diff --git a/src/docs/src/Objects/puterpeerserver.md b/src/docs/src/Objects/puterpeerserver.md
index 5203dfa8d..d5451b173 100644
--- a/src/docs/src/Objects/puterpeerserver.md
+++ b/src/docs/src/Objects/puterpeerserver.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ The `PuterPeerServer` object returned by [`puter.peer.serve()`](/Peer/serve/). I
 
 #### `inviteCode` (String)
 
-The code to share with other clients so they can connect with [`puter.peer.connect()`](/Peer/connect/).
+The code to share with other clients so they can connect with [`puter.peer.connect()`](/Peer/connect/). It survives the signalling connection dropping and coming back; on the rare occasion it cannot, the `reconnect` event carries the new one.
 
 #### `connections` (Map)
 
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ A `Map` of every connected client, keyed by connection id. The values are [`Pute
 
 #### `close()`
 
-Closes every client connection and the signalling connection. The invite code stops working.
+Closes every client connection and the signalling connection, and gives the invite code up so it stops working at once.
 
 ## Events
 
@@ -32,6 +32,13 @@ Fired when a client connects. The event has the following attributes:
 - `conn` ([`PuterPeerConnection`](/Objects/puterpeerconnection/)) - The connection to the client.
 - `user` (Object) - Metadata about the connecting user, with `username` and `uuid` (if available).
 
