diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/index.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/index.tsx
index 8982b14d5e6..ac6c2c61ec0 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/index.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/index.tsx
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ import { Backdrop } from '@/components/Backdrop'
 import { PromptOverlays } from '@/components/prompt-overlays'
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
 import { Codicon } from '@/components/ui/codicon'
+import { ErrorState } from '@/components/ui/error-state'
 import { getGlobalModelOptions, type HermesGateway } from '@/hermes'
+import { useI18n } from '@/i18n'
 import type { ChatMessage } from '@/lib/chat-messages'
 import { quickModelOptions, sessionTitle, toRuntimeMessage } from '@/lib/chat-runtime'
 import { useIncrementalExternalStoreRuntime } from '@/lib/incremental-external-store-runtime'
@@ -38,6 +40,7 @@ import {
   $lastVisibleMessageIsUser,
   $messages,
   $messagesEmpty,
+  $resumeExhaustedSessionId,
   $selectedStoredSessionId,
   $sessions,
   sessionPinId
@@ -86,6 +89,7 @@ interface ChatViewProps extends Omit<React.ComponentProps<'div'>, 'onSubmit'> {
   onEdit: (message: AppendMessage) => Promise<void>
   onReload: (parentId: string | null) => Promise<void>
   onRestoreToMessage?: (messageId: string) => Promise<void>
+  onRetryResume: (sessionId: string) => void
   onTranscribeAudio?: (audio: Blob) => Promise<string>
 }
 
@@ -272,9 +276,11 @@ export function ChatView({
   onEdit,
   onReload,
   onRestoreToMessage,
+  onRetryResume,
   onTranscribeAudio
 }: ChatViewProps) {
   const location = useLocation()
+  const { t } = useI18n()
   const activeSessionId = useStore($activeSessionId)
   const awaitingResponse = useStore($awaitingResponse)
   const busy = useStore($busy)
@@ -296,6 +302,7 @@ export function ChatView({
   const messagesEmpty = useStore($messagesEmpty)
   const lastVisibleIsUser = useStore($lastVisibleMessageIsUser)
   const selectedSessionId = useStore($selectedStoredSessionId)
+  const resumeExhaustedSessionId = useStore($resumeExhaustedSessionId)
   const routedSessionId = routeSessionId(location.pathname)
   const isRoutedSessionView = Boolean(routedSessionId)
 
@@ -315,9 +322,21 @@ export function ChatView({
   // session exists — even if it has zero messages (a brand-new routed
   // session). The flicker where `busy` flips true briefly during hydrate
   // is handled by `threadLoadingState`'s last-visible-user gate.
-  const loadingSession = isRoutedSessionView && (routeSessionMismatch || (messagesEmpty && !activeSessionId))
+  //
+  // resumeExhausted: the bounded auto-retry in use-route-resume gave up on this
+  // routed session (gateway RPC + REST fallback failed through every attempt).
+  // Suppress the loader and show an explicit error + manual Retry instead of
+  // spinning forever. Gated on the route matching so a stale latch from another
+  // session can't blank the current one.
+  const resumeExhausted = isRoutedSessionView && resumeExhaustedSessionId === routedSessionId
+
+  const loadingSession =
+    !resumeExhausted && isRoutedSessionView && (routeSessionMismatch || (messagesEmpty && !activeSessionId))
+
   const threadLoading = threadLoadingState(loadingSession, busy, awaitingResponse, lastVisibleIsUser)
-  const showChatBar = !loadingSession
+  // Hide the composer in the exhausted error state too: there's no live runtime
+  // to send to until a retry rebinds one.
+  const showChatBar = !loadingSession && !resumeExhausted
   const threadKey = selectedSessionId || activeSessionId || (isRoutedSessionView ? location.pathname : 'new')
 
