diff --git a/test/e2e/spa-preloader-body.test.ts b/test/e2e/spa-preloader-body.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4125e92281
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/e2e/spa-preloader-body.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
+import { isWindows } from 'std-env'
+import { join } from 'pathe'
+import type { Page } from 'playwright-core'
+import { waitForHydration } from '@nuxt/test-utils'
+import { expect, test } from './test-utils'
+
+/**
+ * This test suite verifies that the SPA loading template is correctly rendered
+ * outside the app tag when spaLoadingTemplateLocation is set to 'body'.
+ */
+
+const isWebpack = process.env.TEST_BUILDER === 'webpack' || process.env.TEST_BUILDER === 'rspack'
+const isDev = process.env.TEST_ENV === 'dev'
+
+const fixtureDir = fileURLToPath(new URL('../fixtures/spa-loader', import.meta.url))
+
+// Skip tests in dev mode
+test.skip(isDev, 'These tests are only relevant in production mode')
+
+const loaderHTML = '<div id="__nuxt"></div><div id="__nuxt-loader"><div data-testid="loader">loading...</div></div>'
+
+test.use({
+  nuxt: {
+    rootDir: fixtureDir,
+    server: true,
+    browser: true,
+    setupTimeout: (isWindows ? 360 : 120) * 1000,
+    nuxtConfig: {
+      buildDir: isDev ? join(fixtureDir, '.nuxt', 'test', Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)) : undefined,
+      builder: isWebpack ? 'webpack' : 'vite',
+      spaLoadingTemplate: true,
+      experimental: {
+        spaLoadingTemplateLocation: 'body',
+      },
+    },
+  },
+})
+
+test.describe('spaLoadingTemplateLocation flag is set to `body`', () => {
+  test('should render loader alongside appTag', async ({ request }) => {
+    const response = await request.get('/spa')
+    const html = await response.text()
+
+    expect(html).toContain(loaderHTML)
+  })
+
+  test('should render spa-loader', async ({ page, fetch }) => {
+    expect(await fetch('/spa').then(r => r.text())).toContain(loaderHTML)
+
+    // Navigate to the SPA page
+    await page.goto('/spa')
+
+    // Verify the loader is visible first and content is hidden
+    expect(await getState(page)).toEqual({
+      loader: true,
+      content: false,
+    })
+
+    page.dispatchEvent('html', 'finishHydration')
+    await waitForHydration(page, '/spa', 'hydration')
+
+    expect(await getState(page)).toEqual({
+      loader: false,
+      content: true,
+    })
+  })
+
+  test('should render content without spa-loader for SSR pages', async ({ page, fetch }) => {
+    expect(await fetch('/ssr').then(r => r.text())).not.toContain(loaderHTML)
+
+    // Navigate to SSR page
+    await page.goto('/ssr')
+
+    // Verify the loader is hidden and content is visible for SSR pages
+    expect(await getState(page)).toEqual({
+      loader: false,
+      content: true,
+    })
+  })
+})
+
+// isVisible is preferred here as we want to snapshot the state of the page at a specific moment, since waiting would make this test flake.
+// https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/31273#issuecomment-2731002417
+async function getState (page: Page) {
+  const [loader, content] = await Promise.all([
+    page.getByTestId('loader').isVisible(),
+    page.getByTestId('content').isVisible(),
+  ])
+  const state = {
+    loader,
+    content,
+  }
+  return state
+}
diff --git a/test/e2e/spa-preloader-within.test.ts b/test/e2e/spa-preloader-within.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fae040bf90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/e2e/spa-preloader-within.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
+import { isWindows } from 'std-env'
+import { join } from 'pathe'
+import type { Page } from 'playwright-core'
+import { waitForHydration } from '@nuxt/test-utils'
+import { expect, test } from './test-utils'
+
+/**
+ * This test suite verifies that the SPA loading template is correctly rendered
+ * inside the app tag when spaLoadingTemplateLocation is set to 'within'.
