboardSettleWindow bounds how long checkKeyboardBlocking re-samples geometry before
+// declaring the element covered. Windows with SOFT_INPUT_ADJUST_RESIZE (e.g. a plain
+// AlertDialog whose body is a ScrollView) relayout a few frames after the IME appears or
+// after typing: on the first frame the target still reports covered bounds, then the
+// window shrinks and the target rises above the keyboard. A single-shot check reads that
+// stale first frame and rejects a perfectly tappable element. Var (not const) so tests
+// can shrink it.
+var keyboardSettleWindow = 2 * time.Second
+
+// keyboardSettlePoll is the re-sample cadence while waiting for the geometry to settle.
+const keyboardSettlePoll = 50 * time.Millisecond
+
+// keyboardStillCovering is the per-sample verdict: true only when the keyboard is
+// visible AND a tap on the element's center would land on it.
+func keyboardStillCovering(element core.Bounds, keyboard *core.Bounds) bool {
+	return keyboard != nil && tapWouldHitKeyboard(element, *keyboard)
+}
+
 // checkKeyboardBlocking checks if the keyboard overlaps the target element after an input step.
 // UIA2 finds elements via the accessibility tree even when the keyboard covers them,
 // but coordinate taps land on the keyboard overlay instead. This detects that case and
-// fails fast with a helpful hint instead of silently tapping the keyboard.
+// fails with a helpful hint instead of silently tapping the keyboard.
 // Returns nil if this check doesn't apply or element is not blocked — caller should proceed normally.
 func (d *Driver) checkKeyboardBlocking(wasInput bool, sel flow.Selector) *core.CommandResult {
 	if !wasInput {
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	// Find element (UIA2 will find it even behind keyboard)
-	_, info, err := d.findElementOnce(sel)
-	if err != nil || info == nil {
-		// Element genuinely not found — let caller do the full-timeout find
-		return nil
-	}
+	return settleKeyboardBlocking(
+		func() (*core.ElementInfo, bool) {
+			// Find element (UIA2 will find it even behind keyboard)
+			_, info, err := d.findElementOnce(sel)
+			if err != nil || info == nil {
+				// Element genuinely not found — let caller do the full-timeout find
+				return nil, false
+			}
+			return info, true
+		},
+		d.getKeyboardBounds,
+	)
+}
 
-	// Element found — check if keyboard overlaps its bounds
-	kbBounds := d.getKeyboardBounds()
-	if kbBounds == nil {
-		return nil
-	}
+// settleKeyboardBlocking re-samples element vs keyboard geometry until keyboardSettleWindow
+// elapses: IME-aware windows (SOFT_INPUT_ADJUST_RESIZE) lift the target above the keyboard
+// shortly after an input step, and rejecting on first-frame geometry would fail elements
+// that are tappable an instant later. Only a PERSISTENT overlap — the true positive this
+// guard exists for — returns the error. The samplers are injected so the settle behavior
+// is testable without a live driver.
+func settleKeyboardBlocking(findElement func() (*core.ElementInfo, bool),
+	keyboardBounds func() *core.Bounds) *core.CommandResult {
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(keyboardSettleWindow)
+	lastKbTop, lastCenterY := -1, -1
+	for {
+		info, ok := findElement()
+		if !ok {
+			return nil
+		}
+
+		kbBounds := keyboardBounds()
+		if !keyboardStillCovering(info.Bounds, kbBounds) {
+			// Keyboard dismissed, or the window resized/panned and the element
+			// now sits above it — nothing blocks the tap.
