diff --git a/packages/e2e-react/README.md b/packages/e2e-react/README.md
index 181d94ad92..355a8f983b 100644
--- a/packages/e2e-react/README.md
+++ b/packages/e2e-react/README.md
@@ -1 +1,51 @@
-# E2E EmbeddedChat setup
+# E2E EmbeddedChat Tests
+
+End-to-end tests using Playwright for the EmbeddedChat React package. Tests focus on UI stability and deterministic flows without external service dependencies.
+
+## Setup
+
+### Install system dependencies (Linux)
+```bash
+sudo yarn playwright install-deps
+```
+
+### Install Playwright browsers
+```bash
+cd packages/e2e-react
+npx playwright install chromium
+```
+
+## Run Tests
+
+### Local
+```bash
+yarn workspace e2e-react test
+```
+
+### Watch mode
+```bash
+yarn workspace e2e-react test --watch
+```
+
+### Debug UI
+```bash
+yarn workspace e2e-react test --debug
+```
+
+### View HTML report
+```bash
+yarn workspace e2e-react show-report
+```
+
+## Test Coverage
+
+- **renders unauthenticated chat state** — Verifies EmbeddedChat loads with login prompt
+- **opens login modal from join button** — Ensures JOIN button opens password auth modal
+- **shows required field validation for empty login submit** — Tests form validation without auth service
+
+## Configuration
+
+- Base URL: `http://127.0.0.1:5173` (dev server)
+- Host (RC server): Configurable via `VITE_RC_HOST` env var, defaults to `http://127.0.0.1:3000`
+- CI retries: 2 (enabled on CI only)
+- Failure artifacts: Screenshots + traces automatically collected
diff --git a/packages/e2e-react/playwright.config.ts b/packages/e2e-react/playwright.config.ts
index a91deee96a..25f339254f 100644
--- a/packages/e2e-react/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/packages/e2e-react/playwright.config.ts
@@ -20,14 +20,17 @@ export default defineConfig({
   /* Opt out of parallel tests on CI. */
   workers: process.env.CI ? 1 : undefined,
   /* Reporter to use. See https://playwright.dev/docs/test-reporters */
-  reporter: 'html',
+  reporter: process.env.CI
+    ? [['github'], ['html', { open: 'never' }]]
+    : [['list'], ['html', { open: 'never' }]],
   /* Shared settings for all the projects below. See https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-testoptions. */
   use: {
     /* Base URL to use in actions like `await page.goto('/')`. */
     baseURL: 'http://127.0.0.1:5173',
 
     /* Collect trace when retrying the failed test. See https://playwright.dev/docs/trace-viewer */
-    trace: 'on-first-retry',
+    trace: 'retain-on-failure',
+    screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
   },
 
   /* Configure projects for major browsers */
diff --git a/packages/e2e-react/src/App.tsx b/packages/e2e-react/src/App.tsx
index d0f16785a3..bfe088fbd0 100644
--- a/packages/e2e-react/src/App.tsx
+++ b/packages/e2e-react/src/App.tsx
@@ -2,9 +2,11 @@
 import { EmbeddedChat } from "@embeddedchat/react";
 
 function App() {
+  const host = import.meta.env.VITE_RC_HOST || "http://127.0.0.1:3000";
+
   return (
     <EmbeddedChat
-      host="https://demo.qa.rocket.chat/"
+      host={host}
       roomId="66ccc4f1e050428c76256939"
     />
   );
diff --git a/packages/e2e-react/src/vite-env.d.ts b/packages/e2e-react/src/vite-env.d.ts
index 11f02fe2a0..15758147fa 100644
--- a/packages/e2e-react/src/vite-env.d.ts
+++ b/packages/e2e-react/src/vite-env.d.ts
@@ -1 +1,9 @@
 /// <reference types="vite/client" />
+
+interface ImportMetaEnv {
+	readonly VITE_RC_HOST?: string;
+}
+
+interface ImportMeta {
+	readonly env: ImportMetaEnv;
+}
diff --git a/packages/e2e-react/tests/example.spec.ts b/packages/e2e-react/tests/example.spec.ts
index 1189f4442a..9bbdc1cf20 100644
--- a/packages/e2e-react/tests/example.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/e2e-react/tests/example.spec.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,27 @@
 import { test, expect } from "@playwright/test";
 
-test("EmbeddedChat should render", async ({ page }) => {
+test.beforeEach(async ({ page }) => {
   await page.goto("/");
+});
+
+test("renders unauthenticated chat state", async ({ page }) => {
   await expect(page.locator(".ec-embedded-chat")).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(page.getByRole("heading", { name: "Login to chat" })).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(page.getByRole("button", { name: "JOIN" })).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(page.getByPlaceholder("Sign in to chat")).toBeDisabled();
 });
 
-test("EmbeddedChat has a title", async ({ page }) => {
-  await page.goto("/");
-  await expect(page.locator(".ec-chat-header--channelName")).toHaveText(
-    "Login to chat"
-  );
+test("opens login modal from join button", async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.getByRole("button", { name: "JOIN" }).click();
+
+  await expect(page.getByRole("heading", { name: "Login" })).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(page.getByText("Email or username")).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(page.getByText("Password")).toBeVisible();
+});
+
+test("shows required field validation for empty login submit", async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.getByRole("button", { name: "JOIN" }).click();
+  await page.getByRole("dialog").getByRole("button", { name: "Login" }).click();
+
+  await expect(page.getByText("This field is required")).toHaveCount(2);
 });
diff --git a/packages/react/src/views/LoginForm/LoginForm.js b/packages/react/src/views/LoginForm/LoginForm.js
index 1285e5e1eb..53a8001315 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/views/LoginForm/LoginForm.js
+++ b/packages/react/src/views/LoginForm/LoginForm.js
@@ -41,8 +41,14 @@ export default function LoginForm() {
   }, [userOrEmail, password]);
 
   const handleSubmit = () => {
-    if (!userOrEmail) setUserOrEmail('');
-    if (!password) setPassword('');
+    if (!userOrEmail) {
+      setUserOrEmail('');
+      return;
+    }
+    if (!password) {
+      setPassword('');
+      return;
+    }
     handleLogin(userOrEmail, password);
   };
   const handleClose = () => {