diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f1e92e7..4a464fe 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -22,9 +22,11 @@ allowed to change behaviour, not just add to it.
 - **The PicoCalc picks its console font, and MeshTerm hands the console back.** A *Console
   font* row under Display on the Preferences page offers `6x12 (53x26)` — the font the
   device boots in — and `6x8 (53x40)`, fourteen more rows of the same glyph inventory in a
-  shorter cell. Choosing one loads it there and then; the kernel raises SIGWINCH on a font
-  change, so the frame repaints at the new height without a relaunch. The 6×8 base has no
-  Cyrillic, so a node named in Cyrillic draws as boxes on it.
+  shorter cell. Picking one is the preview: the console loads it there and then, and the
+  page repaints at the new height (the kernel raises SIGWINCH on a font change), so the
+  choice is looked at before it is kept. Apply keeps it; leaving and discarding puts the
+  saved font back. The 6×8 base has no Cyrillic, so a node named in Cyrillic draws as
+  boxes on it.
 
   A virtual terminal has one font for the whole console, so switching MeshTerm's switches
   the shell's. It saves whatever font was loaded before the first paint and reloads it on
diff --git a/docs/hardware.md b/docs/hardware.md
index 2bf5f0e..b15e330 100644
--- a/docs/hardware.md
+++ b/docs/hardware.md
@@ -211,9 +211,10 @@ and nothing more: the default is installed either way.
 **Choosing between them is a preference, not a command.** *Display → Console font* on the
 Preferences page offers `6x12 (53x26)` and `6x8 (53x40)`, and it is drawn on the PicoCalc
 only — it is a row about hardware no desktop has, though the value round-trips through
-`preferences.yaml` on any machine. Picking one loads it immediately: the kernel raises
-SIGWINCH on a font change, so the whole frame repaints at the new row count without a
-relaunch.
+`preferences.yaml` on any machine. Picking one is the preview: the console loads it
+immediately and the page repaints at the new row count (the kernel raises SIGWINCH on a
+font change), so you look at the choice before you keep it. *Apply* keeps it; leaving the
+page and discarding puts the saved font back.
 
 MeshTerm puts the font back when it exits. Before the first paint it saves the console's
 current font with `setfont -O ~/.meshterm/console-font-before.psf` — whatever the *shell*
diff --git a/meshterm/ui/preferences.py b/meshterm/ui/preferences.py
index e12717b..0a8bc4f 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/preferences.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/preferences.py
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ from ..core.preferences import (
     range_hint,
 )
 from ..platforms import get_platform
+from ..services import consolefont
 from .menus import (
     confirm_discard,
     exit_rows,
@@ -84,6 +85,22 @@ async def edit_preferences(ctx: AppContext) -> dict[str, Any] | None:
     prefs = ctx.preferences
     pending: dict[str, Any] = {}  # preference key -> staged new value
 
+    # The console font previews. A VT loads one font for the whole screen, so the only
+    # honest way to show what the 6x8 build looks like is to load it — and this page is
+    # the preview: it repaints at the new row count the moment the value is picked.
+    # ``shown`` is what the console is drawn in right now; a discard puts the saved value
+    # back, and Apply's own re-apply after the write finds nothing to change.
+    previewing = consolefont.applies()
+    shown = prefs.get(consolefont.PREFERENCE_KEY)
+
+    def preview() -> None:
+        nonlocal shown
+        if not previewing:
+            return
+        want = _effective(prefs, consolefont.PREFERENCE_KEY, pending)
+        if want != shown and consolefont.apply(want):
+            shown = want
+
     # The rows *are* the data — each carries its own staged ``current → new`` value and
     # the title counts what is staged — so they refresh in place after every round
     # (``replace_items``) rather than being rebuilt as a new screen. One screen for the
@@ -103,6 +120,8 @@ async def edit_preferences(ctx: AppContext) -> dict[str, Any] | None:
             if choice in (None, _CANCEL):
                 if pending and not await confirm_discard(ctx, len(pending), verb="saving"):
                     continue  # keep editing — the same list, the same place in it
+                if previewing and shown != prefs.get(consolefont.PREFERENCE_KEY):
+                    consolefont.apply(prefs.get(consolefont.PREFERENCE_KEY))
                 return None
             if choice == _APPLY:
                 return dict(pending) or None
@@ -110,6 +129,7 @@ async def edit_preferences(ctx: AppContext) -> dict[str, Any] | None:
                 await _stage_reset(ctx, prefs, pending)
             else:  # a preference key
                 await _stage_preference(ctx, prefs, choice, pending)
+            preview()
             title, items = _menu_items(prefs, pending)
             menu.replace_items(items, title=title)
 