   const modelOptionsQuery = useQuery<ModelOptionsResponse>({
@@ -465,6 +484,21 @@ export function ChatView({
             </Suspense>
           )}
         </ChatRuntimeBoundary>
+        {resumeExhausted && routedSessionId && (
+          <div className="absolute inset-0 z-10 grid place-items-center bg-(--ui-chat-surface-background) px-8 py-10">
+            <ErrorState
+              className="max-w-sm"
+              description={t.desktop.resumeStrandedBody}
+              title={t.desktop.resumeStrandedTitle}
+            >
+              <div className="grid justify-items-center">
+                <Button onClick={() => onRetryResume(routedSessionId)} size="sm" variant="outline">
+                  {t.desktop.resumeRetry}
+                </Button>
+              </div>
+            </ErrorState>
+          </div>
+        )}
         {showChatBar && <ScrollToBottomButton />}
         <ChatDropOverlay kind={dragKind} />
         <ChatSwapOverlay profile={gatewaySwapTarget} />
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/desktop-controller.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/desktop-controller.tsx
index 9ac4fcadead..b6c831864fa 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/desktop-controller.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/desktop-controller.tsx
@@ -1005,6 +1005,7 @@ export function DesktopController() {
       onReload={reloadFromMessage}
       onRemoveAttachment={id => void composer.removeAttachment(id)}
       onRestoreToMessage={restoreToMessage}
+      onRetryResume={sessionId => void resumeSession(sessionId, true)}
       onSteer={steerPrompt}
       onSubmit={submitText}
       onThreadMessagesChange={handleThreadMessagesChange}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-route-resume.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-route-resume.test.tsx
index 0b0f10be7b5..953731f41af 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-route-resume.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-route-resume.test.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ import { cleanup, render } from '@testing-library/react'
 import type { MutableRefObject } from 'react'
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 
+import { $resumeExhaustedSessionId, setResumeExhaustedSessionId } from '@/store/session'
+
 import { useRouteResume } from './use-route-resume'
 
 interface HarnessProps {
@@ -263,6 +265,7 @@ describe('useRouteResume bounded auto-retry after a failed resume', () => {
     cleanup()
     vi.useRealTimers()
     vi.restoreAllMocks()
+    setResumeExhaustedSessionId(null)
   })
 
   // Common stranded-window props: gateway open, route on the session, no runtime
@@ -354,5 +357,55 @@ describe('useRouteResume bounded auto-retry after a failed resume', () => {
     // Capped at MAX_RESUME_RETRIES (4): a persistently dead backend can't
     // hot-loop the resume forever.
     expect(resumeSession.mock.calls.length).toBe(4)
+
+    // Once auto-retry gives up, the exhausted latch is armed for the routed
+    // session so the chat view can swap the perpetual loader for an explicit
+    // error + manual Retry instead of spinning forever.
+    expect($resumeExhaustedSessionId.get()).toBe('session-1')
+  })
+
+  it('does not arm the exhausted latch while retries remain', () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const resumeSession = vi.fn(async () => undefined)
+    const props = strandedProps(resumeSession)
+
+    const { rerender } = render(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" />)
+    resumeSession.mockClear()
+
+    // Two failure cycles — still under the 4-retry cap, so the latch must stay
+    // clear and the loader keeps spinning (auto-recovery hasn't given up yet).
+    for (let i = 0; i < 2; i += 1) {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(8_000)
+      rerender(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId={null} />)
+      rerender(<RouteResumeHarness {...props} resumeFailedSessionId="session-1" />)
+    }
+
+    expect($resumeExhaustedSessionId.get()).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('clears a stale exhausted latch when the route moves off the stranded session', () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const resumeSession = vi.fn(async () => undefined)
+    const props = strandedProps(resumeSession)
+
+    // Pre-arm the latch as if this session had exhausted its retries.
+    setResumeExhaustedSessionId('session-1')
+
+    // Route is now on a different, healthy session that is not flagged as
+    // failed — the retry effect's "route moved off" branch clears the latch.
+    render(
+      <RouteResumeHarness
+        {...props}
+        activeSessionId="runtime-2"
+        activeSessionIdRef={{ current: 'runtime-2' }}
+        locationPathname="/session-2"
+        resumeFailedSessionId={null}
+        routedSessionId="session-2"
+        selectedStoredSessionId="session-2"
+        selectedStoredSessionIdRef={{ current: 'session-2' }}
+      />
+    )
+
+    expect($resumeExhaustedSessionId.get()).toBeNull()
   })
 })
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-route-resume.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-route-resume.ts
index 04bd4cc46f6..eb2ef6f7c3d 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-route-resume.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-route-resume.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { type MutableRefObject, useEffect, useRef } from 'react'
 
 import { isNewChatRoute } from '@/app/routes'
+import { setResumeExhaustedSessionId } from '@/store/session'
 
 interface RouteResumeOptions {
   activeSessionId: string | null
@@ -185,10 +186,15 @@ export function useRouteResume({
 
