diff --git a/meshterm/ui/dashboard_screen.py b/meshterm/ui/dashboard_screen.py
index f5ade4f..03f3bf4 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/dashboard_screen.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/dashboard_screen.py
@@ -121,7 +121,20 @@ class DashboardScreen(Screen):
     """The live mesh overview. Renders state and scrolls; the opener feeds it."""
 
     floating = False
-    footer_hint = "↑↓ PgUp/PgDn scroll · Esc back"
+
+    @property
+    def footer_hint(self) -> str:  # type: ignore[override]
+        """The footer keys — advertising scroll only when the overview actually overflows.
+
+        The dashboard is one scrolling body, but on a tall terminal it often fits whole; a
+        static ``↑↓ PgUp/PgDn scroll`` then names keys that do nothing. Show that atom only
+        while the content is taller than the viewport (see
+        :attr:`~meshterm.ui.tui.screen.Screen.content_overflows`); otherwise Esc is the only
+        key that acts.
+        """
+        if self.content_overflows:
+            return "↑↓ PgUp/PgDn scroll · Esc back"
+        return "Esc back"
 
     def __init__(
         self,
diff --git a/meshterm/ui/tui/screen.py b/meshterm/ui/tui/screen.py
index 183816d..bb3782e 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/tui/screen.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/tui/screen.py
@@ -208,6 +208,18 @@ class Screen:
         """Lines a PageUp/PageDown moves: a screenful, bar one row kept for continuity."""
         return max(1, self._scroll_viewport - 1)
 
+    @property
+    def content_overflows(self) -> bool:
+        """Whether the last-rendered body is taller than its viewport — i.e. it can scroll.
+
+        The reusable gate for the app-wide rule that a footer only advertises a key that
+        would do something: a screen whose body fits has nothing to scroll, so it drops its
+        ``↑↓ PgUp/PgDn scroll`` atom (see :attr:`DashboardScreen.footer_hint`). Reads the
+        metrics the frame recorded on the *previous* paint (:meth:`note_metrics`), so it is
+        honest one frame after a resize — the frame repaints again immediately.
+        """
+        return self._scroll_total > self._scroll_viewport
+
     def scroll_by(self, delta: int, total: int, viewport: int) -> None:
         """Adjust :attr:`scroll` by ``delta`` lines, clamped to the given content bounds."""
         self.scroll = _clamp_scroll(self.scroll + delta, total, viewport)
diff --git a/tests/test_dashboard.py b/tests/test_dashboard.py
index dd84b23..64c9efa 100644
--- a/tests/test_dashboard.py
+++ b/tests/test_dashboard.py
@@ -58,6 +58,17 @@ def _stripped(lines: list[str]) -> list[str]:
 # --- the screen ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
+def test_footer_advertises_scroll_only_when_the_overview_overflows() -> None:
+    """The scroll keys join the footer only when the body is taller than the viewport."""
+    screen = _screen()
+    # Fits (the frame recorded a body no taller than the viewport): Esc alone acts.
+    screen.note_metrics(total=10, viewport=20)
+    assert screen.footer_hint == "Esc back"
+    # Overflows: the scroll atom appears, ahead of Esc.
+    screen.note_metrics(total=40, viewport=20)
+    assert screen.footer_hint == "↑↓ PgUp/PgDn scroll · Esc back"
+
+
 def test_dashboard_renders_all_three_sections() -> None:
     """Activity, Traffic, and RF health all render from a seeded window.