diff --git a/Docs/Tasks.md b/Docs/Tasks.md
index 355889f..3bf0ed0 100644
--- a/Docs/Tasks.md
+++ b/Docs/Tasks.md
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ Reference: `Docs/Refactoring.md` for full analysis of each issue.
 
 ---
 
-### Task 12 — Standardise error handling in frontend hooks
+### Task 12 — Standardise error handling in frontend hooks (✅ completed)
 
 **Priority**: Low  
 **Refactoring ref**: Refactoring.md §9  
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useBanTrend.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useBanTrend.ts
index cc5d2bd..2e45660 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useBanTrend.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useBanTrend.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { fetchBanTrend } from "../api/dashboard";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import type { BanTrendBucket, BanOriginFilter, TimeRange } from "../types/ban";
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -65,7 +66,7 @@ export function useBanTrend(
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
         if (controller.signal.aborted) return;
-        setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to fetch trend data");
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch trend data");
       })
       .finally(() => {
         if (!controller.signal.aborted) {
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useBans.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useBans.ts
index c3a979f..9e36f45 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useBans.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useBans.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { fetchBans } from "../api/dashboard";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import type { DashboardBanItem, TimeRange, BanOriginFilter } from "../types/ban";
 
 /** Items per page for the ban table. */
@@ -63,7 +64,7 @@ export function useBans(
       setBanItems(data.items);
       setTotal(data.total);
     } catch (err: unknown) {
-      setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to fetch data");
+      handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch bans");
     } finally {
       setLoading(false);
     }
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useBlocklist.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useBlocklist.ts
index 11a61c9..f539f54 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useBlocklist.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useBlocklist.ts
@@ -14,12 +14,14 @@ import {
   updateBlocklist,
   updateSchedule,
 } from "../api/blocklist";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import type {
   BlocklistSource,
   BlocklistSourceCreate,
   BlocklistSourceUpdate,
   ImportLogListResponse,
   ImportRunResult,
+  PreviewResponse,
   ScheduleConfig,
   ScheduleInfo,
 } from "../types/blocklist";
@@ -65,7 +67,7 @@ export function useBlocklists(): UseBlocklistsReturn {
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
         if (!ctrl.signal.aborted) {
-          setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to load blocklists");
+          handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to load blocklists");
           setLoading(false);
         }
       });
@@ -144,7 +146,7 @@ export function useSchedule(): UseScheduleReturn {
         setLoading(false);
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
-        setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to load schedule");
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to load schedule");
         setLoading(false);
       });
   }, []);
@@ -200,7 +202,7 @@ export function useImportLog(
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
         if (!ctrl.signal.aborted) {
-          setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to load import log");
+          handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to load import log");
           setLoading(false);
         }
       });
@@ -242,7 +244,7 @@ export function useRunImport(): UseRunImportReturn {
       const result = await runImportNow();
       setLastResult(result);
     } catch (err: unknown) {
-      setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Import failed");
+      handleFetchError(err, setError, "Import failed");
     } finally {
       setRunning(false);
     }
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useConfig.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useConfig.ts
index c27b148..f1fa12e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useConfig.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useConfig.ts
@@ -12,11 +12,13 @@ import {
   flushLogs,
   previewLog,
   reloadConfig,
+  restartFail2Ban,
   testRegex,
   updateGlobalConfig,
   updateJailConfig,
   updateServerSettings,
 } from "../api/config";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import type {
   AddLogPathRequest,
   GlobalConfig,
@@ -65,9 +67,7 @@ export function useJailConfigs(): UseJailConfigsResult {
         setTotal(resp.total);
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
-        if (err instanceof Error && err.name !== "AbortError") {
-          setError(err.message);
-        }
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch jail configs");
       })
       .finally(() => {
         setLoading(false);
@@ -128,9 +128,7 @@ export function useJailConfigDetail(name: string): UseJailConfigDetailResult {
         setJail(resp.jail);
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
-        if (err instanceof Error && err.name !== "AbortError") {
-          setError(err.message);
-        }
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch jail config");
       })
       .finally(() => {
         setLoading(false);
@@ -191,9 +189,7 @@ export function useGlobalConfig(): UseGlobalConfigResult {
     fetchGlobalConfig()
       .then(setConfig)
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
-        if (err instanceof Error && err.name !== "AbortError") {
-          setError(err.message);
-        }
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch global config");
       })
       .finally(() => {
         setLoading(false);
@@ -251,9 +247,7 @@ export function useServerSettings(): UseServerSettingsResult {
         setSettings(resp.settings);
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
-        if (err instanceof Error && err.name !== "AbortError") {
-          setError(err.message);
-        }
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch server settings");
       })
       .finally(() => {
         setLoading(false);
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useConfigActiveStatus.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useConfigActiveStatus.ts
index d7f091f..43763fe 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useConfigActiveStatus.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useConfigActiveStatus.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { fetchJails } from "../api/jails";
 import { fetchJailConfigs } from "../api/config";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import type { JailConfig } from "../types/config";
 import type { JailSummary } from "../types/jail";
 
