diff --git a/v3/pkg/application/application_linux.go b/v3/pkg/application/application_linux.go
index db707e9e834..e986fe979de 100644
--- a/v3/pkg/application/application_linux.go
+++ b/v3/pkg/application/application_linux.go
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 
-	"github.com/godbus/dbus/v5"
 	"github.com/wailsapp/wails/v3/internal/operatingsystem"
 	"github.com/wailsapp/wails/v3/pkg/events"
 )
@@ -70,8 +69,6 @@ type linuxApp struct {
 	windowMap     map[windowPointer]uint
 	windowMapLock sync.Mutex
 
-	theme string
-
 	icon pointer
 }
 
@@ -93,8 +90,9 @@ func (a *linuxApp) run() error {
 		}
 	})
 	a.setupCommonEvents()
-	// Theme changes are already monitored by listenForSystemThemeChanges via init();
-	// it uses the portal-standard org.freedesktop.appearance namespace.
+	// Started here, not from init(): init() is not part of the platformApp
+	// interface and nothing calls it, so a monitor started there never runs.
+	a.monitorThemeChanges()
 	a.monitorPowerEvents()
 	return appRun(a.application)
 }
@@ -154,41 +152,6 @@ func (a *linuxApp) init(_ *App, options Options) {
 	if options.Icon != nil {
 		a.setIcon(options.Icon)
 	}
-
-	go listenForSystemThemeChanges(a)
-}
-
-func listenForSystemThemeChanges(a *linuxApp) {
-	conn, err := dbus.SessionBus()
-	if err != nil {
-		a.parent.error("failed to connect to session bus: %v", err)
-		return
-	}
-
-	if err = conn.AddMatchSignal(
-		dbus.WithMatchInterface("org.freedesktop.portal.Settings"),
-		dbus.WithMatchMember("SettingChanged"),
-	); err != nil {
-		return
-	}
-
-	c := make(chan *dbus.Signal, 10)
-	conn.Signal(c)
-
-	for s := range c {
-		if len(s.Body) < 3 {
-			continue
-		}
-		namespace, ok := s.Body[0].(string)
-		if !ok || namespace != "org.freedesktop.appearance" {
-			continue
-		}
-		key, ok := s.Body[1].(string)
-		if !ok || key != "color-scheme" {
-			continue
-		}
-		processApplicationEvent(C.uint(events.Linux.SystemThemeChanged), nil)
-	}
 }
 
 func (a *linuxApp) registerWindow(window pointer, id uint) {
@@ -279,35 +242,6 @@ func getIconBytes(iconName string) ([]byte, error) {
 	return nil, fmt.Errorf("icon lookup is not currently implemented for the GTK4 build path; build with -tags gtk3 for the legacy implementation")
 }
 
-func (a *linuxApp) isDarkMode() bool {
-	conn, err := dbus.SessionBus()
-	if err != nil {
-		return false
-	}
-
-	obj := conn.Object("org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop", "/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop")
-	call := obj.Call("org.freedesktop.portal.Settings.Read", 0, "org.freedesktop.appearance", "color-scheme")
-	if call.Err != nil {
-		return false
-	}
-
-	var result dbus.Variant
-	if err := call.Store(&result); err != nil {
-		return false
-	}
-
-	innerVariant, ok := result.Value().(dbus.Variant)
-	if !ok {
-		return false
-	}
-	colorScheme, ok := innerVariant.Value().(uint32)
-	if !ok {
-		return false
-	}
-
-	return colorScheme == 1
-}
-
 func (a *linuxApp) getAccentColor() string {
 	return "rgb(0,122,255)"
 }
diff --git a/v3/pkg/application/application_linux_dbus.go b/v3/pkg/application/application_linux_dbus.go
index 04f02d671f0..bba2c82169f 100644
--- a/v3/pkg/application/application_linux_dbus.go
+++ b/v3/pkg/application/application_linux_dbus.go
@@ -7,6 +7,84 @@ import (
 	"github.com/wailsapp/wails/v3/pkg/events"
 )
 
