diff --git a/src/ui/sidebar/AdminSettingsPanel.tsx b/src/ui/sidebar/AdminSettingsPanel.tsx
index 535126c2d..4c91c589c 100644
--- a/src/ui/sidebar/AdminSettingsPanel.tsx
+++ b/src/ui/sidebar/AdminSettingsPanel.tsx
@@ -217,6 +217,12 @@ export function AdminSettingsPanel({
     setUserPage(0);
   }, [userSearch]);
 
+  // The panel stays mounted across Settings pages, so an open user view
+  // would otherwise replace whichever section is picked next.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    setManageUser(null);
+  }, [section]);
+
   useEffect(() => {
     onEditingChange?.(manageUser !== null);
     return () => onEditingChange?.(false);
diff --git a/src/ui/tests/sidebar/AdminSettingsPanel.test.tsx b/src/ui/tests/sidebar/AdminSettingsPanel.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8402b00b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ui/tests/sidebar/AdminSettingsPanel.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, afterEach } from "vitest";
+import { cleanup, render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import userEvent from "@testing-library/user-event";
+
+import { AdminSettingsPanel } from "../../sidebar/AdminSettingsPanel";
+import type { AdminUser } from "../../sidebar/AdminManagementSections";
+
+vi.mock("@/main-axios", () => ({
+  getUserList: vi.fn(async () => ({ users: [], total: 0 })),
+  getSessions: vi.fn(async () => ({ sessions: [] })),
+  getRoles: vi.fn(async () => ({ roles: [] })),
+  getApiKeys: vi.fn(async () => ({ apiKeys: [] })),
+  getUserRoles: vi.fn(async () => ({ roles: [] })),
+  isElectron: () => false,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/api/settings-api", () => ({}));
+vi.mock("@/api/tls-api", () => ({ getTlsStatus: vi.fn(async () => null) }));
+vi.mock("@/api/private-endpoints-api", () => ({}));
+
+vi.mock("@/contexts/BrandingContext", () => ({
+  useBranding: () => ({ applyBranding: vi.fn() }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/components/surface/surface-scope", () => ({
+  useConfirm: () => vi.fn(async () => true),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/settings/FeatureSettingsSections", () => ({
+  FeatureSettingsSection: () => null,
+  featureSectionId: (id: string) => `feature:${id}`,
+  useFeatureSettings: () => [],
+}));
+
+vi.mock("react-i18next", () => ({
+  useTranslation: () => ({ t: (key: string) => key }),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("sonner", () => ({
+  toast: { success: vi.fn(), error: vi.fn() },
+}));
+
+const { bob, section } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  bob: {
+    id: "u2",
+    username: "bob",
+    isAdmin: false,
+    isExternal: false,
+    passwordHash: "hash",
+    dataUnlocked: true,
+  } as AdminUser,
+  section:
+    (label: string) =>
+    ({ open }: { open: boolean }) =>
+      open ? <div>{label}</div> : null,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../../sidebar/AdminManagementSections", () => ({
+  AdminUsersSection: ({
+    open,
+    onManageUser,
+  }: {
+    open: boolean;
+    onManageUser: (user: AdminUser) => void;
+  }) =>
+    open ? <button onClick={() => onManageUser(bob)}>manage bob</button> : null,
+  AdminSessionsSection: section("sessions section"),
+  AdminRolesSection: section("roles section"),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../../sidebar/AdminSettingsSections", () => ({
+  AdminGeneralSettingsSection: section("general section"),
+  AdminHostDefaultsSection: section("host defaults section"),
+  AdminDatabaseSection: section("database section"),
+  AdminSSLSection: section("ssl section"),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../../sidebar/AdminApiKeysSection", () => ({
+  AdminApiKeysSection: section("api keys section"),
+}));
+vi.mock("../../sidebar/AdminAuditLogSection", () => ({
+  AdminAuditLogSection: section("audit log section"),
+}));
+vi.mock("../../sidebar/AdminBrandingSection", () => ({
+  AdminBrandingSection: section("branding section"),
+}));
+vi.mock("../../sidebar/AdminUserDialogs", () => ({
+  AdminCreateUserDialog: () => null,
+  AdminEditUserDialog: () => null,
+  AdminLinkAccountDialog: () => null,
+  AdminUnlinkAccountDialog: () => null,
+}));
+vi.mock("../../sidebar/AdminUserManagePanel", () => ({
+  AdminUserManagePanel: ({ user }: { user: AdminUser }) => (
+    <div>managing {user.username}</div>
+  ),
+}));
+
+afterEach(cleanup);
+
+describe("AdminSettingsPanel", () => {
+  it("leaves the user manage view when another section is selected", async () => {
+    const { rerender } = render(<AdminSettingsPanel section="users" />);
+
+    await userEvent.click(screen.getByText("manage bob"));
+    expect(screen.getByText("managing bob")).toBeTruthy();
+
+    rerender(<AdminSettingsPanel section="sessions" />);
+
+    expect(screen.getByText("sessions section")).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(screen.queryByText("managing bob")).toBeNull();
+  });
+});