diff --git a/__tests__/component/media.spec.ts b/__tests__/component/media.spec.ts
index b67a117..277dc20 100644
--- a/__tests__/component/media.spec.ts
+++ b/__tests__/component/media.spec.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import type { ViewerProps } from '../../lib/viewer.ts'
 
 import { flushPromises, mount } from '@vue/test-utils'
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
-import { defineComponent, h } from 'vue'
+import { defineComponent, h, nextTick } from 'vue'
 import { makeFile } from '../factories.ts'
 
 // Resolve/keep the real network-free path: preloadMedia is the only fetch the
@@ -18,9 +18,8 @@ vi.mock('../../lib/services/mediaPreloader.ts', () => ({
 
 // An svg is read and sanitized rather than handed to the element, so the
 // only request Images makes by itself is that one.
-vi.mock('@nextcloud/axios', () => ({
-	default: { get: vi.fn(async () => ({ data: '<svg/>' })) },
-}))
+const axiosGet = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn(async () => ({ data: '<svg/>' })))
+vi.mock('@nextcloud/axios', () => ({ default: { get: axiosGet } }))
 
 // imagePath is evaluated at module load of usePlyrPlayer (blank.mp4). Keep the
 // rest of the router real; only pin the two URL helpers so tests never depend on
@@ -317,6 +316,86 @@ describe('moving to another file of the same name', () => {
 	})
 })
 
+describe('an image that cannot be read at all', () => {
+	// An svg is fetched to be sanitized, and an E2EE file is fetched by
+	// hand: a request that rejects there left the element with nothing and
+	// the viewer waiting on a `loaded` event that could never come
+	it('reports a request that rejects on the first load', async () => {
+		axiosGet.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('503'))
+		const logged = vi.spyOn(logger, 'error').mockImplementation(() => {})
+		const file = makeFile({ basename: 'drawing.svg', mime: 'image/svg+xml' })
+
+		const wrapper = mountImages({ file, files: [file] })
+		await flushPromises()
+
+		expect(wrapper.emitted('errored')).toHaveLength(1)
+		expect(logged).toHaveBeenCalled()
+	})
+})
+
+describe('the pointers on an image', () => {
+	/**
+	 * A pointer event jsdom will accept: it has no PointerEvent, and the
+	 * coordinates of a MouseEvent cannot be set after the fact.
+	 *
+	 * @param type - The event name
+	 * @param pointerId - Which pointer it is
+	 * @param at - Where it is, in both axes
+	 */
+	function pointer(type: string, pointerId: number, at = 0): Event {
+		const event = new MouseEvent(type, { clientX: at, clientY: at, bubbles: true, cancelable: true })
+		Object.defineProperty(event, 'pointerId', { value: pointerId })
+		return event
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Mount an image and return a way to put pointers on it.
+	 */
+	async function mountWithPointers() {
+		const wrapper = mountImages()
+		await flushPromises()
+		const image = wrapper.find('img').element
+		const send = async (type: string, pointerId: number, at?: number) => {
+			image.dispatchEvent(pointer(type, pointerId, at))
+			await nextTick()
+		}
+		const zoomed = () => wrapper.find('img').attributes('class')?.includes('zoomed') ?? false
+		return { wrapper, send, zoomed }
+	}
+
+	it('takes back only the pointer that was lifted', async () => {
+		const { send, zoomed } = await mountWithPointers()
+		await send('pointerdown', 1, 0)
+		await send('pointerdown', 2, 40)
+
+		// A pointer that went down somewhere else, so this element never
+		// cached it: splice reads its index of -1 as the last entry and
+		// drops a finger that is still on the screen
+		await send('pointerup', 99)
+		// Both fingers are still down, so this is still a pinch, and moving
+		// one of them apart zooms
+		await send('pointermove', 2, 200)
+
+		expect(zoomed()).toBe(true)
+	})
+
+	// The browser takes a pointer back when it turns the gesture into one of
+	// its own, and the `up` that would have ended it never arrives
+	it('lets go of a pointer the browser cancels', async () => {
+		const { wrapper, send, zoomed } = await mountWithPointers()
+		await send('pointerdown', 1, 0)
+		expect(wrapper.emitted('update:canSwipe')).toBeUndefined()
+
+		await send('pointercancel', 1)
+		// One finger again, so nothing here is a pinch
+		await send('pointerdown', 2, 0)
+		await send('pointermove', 2, 200)
+
+		expect(zoomed()).toBe(false)
+		expect(wrapper.emitted('update:canSwipe')).toEqual([[true]])
+	})
+})
+
 describe('Videos.vue (smoke)', () => {
 	// The speed menu is built from numbers plyr formats itself, which its own
 	// i18n never reaches, so it is relabelled once the controls exist
diff --git a/lib/components/Images.vue b/lib/components/Images.vue
index 2aef5ba..6e3bdd6 100644
--- a/lib/components/Images.vue
+++ b/lib/components/Images.vue
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 				@dblclick.prevent="onDblclick"
 				@pointerdown.prevent="pointerDown"
 				@pointerup.prevent="pointerUp"
+				@pointercancel.prevent="pointerCancel"
 				@pointermove.prevent="pointerMove">
 
