diff --git a/frontend/js/ui.js b/frontend/js/ui.js
index 5474ef6..f27c5a9 100644
--- a/frontend/js/ui.js
+++ b/frontend/js/ui.js
@@ -461,6 +461,13 @@ App.ui = App.ui || {};
 
         if (reloadChannelBtn) {
             reloadChannelBtn.onclick = () => {
+                // Refresh means "give me the current everything": the videos
+                // below, and the app itself. The version check runs in the
+                // background and only acts if the deployed assets actually
+                // differ from what this tab is running.
+                if (App.version && typeof App.version.checkNow === 'function') {
+                    App.version.checkNow();
+                }
                 App.videos.resetAndReload();
             };
         }
diff --git a/frontend/js/version.js b/frontend/js/version.js
index c121704..d2fda1a 100644
--- a/frontend/js/version.js
+++ b/frontend/js/version.js
@@ -114,6 +114,21 @@ App.version = App.version || {};
         }
     }
 
+    // Same check the poller runs, on demand: the top-bar refresh button asks for
+    // it so a tab left open across a deploy picks the new build up right then,
+    // rather than up to POLL_INTERVAL_MS later. Changed CSS hot-swaps; changed
+    // JS/HTML reloads as soon as that won't interrupt playback.
+    App.version.checkNow = function() {
+        if (!baseline) {
+            // start() never got a manifest (endpoint down, or it hasn't run
+            // yet). Adopt whatever the server reports now so there's something
+            // to diff against next time -- there's no baseline to compare this
+            // one against, so nothing can be concluded from it today.
+            return fetchVersion().then((latest) => { baseline = latest; }).catch(() => {});
+        }
+        return check();
+    };
+
     App.version.start = async function() {
         try {
             baseline = await fetchVersion();