diff --git a/Android/COMPANION_RELEASE.md b/Android/COMPANION_RELEASE.md
index 1ef25999..e508c580 100644
--- a/Android/COMPANION_RELEASE.md
+++ b/Android/COMPANION_RELEASE.md
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ used by the `.githooks/pre-push` hook), which:
    **aborts** if any is missing.
 5. Stages the signed APK at `neode-ui/public/packages/archipelago-companion.apk`,
    commits, and pushes with `SHIP_COMPANION=1` (the sanctioned pre-push bypass).
+6. The first-launch companion modal and Android "Share this app" QR point at
+   `http://146.59.87.168:2100/packages/archipelago-companion.apk`. After the
+   repo artifact is built, mirror that exact APK to the VPS2-served path before
+   calling the release done.
 
 **Never** hand-roll `gradlew assembleDebug` + `cp` to the served path. That path
 skips the clean build and the signature enforcement and is exactly how a broken
@@ -82,13 +86,16 @@ home-screen app layouts wiped by an over-broad action.
 
 ## Verify the published download after shipping
 
-The download served to nodes is Gitea raw-on-main. Confirm the live bytes match
-what you built and signed:
+The checked-in artifact is Gitea raw-on-main. The QR/App Store download served
+to users is the VPS2 `:2100` URL. Confirm both live byte streams match what you
+built and signed:
 
 ```bash
 SERVED=neode-ui/public/packages/archipelago-companion.apk
-URL=http://146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/archy/raw/branch/main/$SERVED
-curl -sS -o /tmp/live.apk "$URL"
-shasum -a 256 "$SERVED" /tmp/live.apk          # must match
-apksigner verify -v --min-sdk-version 21 /tmp/live.apk | grep -i "scheme"  # v1/v2/v3 = true
+GITEA_URL=http://146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/archy/raw/branch/main/$SERVED
+QR_URL=http://146.59.87.168:2100/packages/archipelago-companion.apk
+curl -sS -o /tmp/live-gitea.apk "$GITEA_URL"
+curl -sS -o /tmp/live-qr.apk "$QR_URL"
+shasum -a 256 "$SERVED" /tmp/live-gitea.apk /tmp/live-qr.apk  # all must match
+apksigner verify -v --min-sdk-version 21 /tmp/live-qr.apk | grep -i "scheme"  # v1/v2/v3 = true
 ```
diff --git a/Android/app/build.gradle.kts b/Android/app/build.gradle.kts
index cdb40cf6..45e47cac 100644
--- a/Android/app/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/Android/app/build.gradle.kts
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ android {
         applicationId = "com.archipelago.app"
         minSdk = 26
         targetSdk = 35
-        versionCode = 31
-        versionName = "0.5.11"
+        versionCode = 38
+        versionName = "0.5.18"
 
         vectorDrawables {
             useSupportLibrary = true
diff --git a/Android/app/src/main/java/com/archipelago/app/data/ServerQrParser.kt b/Android/app/src/main/java/com/archipelago/app/data/ServerQrParser.kt
index 1af28b16..465d8838 100644
--- a/Android/app/src/main/java/com/archipelago/app/data/ServerQrParser.kt
+++ b/Android/app/src/main/java/com/archipelago/app/data/ServerQrParser.kt
@@ -88,8 +88,18 @@ object ServerQrParser {
 
     private fun parseFips(uri: Uri): FipsPairInfo? {
         val npub = uri.getQueryParameter("fnpub")?.trim()
-        val host = uri.getQueryParameter("fhost")?.trim()
+        var host = uri.getQueryParameter("fhost")?.trim()
         if (npub.isNullOrBlank() || host.isNullOrBlank()) return null
+        // A .fips fhost is a dead dial hint: Android's system DNS can't
+        // resolve .fips, so every handshake send fails and first connect
+        // falls back to slow anchor discovery. If the QR's `url` host is a
+        // real address, dial that instead (QRs minted while the node UI was
+        // browsed over the mesh carry npub….fips here).
+        if (host.endsWith(".fips")) {
+            val urlHost = uri.getQueryParameter("url")
+                ?.let { runCatching { Uri.parse(it).host }.getOrNull() }
+            if (!urlHost.isNullOrBlank() && !urlHost.endsWith(".fips")) host = urlHost
+        }
         return FipsPairInfo(
             npub = npub,
             ula = uri.getQueryParameter("fip")?.trim().orEmpty(),
diff --git a/Android/app/src/main/java/com/archipelago/app/fips/FipsPreferences.kt b/Android/app/src/main/java/com/archipelago/app/fips/FipsPreferences.kt
index e4392529..7065f82f 100644
--- a/Android/app/src/main/java/com/archipelago/app/fips/FipsPreferences.kt
+++ b/Android/app/src/main/java/com/archipelago/app/fips/FipsPreferences.kt
@@ -25,6 +25,26 @@ internal const val ARCHY_ANCHOR_NPUB =
 internal const val ARCHY_ANCHOR_ADDR = "146.59.87.168:8444"
 internal const val ARCHY_ANCHOR_TRANSPORT = "tcp"
 
