diff --git a/cmd/felis/tui_edge_apply.go b/cmd/felis/tui_edge_apply.go
index 691aed7..107b304 100644
--- a/cmd/felis/tui_edge_apply.go
+++ b/cmd/felis/tui_edge_apply.go
@@ -133,6 +133,11 @@ func writeConfig(path string, cfg *config.Config) error {
 	return os.Rename(tmpPath, path)
 }
 
+// applyFelisConfigSecret applies the rendered config to the control namespace and
+// then converges the workload-namespace mirror best-effort. The mirror feeds the
+// backup/restore/fileedit Jobs and the reaper; without this refresh a reconfigure
+// here would leave those readers on the previous render until the next `felis
+// setup` run (startup pass) or installer re-run.
 func applyFelisConfigSecret(ctx context.Context) error {
 	out, err := kubectlOutput(ctx,
 		"-n", "felis", "create", "secret", "generic", "felis-config",
@@ -142,7 +147,41 @@ func applyFelisConfigSecret(ctx context.Context) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	return kubectlWithInput(ctx, out, "apply", "-f", "-")
+	if err := kubectlWithInput(ctx, out, "apply", "-f", "-"); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if err := replicateFelisConfigToWorkloadNamespace(ctx); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "felis setup: warning: the control-plane config is applied, but the workload-namespace mirror could not be refreshed (%v); re-run felis setup once that is fixed\n", err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// replicateFelisConfigToWorkloadNamespace overwrites the workload-namespace
+// felis-config mirror with the freshly rendered pod config. Deliberately a full
+// replace, not create-if-absent: a stale mirror is exactly what silently hands
+// the Jobs that mount it old settings after a reconfigure. No-op when the
+// workload namespace is unset or is the control namespace itself.
+func replicateFelisConfigToWorkloadNamespace(ctx context.Context) error {
+	cfg, err := config.Load(hostSetupConfigPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	ns := cfg.K8s.Namespace
+	if ns == "" || ns == "felis" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	manifest, err := kubectlOutput(ctx,
+		"-n", ns, "create", "secret", "generic", "felis-config",
+		"--from-file=felis.toml="+podSetupConfigPath,
+		"--dry-run=client", "-o", "yaml",
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("render felis-config for %s: %w", ns, err)
+	}
+	if err := kubectlWithInput(ctx, manifest, "-n", ns, "apply", "-f", "-"); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("replicate felis-config to %s: %w", ns, err)
+	}
+	return nil
 }
 
 func installCloudflaredService(ctx context.Context, cloudflaredBin, configPath string) error {
diff --git a/cmd/felis/tui_smtp.go b/cmd/felis/tui_smtp.go
index 62b9fca..e852e70 100644
--- a/cmd/felis/tui_smtp.go
+++ b/cmd/felis/tui_smtp.go
@@ -384,13 +384,13 @@ func applySMTPSecret(ctx context.Context, password string) error {
 }
 
 // replicateSMTPToWorkloadNamespace refreshes the workload-namespace (minecraft)
-// copies of felis-smtp and felis-config after email is reconfigured. The
-// reaper's CronJob runs there and resolves both by local reference — a
-// secretKeyRef is namespace-local, and `felis setup` creates the felis-config
-// replica create-if-absent, so without this refresh a later SMTP change would
-// never reach the pre-reap warning emails. Deliberately OVERWRITES both: these
-// are mirrors of the control-namespace sources, and a stale mirror is exactly
-// the failure this closes.
+// copy of felis-smtp after email is reconfigured. The reaper's CronJob runs
+// there and resolves the password by local reference — a secretKeyRef is
+// namespace-local — so without this refresh a later SMTP change would never
+// reach the pre-reap warning emails. Deliberately OVERWRITES: this is a mirror
+// of the control-namespace source, and a stale mirror is exactly the failure
+// this closes. The felis-config mirror rides along in applyFelisConfigSecret,
+// which every apply path refreshes.
 func replicateSMTPToWorkloadNamespace(ctx context.Context, password string) error {
 	cfg, err := config.Load(hostSetupConfigPath)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -407,16 +407,5 @@ func replicateSMTPToWorkloadNamespace(ctx context.Context, password string) erro
 	if err := kubectlWithInput(ctx, smtpManifest, "-n", ns, "apply", "-f", "-"); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("replicate %s to %s: %w", platform.SMTPSecretName, ns, err)
 	}
-	manifest, err := kubectlOutput(ctx,
-		"-n", ns, "create", "secret", "generic", "felis-config",
-		"--from-file=felis.toml="+podSetupConfigPath,
-		"--dry-run=client", "-o", "yaml",
-	)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("render felis-config for %s: %w", ns, err)
-	}
-	if err := kubectlWithInput(ctx, manifest, "-n", ns, "apply", "-f", "-"); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("replicate felis-config to %s: %w", ns, err)
-	}
 	return nil
 }