diff --git a/bin/prod/expand-usb b/bin/prod/expand-usb
index ce1c9ee..caa9650 100755
--- a/bin/prod/expand-usb
+++ b/bin/prod/expand-usb
@@ -15,7 +15,23 @@ if [ -b /dev/sda2 ]; then
 fi
 
 info "Creating partition on unused space"
-printf "n\n\n\n\nw\n" | fdisk /dev/sda
+# fdisk's own in-place re-read of the table can fail with "Device or
+# resource busy" even though the write itself succeeded (seen live on a
+# fresh USB drive) - the kernel picks up the new partition via udev
+# shortly after regardless, so don't treat that as fatal; wait for the
+# device node to actually appear instead of trusting fdisk's exit code.
+printf "n\n\n\n\nw\n" | fdisk /dev/sda || true
+
+info "Waiting for /dev/sda2 to appear"
+for i in $(seq 1 10); do
+    [ -b /dev/sda2 ] && break
+    sleep 1
+done
+
+if [ ! -b /dev/sda2 ]; then
+    info "Partition 2 did not appear after creation"
+    exit 1
+fi
 
 info "Creating ext4 filesystem"
 mkfs.ext4 -F -E nodiscard /dev/sda2
diff --git a/bin/prod/wifi-connect b/bin/prod/wifi-connect
index 64a34a5..98800d6 100755
--- a/bin/prod/wifi-connect
+++ b/bin/prod/wifi-connect
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ INTERFACE="${WIFI_INTERFACE:-wlan0}"
 SYS_NET="${SYS_NET:-/sys/class/net}"
 IWD_DIR="${IWD_DIR:-/var/lib/iwd}"
 LOG_FILE="${LOG_FILE:-/var/log/reflash.log}"
+AP_PROFILE="Recore"
 
 SSID="$1"
 PASS="$2"
@@ -14,6 +15,16 @@ info() {
     echo "$1"
 }
 
+# A failed connection here (bad password, AP out of range, DHCP timeout)
+# would otherwise leave the board in station mode with no working
+# connection and no hotspot - unreachable until physical intervention (#90).
+restore_hotspot() {
+    info "Connection failed - restoring hotspot ($AP_PROFILE) so the board stays reachable."
+    iwctl ap "$INTERFACE" stop 2>/dev/null
+    iwctl device "$INTERFACE" set-property Mode ap
+    iwctl ap "$INTERFACE" start-profile "$AP_PROFILE" 2>/dev/null
+}
+
 if [ -z "$SSID" ] || [ -z "$PASS" ]; then
     echo "Usage: $0 <SSID> <Password>"
     exit 1
@@ -66,6 +77,7 @@ for i in {1..3}; do
     sleep 2
     if [ $i -eq 3 ]; then
         info "Connection command failed after 3 attempts."
+        restore_hotspot
         exit 1
     fi
 done
@@ -85,5 +97,6 @@ while [ $COUNT -lt $MAX_RETRIES ]; do
 done
 