+ */
+
+const isWebpack = process.env.TEST_BUILDER === 'webpack' || process.env.TEST_BUILDER === 'rspack'
+const isDev = process.env.TEST_ENV === 'dev'
+
+const fixtureDir = fileURLToPath(new URL('../fixtures/spa-loader', import.meta.url))
+
+// Skip tests in dev mode
+test.skip(isDev, 'These tests are only relevant in production mode')
+
+const loaderHTML = '<div id="__nuxt"><div data-testid="loader">loading...</div></div>'
+
+test.use({
+  nuxt: {
+    rootDir: fixtureDir,
+    dev: isDev,
+    server: true,
+    browser: true,
+    setupTimeout: (isWindows ? 360 : 120) * 1000,
+    nuxtConfig: {
+      buildDir: isDev ? join(fixtureDir, '.nuxt', 'test', Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)) : undefined,
+      builder: isWebpack ? 'webpack' : 'vite',
+      spaLoadingTemplate: true,
+      experimental: {
+        spaLoadingTemplateLocation: 'within',
+      },
+    },
+  },
+})
+
+test.describe('spaLoadingTemplateLocation flag is set to `within`', () => {
+  test('should render loader inside appTag', async ({ request }) => {
+    const response = await request.get('/spa')
+    const html = await response.text()
+
+    expect(html).toContain(loaderHTML)
+  })
+
+  test('spa-loader does not appear while the app is mounting', async ({ page }) => {
+    // Navigate to the SPA page
+    await page.goto('/spa')
+
+    // wait for intervening (less optimal!) current behaviour
+    await expect(page.getByTestId('loader')).toBeHidden()
+    await expect(page.getByTestId('content')).toBeHidden()
+
+    expect(await getState(page)).toEqual({
+      loader: false,
+      content: false,
+    })
+
+    page.dispatchEvent('html', 'finishHydration')
+    await waitForHydration(page, '/spa', 'hydration')
+
+    // Wait for content to become visible after hydration
+    await expect(page.getByTestId('content')).toBeVisible()
+  })
+
+  test('should render content without spa-loader for SSR pages', async ({ page, fetch }) => {
+    expect(await fetch('/ssr').then(r => r.text())).not.toContain(loaderHTML)
+
+    // Navigate to SSR page
+    await page.goto('/ssr')
+
+    // Verify the loader is hidden and content is visible for SSR pages
+    expect(await getState(page)).toEqual({
+      loader: false,
+      content: true,
+    })
+  })
+})
+
+// isVisible is preferred here as we want to snapshot the state of the page at a specific moment, since waiting that would make this test flake.
+// https://github.com/nuxt/nuxt/pull/31273#issuecomment-2731002417
+async function getState (page: Page) {
+  const [loader, content] = await Promise.all([
+    page.getByTestId('loader').isVisible(),
+    page.getByTestId('content').isVisible(),
+  ])
+  const state = {
+    loader,
+    content,
+  }
+  return state
+}
diff --git a/test/fixtures/spa-loader/app.vue b/test/fixtures/spa-loader/app.vue
index 574b3e6fe0..2196bff703 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/spa-loader/app.vue
+++ b/test/fixtures/spa-loader/app.vue
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 <script setup lang="ts">
 if (import.meta.client) {
-  await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 50))
+  await new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+    document.addEventListener('finishHydration', () => resolve())
+  })
 }
 </script>
 
@@ -9,7 +11,3 @@ if (import.meta.client) {
     app content
   </div>
 </template>
-
-<style scoped>
-
-</style>
diff --git a/test/fixtures/spa-loader/plugins/delay.client.ts b/test/fixtures/spa-loader/plugins/delay.client.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 49529b291c..0000000000
--- a/test/fixtures/spa-loader/plugins/delay.client.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-export default defineNuxtPlugin(async () => {
-  await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 50))
-})
diff --git a/test/spa-loader/spa-preloader-outside-disabled.test.ts b/test/spa-loader/spa-preloader-outside-disabled.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index d733699e48..0000000000
--- a/test/spa-loader/spa-preloader-outside-disabled.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,54 +0,0 @@
-import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