+			return nil
+		}
 
-	if tapWouldHitKeyboard(info.Bounds, *kbBounds) {
 		_, cy := info.Bounds.Center()
-		return errorResult(errKeyboardOpen,
-			fmt.Sprintf("Element found but keyboard is covering it (keyboard top: %d, element center Y: %d) — add a `- hideKeyboard` step before this step",
-				kbBounds.Y, cy))
+		lastKbTop, lastCenterY = kbBounds.Y, cy
+
+		if !time.Now().Before(deadline) {
+			break
+		}
+		time.Sleep(keyboardSettlePoll)
 	}
 
-	return nil
+	return errorResult(errKeyboardOpen,
+		fmt.Sprintf("Element found but keyboard is covering it (keyboard top: %d, element center Y: %d) — add a `- hideKeyboard` step before this step",
+			lastKbTop, lastCenterY))
 }
diff --git a/pkg/driver/devicelab/keyboard_test.go b/pkg/driver/devicelab/keyboard_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..035fb9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/driver/devicelab/keyboard_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+package devicelab
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/devicelab-dev/maestro-runner/pkg/core"
+	"github.com/devicelab-dev/maestro-runner/pkg/flow"
+)
+
+// Per-sample verdict for the keyboard-blocking settle loop. Pinned with the real-world
+// geometry that motivated it: an AlertDialog positive button (android:id/button1)
+// reported at centerY=1627 on the first frame after typing (keyboard top 1560), then
+// lifted to ~1400 once the window's SOFT_INPUT_ADJUST_RESIZE relayout settled — the
+// guard must treat the first sample as "still covering" and the second as clear, and a
+// dismissed keyboard (nil bounds) as never covering.
+
+func elementCenteredAtY(cy int) core.Bounds {
+	// Height 100 → center = Y + 50.
+	return core.Bounds{X: 400, Y: cy - 50, Width: 200, Height: 100}
+}
+
+func TestKeyboardStillCovering(t *testing.T) {
+	keyboard := &core.Bounds{X: 0, Y: 1560, Width: 1080, Height: 840}
+
+	cases := []struct {
+		name     string
+		element  core.Bounds
+		keyboard *core.Bounds
+		want     bool
+	}{
+		{"covered on first frame after typing", elementCenteredAtY(1627), keyboard, true},
+		{"clear after ADJUST_RESIZE relayout", elementCenteredAtY(1400), keyboard, false},
+		{"keyboard dismissed mid-settle", elementCenteredAtY(1627), nil, false},
+		// The 50px suggestion-strip margin: at keyboard.Y+margin is covered…
+		{"at margin boundary", elementCenteredAtY(1610), keyboard, true},
+		// …one pixel above the margin is still tappable.
+		{"just above margin", elementCenteredAtY(1609), keyboard, false},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := keyboardStillCovering(tc.element, tc.keyboard)
+			if got != tc.want {
+				t.Errorf("keyboardStillCovering(%+v, %+v) = %v, want %v",
+					tc.element, tc.keyboard, got, tc.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// --- Settle loop -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// shrinkSettleWindow shortens the settle window so loop tests run in milliseconds,
+// restoring the real value afterwards.
+func shrinkSettleWindow(t *testing.T, d time.Duration) {
+	t.Helper()
+	orig := keyboardSettleWindow
+	keyboardSettleWindow = d
+	t.Cleanup(func() { keyboardSettleWindow = orig })
+}
+
+func TestSettleKeyboardBlocking_ElementNotFound(t *testing.T) {
+	shrinkSettleWindow(t, 100*time.Millisecond)
+	res := settleKeyboardBlocking(
+		func() (*core.ElementInfo, bool) { return nil, false },
+		func() *core.Bounds {
+			t.Fatal("keyboardBounds must not be sampled when the element is missing")
+			return nil
+		},
+	)
+	if res != nil {
+		t.Errorf("expected nil (caller does the full-timeout find), got %+v", res)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSettleKeyboardBlocking_ClearOnFirstSample(t *testing.T) {
+	shrinkSettleWindow(t, 100*time.Millisecond)
+	samples := 0
+	res := settleKeyboardBlocking(
+		func() (*core.ElementInfo, bool) {
+			samples++
+			return &core.ElementInfo{Bounds: elementCenteredAtY(1400)}, true
+		},
+		func() *core.Bounds { return &core.Bounds{X: 0, Y: 1560, Width: 1080, Height: 840} },
+	)
+	if res != nil {
+		t.Errorf("element above the keyboard must not block, got %+v", res)
+	}
+	if samples != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("clear-on-first-frame must return without re-sampling, sampled %d times", samples)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSettleKeyboardBlocking_RelayoutLiftsElementMidSettle(t *testing.T) {
+	// The real-world repro: first frame still covered (centerY 1627 vs keyboard top
+	// 1560), then the ADJUST_RESIZE relayout lifts the element clear (~1400).