 info "Timed out waiting for IP address."
+restore_hotspot
 exit 1
 
diff --git a/client/src/components/TheWifiSetup.vue b/client/src/components/TheWifiSetup.vue
index f3057cc..618e8de 100644
--- a/client/src/components/TheWifiSetup.vue
+++ b/client/src/components/TheWifiSetup.vue
@@ -45,6 +45,11 @@
       <div v-else class="pa4 text-center mt4 color-error border-error-all">
         <p>⚠️ No WiFi dongle detected. Please plug in a USB WiFi adapter.</p>
       </div>
+
+      <div v-if="statusMessage" class="pa2 mt4 text-center">
+        <p>{{ statusMessage }}</p>
+        <w-button v-if="networkSwitching" @click="continueToBoard">Continue at recore.local</w-button>
+      </div>
     </div>
   </w-dialog>
 </template>
@@ -72,6 +77,9 @@ export default {
     availableAPs: [],
     selected: null,
     progressVisible: false,
+    connectPollDeadline: 0,
+    networkSwitching: false,
+    statusMessage: "",
   }),
   computed: mapGetters(["options"]),
   methods: {
@@ -100,11 +108,13 @@ export default {
     },
     async startWifiScan() {
       this.progressVisible = true;
+      this.statusMessage = "Scanning for networks...";
       try {
         await axios.post('/api/wifi_start_scan');
         setTimeout(this.pollScanResults, 1000);
       } catch (err) {
          this.progressVisible = false;
+         this.statusMessage = "Could not start scan.";
       }
     },
     async pollScanResults() {
@@ -118,7 +128,7 @@ export default {
           for (const ap in this.availableAPs) {
             this.availableAPs[ap].label = this.availableAPs[ap].SSID + " " + this.availableAPs[ap].signal;
           }
-          this.progressVisible = false;
+          this.statusMessage = `Found ${this.availableAPs.length} network(s).`;
         }
       } catch (err) {
         setTimeout(this.pollScanResults, 1000);
@@ -130,6 +140,9 @@ export default {
         return;
       }
       this.progressVisible = true;
+      this.networkSwitching = false;
+      this.connectPollDeadline = Date.now() + 15000;
+      this.statusMessage = `Connecting to ${this.selected.SSID}...`;
       try {
         await axios.post('/api/wifi_start_connect',{
           SSID: this.selected.SSID,
@@ -139,33 +152,67 @@ export default {
       } catch (err) {
         const msg = err.response?.data || "Could not start connection";
         this.$waveui.notify(msg, "error", 4000);
+        this.statusMessage = msg;
         this.progressVisible = false;
       }
     },
     async pollConnectResults() {
+      // Once the board switches to station mode it tears down its own
+      // hotspot AP - if that's the network this page loaded from, its
+      // origin is gone for good from here on, regardless of whether the
+      // station-mode connection ultimately succeeds (#90). Polling that
+      // dead origin can never observe an outcome, so only do it for a
+      // short window to catch fast, local failures (e.g. validation
+      // errors) that happen before the switch - after that, stop and
+      // point the user at reconnecting manually instead of spinning
+      // forever against an address that will never respond again.
+      //
+      // A deadline (not an attempt counter) bounds this, because a
+      // request against a dead origin doesn't necessarily fail quickly -
+      // confirmed live (#95) that a request can hang completely silently
+      // (no error, ever) once the interface disappears. The explicit
+      // timeout below turns that into a normal rejection so the loop
+      // keeps moving instead of getting stuck forever on one request.
+      if (Date.now() > this.connectPollDeadline) {
+        this.progressVisible = false;
+        this.networkSwitching = true;
+        this.statusMessage = `The board is switching to ${this.selected.SSID}. Reconnect this device to that network, then continue below.`;
+        return;
+      }
       try {
-        const res = await axios.get('/api/wifi_poll_connect');
+        const res = await axios.get('/api/wifi_poll_connect', { timeout: 3000 });
         if (res.status === 204) {
           setTimeout(this.pollConnectResults, 1000);
         } else {
           console.log(res.data)
           if(res.data.isConnecting == true){
+            this.statusMessage = `Still connecting to ${this.selected.SSID}...`;
             setTimeout(this.pollConnectResults, 1000);
           }
           else {
             if (res.data.error) {
               this.$waveui.notify(res.data.error, "error", 0);
+              this.statusMessage = res.data.error;
             }
             else{
-              this.$waveui.notify("Connected to "+this.selected.SSID, "info", 0);              
+              this.$waveui.notify("Connected to "+this.selected.SSID, "info", 0);
+              this.statusMessage = `Connected to ${this.selected.SSID}.`;
             }
             this.progressVisible = false;
           }
         }
       } catch (err) {
+        // A hung/timed-out request here looks the same as a normal
+        // network blip - keep showing the same "still connecting"
+        // status rather than alarming the user prematurely. The
+        // deadline check above is what actually decides when to give up.
+        this.statusMessage = `Still connecting to ${this.selected.SSID}...`;
         setTimeout(this.pollConnectResults, 1000);
       }
     },
+    continueToBoard() {
+      window.location.href = "http://recore.local/";
+    },
     async getWifiStatus() {
       try {
         const response = await axios.get('/api/get_wifi_status');
@@ -186,6 +233,8 @@ export default {
       immediate: true,
       handler(is_open) {
         if (is_open) {
+          this.networkSwitching = false;
+          this.statusMessage = "";
           this.getWifiStatus()
           this.dialog.show = true;
         }
diff --git a/client/src/main.js b/client/src/main.js
index 9fbc91c..41d5b0b 100644
--- a/client/src/main.js
+++ b/client/src/main.js
@@ -1,10 +1,22 @@
 import { createApp } from 'vue'
 import WaveUI from 'wave-ui'
+import axios from 'axios'
 import App from './App.vue'
 import store from './store'
 
