diff --git a/.ds.baseline b/.ds.baseline
index dde326a7c..485ff9443 100644
--- a/.ds.baseline
+++ b/.ds.baseline
@@ -629,10 +629,10 @@
         "filename": "tests/conftest.py",
         "hashed_secret": "f8377c90fcfd699f0ddbdcb30c2c9183d2d933ea",
         "is_verified": false,
-        "line_number": 3267,
+        "line_number": 3279,
         "is_secret": false
       }
     ]
   },
-  "generated_at": "2025-07-31T21:07:14Z"
+  "generated_at": "2025-08-07T18:05:06Z"
 }
diff --git a/.github/workflows/checks.yml b/.github/workflows/checks.yml
index b4ece1215..3d13cf505 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/checks.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/checks.yml
@@ -101,7 +101,8 @@ jobs:
         # above make e2e-test
 
         run: |
-          make run-flask-and-wait > admin-server.log 2>&1 &
+          make run-flask > admin-server.log 2>&1 &
+          make wait-for-flask
           tail -f admin-server.log &
           make e2e-test
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 7d52529ea..9de9b6492 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -44,6 +44,12 @@ watch-frontend:  ## Build frontend and watch for changes
 run-flask:  ## Run flask
 	poetry run newrelic-admin run-program flask run -p 6012 --host=0.0.0.0
 
+.PHONY: wait-for-flask
+wait-for-flask:
+	@echo "Waiting for Flask to start..."
+	@timeout 30 bash -c 'until curl -sf http://localhost:6012 > /dev/null 2>&1; do sleep 1; done'
+	@echo "Flask is ready!"
+
 .PHONY: run-flask-and-wait
 run-flask-and-wait:
 	@make run-flask &
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index cba945a42..2174cc4b7 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -556,6 +556,18 @@ def mock_update_service_raise_httperror_duplicate_name(mocker):
     return mocker.patch("app.service_api_client.update_service", side_effect=_update)
 
 
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _disable_e2e_mode_for_unit_tests(monkeypatch, request):
+    """
+    Disable E2E test mode for all unit tests to prevent unmocked API calls.
+    E2E tests are run in a separate job and should not interfere with unit tests.
+    """
+    # Only disable if unit tests are not being run
+    if "end_to_end" not in request.node.nodeid:
+        monkeypatch.delenv("NOTIFY_E2E_TEST_EMAIL", raising=False)
+        monkeypatch.delenv("NOTIFY_E2E_TEST_PASSWORD", raising=False)
+
+
 SERVICE_ONE_ID = "596364a0-858e-42c8-9062-a8fe822260eb"
 SERVICE_TWO_ID = "147ad62a-2951-4fa1-9ca0-093cd1a52c52"
 ORGANISATION_ID = "c011fa40-4cbe-4524-b415-dde2f421bd9c"