diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 336f22fe..8b3ffbb3 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- Channel table onboarding shown when filter returns zero results: The channel store refactor changed to loading only channel IDs instead of full channel objects, leaving `Object.keys(channels).length` always `0` and incorrectly triggering the onboarding state on any empty filter. Fixed by checking `channelIds.length` instead.
+
 ## [0.20.1] - 2026-02-26
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/tables/ChannelsTable.jsx b/frontend/src/components/tables/ChannelsTable.jsx
index 9a65aae0..06fe652a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/tables/ChannelsTable.jsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/tables/ChannelsTable.jsx
@@ -282,6 +282,7 @@ const ChannelsTable = ({ onReady }) => {
 
   // store/channels
   const channels = useChannelsStore((s) => s.channels);
+  const channelIds = useChannelsStore((s) => s.channelIds);
   const profiles = useChannelsStore((s) => s.profiles);
   const selectedProfileId = useChannelsStore((s) => s.selectedProfileId);
   const [tablePrefs, setTablePrefs] = useLocalStorage('channel-table-prefs', {
@@ -1438,13 +1439,12 @@ const ChannelsTable = ({ onReady }) => {
 
           {/* Table or ghost empty state inside Paper */}
           <Box>
-            {channelsTableLength === 0 &&
-              Object.keys(channels).length === 0 && (
-                <ChannelsTableOnboarding editChannel={editChannel} />
-              )}
+            {channelsTableLength === 0 && channelIds.length === 0 && (
+              <ChannelsTableOnboarding editChannel={editChannel} />
+            )}
           </Box>
 
-          {(channelsTableLength > 0 || Object.keys(channels).length > 0) && (
+          {(channelsTableLength > 0 || channelIds.length > 0) && (
             <Box
               style={{
                 display: 'flex',