diff --git a/src/network/CrossPointWebServer.cpp b/src/network/CrossPointWebServer.cpp
index 23fafea6..b7b27c68 100644
--- a/src/network/CrossPointWebServer.cpp
+++ b/src/network/CrossPointWebServer.cpp
@@ -1589,6 +1589,8 @@ bool installRemoteFamily(const RemoteManifestFamily& family, const std::string&
 
   for (const auto& file : family.files) {
     esp_task_wdt_reset();
+    yield();
+    delay(500);  // allow network stack to clean up sockets
 
     std::string localFilename = file.name;
     std::string familyPrefix = family.name + "/";
@@ -1740,6 +1742,7 @@ void CrossPointWebServer::handleFontDownload() {
     server->send(400, "application/json", "{\"ok\":false,\"error\":\"Invalid request\"}");
     return;
   }
+  body.clear();  // Free memory early!
 
   const bool installAll = req["all"] | false;
   const std::string requestedFamily = req["family"] | "";
@@ -1784,14 +1787,26 @@ void CrossPointWebServer::handleFontDownload() {
     }
   }
 
+  std::vector<RemoteManifestFamily> targetCopies;
+  for (auto* f : targets) {
+    targetCopies.push_back(*f);
+  }
+  families.clear();
+  families.shrink_to_fit();
+
   size_t installedCount = 0;
-  for (auto* family : targets) {
+  for (auto& family : targetCopies) {
     esp_task_wdt_reset();
-    if (!installRemoteFamily(*family, baseUrl, installer, error)) {
+    yield();
+    delay(500);  // allow network stack to clean up sockets
+
+    LOG_DBG("WEB", "Installing font family: %s", family.name.c_str());
+
+    if (!installRemoteFamily(family, baseUrl, installer, error)) {
       JsonDocument errDoc;
       errDoc["ok"] = false;
       errDoc["error"] = error;
-      errDoc["family"] = family->name;
+      errDoc["family"] = family.name;
       errDoc["installedCount"] = static_cast<unsigned>(installedCount);
       String out;
       serializeJson(errDoc, out);
diff --git a/src/network/HttpDownloader.cpp b/src/network/HttpDownloader.cpp
index ab6806a9..7f8aec68 100644
--- a/src/network/HttpDownloader.cpp
+++ b/src/network/HttpDownloader.cpp
@@ -66,9 +66,11 @@ bool HttpDownloader::fetchUrl(const std::string& url, Stream& outContent, const
   LOG_DBG("HTTP", "Fetching: %s", url.c_str());
 
   http.begin(*client, url.c_str());
+  http.setReuse(false);
   http.setFollowRedirects(HTTPC_FORCE_FOLLOW_REDIRECTS);
   http.setTimeout(30000);
   http.addHeader("User-Agent", "CrossPoint-ESP32-" CROSSPOINT_VERSION);
+  http.addHeader("Connection", "close");
 
   if (!username.empty() || !password.empty()) {
     std::string credentials = username + ":" + password;
@@ -80,12 +82,18 @@ bool HttpDownloader::fetchUrl(const std::string& url, Stream& outContent, const
   if (httpCode != HTTP_CODE_OK) {
     LOG_ERR("HTTP", "Fetch failed: %d", httpCode);
     http.end();
+    if (client) {
+      client->stop();
+    }
     return false;
   }
 
   http.writeToStream(&outContent);
 
   http.end();
+  if (client) {
+    client->stop();
+  }
 
   LOG_DBG("HTTP", "Fetch success");
   return true;
@@ -118,9 +126,11 @@ HttpDownloader::DownloadError HttpDownloader::downloadToFile(const std::string&
   LOG_DBG("HTTP", "Destination: %s", destPath.c_str());
 
   http.begin(*client, url.c_str());
+  http.setReuse(false);
   http.setFollowRedirects(HTTPC_FORCE_FOLLOW_REDIRECTS);
   http.setTimeout(65535);  // max uint16_t (~65s) — HTTPClient::setTimeout takes uint16_t ms
   http.addHeader("User-Agent", "CrossPoint-ESP32-" CROSSPOINT_VERSION);
+  http.addHeader("Connection", "close");
 
   if (!username.empty() || !password.empty()) {
     std::string credentials = username + ":" + password;
@@ -132,6 +142,9 @@ HttpDownloader::DownloadError HttpDownloader::downloadToFile(const std::string&
   if (httpCode != HTTP_CODE_OK) {
     LOG_ERR("HTTP", "Download failed: %d", httpCode);
     http.end();
+    if (client) {
+      client->stop();
+    }
     return HTTP_ERROR;
   }
 
@@ -156,9 +169,51 @@ HttpDownloader::DownloadError HttpDownloader::downloadToFile(const std::string&
     return FILE_ERROR;
   }
 