+const (
+	portalBusName       = "org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop"
+	portalObjectPath    = "/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop"
+	portalSettingsIface = "org.freedesktop.portal.Settings"
+
+	// appearanceNamespace is the standardised namespace every portal
+	// implementation publishes; it is the only one read or watched. GNOME also
+	// mirrors the preference under org.gnome.desktop.interface as a string, but
+	// honouring that in the signal filter alone would be inert: the handler
+	// resolves through portalColorScheme, which speaks only this namespace.
+	appearanceNamespace = "org.freedesktop.appearance"
+	colorSchemeKey      = "color-scheme"
+
+	colorSchemePreferDark = 1
+)
+
+// isDarkMode reports the desktop colour-scheme preference, read from the
+// freedesktop Settings portal on every call.
+//
+// Read on demand rather than served from state maintained by
+// monitorThemeChanges: that monitor is started per backend, so any cache it
+// owns is only as correct as its startup wiring, and a cache fed from
+// SettingChanged payloads reports light on every desktop until the first signal
+// arrives. An on-demand read is right whether or not the monitor is running.
+// Callers that need this on a hot path should cache it themselves.
+func (a *linuxApp) isDarkMode() bool {
+	scheme, ok := portalColorScheme()
+	return ok && scheme == colorSchemePreferDark
+}
+
+// portalColorScheme reads org.freedesktop.appearance color-scheme: 0 is no
+// preference, 1 prefers dark, 2 prefers light. ok is false when the portal is
+// unreachable or the value is not the documented type.
+func portalColorScheme() (uint32, bool) {
+	conn, err := dbus.SessionBus()
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, false
+	}
+
+	obj := conn.Object(portalBusName, portalObjectPath)
+	call := obj.Call(portalSettingsIface+".Read", 0, appearanceNamespace, colorSchemeKey)
+	if call.Err != nil {
+		return 0, false
+	}
+
+	var outer dbus.Variant
+	if err := call.Store(&outer); err != nil {
+		return 0, false
+	}
+	// Portal v1 Read double-wraps the value; other implementations, and ReadOne,
+	// return it singly wrapped. Accept both, because rejecting one shape here
+	// silently reports light -- the failure this whole path exists to remove.
+	if inner, ok := outer.Value().(dbus.Variant); ok {
+		scheme, ok := inner.Value().(uint32)
+		return scheme, ok
+	}
+	scheme, ok := outer.Value().(uint32)
+	return scheme, ok
+}
+
+// isColorSchemeChange reports whether a signal is a colour-scheme
+// SettingChanged in the standardised appearance namespace.
+func isColorSchemeChange(sig *dbus.Signal) bool {
+	if sig.Name != portalSettingsIface+".SettingChanged" {
+		return false
+	}
+	if len(sig.Body) < 2 {
+		return false
+	}
+	namespace, _ := sig.Body[0].(string)
+	key, _ := sig.Body[1].(string)
+	return namespace == appearanceNamespace && key == colorSchemeKey
+}
+
+// monitorThemeChanges emits Linux.SystemThemeChanged when the desktop colour
+// scheme changes. The portal is re-read rather than the signal payload trusted,
+// so the emitted value always agrees with isDarkMode regardless of which
+// namespace fired and what type it carried.
 func (a *linuxApp) monitorThemeChanges() {
 	go func() {
 		defer handlePanic()
@@ -21,7 +99,10 @@ func (a *linuxApp) monitorThemeChanges() {
 		defer conn.Close()
 
 		if err = conn.AddMatchSignal(
-			dbus.WithMatchObjectPath("/org/freedesktop/portal/desktop"),
+			dbus.WithMatchSender(portalBusName),
+			dbus.WithMatchObjectPath(portalObjectPath),
+			dbus.WithMatchInterface(portalSettingsIface),
+			dbus.WithMatchMember("SettingChanged"),
 		); err != nil {
 			a.parent.warning(
 				"[WARNING] Failed to subscribe to portal SettingChanged; theme changes will not fire: %v",
@@ -33,40 +114,20 @@ func (a *linuxApp) monitorThemeChanges() {
 		c := make(chan *dbus.Signal, 10)
 		conn.Signal(c)
 
