diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/UploadPage.jsx b/frontend/src/pages/UploadPage.jsx
index 0120147..628e61d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/UploadPage.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/UploadPage.jsx
@@ -128,23 +128,30 @@ export default function UploadPage() {
   const hasNextcloud = !!localStorage.getItem('nc_username')
 
   const [uploadName, setUploadName] = useState('')
+  const [stage, setStage] = useState('uploading') // 'uploading' | 'processing'
+  const [elapsed, setElapsed] = useState(0)
   const doUpload = async (f) => {
     if (!f) return
     setUploadName(f.name)
-    setUploading(true); setError(''); setProgress(0)
+    setUploading(true); setError(''); setProgress(0); setStage('uploading'); setElapsed(0)
+    const start = Date.now()
+    const timer = setInterval(() => setElapsed(Math.round((Date.now() - start) / 1000)), 500)
     const formData = new FormData()
     formData.append('file', f)
     try {
       const res = await api.post('/documents/upload', formData, {
         onUploadProgress: (e) => {
-          if (e.progress != null) setProgress(Math.round(e.progress * 100))
-          else if (e.total) setProgress(Math.round((e.loaded / e.total) * 100))
+          const pct = e.progress != null
+            ? Math.round(e.progress * 100)
+            : e.total ? Math.round((e.loaded / e.total) * 100) : 0
+          setProgress(pct)
+          if (pct >= 100) setStage('processing')
         },
       })
       navigate(`/documents/${res.data.id}`)
     } catch (err) {
       setError(err.response?.data?.detail || 'Upload failed')
-    } finally { setUploading(false) }
+    } finally { clearInterval(timer); setUploading(false) }
   }
 
   const handleFile = (f, fromNextcloud = false) => {
@@ -222,12 +229,29 @@ export default function UploadPage() {
         {uploading && (
           <div style={{ marginTop: 16, padding: '16px', background: 'var(--option-sel-bg)', borderRadius: 8, border: '1px solid var(--option-sel-bd)' }}>
             <div style={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'space-between', marginBottom: 8, fontSize: '0.9rem', fontWeight: 600 }}>
-              <span>Uploading {uploadName || file?.name || 'file'}...</span>
-              <span>{progress}%</span>
+              <span>
+                {stage === 'processing' ? 'Processing on server' : 'Uploading'} {uploadName || file?.name || 'file'}...
+              </span>
+              <span>
+                {progress > 0 ? `${progress}%` : ''} {elapsed > 0 && `(${elapsed}s)`}
+              </span>
             </div>
-            <div className="progress-bar">
-              <div className="fill" style={{ width: `${Math.max(progress, 5)}%`, transition: 'width 0.3s' }} />
+            <div className="progress-bar" style={{ overflow: 'hidden', position: 'relative' }}>
+              {progress > 0 ? (
+                <div className="fill" style={{ width: `${progress}%`, transition: 'width 0.3s' }} />
+              ) : (
+                <div style={{
+                  height: '100%',
+                  width: '30%',
+                  background: 'var(--primary)',
+                  animation: 'indeterminate 1.4s infinite linear',
+                }} />
+              )}
             </div>
+            <style>{`@keyframes indeterminate { 0% { transform: translateX(-100%); } 100% { transform: translateX(400%); } }`}</style>
+            <p style={{ fontSize: '0.78rem', color: 'var(--text-muted)', marginTop: 8, marginBottom: 0 }}>
+              Large PDFs may take a few minutes — please keep this tab open.
+            </p>
           </div>
         )}