diff --git a/tests/test_preferences.py b/tests/test_preferences.py
index e9d3d4e..9a69730 100644
--- a/tests/test_preferences.py
+++ b/tests/test_preferences.py
@@ -491,6 +491,73 @@ async def test_leaving_with_unsaved_changes_is_gated(ctx: AppContext) -> None:
     assert await edit_preferences(ctx) == {"history_days": 30}
 
 
+def _preview_console(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, *, on_device: bool) -> list[str]:
+    """Stand in for the console-font service: record every font the page loads."""
+    from meshterm.ui import preferences as page
+
+    loaded: list[str] = []
+    monkeypatch.setattr(page.consolefont, "applies", lambda: on_device)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(page.consolefont, "apply", lambda choice: loaded.append(choice) or True)
+    return loaded
+
+
+async def test_picking_a_console_font_previews_it_and_apply_keeps_it(
+    ctx: AppContext, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch
+) -> None:
+    """The console loads the font the moment it is picked; Apply hands it over to save."""
+    loaded = _preview_console(monkeypatch, on_device=True)
+    _install(ctx, [("select", "console_font"), ("select", "6x8"), ("select", "__apply__")])
+    assert await edit_preferences(ctx) == {"console_font": "6x8"}
+    assert loaded == ["6x8"]  # previewed once, and nothing put back on the way out
+
+
+async def test_discarding_a_previewed_console_font_puts_the_saved_one_back(
+    ctx: AppContext, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch
+) -> None:
+    """A preview that is not kept is undone: the saved font comes back on discard."""
+    loaded = _preview_console(monkeypatch, on_device=True)
+    _install(
+        ctx,
+        [
+            ("select", "console_font"),
+            ("select", "6x8"),
+            ("select", None),  # Esc
+            ("dialog", "discard"),
+        ],
+    )
+    assert await edit_preferences(ctx) is None
+    assert loaded == ["6x8", "6x12"]
+
+
+async def test_setting_the_console_font_back_reloads_it_at_once(
+    ctx: AppContext, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch
+) -> None:
+    """Staging the value in force again is a clean row — and the console follows it."""
+    loaded = _preview_console(monkeypatch, on_device=True)
+    _install(
+        ctx,
+        [
+            ("select", "console_font"),
+            ("select", "6x8"),
+            ("select", "console_font"),
+            ("select", "6x12"),  # back to what is saved: nothing staged, Esc leaves quietly
+            ("select", None),
+        ],
+    )
+    assert await edit_preferences(ctx) is None
+    assert loaded == ["6x8", "6x12"]
+
+
+async def test_a_desktop_page_never_touches_a_console_font(
+    ctx: AppContext, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch
+) -> None:
+    """Off the handheld the service says no once, and the page asks it nothing more."""
+    loaded = _preview_console(monkeypatch, on_device=False)
+    _install(ctx, [("select", "console_font"), ("select", "6x8"), ("select", "__apply__")])
+    assert await edit_preferences(ctx) == {"console_font": "6x8"}
+    assert loaded == []
+
+
 async def test_discarding_at_the_gate_drops_the_changes(ctx: AppContext) -> None:
     """Confirming the discard leaves with nothing, staged values and all."""
     _install(