+#### `reconnect`
+
+Fired when a dropped signalling connection has been re-established. A server dials the signaller again on its own, so a network blip, a laptop waking up or a signaller restart does not end the session — and existing client connections, being peer-to-peer, carry on throughout either way.
+
+- `inviteCode` (String) - The code to share from now on.
+- `resumed` (Boolean) - Whether the previous session was reclaimed. When `true` the invite code is unchanged and the clients already connected can still be renegotiated with, so there is nothing to do. When `false` the session was gone — clients connected under it can no longer be reached and will close — and `inviteCode` is a new code that has to be shared in its place.
+
 ## Example
 
 ```js
diff --git a/src/docs/src/Peer/connect.md b/src/docs/src/Peer/connect.md
index 84e251066..54dc30e1d 100644
--- a/src/docs/src/Peer/connect.md
+++ b/src/docs/src/Peer/connect.md
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ A string invite code created by `puter.peer.serve()`.
 - `forceRelay` (`boolean`) Whether to force connections to route through a relay instead of attempting peer-to-peer (default). Metering charges may apply.
 - `anonToken` (`String`) Join without a Puter session. Any uuid — it identifies this guest for the duration of the session, and no sign-in prompt is shown. The host sees the guest as `anonymous`, so anything you want to call them is yours to send over the connection.
 - `turnGrant` (`String`) A grant from [`puter.peer.createGuestGrant()`](/Peer/createGuestGrant/). Lets a guest use the Puter-managed relays on the host's account. Without one, a guest connects only where a direct connection is possible; with `forceRelay`, a guest needs one.
+- `recoveryTimeout` (`Number`) How long, in milliseconds, the connection keeps trying to repair a broken link before it closes, counted from when the link first showed trouble. Defaults to `60000`.
 
 ## Return value
 
diff --git a/src/docs/src/Peer/serve.md b/src/docs/src/Peer/serve.md
index 4e177d829..d938f9e96 100644
--- a/src/docs/src/Peer/serve.md
+++ b/src/docs/src/Peer/serve.md
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ const server = await puter.peer.serve(options);
 - `iceServers` (`RTCIceServer[]`) Custom ICE servers (STUN/TURN) to use instead of the Puter-managed relays.
 - `forceRelay` (`boolean`) Whether to force connections to route through a relay instead of attempting peer-to-peer (default). Metering charges will increase.
 - `anonToken` (`String`) Host without a Puter session. Any uuid; no sign-in prompt is shown. An anonymous host has no account to attribute relay usage to, so it cannot issue guest grants and gets no relays of its own.
+- `recoveryTimeout` (`Number`) How long, in milliseconds, each connection keeps trying to repair a broken link before it closes, counted from when the link first showed trouble. Defaults to `60000`.
 
 To let people join your session without accounts of their own, keep hosting authenticated and give them a grant — see [`puter.peer.createGuestGrant()`](/Peer/createGuestGrant/).
 
diff --git a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PerfectNegotiator.js b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PerfectNegotiator.js
index c21da7508..a301182c8 100644
--- a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PerfectNegotiator.js
+++ b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PerfectNegotiator.js
@@ -256,7 +256,11 @@ export class PerfectNegotiator {
 
     async #applyAnswer ( description, names ) {
         const pc = this.#pc;
-        if ( pc.signalingState === 'closed' ) return;
+        // An answer with no offer of ours outstanding replies to one that has
+        // since been rolled back or replaced - several restart offers held up
+        // by a stalled socket arrive at once, and so do their answers. There
+        // is nothing for it to settle.
+        if ( pc.signalingState !== 'have-local-offer' ) return;
         try {
             await this.#adopt(description, names);
             if ( pc.signalingState === 'stable' ) {
diff --git a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerConnection.js b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerConnection.js
index 48dc77588..7b68e2172 100644
--- a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerConnection.js
+++ b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerConnection.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { PerfectNegotiator } from './PerfectNegotiator.js';
+import { DEFAULT_ANSWER_TIMEOUT, PerfectNegotiator } from './PerfectNegotiator.js';
 import { TrackPublisher } from './tracks.js';
 import { ClientSignallingChannel } from './signalling.js';
 import {
@@ -14,7 +14,11 @@ import {
 /** @typedef {import('./tracks.js').PuterPeerPublishOptions} PuterPeerPublishOptions */
 
 /**
- * How long to keep trying to rescue a link before giving it up.
+ * How long to keep trying to rescue a link before giving it up, counted from
+ * the first sign of trouble rather than from the transport failing: Chrome
+ * takes a further ten seconds or so to call a silent link `failed`, and an
+ * app waiting to act on a peer that vanished should not have to add that on.
+ * Apps can shorten it with the `recoveryTimeout` option.
  *
  * Counted in time rather than attempts, because what recovery is usually
  * waiting on is the peer coming back - a lid reopened, a network rejoined -
@@ -23,6 +27,15 @@ import {
  */
 const RECOVERY_BUDGET_MS = 60_000;
 
+/**
+ * How long recovery keeps trying once the peer's own signalling session has
+ * ended. Until it comes back they cannot answer an offer at all, so the
+ * budget above would be spent on a peer that provably cannot reply - and an
+ * app waiting on this connection to close before it acts (to elect a new
+ * host, say) would wait that whole time for an answer it was never getting.
+ */
+const PEER_AWAY_GRACE_MS = 10_000;
+
 /** Gap between restart attempts, doubling, so a long wait stays quiet. */
 const RECOVERY_BACKOFF_MS = 2000;
 const RECOVERY_BACKOFF_MAX_MS = 15_000;
@@ -66,16 +79,28 @@ export class PuterPeerConnection extends EventTarget {
     #recovering = false;
     /** The peer said goodbye, or closed the channel. Proof, not evidence. */
     #peerHungUp = false;
+    /** The peer's signalling session ended and has not come back. */
+    #peerAway = false;
     #transportWaiters = new Set();
     #signallingWaiters = new Set();
+    #recoveryBudget;
+    #polite;
+    /** When the transport last left `connected`; recovery's budget runs from here. */
+    #troubleSince = null;
 
     /**
      * @param {object} peerConfig
-     * @param {{ polite?: boolean, channel?: import('./signalling.js').SignallingChannel }} [options]
+     * @param {{
+     *   polite?: boolean,
+     *   channel?: import('./signalling.js').SignallingChannel,
+     *   recoveryTimeout?: number,
+     * }} [options]
      */
-    constructor ( peerConfig, { polite = false, channel } = {} ) {
+    constructor ( peerConfig, { polite = false, channel, recoveryTimeout = RECOVERY_BUDGET_MS } = {} ) {
         super();
         this.#peerConfig = peerConfig;
+        this.#polite = polite;
+        this.#recoveryBudget = recoveryTimeout;
         this.#channel = channel ?? new ClientSignallingChannel(peerConfig);
 
         this.peerconnection = new RTCPeerConnection({
@@ -122,6 +147,7 @@ export class PuterPeerConnection extends EventTarget {
         this.#channel.onpeergone = (reason, resumable) => this.#onPeerGone(reason, resumable);
         this.#channel.onunusable = () => this.#onSignallingLost();
         this.#channel.onusable = () => this.#wakeSignallingWaiters();