+/**
+ * Public FIPS network anchors (join.fips.network — the dual-transport TCP
+ * pair; keep in lockstep with core/archipelago/src/fips/anchors.rs
+ * fips_network_anchors()). Baked into every pairing at trailing priority so
+ * a degraded/unreachable vps2 anchor can never strand the phone: the mesh
+ * still joins the public tree and routes to the node through it.
+ */
+internal val PUBLIC_FIPS_ANCHORS = listOf(
+    Triple(
+        "npub10yffd020a4ag8zcy75f9pruq3rnghvvhd5hphl9s62zgp35s560qrksp9u",
+        "23.182.128.74:443",
+        "tcp",
+    ),
+    Triple(
+        "npub1qmc3cvfz0yu2hx96nq3gp55zdan2qclealn7xshgr448d3nh6lks7zel98",
+        "217.77.8.91:443",
+        "tcp",
+    ),
+)
+
 /**
  * Mesh identity + known node peers. Follows the same plaintext-DataStore
  * storage model as ServerPreferences (the server password lives there the
@@ -126,7 +146,7 @@ class FipsPreferences(private val context: Context) {
             if (peer.ip.isBlank() || peer.port <= 0) continue
             merged.put(JSONObject().apply {
                 put("npub", peer.npub)
-                put("alias", peer.name.ifBlank { "Party phone" })
+                put("alias", hostSafeAlias(peer.name.ifBlank { "party-phone" }))
                 put("addresses", JSONArray().put(JSONObject().apply {
                     put("transport", "udp")
                     put("addr", "${peer.ip}:${peer.port}")
@@ -145,7 +165,7 @@ class FipsPreferences(private val context: Context) {
         ) {
             merged.put(JSONObject().apply {
                 put("npub", ARCHY_ANCHOR_NPUB)
-                put("alias", "Archipelago anchor")
+                put("alias", "archipelago-anchor")
                 put("addresses", JSONArray().put(JSONObject().apply {
                     put("transport", ARCHY_ANCHOR_TRANSPORT)
                     put("addr", ARCHY_ANCHOR_ADDR)
@@ -153,9 +173,40 @@ class FipsPreferences(private val context: Context) {
                 }))
             })
         }
+        // Backfill anchor peers for entries paired before newer QR/app
+        // releases added them. `upsertNodePeer` persists these on re-scan, but
+        // startup must also self-heal old DataStore state so updating the APK is
+        // enough to get off-LAN redundancy.
+        if (merged.length() > 0) {
+            addAnchorIfMissing(merged, ARCHY_ANCHOR_NPUB, "archipelago-anchor", ARCHY_ANCHOR_ADDR, ARCHY_ANCHOR_TRANSPORT, 40)
+            for ((i, anchor) in PUBLIC_FIPS_ANCHORS.withIndex()) {
+                val (npub, addr, transport) = anchor
+                addAnchorIfMissing(merged, npub, "fips-network-anchor-${i + 1}", addr, transport, 50 + i * 10)
+            }
+        }
         return merged.toString()
     }
 