@@ -110,7 +111,7 @@ export function useConfigActiveStatus(): UseConfigActiveStatusResult {
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
         if (ctrl.signal.aborted) return;
-        setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to load status.");
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to load active status.");
         setLoading(false);
       });
   }, []);
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useConfigItem.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useConfigItem.ts
index bf537cb..2f7700d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useConfigItem.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useConfigItem.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
  * Generic config hook for loading and saving a single entity.
  */
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 
 export interface UseConfigItemResult<T, U> {
   data: T | null;
@@ -46,7 +47,7 @@ export function useConfigItem<T, U>(
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
         if (controller.signal.aborted) return;
-        setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to load data");
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to load data");
         setLoading(false);
       });
   }, [fetchFn]);
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useDashboardCountryData.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useDashboardCountryData.ts
index bcdbca6..250fcff 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useDashboardCountryData.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useDashboardCountryData.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { fetchBansByCountry } from "../api/map";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import type { DashboardBanItem, BanOriginFilter, TimeRange } from "../types/ban";
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -77,7 +78,7 @@ export function useDashboardCountryData(
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
         if (controller.signal.aborted) return;
-        setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to fetch data");
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch dashboard country data");
       })
       .finally(() => {
         if (!controller.signal.aborted) {
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useHistory.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useHistory.ts
index 8d03f9a..dff104c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useHistory.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useHistory.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { fetchHistory, fetchIpHistory } from "../api/history";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import type {
   HistoryBanItem,
   HistoryQuery,
@@ -44,9 +45,7 @@ export function useHistory(query: HistoryQuery = {}): UseHistoryResult {
         setTotal(resp.total);
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
-        if (err instanceof Error && err.name !== "AbortError") {
-          setError(err.message);
-        }
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch history");
       })
       .finally((): void => {
         setLoading(false);
@@ -91,9 +90,7 @@ export function useIpHistory(ip: string): UseIpHistoryResult {
         setDetail(resp);
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
-        if (err instanceof Error && err.name !== "AbortError") {
-          setError(err.message);
-        }
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch IP history");
       })
       .finally((): void => {
         setLoading(false);
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useJailDistribution.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useJailDistribution.ts
index bd1db4f..ef52a8c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useJailDistribution.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useJailDistribution.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { fetchBansByJail } from "../api/dashboard";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import type { BanOriginFilter, JailBanCount, TimeRange } from "../types/ban";
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -65,9 +66,7 @@ export function useJailDistribution(
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
         if (controller.signal.aborted) return;
-        setError(
-          err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to fetch jail distribution",
-        );
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch jail distribution");
       })
       .finally(() => {
         if (!controller.signal.aborted) {
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useJails.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useJails.ts
index f985213..cb23962 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useJails.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useJails.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
  */
 