-		getTheme := func(body []interface{}) (string, bool) {
-			if len(body) < 3 {
-				return "", false
-			}
-			if entry, ok := body[0].(string); !ok || entry != "org.gnome.desktop.interface" {
-				return "", false
-			}
-			if entry, ok := body[1].(string); !ok || entry != "color-scheme" {
-				return "", false
-			}
-			variant, ok := body[2].(dbus.Variant)
-			if !ok {
-				return "", false
-			}
-			value, ok := variant.Value().(string)
-			if !ok {
-				return "", false
-			}
-			return value, true
-		}
-
+		last := a.isDarkMode()
 		for v := range c {
-			theme, ok := getTheme(v.Body)
-			if !ok {
+			if !isColorSchemeChange(v) {
 				continue
 			}
-
-			if theme != a.theme {
-				a.theme = theme
-				event := newApplicationEvent(events.Linux.SystemThemeChanged)
-				event.Context().setIsDarkMode(a.isDarkMode())
-				applicationEvents <- event
+			dark := a.isDarkMode()
+			if dark == last {
+				continue
 			}
+			last = dark
 
+			event := newApplicationEvent(events.Linux.SystemThemeChanged)
+			event.Context().setIsDarkMode(dark)
+			applicationEvents <- event
 		}
 	}()
 }
diff --git a/v3/pkg/application/application_linux_gtk3.go b/v3/pkg/application/application_linux_gtk3.go
index e61fd53261f..db9b91b1791 100644
--- a/v3/pkg/application/application_linux_gtk3.go
+++ b/v3/pkg/application/application_linux_gtk3.go
@@ -87,8 +87,6 @@ type linuxApp struct {
 	windowMap     map[windowPointer]uint
 	windowMapLock sync.Mutex
 
-	theme string
-
 	icon pointer
 }
 
@@ -216,10 +214,6 @@ func (a *linuxApp) registerWindow(window pointer, id uint) {
 	a.windowMapLock.Unlock()
 }
 
-func (a *linuxApp) isDarkMode() bool {
-	return strings.Contains(a.theme, "dark")
-}
-
 func (a *linuxApp) getAccentColor() string {
 	// Linux doesn't have a unified system accent color API
 	// Return a default blue color
diff --git a/v3/pkg/application/linux_cgo.go b/v3/pkg/application/linux_cgo.go
index 9270d549c32..e7db4fc6c39 100644
--- a/v3/pkg/application/linux_cgo.go
+++ b/v3/pkg/application/linux_cgo.go
@@ -118,12 +118,6 @@ func activateLinux(data pointer) {
 //export processApplicationEvent
 func processApplicationEvent(eventID C.uint, data pointer) {
 	event := newApplicationEvent(events.ApplicationEventType(eventID))
-
-	switch event.Id {
-	case uint(events.Linux.SystemThemeChanged):
-		isDark := globalApplication.Env.IsDarkMode()
-		event.Context().setIsDarkMode(isDark)
-	}
 	applicationEvents <- event
 }
 
diff --git a/v3/pkg/application/linux_cgo_gtk3.go b/v3/pkg/application/linux_cgo_gtk3.go
index f71f6fe1a72..a40ed6f7b76 100644
--- a/v3/pkg/application/linux_cgo_gtk3.go
+++ b/v3/pkg/application/linux_cgo_gtk3.go
@@ -598,11 +598,6 @@ func processApplicationEvent(eventID C.uint, data pointer) {
 	//	}
 	//}
 
-	switch event.Id {
-	case uint(events.Linux.SystemThemeChanged):
-		isDark := globalApplication.Env.IsDarkMode()
-		event.Context().setIsDarkMode(isDark)
-	}
 	applicationEvents <- event
 }