diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 903a7ec2..6b78b63a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ The first launch walks you through choosing zoom keys: mouse side buttons, keybo
 - **Keyboard panning:** optional arrow-key binds move the view while zoomed.
 - **Quick zoom:** Ctrl plus a zoom key toggles between 1x and your last level.
 - **Inspect mode:** an optional key freezes the pointer and lets you look around with a crosshair.
-- **Ctrl+Alt+Q** quits Wind from anywhere.
+- **Win+Esc** quits Wind from anywhere (Ctrl+Alt+Q if another program holds Win+Esc).
 
 Bound keys are not passed on to the app you are using. Wind refuses binds that would break normal
 typing or Windows shortcuts and tells you why.
diff --git a/docs/VERIFICATION.md b/docs/VERIFICATION.md
index d5b753d9..94a83588 100644
--- a/docs/VERIFICATION.md
+++ b/docs/VERIFICATION.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Release smoke checklist
 
 Install the build under test, launch Wind from a normal (non-elevated) shell, and work through the
-list. Ctrl+Alt+Q quits cleanly at any time. Settings live in `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Wind\magnifier.ini`.
+list. Win+Esc quits cleanly at any time. Settings live in `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Wind\magnifier.ini`.
 `build.bat installer` already checks the installer's files, generated layout and a silent
 install/uninstall round trip (`tools\installer_check.ps1`).
 
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ install/uninstall round trip (`tools\installer_check.ps1`).
 - [ ] Wheel zoom with the chosen modifiers; plain scrolling is unaffected.
 - [ ] Keyboard panning while zoomed; at 1x the keys reach the app.
 - [ ] Clicks, hover, drag and text selection land under the cursor while zoomed.
-- [ ] Ctrl+Alt+Q and tray Quit both leave the screen at 1x with a visible cursor.
+- [ ] Win+Esc and tray Quit both leave the screen at 1x with a visible cursor.
 
 ## Game (borderless)
 - [ ] Zoom in a game that hides or centre-locks the cursor: the view pans with the mouse.
diff --git a/docs/architecture/06-input.md b/docs/architecture/06-input.md
index 88c604fe..5d1f9549 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/06-input.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/06-input.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ hooks. The code is `src/input/input_router.*`, the `WM_INPUT` handling in `src/c
 | `WH_MOUSE_LL` (`MouseProc`) | Mouse button and click binds, wheel binds, Inspect click interception | The only user-mode way to swallow a mouse event |
 | `WH_KEYBOARD_LL` (`KbProc`) | Keyboard binds: down-state and swallowing | Same for keys; also the authority for bound-key state, since a swallowed key never reaches `GetAsyncKeyState` |
 | Raw Input (`RIDEV_INPUTSINK`, `WM_INPUT` in `WndProc`) | HID mouse deltas for locked and Inspect panning; UP-event safety nets | HID level: unaffected by `ClipCursor`, `SetCursorPos` and `ShowCursor`, and not subject to the hook timeout |
-| `RegisterHotKey` | Hide pointer, hotkey-mode quick zoom, Ctrl+Alt+Q quit | The OS suppresses a registered hotkey from other apps; these are toggles, not held keys |
+| `RegisterHotKey` | Hide pointer, hotkey-mode quick zoom, Win+Esc quit (Ctrl+Alt+Q when Win+Esc is taken) | The OS suppresses a registered hotkey from other apps; these are toggles, not held keys |
 
 **The view must keep moving when a game locks the cursor.** A mouselook game clips or recentres
 the pointer every frame, so `GetCursorPos` deltas read zero. HID mickeys keep arriving, so
diff --git a/src/color/color_matrix.h b/src/color/color_matrix.h
index 0e81279e..27e32283 100644
--- a/src/color/color_matrix.h
+++ b/src/color/color_matrix.h
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ inline bool SameMatrix(const ColorMatrix& a, const ColorMatrix& b) {
 
 // Lowest brightness the dim control reaches: 1% (owner, 2026-09-30: 0 made the screen completely
 // black, so the floor stays just above it; under HDR 1% decodes to ~0.08% light, still readable on an
-// OLED in the dark). Quitting Wind (Ctrl+Alt+Q) always clears the effect; so does a crash.
+// OLED in the dark). Quitting Wind (Win+Esc) always clears the effect; so does a crash.
 inline constexpr double kMinDim01 = 0.01;
 
