diff --git a/src/utils/auth-recovery.js b/src/utils/auth-recovery.js
index 5ce20bf71..2602e564d 100644
--- a/src/utils/auth-recovery.js
+++ b/src/utils/auth-recovery.js
@@ -27,15 +27,15 @@ export const parseAuthChallenge = (challenge) => {
 export const isStepUpChallenge = (challenge) =>
   parseAuthChallenge(challenge)?.error === STEP_UP_ERROR;
 
-// A stalled silent renewal (e.g. a network black-hole) must not hang recovery for both
-// transports, so it is time-boxed. Interactive step-up is deliberately NOT bounded — it
-// waits on the user completing MFA, which can take far longer than any network timeout.
+// Time-boxed so a stalled recovery can't hang forever. Step-up's longer bound only trips
+// if the redirect never navigated (a real redirect unloads the page first).
 const SILENT_RENEW_TIMEOUT_MS = 30_000;
+const STEP_UP_REDIRECT_TIMEOUT_MS = 60_000;
 
-const withTimeout = async (promise, ms) => {
+const withTimeout = async (promise, ms, label = 'recovery') => {
   let timeoutId;
   const timeout = new Promise((_, reject) => {
-    timeoutId = setTimeout(() => reject(new Error('auth-recovery: renewal timed out')), ms);
+    timeoutId = setTimeout(() => reject(new Error(`auth-recovery: ${label} timed out`)), ms);
   });
   try {
     return await Promise.race([promise, timeout]);
@@ -65,9 +65,11 @@ export const recoverAuth = ({ stepUp = false, challenge = null } = {}) => {
         throw new Error(`auth-recovery: no ${stepUp ? 'stepUp' : 'silentRenew'} primitive registered`);
       }
 
-      const accessToken = stepUp
-        ? await recover(challenge)
-        : await withTimeout(recover(challenge), SILENT_RENEW_TIMEOUT_MS);
+      const accessToken = await withTimeout(
+        recover(challenge),
+        stepUp ? STEP_UP_REDIRECT_TIMEOUT_MS : SILENT_RENEW_TIMEOUT_MS,
+        stepUp ? 'step-up redirect' : 'silent renewal',
+      );
       if (!accessToken) {
         throw new Error('auth-recovery: renewal returned no token');
       }
diff --git a/src/utils/auth-recovery.test.js b/src/utils/auth-recovery.test.js
index e6af8ca16..8ae5e9e0f 100644
--- a/src/utils/auth-recovery.test.js
+++ b/src/utils/auth-recovery.test.js
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ describe('auth-recovery', () => {
       const silentRenew = jest.fn(() => new Promise(() => {}));
       registerAuthRecovery({ silentRenew });
 
-      const rejection = expect(recoverAuth()).rejects.toThrow(/timed out/);
+      const rejection = expect(recoverAuth()).rejects.toThrow(/silent renewal timed out/);
       await jest.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(30_000);
       await rejection;
 
@@ -112,18 +112,22 @@ describe('auth-recovery', () => {
     }
   });
 
-  test('does not time out an interactive step-up (it waits on the user)', async () => {
+  test('times out a step-up whose redirect never navigates, clearing in-flight so a later step-up retries', async () => {
     jest.useFakeTimers();
     try {
-      const stepUp = jest.fn(() => new Promise((resolve) => {
-        setTimeout(() => resolve('stepped.token'), 90_000); // past the 30s silent-renewal timeout
-      }));
+      // A redirect that resolves but never navigates: pending forever.
+      const stepUp = jest.fn(() => new Promise(() => {}));
       registerAuthRecovery({ stepUp });
 
-      const pending = recoverAuth({ stepUp: true });
+      const rejection = expect(recoverAuth({ stepUp: true, challenge: {} })).rejects.toThrow(/step-up redirect timed out/);
       await jest.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(60_000);
-      await jest.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(30_000);
-      await expect(pending).resolves.toBe('stepped.token');
+      await rejection;
+
+      expect(store.dispatch).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+      stepUp.mockImplementationOnce(() => Promise.resolve('stepped.token'));
+      await expect(recoverAuth({ stepUp: true, challenge: {} })).resolves.toBe('stepped.token');
+      expect(stepUp).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
     } finally {
       jest.useRealTimers();
     }
diff --git a/src/withSocketConnection/index.test.js b/src/withSocketConnection/index.test.js
index 78cab51d8..24867d436 100644
--- a/src/withSocketConnection/index.test.js
+++ b/src/withSocketConnection/index.test.js
@@ -6,7 +6,11 @@ import { recoverAuth } from '../utils/auth-recovery';
 import { clearAuth } from '../ducks/auth';
 