+	shrinkSettleWindow(t, 2*time.Second) // generous — the early exit must beat it
+	samples := 0
+	start := time.Now()
+	res := settleKeyboardBlocking(
+		func() (*core.ElementInfo, bool) {
+			samples++
+			if samples == 1 {
+				return &core.ElementInfo{Bounds: elementCenteredAtY(1627)}, true
+			}
+			return &core.ElementInfo{Bounds: elementCenteredAtY(1400)}, true
+		},
+		func() *core.Bounds { return &core.Bounds{X: 0, Y: 1560, Width: 1080, Height: 840} },
+	)
+	if res != nil {
+		t.Errorf("element lifted mid-settle must not block, got %+v", res)
+	}
+	if samples != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("expected exactly 2 samples (covered, then clear), got %d", samples)
+	}
+	if elapsed := time.Since(start); elapsed > time.Second {
+		t.Errorf("early exit expected well before the settle window, took %v", elapsed)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSettleKeyboardBlocking_KeyboardDismissedMidSettle(t *testing.T) {
+	shrinkSettleWindow(t, 2*time.Second)
+	samples := 0
+	res := settleKeyboardBlocking(
+		func() (*core.ElementInfo, bool) {
+			samples++
+			return &core.ElementInfo{Bounds: elementCenteredAtY(1627)}, true
+		},
+		func() *core.Bounds {
+			if samples == 1 {
+				return &core.Bounds{X: 0, Y: 1560, Width: 1080, Height: 840}
+			}
+			return nil // keyboard gone
+		},
+	)
+	if res != nil {
+		t.Errorf("dismissed keyboard must not block, got %+v", res)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSettleKeyboardBlocking_PersistentOverlapFails(t *testing.T) {
+	shrinkSettleWindow(t, 120*time.Millisecond) // ~3 samples at the 50ms cadence
+	samples := 0
+	res := settleKeyboardBlocking(
+		func() (*core.ElementInfo, bool) {
+			samples++
+			return &core.ElementInfo{Bounds: elementCenteredAtY(1627)}, true
+		},
+		func() *core.Bounds { return &core.Bounds{X: 0, Y: 1560, Width: 1080, Height: 840} },
+	)
+	if res == nil {
+		t.Fatal("persistent overlap through the whole settle window must fail")
+	}
+	if samples < 2 {
+		t.Errorf("expected re-sampling before failing, sampled %d times", samples)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(res.Message, "keyboard top: 1560") ||
+		!strings.Contains(res.Message, "element center Y: 1627") {
+		t.Errorf("error must keep the actionable geometry hint, got %q", res.Message)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCheckKeyboardBlocking_SkipsWhenPreviousStepWasNotInput(t *testing.T) {
+	d := &Driver{client: &mockDeviceLabClient{}}
+	if res := d.checkKeyboardBlocking(false, flow.Selector{ID: "android:id/button1"}); res != nil {
+		t.Errorf("check must not apply after a non-input step, got %+v", res)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCheckKeyboardBlocking_ElementNotFoundProceeds(t *testing.T) {
+	// End-to-end through the driver: the mock client fails FindElement, so the
+	// settle loop must bail out and let the caller do the full-timeout find.
+	shrinkSettleWindow(t, 100*time.Millisecond)
+	d := New(&mockDeviceLabClient{}, &core.PlatformInfo{}, &mockShell{})
+	if res := d.checkKeyboardBlocking(true, flow.Selector{ID: "android:id/button1"}); res != nil {
+		t.Errorf("element not found must proceed to the normal find, got %+v", res)
+	}
+}