diff --git a/src/components/documents/__tests__/document-bulk-bar.test.tsx b/src/components/documents/__tests__/document-bulk-bar.test.tsx
index 3ddea1b6c..3c97a94bc 100644
--- a/src/components/documents/__tests__/document-bulk-bar.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/documents/__tests__/document-bulk-bar.test.tsx
@@ -110,4 +110,15 @@ describe("<DocumentBulkBar>", () => {
     // assertion above is about the visit menu and not about an empty render.
     expect(html).toContain("Link condition");
   });
+
+  it("drops to the page edge only when the bottom bar is gone", () => {
+    // The bar follows the shell, not `md`: a phone held sideways is wider
+    // than `md` and still shows the bottom bar over a `md:` drop.
+    const html = render([]);
+    const cls =
+      html.match(/data-slot="document-bulk-bar"[^>]*class="([^"]*)"/)?.[1] ??
+      "";
+    expect(cls).toContain("shell-desktop:bottom-6");
+    expect(cls).not.toMatch(/(?<![\w-])md:bottom-/);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/components/documents/document-bulk-bar.tsx b/src/components/documents/document-bulk-bar.tsx
index cef34e4d4..26283d67e 100644
--- a/src/components/documents/document-bulk-bar.tsx
+++ b/src/components/documents/document-bulk-bar.tsx
@@ -112,7 +112,10 @@ export function DocumentBulkBar({
         role="toolbar"
         aria-label={t("documents.bulk.barLabel")}
         className={cn(
-          "bg-card border-border fixed bottom-20 left-1/2 z-40 -translate-x-1/2 md:bottom-6",
+          // Clear of the bottom bar (and the home indicator) for as long as
+          // the bar shows, which is the shell's call, not a width's: a phone
+          // held sideways is wider than `md` and still has the bar.
+          "bg-card border-border shell-desktop:bottom-6 fixed bottom-[calc(env(safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+5rem)] left-1/2 z-40 -translate-x-1/2",
           // v1.42 — while a day is docked on the right, the bar sits against
           // the page's right edge instead of the window's centre, clear of the
           // day's footer actions and of an expanded sidebar.