diff --git a/crates/history/Cargo.toml b/crates/history/Cargo.toml
index edc5e397..f5dae048 100644
--- a/crates/history/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/history/Cargo.toml
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ wasm-bindgen = "0.2.114"
 
 [dependencies.web-sys]
 version = "0.3"
-features = ["History", "Window", "Location", "Url"]
+features = ["console", "History", "Window", "Location", "Url"]
 
 [target.'cfg(target_arch = "wasm32")'.dependencies]
 getrandom = { version = "0.2.17", features = ["js"] }
diff --git a/crates/history/src/hash.rs b/crates/history/src/hash.rs
index 94e95fad..e1e6ceb8 100644
--- a/crates/history/src/hash.rs
+++ b/crates/history/src/hash.rs
@@ -16,7 +16,16 @@ use crate::{error::HistoryResult, query::ToQuery};
 ///
 /// # Panics
 ///
-/// HashHistory does not support relative paths and will panic if routes are not starting with `/`.
+/// The `push` and `replace` family of methods do not support relative paths
+/// and will panic if the provided route does not start with `/`.
+///
+/// # Hash Normalization
+///
+/// If the URL hash is manually edited by the user to a value that does not
+/// start with `#/`, calling `location()` will **not** panic. Instead, it will:
+/// 1. Log a warning to the browser console.
+/// 2. Normalize the hash by prepending `/` if missing.
+/// 3. Silently correct the URL in the address bar via `replaceState`.
 #[derive(Clone, PartialEq)]
 pub struct HashHistory {
     inner: BrowserHistory,
@@ -195,19 +204,29 @@ impl History for HashHistory {
 
     fn location(&self) -> Location {
         let inner_loc = self.inner.location();
-        // We strip # from hash.
-        let hash_url = inner_loc.hash().chars().skip(1).collect::<String>();
 
-        assert_absolute_path(&hash_url);
+        // Strip the leading '#' from the hash.
+        let raw_hash = inner_loc.hash().strip_prefix('#').unwrap_or("").to_string();
+
+        // Normalize: ensure it starts with '/'. Log a warning if it didn't.
+        let needs_correction = raw_hash.is_empty() || !raw_hash.starts_with('/');
+        let normalized = Self::normalize_hash(&raw_hash);
 
         let hash_url = Url::new_with_base(
-            &hash_url,
+            &normalized,
             &window()
                 .location()
                 .href()
                 .expect_throw("failed to get location href."),
         )
-        .expect_throw("failed to get make url");
+        .expect_throw("failed to make url");
+
+        // Auto-correct the URL in the address bar so it stays canonical.
+        if needs_correction {
+            let url = Self::get_url();
+            url.set_hash(&format!("#{normalized}"));
+            self.inner.replace(url.href());
+        }
 
         Location {
             path: hash_url.pathname().into(),
@@ -225,6 +244,33 @@ impl HashHistory {
         Self::default()
     }
 
+    /// Takes the raw content after '#' and ensures it starts with '/'.
+    /// If it doesn't, prepends '/' and logs a warning.
+    /// If it is empty, returns "/".
+    fn normalize_hash(raw: &str) -> String {
+        if raw.is_empty() {
+            web_sys::console::warn_1(
+                &"[gloo_history] HashHistory: URL hash is empty, defaulting to '/'. \
+                  The hash was auto-corrected to '#/'."
+                    .into(),
+            );
+            "/".to_string()
+        } else if !raw.starts_with('/') {
+            web_sys::console::warn_1(
+                &format!(
+                    "[gloo_history] HashHistory: URL hash '#{}' does not start with '/'. \
+                     The hash was normalized to '#/{}'. \
+                     Ensure hash-based routes always begin with '#/'.",
+                    raw, raw
+                )
+                .into(),
+            );
+            format!("/{raw}")
+        } else {
+            raw.to_string()
+        }
+    }
+
     fn get_url() -> Url {
         let href = window()
             .location()
diff --git a/crates/history/tests/hash_history.rs b/crates/history/tests/hash_history.rs
index abe8047a..290a7a6a 100644
--- a/crates/history/tests/hash_history.rs
+++ b/crates/history/tests/hash_history.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ wasm_bindgen_test_configure!(run_in_browser);
 mod utils;
 use utils::delayed_assert_eq;
 
+// All assertions live in a single test because HashHistory is a thread-local
+// singleton backed by a shared browser URL, so separate tests would leak
+// state into each other depending on execution order.
 #[test]
 async fn history_works() {
     let history = HashHistory::new();
@@ -50,4 +53,24 @@ async fn history_works() {
     }
     delayed_assert_eq(|| window().location().pathname().unwrap(), || "/").await;
     delayed_assert_eq(|| window().location().hash().unwrap(), || "#/path-b").await;
+
+    // Malformed hash: simulate user editing the URL bar to a hash without '/'
+    window().location().set_hash("no-leading-slash").unwrap();
+
+    let location = history.location();
+    assert_eq!(location.path(), "/no-leading-slash");
+
+    delayed_assert_eq(
+        || window().location().hash().unwrap(),
+        || "#/no-leading-slash",
+    )
+    .await;
+
+    // Empty hash: simulate user clearing the hash entirely
+    window().location().set_hash("").unwrap();
+
+    let location = history.location();
+    assert_eq!(location.path(), "/");
+
+    delayed_assert_eq(|| window().location().hash().unwrap(), || "#/").await;
 }