 import 'wave-ui/dist/wave-ui.css'
 
+// Several components poll the board on a timer with no per-call timeout
+// (WiFi status, transfer progress, scan results, ...). A request with no
+// timeout that never resolves - confirmed live: the board's WiFi
+// interface disappearing mid-request during an AP/station switch (#90,
+// #95) causes exactly this - sits holding one of the browser's ~6
+// same-origin connection slots forever. Enough of those piling up at
+// once starves every other request, including ones with their own
+// explicit timeout, since they can't get a socket to run on at all. A
+// global default bounds every request that doesn't set its own.
+axios.defaults.timeout = 10000
+
 const app = createApp(App)
 app.use(store)
 
diff --git a/client/vue.config.js b/client/vue.config.js
index 1a7ac06..20ca43a 100644
--- a/client/vue.config.js
+++ b/client/vue.config.js
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 module.exports = {
   transpileDependencies: true,
+  // The board's rootfs is a small, tightly-sized initrd ramdisk (368M
+  // total) - sourcemaps add 3MB+ per build for a debugging aid that's
+  // not needed on-device, and repeated deploys without them were
+  // enough to fill the disk outright during testing.
+  productionSourceMap: false,
   devServer: {
     proxy: {
       '^/api': {
diff --git a/test/bats/wifi.bats b/test/bats/wifi.bats
index 9cc6228..90efe12 100644
--- a/test/bats/wifi.bats
+++ b/test/bats/wifi.bats
@@ -123,3 +123,45 @@ EOF
   assert_called_with "station wlan0 connect HomeNet"
   [[ "$output" == *"Connected with IP: 192.168.1.50/24"* ]]
 }
+
+# --- connect failure -> hotspot fallback (#90) ------------------------------
+
+@test "wifi-connect: restores hotspot if the connect command keeps failing" {
+  with_adapter
+  cat > "$SHIMDIR/iwctl" <<'EOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+echo "iwctl $*" >> "$CALLS"
+if [ "$1 $2 $3" = "device wlan0 show" ]; then echo "Mode station"; fi
+if [ "$1 $2 $3" = "station wlan0 connect" ]; then exit 1; fi
+exit 0
+EOF
+  chmod +x "$SHIMDIR/iwctl"
+  run "$PROD_BIN/wifi-connect" HomeNet hunter2
+  [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+  [[ "$output" == *"Connection command failed after 3 attempts."* ]]
+  assert_called_with "device wlan0 set-property Mode ap"
+  assert_called_with "ap wlan0 start-profile Recore"
+}
+
+@test "wifi-connect: restores hotspot if DHCP never leases" {
+  with_adapter
+  cat > "$SHIMDIR/iwctl" <<'EOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+echo "iwctl $*" >> "$CALLS"
+if [ "$1 $2 $3" = "device wlan0 show" ]; then echo "Mode station"; fi
+exit 0
+EOF
+  chmod +x "$SHIMDIR/iwctl"
+  cat > "$SHIMDIR/ip" <<'EOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+echo "ip $*" >> "$CALLS"
+# No "inet " line in the output - no lease ever arrives.
+exit 0
+EOF
+  chmod +x "$SHIMDIR/ip"
+  run "$PROD_BIN/wifi-connect" HomeNet hunter2
+  [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
+  [[ "$output" == *"Timed out waiting for IP address."* ]]
+  assert_called_with "device wlan0 set-property Mode ap"
+  assert_called_with "ap wlan0 start-profile Recore"
+}