diff --git a/frontend/src/components/SyncModal.tsx b/frontend/src/components/SyncModal.tsx
index d90469b..3082dc2 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/SyncModal.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/SyncModal.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { api } from "../api/client";
+import { showError, showSuccess } from "../banner";
 import type { SyncStatus } from "../types/api";
 
 function phaseDisplay(status: SyncStatus): { label: string; bar: { done: number; total: number } | null } {
@@ -16,14 +17,44 @@ function phaseDisplay(status: SyncStatus): { label: string; bar: { done: number;
   }
 }
 
-// Blocking overlay shown while "Sync now" is running -- the only place sync
-// progress/results are shown (see docs/superpowers/specs/2026-07-26-improve-synchronization-design.md).
-// Never auto-closes, even on success: the user decides when to dismiss it,
-// so a sync error can't be missed by looking away for a moment.
+// Builds the single banner message covering both the sync outcome and any
+// pending-activities/pending-workouts nudge, so completion produces exactly
+// one banner (with the nudges as extra lines) rather than several separate
+// ones landing at once.
+function completionMessage(status: SyncStatus): string {
+  const lines: string[] = [];
+  if (status.last_run) {
+    lines.push(
+      status.last_run.Status === "error"
+        ? `Sync failed: ${status.last_run.ErrorMessage}`
+        : `Sync complete: ${status.last_run.ActivitiesFetched} new activities`,
+    );
+  }
+  if (status.activities_pending_details > 0) {
+    lines.push(`${status.activities_pending_details} more activities pending — click Sync now again`);
+  }
+  if (status.workouts_pending > 0) {
+    lines.push(`${status.workouts_pending} more workouts pending — click Sync now again`);
+  }
+  return lines.join("\n");
+}
+
+// Blocking overlay shown while "Sync now" is running -- purely the progress
+// bar/spinner (see docs/superpowers/specs/2026-07-27-modern-error-displays-design.md).
+// The instant a poll reports the sync finished, it reports the result via a
+// banner (success/error, folded together with any pending nudge) and closes
+// itself -- there's no manual Close step for the *result* anymore. The Close
+// button stays as a manual escape hatch for a still-running (or stuck) sync.
 export function SyncModal({ onClose }: { onClose: () => void }) {
   const [status, setStatus] = useState<SyncStatus | null>(null);
-  const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const stoppedRef = useRef(false);
+  // Captures the latest onClose without making it an effect dependency --
+  // GarminConnection passes a fresh inline arrow function on every one of
+  // its own re-renders (e.g. its 6s auth-status poll), and this effect must
+  // not restart because of that (it would reset stoppedRef/the in-flight
+  // timeout and silently double the poll cadence).
+  const onCloseRef = useRef(onClose);
+  onCloseRef.current = onClose;
 
   useEffect(() => {
     stoppedRef.current = false;
@@ -33,15 +64,19 @@ export function SyncModal({ onClose }: { onClose: () => void }) {
         .syncStatus()
         .then((s) => {
           setStatus(s);
-          setError(null);
-          // Once a fetched status reports the sync finished, stop polling --
-          // the final result is already shown, and there's nothing new left
-          // to fetch until the user starts another sync ("Close" unmounts
-          // this component, which is the only other way polling stops).
-          if (!stoppedRef.current && s.in_progress) timeout = setTimeout(tick, 1500);
+          if (!s.in_progress) {
+            if (s.last_run?.Status === "error") {
+              showError(completionMessage(s));
+            } else {
+              showSuccess(completionMessage(s));
+            }
+            onCloseRef.current();
+            return;
+          }
+          if (!stoppedRef.current) timeout = setTimeout(tick, 1500);
         })
         .catch((e) => {
-          setError(String(e));
+          showError(String(e));
           if (!stoppedRef.current) timeout = setTimeout(tick, 1500);
         });
     };
@@ -52,7 +87,6 @@ export function SyncModal({ onClose }: { onClose: () => void }) {
     };
   }, []);
 
-  const inProgress = status?.in_progress ?? true;
   const { label, bar } = status ? phaseDisplay(status) : { label: "Starting…", bar: null };
 
   return (
@@ -62,40 +96,17 @@ export function SyncModal({ onClose }: { onClose: () => void }) {
           <span>Synchronizing</span>
         </div>
         <div className="sync-modal-body">
-          {inProgress ? (
-            bar ? (
-              <>
-                <progress className="sync-modal-progress" value={bar.done} max={Math.max(bar.total, 1)} />
-                <p className="sync-modal-label">{label}</p>
-              </>
-            ) : (
-              <>
-                <div className="sync-modal-spinner" />
-                <p className="sync-modal-label">{label}</p>
-              </>
-            )
+          {bar ? (
+            <>
+              <progress className="sync-modal-progress" value={bar.done} max={Math.max(bar.total, 1)} />
+              <p className="sync-modal-label">{label}</p>
+            </>
           ) : (
             <>
-              {status?.last_run && (
-                <p className={status.last_run.Status === "error" ? "error" : "sync-modal-label"}>
-                  {status.last_run.Status === "error"
-                    ? `Sync failed: ${status.last_run.ErrorMessage}`
-                    : `Sync complete: ${status.last_run.ActivitiesFetched} new activities`}
-                </p>
-              )}
-              {status && status.activities_pending_details > 0 && (
-                <p className="sync-modal-label">
-                  {status.activities_pending_details} more activities pending — click Sync now again
-                </p>
-              )}
-              {status && status.workouts_pending > 0 && (
-                <p className="sync-modal-label">
-                  {status.workouts_pending} more workouts pending — click Sync now again
-                </p>
-              )}
+              <div className="sync-modal-spinner" />
+              <p className="sync-modal-label">{label}</p>
             </>
           )}
-          {error && <p className="error">{error}</p>}
         </div>
         <div className="modal-header-actions sync-modal-actions">
           <button type="button" onClick={onClose}>