-import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
-import { isWindows } from 'std-env'
-import { $fetch, createPage, setup, url } from '@nuxt/test-utils/e2e'
-import { join } from 'pathe'
-
-const isWebpack =
-  process.env.TEST_BUILDER === 'webpack' ||
-  process.env.TEST_BUILDER === 'rspack'
-
-const isDev = process.env.TEST_ENV === 'dev'
-
-const fixtureDir = fileURLToPath(new URL('../fixtures/spa-loader', import.meta.url))
-
-if (!isDev) {
-  await setup({
-    rootDir: fixtureDir,
-    dev: isDev,
-    server: true,
-    browser: true,
-    setupTimeout: (isWindows ? 360 : 120) * 1000,
-    nuxtConfig: {
-      buildDir: isDev ? join(fixtureDir, '.nuxt', 'test', Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)) : undefined,
-      builder: isWebpack ? 'webpack' : 'vite',
-      spaLoadingTemplate: true,
-      experimental: {
-        spaLoadingTemplateLocation: 'within',
-      },
-    },
-  })
-}
-
-describe.skipIf(isDev)('spaLoadingTemplateLocation flag is set to `within`', () => {
-  it('should render loader inside appTag', async () => {
-    const html = await $fetch<string>('/spa')
-    expect(html).toContain(`<div id="__nuxt"><div data-testid="loader">loading...</div></div>`)
-  })
-
-  it('spa-loader does not appear while the app is mounting', async () => {
-    const page = await createPage()
-    await page.goto(url('/spa'))
-
-    await page.getByTestId('loader').waitFor({ state: 'visible' })
-    expect(await page.getByTestId('content').isHidden()).toBeTruthy()
-
-    await page.waitForFunction(() => window.useNuxtApp?.() && window.useNuxtApp?.().isHydrating)
-
-    expect(await page.getByTestId('content').isHidden()).toBeTruthy()
-
-    await page.getByTestId('content').waitFor({ state: 'visible' })
-
-    await page.close()
-  }, 60_000)
-})
diff --git a/test/spa-loader/spa-preloader-outside-enabled.test.ts b/test/spa-loader/spa-preloader-outside-enabled.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index f381e09332..0000000000
--- a/test/spa-loader/spa-preloader-outside-enabled.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
-import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
-import { isWindows } from 'std-env'
-import { createPage, setup, url } from '@nuxt/test-utils/e2e'
-import type { Page } from 'playwright-core'
-import { join } from 'pathe'
-
-const isWebpack = process.env.TEST_BUILDER === 'webpack' || process.env.TEST_BUILDER === 'rspack'
-const isDev = process.env.TEST_ENV === 'dev'
-
-const fixtureDir = fileURLToPath(new URL('../fixtures/spa-loader', import.meta.url))
-
-if (!isDev) {
-  await setup({
-    rootDir: fixtureDir,
-    server: true,
-    browser: true,
-    setupTimeout: (isWindows ? 360 : 120) * 1000,
-    nuxtConfig: {
-      buildDir: isDev ? join(fixtureDir, '.nuxt', 'test', Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8)) : undefined,
-      builder: isWebpack ? 'webpack' : 'vite',
-      spaLoadingTemplate: true,
-      experimental: {
-        spaLoadingTemplateLocation: 'body',
-      },
-    },
-  })
-}
-
-describe.skipIf(isDev)('spaLoadingTemplateLocation flag is set to `body`', () => {
-  it('should render spa-loader', async () => {
-    const page = await createPage()
-    await page.goto(url('/spa'), { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' })
-
-    await page.getByTestId('loader').waitFor({ state: 'visible' })
-    expect(await page.getByTestId('content').isHidden()).toBeTruthy()
-
-    await page.getByTestId('content').waitFor({ state: 'visible' })
-    expect(await page.getByTestId('loader').isHidden()).toBeTruthy()
-
-    await page.close()
-  }, 60_000)
-
-  it('should render content without spa-loader', async () => {
-    const page = await createPage()
-    await page.goto(url('/ssr'), { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' })
-
-    const [loaderIsHidden, contentIsHidden] = await getState(page)
-
-    expect(loaderIsHidden).toBeTruthy()
-    expect(contentIsHidden).toBeFalsy()
-
-    await page.close()
-  }, 60_000)
-})
-
-function getState (page: Page) {
-  const loader = page.getByTestId('loader')
-  const content = page.getByTestId('content')
-
-  return Promise.all([
-    loader.isHidden(),
-    content.isHidden(),
-  ])
-}