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import {
   addIgnoreIp,
   banIp,
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ export function useJails(): UseJailsResult {
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
         if (!ctrl.signal.aborted) {
-          setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err));
+          handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to load jails");
         }
       })
       .finally(() => {
@@ -195,7 +196,7 @@ export function useJailDetail(name: string): UseJailDetailResult {
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
         if (!ctrl.signal.aborted) {
-          setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err));
+          handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch jail detail");
         }
       })
       .finally(() => {
@@ -309,7 +310,7 @@ export function useJailBannedIps(jailName: string): UseJailBannedIpsResult {
       setItems(resp.items);
       setTotal(resp.total);
     } catch (err: unknown) {
-      setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err));
+      handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch jailed IPs");
     } finally {
       setLoading(false);
     }
@@ -415,7 +416,7 @@ export function useActiveBans(): UseActiveBansResult {
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
         if (!ctrl.signal.aborted) {
-          setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err));
+          handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch active bans");
         }
       })
       .finally(() => {
@@ -496,7 +497,7 @@ export function useIpLookup(): UseIpLookupResult {
         setResult(res);
       })
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
-        setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err));
+        handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to lookup IP");
       })
       .finally(() => {
         setLoading(false);
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useMapColorThresholds.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useMapColorThresholds.ts
index 8b73e48..79b46d7 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useMapColorThresholds.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useMapColorThresholds.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";
 import { fetchMapColorThresholds, updateMapColorThresholds } from "../api/config";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import type {
   MapColorThresholdsResponse,
   MapColorThresholdsUpdate,
@@ -26,7 +27,7 @@ export function useMapColorThresholds(): UseMapColorThresholdsResult {
       const data = await fetchMapColorThresholds();
       setThresholds(data);
     } catch (err: unknown) {
-      setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to fetch map color thresholds");
+      handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch map color thresholds");
     } finally {
       setLoading(false);
     }
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useMapData.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useMapData.ts
index a5d63e2..cae4c59 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useMapData.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useMapData.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { fetchBansByCountry } from "../api/map";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import type { BansByCountryResponse, MapBanItem, TimeRange } from "../types/map";
 import type { BanOriginFilter } from "../types/ban";
 
@@ -68,9 +69,7 @@ export function useMapData(
           setData(resp);
         })
         .catch((err: unknown) => {
-          if (err instanceof Error && err.name !== "AbortError") {
-            setError(err.message);
-          }
+          handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch map data");
         })
         .finally((): void => {
           setLoading(false);
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useServerStatus.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useServerStatus.ts
index f4a37fd..826ccf9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useServerStatus.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useServerStatus.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { fetchServerStatus } from "../api/dashboard";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import type { ServerStatus } from "../types/server";
 
 /** How often to poll the status endpoint (milliseconds). */
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ export function useServerStatus(): UseServerStatusResult {
       setBanguiVersion(data.bangui_version);
       setError(null);
     } catch (err: unknown) {
-      setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to fetch server status");
+      handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch server status");
     } finally {
       setLoading(false);
     }
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useSetup.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useSetup.ts
index 9b5c660..db06968 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useSetup.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useSetup.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";
 import { ApiError } from "../api/client";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 import { getSetupStatus, submitSetup } from "../api/setup";
 import type {
   SetupRequest,
@@ -44,9 +45,11 @@ export function useSetup(): UseSetupResult {
       const resp = await getSetupStatus();
       setStatus(resp);
     } catch (err: unknown) {
-      const errorMessage = err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to fetch setup status";
-      console.warn("Setup status check failed:", errorMessage);
-      setError(errorMessage);
+      const fallback = "Failed to fetch setup status";
+      handleFetchError(err, setError, fallback);
+      if (!(err instanceof DOMException && err.name === "AbortError")) {
+        console.warn("Setup status check failed:", err instanceof Error ? err.message : fallback);
+      }
     } finally {
       setLoading(false);
     }
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useTimezoneData.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useTimezoneData.ts
index 6f919a9..dbfa69f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useTimezoneData.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useTimezoneData.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";
 import { fetchTimezone } from "../api/setup";
+import { handleFetchError } from "../utils/fetchError";
 
 export interface UseTimezoneDataResult {
   timezone: string;
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ export function useTimezoneData(): UseTimezoneDataResult {
       const resp = await fetchTimezone();
       setTimezone(resp.timezone);
     } catch (err: unknown) {
-      setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to fetch timezone");
+      handleFetchError(err, setError, "Failed to fetch timezone");
       setTimezone("UTC");
     } finally {
       setLoading(false);
diff --git a/frontend/src/utils/fetchError.ts b/frontend/src/utils/fetchError.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7cee108
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/utils/fetchError.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+/**
+ * Normalize fetch error handling across hooks.
+ */
+export function handleFetchError(
+  err: unknown,
+  setError: (value: string | null) => void,
+  fallback: string = "Unknown error",
+): void {
+  if (err instanceof DOMException && err.name === "AbortError") {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : fallback);
+}