+    private fun addAnchorIfMissing(
+        peers: JSONArray,
+        npub: String,
+        alias: String,
+        addr: String,
+        transport: String,
+        priority: Int,
+    ) {
+        if ((0 until peers.length()).any { peers.optJSONObject(it)?.optString("npub") == npub }) return
+        peers.put(JSONObject().apply {
+            put("npub", npub)
+            put("alias", alias)
+            put("addresses", JSONArray().put(JSONObject().apply {
+                put("transport", transport)
+                put("addr", addr)
+                put("priority", priority)
+            }))
+        })
+    }
+
     private fun parsePartyPeers(json: String): List<PartyPeer> = try {
         val arr = JSONArray(json)
         (0 until arr.length()).mapNotNull { i ->
@@ -200,16 +251,19 @@ class FipsPreferences(private val context: Context) {
         val incoming = mutableListOf<JSONObject>()
         incoming += JSONObject().apply {
             put("npub", info.npub)
-            put("alias", alias.ifBlank { "Archipelago" })
+            put("alias", hostSafeAlias(alias.ifBlank { "Archipelago" }))
             val addresses = JSONArray()
-            if (info.udpPort > 0) {
+            // .fips hosts are unresolvable on Android (no system .fips DNS):
+            // storing one gives the mesh a dial target that fails every
+            // handshake and stalls first connect on anchor discovery.
+            if (info.udpPort > 0 && !info.host.endsWith(".fips")) {
                 addresses.put(JSONObject().apply {
                     put("transport", "udp")
                     put("addr", "${info.host}:${info.udpPort}")
                     put("priority", 10)
                 })
             }
-            if (info.tcpPort > 0) {
+            if (info.tcpPort > 0 && !info.host.endsWith(".fips")) {
                 addresses.put(JSONObject().apply {
                     put("transport", "tcp")
                     put("addr", "${info.host}:${info.tcpPort}")
@@ -220,9 +274,10 @@ class FipsPreferences(private val context: Context) {
         }
         for (anchor in info.anchors) {
             if (anchor.npub == info.npub) continue
+            if (anchor.addr.substringBeforeLast(":").endsWith(".fips")) continue
             incoming += JSONObject().apply {
                 put("npub", anchor.npub)
-                put("alias", "Mesh anchor")
+                put("alias", "mesh-anchor")
                 put("addresses", JSONArray().put(JSONObject().apply {
                     put("transport", anchor.transport)
                     put("addr", anchor.addr)
@@ -237,7 +292,7 @@ class FipsPreferences(private val context: Context) {
         ) {
             incoming += JSONObject().apply {
                 put("npub", ARCHY_ANCHOR_NPUB)
-                put("alias", "Archipelago anchor")
+                put("alias", "archipelago-anchor")
                 put("addresses", JSONArray().put(JSONObject().apply {
                     put("transport", ARCHY_ANCHOR_TRANSPORT)
                     put("addr", ARCHY_ANCHOR_ADDR)
@@ -245,6 +300,21 @@ class FipsPreferences(private val context: Context) {
                 }))
             }
         }
+        // And the public FIPS network anchors at trailing priority, so one
+        // degraded rendezvous (vps2, 2026-07-24) can never strand the phone.
+        for ((i, anchor) in PUBLIC_FIPS_ANCHORS.withIndex()) {
+            val (npub, addr, transport) = anchor
+            if (info.npub == npub || incoming.any { it.optString("npub") == npub }) continue
+            incoming += JSONObject().apply {
+                put("npub", npub)
+                put("alias", "fips-network-anchor-${i + 1}")
+                put("addresses", JSONArray().put(JSONObject().apply {
+                    put("transport", transport)
+                    put("addr", addr)
+                    put("priority", 50 + i * 10)
+                }))
+            }
+        }
         val incomingNpubs = incoming.map { it.optString("npub") }.toSet()
         context.fipsDataStore.edit { prefs ->
             val current = JSONArray(prefs[peersKey] ?: "[]")
@@ -258,3 +328,14 @@ class FipsPreferences(private val context: Context) {
         }
     }
 }
+
+/**
+ * Peer aliases feed the fips host map as `<alias>.fips` hostnames; anything
+ * that isn't a valid DNS label ("Framework PT" — the space) gets rejected and
+ * silently drops the peer from name resolution. Slug it instead of losing it.
+ */
+internal fun hostSafeAlias(alias: String): String =
+    alias.lowercase()
+        .replace(Regex("[^a-z0-9.-]+"), "-")
+        .trim('-', '.')
+        .ifBlank { "archipelago" }
diff --git a/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/Cargo.lock b/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/Cargo.lock
index a6bbd62c..b99f5ba2 100644
--- a/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/Cargo.lock
@@ -464,7 +464,7 @@ checksum = "5baebc0774151f905a1a2cc41989300b1e6fbb29aff0ceffa1064fdd3088d582"
 [[package]]
 name = "fips"
 version = "0.3.0-dev"
-source = "git+https://github.com/9qeklajc/fips-native?rev=46494a74fc85b878305d275d42ab719082b06ba6#46494a74fc85b878305d275d42ab719082b06ba6"
+source = "git+https://github.com/Zazawowow/fips-native?rev=07d21d4482be56b14295d2525e41f8386d1bfe6f#07d21d4482be56b14295d2525e41f8386d1bfe6f"
 dependencies = [
  "bech32",
  "chacha20poly1305",
diff --git a/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/Cargo.toml b/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/Cargo.toml
index 199d4517..e6cc8cf4 100644
--- a/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/Cargo.toml
@@ -23,7 +23,10 @@ crate-type = ["lib", "cdylib"]
 
