diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
index 0757dbae4f..993d20bf87 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -425,7 +425,8 @@ jobs:
           LIGHTSPEED_API_ENDPOINT: ${{ vars.LIGHTSPEED_API_ENDPOINT || secrets.LIGHTSPEED_API_ENDPOINT }}
           LIGHTSPEED_USER: ${{ vars.LIGHTSPEED_USER || secrets.LIGHTSPEED_USER }}
           LIGHTSPEED_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.LIGHTSPEED_PASSWORD }}
-        timeout-minutes: 30
+        # UI pulls a large image and can exceed 30m when Selenium is up before code-server is ready
+        timeout-minutes: 60
 
       - name: task finish
         run: task finish
diff --git a/test/ui/fixtures/ui_fixtures.py b/test/ui/fixtures/ui_fixtures.py
index 52eb1784b3..b47f2dbcf6 100644
--- a/test/ui/fixtures/ui_fixtures.py
+++ b/test/ui/fixtures/ui_fixtures.py
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 import os
 import subprocess
 import time
+import urllib.error
+import urllib.request
 from collections.abc import Generator
 from datetime import datetime
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
@@ -49,6 +51,46 @@ def is_container_healthy() -> bool:
     return result.returncode == 0
 
 
+def _wait_for_code_server_http(
+    url: str = "http://127.0.0.1:8080/",
+    timeout_sec: int = 600,
+) -> None:
+    """Wait until code-server accepts HTTP (not covered by Selenium :4444 healthcheck).
+
+    The compose file healthcheck only verifies Selenium Grid; code-server can still
+    be starting, which otherwise leads to long WebDriver/page-load timeouts in CI.
+    """
+    deadline = time.time() + timeout_sec
+    attempt = 0
+    while time.time() < deadline:
+        attempt += 1
+        try:
+            with urllib.request.urlopen(url, timeout=5) as resp:
+                if resp.status == 200:
+                    log.info("code-server ready at %s (attempt %s)", url, attempt)
+                    return
+        except urllib.error.HTTPError as exc:
+            # Upstream still starting — keep polling. Other responses mean HTTP is up.
+            if exc.code in (502, 503, 504):
+                pass
+            else:
+                log.info(
+                    "code-server ready at %s (HTTP %s, attempt %s)",
+                    url,
+                    exc.code,
+                    attempt,
+                )
+                return
+        except (urllib.error.URLError, OSError, TimeoutError):
+            pass
+        if attempt <= 3 or attempt % 20 == 0:
+            log.info("Waiting for code-server at %s: %s", url, attempt)
+        time.sleep(2)
+    pytest.fail(
+        f"code-server did not become ready at {url} within {timeout_sec}s",
+    )
+
+
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
 def browser_setup(
     request: pytest.FixtureRequest,
@@ -62,7 +104,7 @@ def browser_setup(
         "capturemanager"
     )  # type: ignore[name-defined]
     try:
-        if not is_container_healthy() or True:
+        if not is_container_healthy():
             subprocess.run(
                 f"podman rm -f {CONTAINER_NAME} 2>/dev/null || true",
                 shell=True,
@@ -80,16 +122,30 @@ def browser_setup(
                     shell=True,
                     cwd=_PROJECT_ROOT,
                 )
+            health_deadline = time.time() + int(
+                os.environ.get("UI_CONTAINER_HEALTH_TIMEOUT", "900"),
+            )
             count = 0
-            while True:
+            while time.time() < health_deadline:
                 if is_container_healthy():
                     break
                 count += 1
                 time.sleep(1)
-                log.info(
-                    "Waiting for container %s to be healthy: %s", CONTAINER_NAME, count
+                if count <= 5 or count % 15 == 0:
+                    log.info(
+                        "Waiting for container %s to be healthy: %s",
+                        CONTAINER_NAME,
+                        count,
+                    )
+            else:
+                pytest.fail(
+                    f"container {CONTAINER_NAME} did not become healthy in time",
                 )
 
+        _wait_for_code_server_http(
+            timeout_sec=int(os.environ.get("UI_CODE_SERVER_TIMEOUT", "600")),
+        )
+
         browser = os.environ.get("BROWSER_TYPE")
         options: FirefoxOptions | ChromeOptions
         if browser == "chrome":
@@ -103,6 +159,8 @@ def browser_setup(
             command_executor="http://localhost:4444/wd/hub",
             options=options,
         )
+        driver.set_page_load_timeout(300)
+        driver.set_script_timeout(300)
         driver.maximize_window()
 
         yield driver, "https://stage.ai.ansible.redhat.com/login"