+  int writeResult = -1;
+  size_t downloaded = 0;
+  bool writeOk = true;
+
   // Let HTTPClient handle chunked decoding and stream body bytes into the file.
-  FileWriteStream fileStream(file, contentLength, progress);
-  const int writeResult = http.writeToStream(&fileStream);
+  // For known sizes (Content-Length), we can stream it manually to save RAM!
+  // HTTPClient::writeToStream allocates a 4096-byte chunk on the heap which can
+  // fail (-8 / HTTPC_ERROR_TOO_LESS_RAM) if the heap is fragmented or depleted.
+  if (contentLength > 0) {
+    NetworkClient& stream = http.getStream();
+    uint8_t buffer[1024];
+    writeResult = 1;
+    while (http.connected() && downloaded < contentLength) {
+      size_t available = stream.available();
+      if (available > 0) {
+        size_t toRead = available > sizeof(buffer) ? sizeof(buffer) : available;
+        if (downloaded + toRead > contentLength) {
+          toRead = contentLength - downloaded;
+        }
+        int readSize = stream.readBytes(buffer, toRead);
+        if (readSize > 0) {
+          if (file.write(buffer, readSize) != static_cast<size_t>(readSize)) {
+            writeOk = false;
+            writeResult = -1;
+            break;
+          }
+          downloaded += readSize;
+          if (progress) progress(downloaded, contentLength);
+        } else {
+          break;
+        }
+      } else {
+        delay(1);
+      }
+    }
+    if (downloaded != contentLength) {
+      writeResult = -1;
+    }
+  } else {
+    // Chunked or unknown length fallback
+    FileWriteStream fileStream(file, contentLength, progress);
+    writeResult = http.writeToStream(&fileStream);
+    downloaded = fileStream.downloaded();
+    writeOk = fileStream.ok();
+  }
 
   // Flush before closing to ensure data is written to the SD card.
   // Without this, Storage.exists() might return false immediately after
@@ -166,6 +221,9 @@ HttpDownloader::DownloadError HttpDownloader::downloadToFile(const std::string&
   file.flush();
   file.close();
   http.end();
+  if (client) {
+    client->stop();
+  }
 
   if (writeResult < 0) {
     LOG_ERR("HTTP", "writeToStream error: %d", writeResult);
@@ -173,11 +231,10 @@ HttpDownloader::DownloadError HttpDownloader::downloadToFile(const std::string&
     return HTTP_ERROR;
   }
 
-  const size_t downloaded = fileStream.downloaded();
   LOG_DBG("HTTP", "Downloaded %zu bytes", downloaded);
 
   // Guard against partial writes even if HTTPClient completes.
-  if (!fileStream.ok()) {
+  if (!writeOk) {
     LOG_ERR("HTTP", "Write failed during download");
     Storage.remove(destPath.c_str());
     return FILE_ERROR;
diff --git a/src/network/html/FontsPage.html b/src/network/html/FontsPage.html
index 910d8fc1..9147213e 100644
--- a/src/network/html/FontsPage.html
+++ b/src/network/html/FontsPage.html
@@ -148,6 +148,46 @@
         align-items: center;
         margin-bottom: 12px;
       }
+      .download-layout {
+        display: grid;
+        grid-template-columns: minmax(240px, 1fr) 280px;
+        gap: 16px;
+        align-items: start;
+      }
+      .status-panel {
+        background: var(--card-bg);
+        border: 1px solid var(--border-color);
+        border-radius: 8px;
+        padding: 16px;
+        box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.05);
+      }
+      .status-panel h3 {
+        margin: 0 0 10px 0;
+        font-size: 1rem;
+      }
+      .status-panel p {
+        margin: 0;
+      }
+      #remoteStatus {
+        margin-top: 8px;
+        min-height: 80px;
+        display: block;
+        border-radius: 6px;
+        padding: 12px;
+        background: var(--notice-bg);
+        border: 1px solid var(--notice-border);
+        color: var(--notice-color);
+      }
+      .status-ok {
+        background: #d4edda;
+        color: #155724;
+        border-color: #c3e6cb;
+      }
+      .status-err {
+        background: #f8d7da;
+        color: #721c24;
+        border-color: #f5c6cb;
+      }
     </style>
   </head>
   <body>
@@ -171,8 +211,13 @@
         <button id="refreshManifest" class="btn btn-primary" type="button">Refresh Catalog</button>
         <button id="downloadAllRemote" class="btn btn-primary" type="button">Download All Updates</button>
       </div>
-      <div id="remoteFamilies"><p class="empty">Catalog not loaded</p></div>
-      <div id="remoteStatus"></div>
+      <div class="download-layout">
+        <div id="remoteFamilies"><p class="empty">Catalog not loaded</p></div>
+        <div class="status-panel">
+          <h3>Download Status</h3>
+          <div id="remoteStatus" class="status-message"><p>Waiting for action...</p></div>
+        </div>
+      </div>
     </div>
 
     <div class="card">