diff --git a/RoadFlare/RoadFlare/Views/RootView.swift b/RoadFlare/RoadFlare/Views/RootView.swift
index 4bb82fe..495f46a 100644
--- a/RoadFlare/RoadFlare/Views/RootView.swift
+++ b/RoadFlare/RoadFlare/Views/RootView.swift
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ struct RootView: View {
 
     var body: some View {
         VStack(spacing: 0) {
+            ConnectivityPill()
+
             if case .failed(let domain) = appState.onboardingPublishStatus {
                 OnboardingPublishFailureBanner(domain: domain) {
                     appState.retryOnboardingPublish()
@@ -19,12 +21,13 @@ struct RootView: View {
         }
         // Each `authStateContent` view paints its own `Color.rfSurface
         // .ignoresSafeArea()` background, but that only extends adjacent to
-        // its own frame — when the banner is showing, the strip above the
-        // banner (status bar / Dynamic Island zone) is no longer adjacent
-        // to the auth-state content, so the system default would bleed
-        // through. Painting `rfSurface` behind the whole VStack keeps the
-        // status-bar zone on-brand in both banner-visible and banner-
-        // hidden states.
+        // its own frame — when one of the top-of-stack views (connectivity
+        // pill, publish-failure banner) is showing, the strip above the
+        // top view (status bar / Dynamic Island zone) is no longer
+        // adjacent to the auth-state content, so the system default would
+        // bleed through. Painting `rfSurface` behind the whole VStack keeps
+        // the status-bar zone on-brand regardless of which top-of-stack
+        // views are visible.
         .background(Color.rfSurface.ignoresSafeArea())
         .animation(.easeInOut(duration: 0.2), value: appState.onboardingPublishStatus)
     }
diff --git a/RoadFlare/RoadFlare/Views/Shared/ConnectivityPill.swift b/RoadFlare/RoadFlare/Views/Shared/ConnectivityPill.swift
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a72e719
--- /dev/null
+++ b/RoadFlare/RoadFlare/Views/Shared/ConnectivityPill.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+import SwiftUI
+import RoadFlareCore
+
+/// Top-of-RootView pill shown whenever the relay is not reachable. Stacks
+/// above the onboarding publish-failure banner (ADR-0016) so the user sees
+/// the connection state first, then the specific consequence.
+///
+/// Tapping the pill presents `ConnectivitySheet` for diagnostics + manual
+/// reconnect — the same sheet the per-tab toolbar buttons already open. The
+/// pill is global so the user does not have to be on a specific tab to spot
+/// connectivity issues.
+///
+/// Hidden during `.loading` because the relay manager isn't configured yet
+/// at that point; the launch screen would otherwise flash the pill for a
+/// fraction of a second on every cold start. Per-tab inline offline UI
+/// (e.g. the empty states in `RideTab`/`DriversTab`/`HistoryTab`) is
+/// intentionally retained — those communicate per-tab consequences, this
+/// pill communicates global state.
+struct ConnectivityPill: View {
+    @Environment(AppState.self) private var appState
+    @State private var isOffline = false
+    @State private var showSheet = false
+
+    /// 10s matches the persistent per-tab polling cadence in `RideTab`,
+    /// `DriversTab`, and `HistoryTab`. `ConnectivitySheet` polls faster (5s)
+    /// because it's a modal the user is actively looking at; the pill is a
+    /// background indicator and doesn't need that responsiveness.
+    private static let pollIntervalSeconds: UInt64 = 10
+
+    /// Computed visibility — combines the polled flag with the auth-state
+    /// gate. Animating on this (rather than `isOffline` alone) ensures the
+    /// pill animates in correctly on the cold-start path where `isOffline`
+    /// flips to `true` while still in `.loading`, then `authState` exits
+    /// `.loading` later: keying on `isOffline` alone would skip the
+    /// animation since `isOffline` didn't change at the visible-transition
+    /// moment.
+    private var shouldShow: Bool {
+        isOffline && appState.authState != .loading
+    }
+
+    var body: some View {
+        ZStack {
+            if shouldShow {
+                pillBar
+                    .transition(.move(edge: .top).combined(with: .opacity))
+            }
+        }
+        .animation(.easeInOut(duration: 0.2), value: shouldShow)
+        .sheet(isPresented: $showSheet) { ConnectivitySheet() }
+        .task { await pollLoop() }
+    }
+
+    private var pillBar: some View {
+        Button {
+            showSheet = true
+        } label: {
+            HStack(spacing: 10) {
+                Image(systemName: "wifi.slash")
+                    .foregroundColor(Color.rfOffline)
+                    .font(.system(size: 14, weight: .semibold))
+                    .accessibilityHidden(true)
+
+                Text("You're offline")
+                    .font(RFFont.title(13))
+                    .foregroundColor(Color.rfOnSurface)
+
+                Text("Tap for details")
+                    .font(RFFont.caption(12))
+                    .foregroundColor(Color.rfOnSurfaceVariant)
+
+                Spacer(minLength: 0)
+            }
+            .padding(.horizontal, 16)
+            .padding(.vertical, 8)
+            .frame(maxWidth: .infinity)
+            .background(Color.rfSurfaceContainer)
+        }
+        .buttonStyle(.plain)
+        .accessibilityElement(children: .combine)
+        .accessibilityLabel("You're offline. Tap for connectivity details.")
+        .accessibilityAddTraits(.isButton)
+    }
+
+    private func pollLoop() async {
+        while !Task.isCancelled {
+            isOffline = !(await appState.isRelayConnected())
+            try? await Task.sleep(nanoseconds: Self.pollIntervalSeconds * 1_000_000_000)
+        }
+    }
+}