     if (!stranded) {
       // Route moved off the stranded session (or it recovered) — reset the
-      // counter so a future failure on another session starts fresh.
+      // counter so a future failure on another session starts fresh, and clear
+      // any exhausted-latch armed for a session we're no longer viewing (never
+      // the current route: that's the error state we want to keep showing).
+      // resumeSession also clears it on a fresh attempt; this covers a plain
+      // route-change away from the stranded window.
       if (retrySessionIdRef.current !== routedSessionId) {
         retrySessionIdRef.current = null
         retryAttemptRef.current = 0
+        setResumeExhaustedSessionId(current => (current && current !== routedSessionId ? null : current))
       }
 
       return
@@ -203,6 +209,11 @@ export function useRouteResume({
     if (retryAttemptRef.current >= MAX_RESUME_RETRIES) {
       // Give up auto-retrying a persistently dead backend; the user can still
       // reconnect / reselect (which resets the counter via the branch above).
+      // Surface an explicit error + manual Retry in the chat view instead of
+      // spinning the loader forever — resumeSession (manual Retry / reconnect /
+      // reselect) clears this latch and resets the counter for a fresh cycle.
+      setResumeExhaustedSessionId(routedSessionId)
+
       return
     }
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-actions.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-actions.ts
index 9ed68cd595f..e93c71a257a 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-actions.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/session/hooks/use-session-actions.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import {
   setFreshDraftReady,
   setIntroSeed,
   setMessages,
+  setResumeExhaustedSessionId,
   setResumeFailedSessionId,
   setSelectedStoredSessionId,
   setSessions,
@@ -585,6 +586,10 @@ export function useSessionActions({
       // must not keep treating it as stranded. It's re-armed below only if THIS
       // attempt fails terminally (RPC reject + REST fallback failure).
       setResumeFailedSessionId(current => (current === storedSessionId ? null : current))
+      // Also clear the exhausted-latch: a fresh attempt (manual Retry, reconnect,
+      // reselect) gives the bounded auto-retry counter a clean cycle, so the
+      // chat view drops the error state and shows the loader again.
+      setResumeExhaustedSessionId(current => (current === storedSessionId ? null : current))
 
       const warmRuntimeId = runtimeIdByStoredSessionIdRef.current.get(storedSessionId)
 
@@ -704,6 +709,7 @@ export function useSessionActions({
           ...(watchWindow ? { lazy: true } : {}),
           ...(sessionProfile ? { profile: sessionProfile } : {})
         })
+
         // The rejection is consumed by the `await` below; this guard only
         // keeps it from surfacing as unhandled while the prefetch settles.
         resumePromise.catch(() => undefined)
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts
index fa6465c3388..3839a364f1f 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/en.ts
@@ -1842,6 +1842,9 @@ export const en: Translations = {
     regenerateFailed: 'Regenerate failed',
     editFailed: 'Edit failed',
     resumeFailed: 'Resume failed',
+    resumeStrandedTitle: "Couldn't load this session",
+    resumeStrandedBody: 'The connection to this session failed and automatic retries gave up. Check that the gateway is running, then try again.',
+    resumeRetry: 'Retry',
     nothingToBranch: 'Nothing to branch',
     branchNeedsChat: 'Start or resume a chat before branching.',
     sessionBusy: 'Session busy',
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/ja.ts b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/ja.ts
index f26508e5897..93a066aaa22 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/ja.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/ja.ts
@@ -1973,6 +1973,9 @@ export const ja = defineLocale({
     regenerateFailed: '再生成に失敗しました',
     editFailed: '編集に失敗しました',
     resumeFailed: '再開に失敗しました',
+    resumeStrandedTitle: 'このセッションを読み込めませんでした',
+    resumeStrandedBody: 'このセッションへの接続に失敗し、自動再試行も停止しました。ゲートウェイが実行中か確認してから、もう一度お試しください。',
+    resumeRetry: '再試行',
     nothingToBranch: 'ブランチするものがありません',
     branchNeedsChat: 'ブランチする前にチャットを開始または再開してください。',
     sessionBusy: 'セッションが使用中',
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/types.ts b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/types.ts
index 2e9cc76ab98..be7b54b67be 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/types.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/types.ts
@@ -1480,6 +1480,9 @@ export interface Translations {
     regenerateFailed: string
     editFailed: string
     resumeFailed: string
+    resumeStrandedTitle: string
+    resumeStrandedBody: string
+    resumeRetry: string
     nothingToBranch: string
     branchNeedsChat: string
     sessionBusy: string
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh-hant.ts b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh-hant.ts
index 6f964c071f2..55fe0cf4875 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh-hant.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh-hant.ts
@@ -1913,6 +1913,9 @@ export const zhHant = defineLocale({
     regenerateFailed: '重新生成失敗',
     editFailed: '編輯失敗',
     resumeFailed: '繼續失敗',
+    resumeStrandedTitle: '無法載入此工作階段',
+    resumeStrandedBody: '與此工作階段的連線失敗，自動重試已停止。請確認閘道正在執行，然後重試。',
+    resumeRetry: '重試',
     nothingToBranch: '沒有可分支的內容',
     branchNeedsChat: '分支前請先開始或繼續一個聊天。',
     sessionBusy: '工作階段忙碌中',
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh.ts b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh.ts
index db13108d8f7..131c3749671 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/i18n/zh.ts
@@ -2020,6 +2020,9 @@ export const zh: Translations = {
     regenerateFailed: '重新生成失败',
     editFailed: '编辑失败',
     resumeFailed: '恢复失败',
+    resumeStrandedTitle: '无法加载此会话',
+    resumeStrandedBody: '与此会话的连接失败，自动重试已停止。请确认网关正在运行，然后重试。',
+    resumeRetry: '重试',
     nothingToBranch: '没有可分支的内容',
     branchNeedsChat: '分支前请先开始或恢复一个对话。',
     sessionBusy: '会话忙碌中',
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/session.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/session.ts
index e0e525fef66..cecb5009717 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/session.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/session.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ function workspaceCwdKey(connection: HermesConnection | null = $connection.get()
 