 			<template v-if="livePhoto">
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@
 					@dblclick.prevent="onDblclick"
 					@pointerdown.prevent="pointerDown"
 					@pointerup.prevent="pointerUp"
+					@pointercancel.prevent="pointerCancel"
 					@pointermove.prevent="pointerMove"
 					@ended="stopLivePhoto" />
 				<button
@@ -168,8 +170,8 @@ let inFlight: { controller: AbortController, source: string } | null = null
 // Load data when component mounts or file changes. Keyed on the source, as
 // two files can be shown under one name and it is the source that says
 // which bytes to fetch.
-watch(() => props.file.source, async () => {
-	await loadData()
+watch(() => props.file.source, () => {
+	load()
 })
 watch(data, () => {
 	loaded.value = false
@@ -181,7 +183,22 @@ watch(() => props.localSource, (source) => {
 		data.value = source
 	}
 })
-loadData()
+load()
+
+/**
+ * Load the image, and report a load that cannot even be attempted.
+ *
+ * `loadData` reads the file over the network for an svg or an E2EE file,
+ * and a request that rejects there reached nobody: the element was left
+ * with nothing to show, and the viewer waited on its spinner for a
+ * `loaded` event that could never come.
+ */
+function load() {
+	loadData().catch((error) => {
+		logger.error(`Loading of file ${filename.value} failed`, { error })
+		emit('errored', new Error(t('Failed to load image.')))
+	})
+}
 
 /**
  * Load the image data to be displayed
@@ -421,13 +438,37 @@ function pointerDown(event: PointerEvent) {
  * @param event The pointer up event
  */
 function pointerUp(event: PointerEvent) {
-	// Remove pointer from the pointer cache
+	// A pointer the cache never had, one that went down beside the image
+	// say, is not the end of anything: its index of -1 was read by splice
+	// as the last entry, dropping a finger that is still on the screen and
+	// ending the gesture it was part of.
 	const index = pointerCache.value.findIndex((cachedEv) => cachedEv.pointerId === event.pointerId)
+	if (index === -1) {
+		return
+	}
+
 	pointerCache.value.splice(index, 1)
 	dragging.value = false
 	zooming.value = false
 }
 
+/**
+ * A pointer the browser has taken back, because it turned the gesture into
+ * one of its own: a page scroll, or the swipe that pages to the next file.
+ *
+ * The `up` that would normally end it never comes, so without this the
+ * finger stays in the cache and the image is left mid-drag, mid-pinch, or
+ * refusing to swipe.
+ *
+ * @param event The pointer cancel event
+ */
+function pointerCancel(event: PointerEvent) {
+	pointerUp(event)
+	if (pointerCache.value.length === 0 && zoomRatio.value === 1) {
+		emit('update:canSwipe', true)
+	}
+}
+
 /**
  * Used for pinch zoom and drag
  *