 [dependencies]
 # default-features drops the ratatui TUI; tun-support enables Node::start_with_tun_fd.
-fips = { git = "https://github.com/9qeklajc/fips-native", rev = "46494a74fc85b878305d275d42ab719082b06ba6", default-features = false, features = ["tun-support"] }
+# Zazawowow/fips-native `fast-join-pinned` = upstream pinned rev 46494a74 +
+# discovery re-fire on topology change (fresh 5G join: first route no longer
+# waits out doomed pre-join lookups). Upstream 9qeklajc denies pushes.
+fips = { git = "https://github.com/Zazawowow/fips-native", rev = "07d21d4482be56b14295d2525e41f8386d1bfe6f", default-features = false, features = ["tun-support"] }
 anyhow = "1.0"
 serde_json = "1.0"
 hex = "0.4"
diff --git a/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/src/mesh.rs b/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/src/mesh.rs
index 86c1058a..ed33db90 100644
--- a/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/src/mesh.rs
+++ b/Android/rust/archy-fips-core/src/mesh.rs
@@ -85,6 +85,27 @@ pub fn build_config(secret: &str, peers: Vec<PeerConfig>, listen_port: u16) -> C
     });
     // TCP with no bind_addr = outbound-only (fallback when UDP is blocked).
     cfg.transports.tcp = TransportInstances::Single(Default::default());
+    // Fast-connect profile — a phone opens the app and expects the node NOW.
+    // Stock pacing is tuned for always-on routers: a failed discovery backs
+    // off 30s, session resends gap out to 8-16s, dead links redial at
+    // 5s→300s. Over 5G that stacked into a ~40s first connect (observed
+    // 2026-07-24: anchor +10s, session +40s). Retries only fire while a
+    // link/session is down, so steady-state traffic is unchanged.
+    cfg.node.retry.base_interval_secs = 1; // dead-link redial 1s,2s,4s…
+    cfg.node.retry.max_backoff_secs = 30; // …capped at 30s, not 5 min
+    cfg.node.retry.max_retries = 30;
+    cfg.node.rate_limit.handshake_resend_interval_ms = 400;
+    cfg.node.rate_limit.handshake_resend_backoff = 1.5;
+    cfg.node.rate_limit.handshake_max_resends = 10;
+    cfg.node.discovery.backoff_base_secs = 1; // failed lookup retries fast
+    cfg.node.discovery.backoff_max_secs = 30;
+    cfg.node.discovery.retry_interval_secs = 2;
+    cfg.node.discovery.max_attempts = 3;
+    // Lookups launched before the tree position settles are doomed; a 10s
+    // completion timeout made each one cost 10s before the 1s retry could
+    // fire (observed: 19s to a route on a fresh join). Fail fast instead —
+    // the resend-within-window above still gives each attempt two shots.
+    cfg.node.discovery.timeout_secs = 5;
     cfg.peers = peers;
     cfg
 }
diff --git a/core/archipelago/src/fips/anchors.rs b/core/archipelago/src/fips/anchors.rs
index 52a0258b..1e33ffe8 100644
--- a/core/archipelago/src/fips/anchors.rs
+++ b/core/archipelago/src/fips/anchors.rs
@@ -156,7 +156,24 @@ pub async fn load(data_dir: &Path) -> Result<Vec<SeedAnchor>> {
         .with_context(|| format!("read {}", path.display()))?;
     let anchors: Vec<SeedAnchor> =
         serde_json::from_slice(&bytes).with_context(|| format!("parse {}", path.display()))?;
-    Ok(anchors)
+    Ok(repair_legacy_anchor_set(anchors))
+}
+
+/// Add the newer redundant public TCP anchors to legacy files that only carry
+/// the Archipelago-operated vps2 anchor. A deliberately custom/private anchor
+/// list remains authoritative; this only repairs the exact stale shape shipped
+/// before the join.fips.network anchors became defaults.
+fn repair_legacy_anchor_set(mut anchors: Vec<SeedAnchor>) -> Vec<SeedAnchor> {
+    let has_archy = anchors.iter().any(|a| a.npub == ARCHY_ANCHOR_NPUB);
+    let has_fips_network = fips_network_anchors()
+        .iter()
+        .any(|default| anchors.iter().any(|a| a.npub == default.npub));
+    if has_archy && !has_fips_network {
+        for anchor in fips_network_anchors() {
+            anchors.push(anchor);
+        }
+    }
+    anchors
 }
 
