diff --git a/apps/worker/src/downloads.ts b/apps/worker/src/downloads.ts
index 134838d30..f290a072c 100644
--- a/apps/worker/src/downloads.ts
+++ b/apps/worker/src/downloads.ts
@@ -122,8 +122,8 @@ export async function capturePdfDownload(options: {
       new Transform({
         transform(chunk: Buffer, _encoding, done) {
           bytes += chunk.length;
-          if (prefix.length < 5)
-            prefix = Buffer.concat([prefix, chunk.subarray(0, 5 - prefix.length)]);
+          if (prefix.length < 1024)
+            prefix = Buffer.concat([prefix, chunk.subarray(0, 1024 - prefix.length)]);
           if (bytes > MAX_DOWNLOAD_BYTES) {
             oversized = true;
             done(new Error("Download too large"));
@@ -132,7 +132,8 @@ export async function capturePdfDownload(options: {
       }),
       createWriteStream(destination, { mode: 0o600, flags: "wx" }),
     );
-    if (prefix.toString("ascii") !== "%PDF-") {
+    // Match the importer's bounded prefix check, without lossy ASCII decoding.
+    if (prefix.indexOf("%PDF-") < 0) {
       outcome.code = "UNSUPPORTED_DOWNLOAD";
       outcome.message = "Only PDF downloads can be imported. This file was not a PDF.";
       throw new Error("Unsupported download");
diff --git a/tests/browser-pdf-prefix.test.ts b/tests/browser-pdf-prefix.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7c96f4a22
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/browser-pdf-prefix.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { mkdtemp, readdir, readFile, rm } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { Readable } from "node:stream";
+import test from "node:test";
+import { capturePdfDownload, readDownloadFailures } from "../apps/worker/src/downloads.ts";
+import { createSamplePdf, inspectPdf } from "../packages/integrations/src/pdf.ts";
+
+test("browser PDF downloads accept the same bounded header prefix as PDF imports", async (t) => {
+  const pdf = await createSamplePdf();
+  for (const prefix of [
+    Buffer.alloc(0),
+    Buffer.from([0xef, 0xbb, 0xbf, 0x0a]),
+    Buffer.alloc(1019, 32),
+  ]) {
+    const directory = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "openmuse-pdf-prefix-"));
+    t.after(() => rm(directory, { recursive: true, force: true }));
+    const bytes = Buffer.concat([prefix, pdf]);
+    assert.equal((await inspectPdf(bytes)).pageCount, 2);
+    await capturePdfDownload({
+      directory,
+      tempDirectory: directory,
+      limitReached: false,
+      download: {
+        suggestedFilename: () => "form.pdf",
+        createReadStream: async () =>
+          Readable.from([
+            bytes.subarray(0, prefix.length + 2),
+            bytes.subarray(prefix.length + 2, prefix.length + 4),
+            bytes.subarray(prefix.length + 4),
+          ]),
+        cancel: async () => {},
+        delete: async () => {},
+      },
+    });
+    assert.deepEqual(await readDownloadFailures(directory), []);
+    const metadataFiles = (await readdir(join(directory, "downloads"))).filter((name) =>
+      name.endsWith(".json"),
+    );
+    assert.equal(metadataFiles.length, 1);
+    const metadata = JSON.parse(
+      await readFile(join(directory, "downloads", metadataFiles[0]), "utf8"),
+    );
+    assert.equal(metadata.name, "form.pdf");
+    assert.equal(metadata.size, bytes.length);
+    assert.deepEqual(await readFile(join(directory, "downloads", `${metadata.id}.pdf`)), bytes);
+  }
+});
+
+test("browser PDF sniffing rejects late markers and non-ASCII lookalikes", async (t) => {
+  for (const bytes of [
+    Buffer.concat([Buffer.alloc(1020, 32), Buffer.from("%PDF-1.7")]),
+    Buffer.from([0xa5, 0xd0, 0xc4, 0xc6, 0xad]),
+    Buffer.from("not a PDF"),
+  ]) {
+    const directory = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "openmuse-pdf-invalid-prefix-"));
+    t.after(() => rm(directory, { recursive: true, force: true }));
+    await capturePdfDownload({
+      directory,
+      tempDirectory: directory,
+      limitReached: false,
+      download: {
+        suggestedFilename: () => "invalid.pdf",
+        createReadStream: async () => Readable.from([bytes]),
+        cancel: async () => {},
+        delete: async () => {},
+      },
+    });
+    assert.equal((await readDownloadFailures(directory))[0]?.code, "UNSUPPORTED_DOWNLOAD");
+    assert.deepEqual(await readdir(join(directory, "downloads")), []);
+  }
+});