 // Channel gains for a blackbody colour temperature, in LINEAR light, normalised so 6500 K is white
diff --git a/src/config_ui/main.cpp b/src/config_ui/main.cpp
index adc6220a..cef44c2d 100644
--- a/src/config_ui/main.cpp
+++ b/src/config_ui/main.cpp
@@ -508,7 +508,7 @@ static void HandleWebMessage(ICoreWebView2* wv, const std::wstring& jsonW) {
         ShellExecuteW(nullptr, L"open", L"https://github.com/Maxaubert/Wind", nullptr, nullptr, SW_SHOWNORMAL);
     }
 }
-// Poll for the magnifier's exit (Ctrl+Alt+Q, tray Quit, or a crash) and take this window down with
+// Poll for the magnifier's exit (Win+Esc, tray Quit, or a crash) and take this window down with
 // it: "the config window should not exist if the magnifier is offline". A poll rather than an event
 // because a crash never signals an event, and rather than a process handle wait because that needs
 // OpenProcess against a higher-integrity UIAccess process. <= 1s latency is imperceptible here.
diff --git a/src/core/main.cpp b/src/core/main.cpp
index 0cdcd8e2..f329b172 100644
--- a/src/core/main.cpp
+++ b/src/core/main.cpp
@@ -2999,7 +2999,7 @@ static void RunTick(TickState& t) {
 }
 
 // Message-handler: decodes raw mouse movement (survives cursor lock) and routes tray msgs.
-// Global panic/quit hotkey id (Ctrl+Alt+Q). Quits cleanly from anywhere - even while the
+// Global panic/quit hotkey id (Win+Esc, #499; Ctrl+Alt+Q only as the fallback). Quits cleanly from anywhere - even while the
 // render overlay covers the screen and the OS cursor is hidden - so there's always a
 // keyboard-only escape. The clean exit path restores the cursor and resets zoom to 1x.
 static const int kQuitHotkeyId = 0xB001;
@@ -3366,9 +3366,15 @@ int WINAPI wWinMain(HINSTANCE hInst, HINSTANCE, PWSTR, int) {
     rid[1].dwFlags = RIDEV_INPUTSINK; rid[1].hwndTarget = hwnd;
     RegisterRawInputDevices(rid, 2, sizeof(rid[0]));
 
-    // Safety: global Ctrl+Alt+Q quits cleanly from anywhere (works even with the overlay up
-    // and the cursor hidden). If the combo is already taken, the tray Quit still works.
-    RegisterHotKey(hwnd, kQuitHotkeyId, MOD_CONTROL | MOD_ALT | MOD_NOREPEAT, 'Q');
+    // Safety: global Win+Esc quits cleanly from anywhere (works even with the overlay up and the
+    // cursor hidden); it is Windows Magnifier's own exit shortcut (#499). If another program holds
+    // it (Magnifier running), Ctrl+Alt+Q takes its place; failing both, the tray Quit still works.
+    if (!RegisterHotKey(hwnd, kQuitHotkeyId, MOD_WIN | MOD_NOREPEAT, VK_ESCAPE)) {
+        const DWORD err = GetLastError();
+        const bool fallback = RegisterHotKey(hwnd, kQuitHotkeyId, MOD_CONTROL | MOD_ALT | MOD_NOREPEAT, 'Q') != FALSE;
+        wind::Log(wind::LogLevel::Warn, "core", "quit hotkey Win+Esc taken (err %lu); %s", err,
+                  fallback ? "using Ctrl+Alt+Q" : "Ctrl+Alt+Q taken too, tray Quit only");
+    }
     g_hdrOn.store(PrimaryHdrOn());   // colour filter space (#288), refreshed on WM_DISPLAYCHANGE + 1 Hz while on
     RegisterHideCursorHotkey(hwnd, cfg.hideCursorVk, cfg.hideCursorMods);
     RegisterQuickZoomHotkey(hwnd, (cfg.quickZoomHotkeyMode && cfg.quickZoomVk) ? cfg.quickZoomVk : 0,