 /// Persist the list. Overwrites atomically via write-then-rename so a
@@ -338,6 +355,30 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(got.iter().all(|a| a.transport == "tcp"));
     }
 
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn load_repairs_legacy_archy_only_anchor_file() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        save(dir.path(), &[archy_anchor()]).await.unwrap();
+
+        let got = load(dir.path()).await.unwrap();
+        assert!(got.iter().any(|a| a.npub == ARCHY_ANCHOR_NPUB));
+        for anchor in fips_network_anchors() {
+            assert!(got.iter().any(|a| a.npub == anchor.npub));
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn load_keeps_private_anchor_file_authoritative() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let private = mk("npub1private");
+        save(dir.path(), std::slice::from_ref(&private))
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+
+        let got = load(dir.path()).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(got, vec![private]);
+    }
+
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn removing_one_default_persists_and_keeps_the_other() {
         // Editing the anchor list (here removing one default) makes the file
diff --git a/core/archipelago/src/fips/service.rs b/core/archipelago/src/fips/service.rs
index a26953d3..1d4106c4 100644
--- a/core/archipelago/src/fips/service.rs
+++ b/core/archipelago/src/fips/service.rs
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ async fn sudo_systemctl(verb: &str, unit: &str) -> Result<()> {
 /// Unmask + start + enable the FIPS service. Idempotent — safe to call
 /// on every backend startup once the key is on disk.
 pub async fn activate(unit: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    kill_stale_daemons().await?;
     // Order matters: unmask before enable/start, otherwise enable fails
     // on a masked unit.
     sudo_systemctl("unmask", unit).await?;
@@ -94,9 +95,42 @@ pub async fn stop(unit: &str) -> Result<()> {
 }
 
 pub async fn restart(unit: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    kill_stale_daemons().await?;
     sudo_systemctl("restart", unit).await
 }
 
+/// Kill orphaned `fips` processes not owned by either known systemd unit.
+///
+/// Field failure, 2026-07-24: a stale daemon survived outside systemd and kept
+/// `0.0.0.0:8443` bound. The supervised daemon then started UDP-only, so every
+/// TCP seed-anchor connect failed with "no operational transport" and phones
+/// on 5G could not discover the node. We keep the cleanup narrow: preserve the
+/// MainPID of both units and terminate only extra `pgrep -x fips` matches.
+pub async fn kill_stale_daemons() -> Result<()> {
+    let script = format!(
+        r#"keep="$(systemctl show -p MainPID --value {managed} 2>/dev/null; systemctl show -p MainPID --value {upstream} 2>/dev/null)"
+for pid in $(pgrep -x fips 2>/dev/null || true); do
+  case " $keep " in
+    *" $pid "*) ;;
+    *) kill "$pid" 2>/dev/null || true ;;
+  esac
+done
+"#,
+        managed = super::SERVICE_UNIT,
+        upstream = super::UPSTREAM_SERVICE_UNIT,
+    );
+    let out = Command::new("sudo")
+        .args(["sh", "-c", &script])
+        .output()
+        .await
+        .context("sudo stale fips cleanup failed to launch")?;
+    if !out.status.success() {
+        let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr).trim().to_string();
+        anyhow::bail!("stale fips cleanup failed: {}", stderr);
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 /// Resolve which systemd unit is actually supervising the fips daemon
 /// on this host. Nodes installed from the archipelago ISO run
 /// `archipelago-fips.service`; nodes that were apt-installed (or had
diff --git a/core/archipelago/src/wallet/ecash.rs b/core/archipelago/src/wallet/ecash.rs
index 49b14d45..c374ee3f 100644
--- a/core/archipelago/src/wallet/ecash.rs
+++ b/core/archipelago/src/wallet/ecash.rs
@@ -632,11 +632,30 @@ pub async fn send_token_at(data_dir: &Path, mint_url: &str, amount_sats: u64) ->
         // Mark original proofs as spent
         wallet.mark_spent(&indices);
 
