diff --git a/meshterm/ui/trace_screen.py b/meshterm/ui/trace_screen.py
index 81a93a5..c631120 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/trace_screen.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/trace_screen.py
@@ -83,14 +83,26 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
 #: Seconds between spinner frames while a trace or probe is in flight.
 _SPINNER_INTERVAL = 0.12
 
-#: How wide the per-hop SNR quality bars draw, in cells.
-_BAR_WIDTH = 16
+#: How wide the per-hop SNR quality bars draw, in characters. Each character packs
+#: two fill steps (see :func:`snr_bar`), so the bar reads at 16-step resolution in
+#: half the columns a one-step-per-cell block bar would need.
+_BAR_WIDTH = 8
 
 #: The SNR range the bars span, in dB: -15 (barely readable) to +10 (excellent). Values
 #: outside clamp to the ends, so the bar always shows *something* for a heard hop.
 _BAR_SNR_MIN = -15.0
 _BAR_SNR_MAX = 10.0
 
+#: A half-filled bar step: a braille cell with only its left column of the middle
+#: two dot rows raised (dots 2, 3 — the top row, dots 1 and 4, and the bottom row,
+#: dots 7 and 8, both stay blank, so the glyph sits mid-cell instead of hugging
+#: either edge).
+_BAR_HALF = "⠆"
+
+#: A full bar step: both columns of the same middle two rows raised (dots 2, 3,
+#: 5, 6).
+_BAR_FULL = "⠶"
+
 #: The sample counts the Sample count dialog offers: how many traces one Trace action
 #: runs, paced between transmissions.
 SAMPLE_CHOICES = (1, 2, 3, 5, 8)
@@ -110,21 +122,27 @@ PathFlow = Callable[[str], Awaitable[Optional[str]]]
 def snr_bar(snr: Optional[float], width: int = _BAR_WIDTH) -> Text:
     """Render an SNR reading as a horizontal quality bar in the shared SNR colours.
 
+    Packs two fill steps into each character — a half step (:data:`_BAR_HALF`) then
+    a full step (:data:`_BAR_FULL`) — for 16-step resolution in ``width`` characters
+    instead of needing one cell per step.
+
     Args:
         snr: The reading in dB, or ``None`` (renders as an empty, muted track).
-        width: Total bar track width in cells.
+        width: Bar track width in characters (each worth two fill steps).
 
     Returns:
-        A :class:`Text` of filled blocks over a faint track, coloured by
-        :func:`~meshterm.ui.theme.snr_style`.
+        A :class:`Text` of filled braille cells over a faint dotted track,
+        coloured by :func:`~meshterm.ui.theme.snr_style`.
     """
     if snr is None:
         return Text("·" * width, style="faint")
     span = _BAR_SNR_MAX - _BAR_SNR_MIN
     frac = min(1.0, max(0.0, (snr - _BAR_SNR_MIN) / span))
-    filled = max(1, round(frac * width))
-    bar = Text("▆" * filled, style=snr_style(snr))
-    bar.append("·" * (width - filled), style="faint")
+    steps = max(1, round(frac * width * 2))
+    full, half = divmod(steps, 2)
+    filled = _BAR_FULL * full + _BAR_HALF * half
+    bar = Text(filled, style=snr_style(snr))
+    bar.append("·" * (width - len(filled)), style="faint")
     return bar
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_live_screens.py b/tests/test_live_screens.py
index 59cf682..ed8d58a 100644
--- a/tests/test_live_screens.py
+++ b/tests/test_live_screens.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ from datetime import timedelta
 import pytest
 
 from meshterm.core.models import Hop, TraceResult, TraceStats, TxLevelResult, TxOptResult, utcnow
-from meshterm.ui.trace_screen import TraceScreen, snr_bar
+from meshterm.ui.trace_screen import _BAR_FULL, _BAR_HALF, _BAR_WIDTH, TraceScreen, snr_bar
 from meshterm.ui.tx_screen import TxSweepScreen
 
 
@@ -53,19 +53,37 @@ def _plain(lines: list[str]) -> str:
 # --- snr_bar -------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
+def _filled_steps(bar: str) -> int:
+    """Count a rendered bar's fill steps — two per full braille cell, one per half."""
+    return bar.count(_BAR_FULL) * 2 + bar.count(_BAR_HALF)
+
+
 def test_snr_bar_scales_with_signal_quality() -> None:
     """A stronger signal fills more of the track; None renders an empty muted track."""
     weak = snr_bar(-12.0).plain
     strong = snr_bar(8.0).plain
-    assert weak.count("▆") < strong.count("▆")
-    assert len(weak) == len(strong)  # the track width is constant
-    assert "▆" not in snr_bar(None).plain
+    assert _filled_steps(weak) < _filled_steps(strong)
+    assert len(weak) == len(strong) == _BAR_WIDTH  # the track width is constant
+    assert _filled_steps(snr_bar(None).plain) == 0
 
 
 def test_snr_bar_clamps_out_of_range_readings() -> None:
     """Readings beyond the display range clamp to the ends instead of over/underflowing."""
-    assert snr_bar(99.0).plain.count("▆") == snr_bar(10.0).plain.count("▆")
-    assert snr_bar(-99.0).plain.count("▆") == 1  # a heard hop always shows something
+    assert _filled_steps(snr_bar(99.0).plain) == _filled_steps(snr_bar(10.0).plain)
+    assert _filled_steps(snr_bar(-99.0).plain) == 1  # a heard hop always shows something
+
+
+def test_snr_bar_packs_two_steps_per_character() -> None:
+    """16 steps of resolution pack into 8 characters: full cells, then one trailing half."""
+    one_step = snr_bar(-13.4375).plain  # frac = 1/16 of the -15..+10 span
+    assert one_step[0] == _BAR_HALF
+    assert one_step[1:] == "·" * (_BAR_WIDTH - 1)
+
+    three_steps = snr_bar(-10.3125).plain  # frac = 3/16 → one full cell, one half
+    assert three_steps[:2] == _BAR_FULL + _BAR_HALF
+    assert three_steps[2:] == "·" * (_BAR_WIDTH - 2)
+
+    assert snr_bar(10.0).plain == _BAR_FULL * _BAR_WIDTH  # top of range: every cell full
 
 
 # --- _previous_outbound -----------------------------------------------------------