diff --git a/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Web.Test/CertificateRetryCounterTests.cs b/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Web.Test/CertificateRetryCounterTests.cs
index f2bb31139..9e06aa41e 100644
--- a/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Web.Test/CertificateRetryCounterTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Web.Test/CertificateRetryCounterTests.cs
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ await Task.Run(async () =>
         /// Regression test: Simulates the Agent Identities scenario where nested token acquisitions
         /// with bad config should fail quickly, not hang.
         /// </summary>
-        [Fact(Timeout = 5000)] // 5 second timeout - if it takes longer, it's likely hanging
+        [Fact(Timeout = 30000)] // 30 second timeout - generous to accommodate slow CI, but still validates no infinite hang
         public async Task GetAuthenticationResultForAppAsync_WithBadClientId_CompletesQuickly()
         {
             // Arrange
diff --git a/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Web.Test/CertificatesObserverTests.cs b/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Web.Test/CertificatesObserverTests.cs
index d7f084287..353dc5283 100644
--- a/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Web.Test/CertificatesObserverTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Web.Test/CertificatesObserverTests.cs
@@ -2,14 +2,10 @@
 // Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 using System;
-using System.Collections.Concurrent;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
-using System.Diagnostics;
-using System.IO;
 using System.Linq;
 using System.Net;
 using System.Net.Http;
-using System.Runtime.ConstrainedExecution;
 using System.Security.Cryptography;
 using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates;
 using System.Text;
@@ -53,8 +49,6 @@ static void RemoveCertificate(X509Certificate2? certificate)
                 string certName = $"CN=TestCert-{Guid.NewGuid():N}";
                 cert1 = CreateAndInstallCertificate(certName);
 
-                // Verify certificate is properly installed in store with timeout
-                await VerifyCertificateInStoreAsync(cert1, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
                 var description = new CredentialDescription
                 {
                     SourceType = CredentialSource.StoreWithDistinguishedName,
@@ -134,9 +128,6 @@ static void RemoveCertificate(X509Certificate2? certificate)
                 RemoveCertificate(cert1);
                 cert2 = CreateAndInstallCertificate(certName);
 
-                // Verify certificate is properly installed in store with timeout
-                await VerifyCertificateInStoreAsync(cert2, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
-
                 // Rerun but it fails this time
                 mockHttpFactory.ValidCertificates.Clear();
                 mockHttpFactory.ValidCertificates.Add(cert2);
@@ -184,7 +175,8 @@ internal X509Certificate2 CreateAndInstallCertificate(string certName)
             var req = new CertificateRequest($"CN={certName}", rsa, HashAlgorithmName.SHA256, RSASignaturePadding.Pkcs1);
 #endif
 
-            var cert = req.CreateSelfSigned(DateTimeOffset.Now, DateTimeOffset.Now.AddDays(1));
+            // Backdate NotBefore to avoid time-boundary races with FindByTimeValid.
+            var cert = req.CreateSelfSigned(DateTimeOffset.Now.AddMinutes(-5), DateTimeOffset.Now.AddDays(1));
 
             byte[] bytes = cert.Export(X509ContentType.Pfx, (string?)null);
 #pragma warning disable SYSLIB0057 // Type or member is obsolete
@@ -196,32 +188,30 @@ internal X509Certificate2 CreateAndInstallCertificate(string certName)
             x509Store.Add(certWithPrivateKey);
             x509Store.Close();
 
+            // X509Store.Add is synchronous — verify the cert is immediately findable
+            // using the same DN-based lookup that production code uses.
+            VerifyCertificateInStore(certWithPrivateKey);
+
             return certWithPrivateKey;
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Verifies that a certificate is properly installed in the certificate store.
+        /// Verifies that a certificate is installed in the store using the same
+        /// distinguished-name lookup that the production credential loader uses.
+        /// X509Store.Add is synchronous, so no polling is needed.
         /// </summary>
-        /// <param name="certificate">The certificate to verify.</param>
-        /// <param name="timeout">Maximum time to wait for the certificate to appear in the store.</param>
-        private static async Task VerifyCertificateInStoreAsync(X509Certificate2 certificate, TimeSpan timeout)
+        private static void VerifyCertificateInStore(X509Certificate2 certificate)
         {
-            var stopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
-            var minWaitTime = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2); // Minimum wait to ensure store operations complete
-            do
+            using var store = new X509Store(StoreName.My, StoreLocation.CurrentUser);
+            store.Open(OpenFlags.ReadOnly);
+            var found = store.Certificates
+                .Find(X509FindType.FindBySubjectDistinguishedName, certificate.SubjectName.Name, false);
+            if (found.Count == 0)
             {
-                using var store = new X509Store(StoreName.My, StoreLocation.CurrentUser);
-                store.Open(OpenFlags.ReadOnly);
-                var foundCerts = store.Certificates.Find(X509FindType.FindByThumbprint, certificate.Thumbprint, false);
-                if (foundCerts.Count > 0 && stopwatch.Elapsed >= minWaitTime)
-                {
-                    return; // Certificate found and minimum wait time elapsed
-                }
-
-                await Task.Delay(100); // Wait 100ms before checking again
+                throw new InvalidOperationException(
+                    $"Test setup failure: certificate '{certificate.SubjectName.Name}' (thumbprint {certificate.Thumbprint}) " +
+                    $"was not found in CurrentUser/My immediately after Add. The store may be in an unexpected state.");
             }
-            while (stopwatch.Elapsed < timeout);
-            throw new TimeoutException($"Certificate with thumbprint {certificate.Thumbprint} was not found in the certificate store within {timeout.TotalSeconds} seconds.");
         }
 
         private class TestCertificatesObserver : ICertificatesObserver