 jest.mock('socket.io-client', () => ({ __esModule: true, default: jest.fn() }));
-jest.mock('../utils/auth-recovery', () => ({ recoverAuth: jest.fn() }));
+// Real parsers; only recoverAuth is stubbed.
+jest.mock('../utils/auth-recovery', () => ({
+  ...jest.requireActual('../utils/auth-recovery'),
+  recoverAuth: jest.fn(),
+}));
 jest.mock('../ducks/auth', () => ({ clearAuth: jest.fn() }));
 // The socket handler dispatches through the imported store singleton; stub it so the
 // test controls dispatch and importing the hook doesn't build the real reducer tree.
@@ -143,4 +147,66 @@ describe('websocket auth recovery (resp_authorization)', () => {
     expect(recoverAuth).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
     expect(clearAuth).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
+
+  test('a 401 carrying the RFC 9470 step-up challenge routes to interactive step-up, not silent-renew', async () => {
+    // Step-up never settles (redirect); assert the routing decision, not a completion.
+    recoverAuth.mockReturnValue(new Promise(() => {}));
+    const challenge = 'Bearer error="insufficient_user_authentication", acr_values="http://schemas.openid.net/pape/policies/2007/06/multi-factor", max_age="31536000"';
+
+    const { socket, store } = bindSocket();
+    await act(async () => {
+      socket.handlers.resp_authorization({ status: { code: 401, www_authenticate: challenge } });
+      await Promise.resolve();
+    });
+
+    expect(recoverAuth).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      stepUp: true,
+      challenge: {
+        error: 'insufficient_user_authentication',
+        acrValues: 'http://schemas.openid.net/pape/policies/2007/06/multi-factor',
+        maxAge: '31536000',
+      },
+    });
+    expect(clearAuth).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(store.dispatch).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(CLEAR_AUTH_ACTION);
+  });
+
+  test('a 401 with an ordinary (non-step-up) challenge still takes the silent-renew path', async () => {
+    recoverAuth.mockResolvedValue('fresh.token');
+
+    const { socket } = bindSocket();
+    await act(async () => {
+      await socket.handlers.resp_authorization({
+        status: { code: 401, www_authenticate: 'Bearer error="invalid_token"' },
+      });
+    });
+
+    expect(recoverAuth).toHaveBeenCalledWith(undefined);
+    expect(clearAuth).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  test('escalates to step-up (not sign-out) when a silently-renewed socket then 401s with a step-up challenge', async () => {
+    const { socket, store } = bindSocket();
+
+    // Ordinary 401 → silent renew → re-authorize (sets the once-per-cycle guard).
+    recoverAuth.mockResolvedValueOnce('renewed.token');
+    await act(async () => {
+      await socket.handlers.resp_authorization({ status: { code: 401 } });
+    });
+
+    // The re-authorize 401s with a step-up challenge (guard already set); step-up bypasses it.
+    recoverAuth.mockReturnValue(new Promise(() => {}));
+    const challenge = 'Bearer error="insufficient_user_authentication", acr_values="urn:mfa", max_age="3600"';
+    await act(async () => {
+      socket.handlers.resp_authorization({ status: { code: 401, www_authenticate: challenge } });
+      await Promise.resolve();
+    });
+
+    expect(recoverAuth).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith({
+      stepUp: true,
+      challenge: { error: 'insufficient_user_authentication', acrValues: 'urn:mfa', maxAge: '3600' },
+    });
+    expect(clearAuth).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(store.dispatch).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(CLEAR_AUTH_ACTION);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/withSocketConnection/useRealTimeImplementation/index.js b/src/withSocketConnection/useRealTimeImplementation/index.js
index 175649deb..e673064d7 100644
--- a/src/withSocketConnection/useRealTimeImplementation/index.js
+++ b/src/withSocketConnection/useRealTimeImplementation/index.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { DAS_HOST } from '../../constants';
 import { resetSocketStateTracking } from './helpers';
 import { SOCKET_HEALTHY_STATUS } from '../../ducks/system-status';
 import { clearAuth } from '../../ducks/auth';
-import { recoverAuth } from '../../utils/auth-recovery';
+import { isStepUpChallenge, parseAuthChallenge, recoverAuth } from '../../utils/auth-recovery';
 import { events } from './config';
 import { calcEventFilterForRequest } from '../../utils/event-filter';
 import { calcPatrolFilterForRequest } from '../../utils/patrol-filter';
@@ -73,10 +73,13 @@ const useRealTimeImplementation = () => {
     socket.on('resp_authorization', async (msg) => {
       const { status } = msg;
       if (status.code === 401) {
-        if (!authRetried) {
+        // Step-up bypasses the once-per-cycle guard: it redirects rather than looping.
+        const challenge = status.www_authenticate;
+        const stepUp = isStepUpChallenge(challenge);
+        if (stepUp || !authRetried) {
           authRetried = true;
           try {
-            await recoverAuth();
+            await recoverAuth(stepUp ? { stepUp: true, challenge: parseAuthChallenge(challenge) } : undefined);
             console.log('realtime: token renewed; re-authorizing');
             return authorize();
           } catch (renewalError) {