diff --git a/run_agent.py b/run_agent.py
index ce8954d6d..b16738d96 100644
--- a/run_agent.py
+++ b/run_agent.py
@@ -7458,7 +7458,7 @@ class AIAgent:
                         or 'error code: 413' in error_msg
                     )
 
-                    if is_payload_too_large:
+                    if is_payload_too_large and self.compression_enabled:
                         compression_attempts += 1
                         if compression_attempts > max_compression_attempts:
                             self._vprint(f"{self.log_prefix}❌ Max compression attempts ({max_compression_attempts}) reached for payload-too-large error.", force=True)
@@ -7473,30 +7473,14 @@ class AIAgent:
                                 "partial": True
                             }
                         self._emit_status(f"⚠️  Request payload too large (413) — compression attempt {compression_attempts}/{max_compression_attempts}...")
-
-                        original_len = len(messages)
-                        messages, active_system_prompt = self._compress_context(
-                            messages, system_message, approx_tokens=approx_tokens,
-                            task_id=effective_task_id,
-                        )
-
-                        if len(messages) < original_len:
-                            self._emit_status(f"🗜️ Compressed {original_len} → {len(messages)} messages, retrying...")
-                            time.sleep(2)  # Brief pause between compression retries
-                            restart_with_compressed_messages = True
-                            break
-                        else:
-                            self._vprint(f"{self.log_prefix}❌ Payload too large and cannot compress further.", force=True)
-                            self._vprint(f"{self.log_prefix}   💡 Try /new to start a fresh conversation, or /compress to retry compression.", force=True)
-                            logging.error(f"{self.log_prefix}413 payload too large. Cannot compress further.")
-                            self._persist_session(messages, conversation_history)
-                            return {
-                                "messages": messages,
-                                "completed": False,
-                                "api_calls": api_call_count,
-                                "error": "Request payload too large (413). Cannot compress further.",
-                                "partial": True
-                            }
+                    elif is_payload_too_large and not self.compression_enabled:
+                        return {
+                            "messages": messages,
+                            "completed": False,
+                            "api_calls": api_call_count,
+                            "error": "Request payload too large (413). Cannot compress further.",
+                            "partial": True
+                        }
 
                     # Check for context-length errors BEFORE generic 4xx handler.
                     # Local backends (LM Studio, Ollama, llama.cpp) often return