diff --git a/frontend/src/components/TaskIndicator.tsx b/frontend/src/components/TaskIndicator.tsx
index 140e45c..36afba1 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/TaskIndicator.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/TaskIndicator.tsx
@@ -134,11 +134,8 @@ export function TaskIndicator({
         }
     }, [wsConnected, wsTasks, taskID]);
 
-    // ----- Polling fallback (only when WS is not connected) -----
+    // ----- Polling (always active as baseline; WS provides faster updates on top) -----
     useEffect(() => {
-        // If WS is connected, skip polling
-        if (wsConnected) return;
-
         if (!user || !taskID) {
             setTaskStatus(null);
             setTaskResult(null);
@@ -153,6 +150,8 @@ export function TaskIndicator({
         setTaskResult(null);
 
         const pollTaskStatus = async () => {
+            // Skip this poll cycle if cancelled locally
+            if (cancelledRef.current) return true;
             try {
                 const data = await fetchTaskStatus(user, taskID);
                 const status = data.status as TaskStatus;
@@ -214,7 +213,7 @@ export function TaskIndicator({
         }, POLLING_INTERVALS.TASK_STATUS_MS);
 
         return () => clearInterval(interval);
-    }, [taskID, user, wsConnected]);
+    }, [taskID, user]);
 
     const handleCancel = async () => {
         if (!user || !taskID || isCancelling) return;
diff --git a/frontend/src/constants/index.ts b/frontend/src/constants/index.ts
index dc503aa..2cbfbf3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/constants/index.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/constants/index.ts
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ export const DEFAULT_FORM_VALUES = {
 
 // Polling intervals
 export const POLLING_INTERVALS = {
-  TASK_STATUS_MS: 30000, // 30 seconds (fallback when WebSocket is unavailable)
+  TASK_STATUS_MS: 5000, // 5 seconds
 } as const;
 
 // WebSocket paths