   const base = encodeURIComponent(connection.baseUrl || 'remote')
   const profile = encodeURIComponent(connection.profile || 'default')
+
   return `${WORKSPACE_CWD_KEY}.remote.${base}.${profile}`
 }
 
@@ -75,6 +76,7 @@ export async function ensureDefaultWorkspaceCwd(): Promise<void> {
 
   if ($connection.get()?.mode === 'remote') {
     seedLiveCwd(remembered)
+
     return
   }
 
@@ -151,6 +153,7 @@ export function mergeSessionPage(
   }
 
   const incomingIds = new Set(incoming.map(session => session.id))
+
   // Deduplicate by compression lineage: when auto-compression rotates the tip
   // id (old #4 → new #5), the incoming page carries the new tip but the
   // previous list still holds the old one.  Without lineage-level dedup both
@@ -226,6 +229,15 @@ export const $awaitingResponse = atom(false)
 // resume on the next render/focus/reconnect instead of stranding the window.
 // Null whenever the active route has a healthy (or in-flight) resume.
 export const $resumeFailedSessionId = atom<string | null>(null)
+// Stored-session id whose resume has EXHAUSTED its bounded auto-retries (the
+// terminal-failure latch above kept failing through all MAX_RESUME_RETRIES
+// attempts). Distinct from $resumeFailedSessionId, which is armed *during* the
+// backoff window too: this fires only once auto-recovery has given up, so the
+// chat view can swap the perpetual loader for an explicit error + manual Retry
+// affordance. A fresh resumeSession() (manual Retry, reconnect, reselect)
+// clears it and resets the retry counter. Null whenever the active route has a
+// healthy, in-flight, or still-auto-retrying resume.
+export const $resumeExhaustedSessionId = atom<string | null>(null)
 export const $currentModel = atom(storedString(COMPOSER_MODEL_KEY) ?? '')
 export const $currentProvider = atom(storedString(COMPOSER_PROVIDER_KEY) ?? '')
 export const $currentReasoningEffort = atom(storedString(COMPOSER_EFFORT_KEY) ?? '')
@@ -271,6 +283,7 @@ export const setSelectedStoredSessionId = (next: Updater<string | null>) => upda
 export const setMessages = (next: Updater<ChatMessage[]>) => updateAtom($messages, next)
 export const setFreshDraftReady = (next: Updater<boolean>) => updateAtom($freshDraftReady, next)
 export const setResumeFailedSessionId = (next: Updater<string | null>) => updateAtom($resumeFailedSessionId, next)
+export const setResumeExhaustedSessionId = (next: Updater<string | null>) => updateAtom($resumeExhaustedSessionId, next)
 export const setBusy = (next: Updater<boolean>) => updateAtom($busy, next)
 export const setAwaitingResponse = (next: Updater<boolean>) => updateAtom($awaitingResponse, next)