-        // Separate send proofs from change proofs
-        let (send, change): (Vec<_>, Vec<_>) = swap_result
-            .new_proofs
-            .into_iter()
-            .partition(|p| send_denoms.contains(&p.amount));
+        // Separate send proofs from change proofs BY COUNT, not membership:
+        // partition(contains) put EVERY proof whose denomination appeared in
+        // send_denoms into the token — when change shared a denomination with
+        // the send (worst case: spending from a proof worth exactly 2× the
+        // amount, send [n] + change [n]), the change proofs rode along and the
+        // receiver was credited double. Consume exactly one proof per needed
+        // send denomination; everything else is change.
+        let mut send_needed = send_denoms.clone();
+        let mut send: Vec<Proof> = Vec::new();
+        let mut change: Vec<Proof> = Vec::new();
+        for p in swap_result.new_proofs {
+            if let Some(pos) = send_needed.iter().position(|&d| d == p.amount) {
+                send_needed.swap_remove(pos);
+                send.push(p);
+            } else {
+                change.push(p);
+            }
+        }
+        if !send_needed.is_empty() {
+            anyhow::bail!(
+                "Mint swap returned incomplete send denominations (missing {:?})",
+                send_needed
+            );
+        }
 
         // Add change proofs back to wallet
         if !change.is_empty() {
diff --git a/neode-ui/public/packages/archipelago-companion.apk b/neode-ui/public/packages/archipelago-companion.apk
index bfa5d411..095d27b8 100644
Binary files a/neode-ui/public/packages/archipelago-companion.apk and b/neode-ui/public/packages/archipelago-companion.apk differ
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/components/CompanionIntroOverlay.vue b/neode-ui/src/components/CompanionIntroOverlay.vue
index a8f4526f..c5ed8f3f 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/components/CompanionIntroOverlay.vue
+++ b/neode-ui/src/components/CompanionIntroOverlay.vue
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ const STORAGE_KEY = 'neode_companion_intro_seen'
 // exposes the release-server address.
 const DEFAULT_DOWNLOAD_URL = IS_DEMO
   ? `${window.location.origin}/packages/archipelago-companion.apk`
-  : 'http://146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/archy/raw/branch/main/neode-ui/public/packages/archipelago-companion.apk'
+  : 'http://146.59.87.168:2100/packages/archipelago-companion.apk'
 
 // Deep-link scheme the companion app registers; carries the server entry the
 // app should create (see docs/companion-pairing-qr.md for the contract).
@@ -267,12 +267,20 @@ function isTailnetIp(host: string): boolean {
  *   - a tailnet 100.x address (operator browsing over Tailscale — a scanned
  *     QR carried one of these on 2026-07-22 and the companion sat there
  *     dialing an IP the phone had no route to)
+ *   - a .fips name or mesh ULA (operator browsing over the mesh — a scanned
+ *     QR carried npub….fips as fhost on 2026-07-24; Android's system DNS
+ *     can't resolve .fips, so the phone's direct dial died and first
+ *     connect crawled through anchor discovery instead of the LAN)
  */
 async function resolveServerUrl(): Promise<string> {
   if (IS_DEMO) return DEMO_SERVER_URL
   const { hostname, origin } = window.location
   const phoneUnreachable =
-    hostname === 'localhost' || hostname === '127.0.0.1' || isTailnetIp(hostname)
+    hostname === 'localhost' ||
+    hostname === '127.0.0.1' ||
+    isTailnetIp(hostname) ||
+    hostname.endsWith('.fips') ||
+    hostname.includes(':') // IPv6 literal — the node's mesh ULA
   if (!phoneUnreachable) return origin
   try {
     const res = await rpcClient.call<{ mdns_hostname?: string; lan_ip?: string | null }>({