+        this.#channel.onpeerback = () => this.#onPeerBack();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -170,11 +196,22 @@ export class PuterPeerConnection extends EventTarget {
      */
     #onPeerGone ( reason, resumable ) {
         if ( ! resumable ) this.#peerHungUp = true;
+        this.#peerAway = true;
         // A handshake has nothing to wait on either way: whoever is dialling
         // needs a definite answer rather than a socket that may come back.
         if ( ! this.connected ) this.#doclose(reason, undefined);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The peer reclaimed the session it dropped, so it can answer again.
+     * Anything waiting on that gets to stop waiting now.
+     */
+    #onPeerBack () {
+        this.#peerAway = false;
+        this.#wakeSignallingWaiters();
+        this.#wakeTransportWaiters();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Our own signalling socket dropped. Renegotiation is off the table until
      * it returns, but an open data channel keeps working without it.
@@ -190,7 +227,10 @@ export class PuterPeerConnection extends EventTarget {
 
     #onConnectionState () {
         this.#wakeTransportWaiters();
-        switch ( this.peerconnection.connectionState ) {
+        const state = this.peerconnection.connectionState;
+        if ( state === 'connected' ) this.#troubleSince = null;
+        else if ( state === 'disconnected' || state === 'failed' ) this.#troubleSince ??= Date.now();
+        switch ( state ) {
             case 'connected':
                 this.#setLinkState('connected');
                 break;
@@ -198,8 +238,10 @@ export class PuterPeerConnection extends EventTarget {
             // escalates to 'failed', which is where recovery belongs. Nothing
             // is done about it, but a watcher is told, because frozen video
             // starts here rather than at 'failed'.
+            // Recovery is already saying more than that, and an unanswered
+            // restart lands here too.
             case 'disconnected':
-                this.#setLinkState('unstable');
+                if ( ! this.#recovering ) this.#setLinkState('unstable');
                 break;
             case 'failed':
                 this.#recover();
@@ -232,19 +274,45 @@ export class PuterPeerConnection extends EventTarget {
      * or the budget is spent. The browser has no reason to raise another
      * `connectionstatechange` while the state stays `failed`, so the retries
      * belong in here rather than in the event.
+     *
+     * Recovery lasts until the transport is connected again, not merely until
+     * it stops reading `failed`: Chrome answers an unanswered restart offer by
+     * reporting `disconnected`, then `failed` again once that times out too.
+     * Letting that end recovery would start a fresh budget every cycle, and a
+     * peer that vanished would never be given up.
+     *
+     * Only the impolite side restarts; the polite side answers and waits.
+     * Restart offers from both sides made during an outage are held up
+     * together and collide the moment it ends, and the polite side rolling
+     * its own back then leaves Chrome's congestion control stuck near zero:
+     * the link reports connected, data flows, and the polite side's video
+     * never encodes another frame. Nor does a polite restart ever help - with
+     * the impolite side's signalling up it restarts by itself, and with it
+     * down the offer has nowhere to go.
      */
     async #recover () {
         if ( this.closed || this.#recovering ) return;
         this.#recovering = true;
-        const deadline = Date.now() + RECOVERY_BUDGET_MS;
+        const deadline = (this.#troubleSince ?? Date.now()) + this.#recoveryBudget;
         let attempt = 0;
+        /** Set while the peer is away; recovery outlives it only so long. */
+        let awayDeadline = null;
         try {
             let unanswered = false;
-            while ( ! this.closed && this.peerconnection.connectionState === 'failed' ) {
+            while ( ! this.closed && this.peerconnection.connectionState !== 'connected' ) {
                 if ( this.#peerHungUp ) {
                     this.#doclose('the peer hung up', undefined);
                     return;
                 }
+                if ( this.#peerAway ) {
+                    awayDeadline ??= Date.now() + PEER_AWAY_GRACE_MS;
+                    if ( Date.now() >= awayDeadline ) {
+                        this.#doclose('the peer is no longer reachable', undefined);
+                        return;
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    awayDeadline = null;
+                }
                 // No route left to offer over, and none coming.
                 if ( this.#channel.stranded ) {
                     this.#doclose('the peer is no longer reachable', undefined);
@@ -259,6 +327,15 @@ export class PuterPeerConnection extends EventTarget {
                     return;
                 }
 
+                if ( this.#polite ) {
+                    if ( this.linkState !== 'recovering' ) this.#setLinkState('recovering');
+                    // Woken early by the transport changing or the peer
+                    // reclaiming its session; the checks above run again on
+                    // the way round.
+                    await this.#nextTransportChange(Math.min(RECOVERY_BACKOFF_MS, left));
+                    continue;
+                }
+
                 // Nothing can be offered without signalling. It comes back
                 // on its own when a peer server reclaims its session, so
                 // wait on it rather than spend an attempt failing.
@@ -270,7 +347,8 @@ export class PuterPeerConnection extends EventTarget {
                 attempt++;
                 this.#setLinkState('recovering', { attempt });
                 try {
-                    await this.#negotiator.restartIce();
+                    // An answer after the deadline is too late to use.
+                    await this.#negotiator.restartIce(Math.min(DEFAULT_ANSWER_TIMEOUT, deadline - Date.now()));
                     unanswered = false;
                 } catch {
                     unanswered = true;
@@ -278,7 +356,7 @@ export class PuterPeerConnection extends EventTarget {
 
                 // Either the new candidates take over or they do not, and
                 // only then is another attempt worth making.
-                if ( this.peerconnection.connectionState === 'failed' ) {
+                if ( this.peerconnection.connectionState !== 'connected' ) {
                     const backoff = Math.min(
                         RECOVERY_BACKOFF_MAX_MS,
                         RECOVERY_BACKOFF_MS * 2 ** (attempt - 1),
diff --git a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerConnection.test.js b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerConnection.test.js
index 8f877dde7..18ca9ec59 100644
--- a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerConnection.test.js
+++ b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerConnection.test.js
@@ -19,9 +19,13 @@ afterEach(() => {
     vi.useRealTimers();
 });
 
-const makeConnection = async ({ connected = true } = {}) => {
+/**
+ * A connection past its opening exchange. Impolite by default, since that is
+ * the side that restarts ICE; the polite side waits for its restarts.
+ */
+const makeConnection = async ({ connected = true, polite = false } = {}) => {
     const channel = new LoopbackChannel('peer');
-    const conn = new PuterPeerConnection({ iceServers: [] }, { polite: true, channel });
+    const conn = new PuterPeerConnection({ iceServers: [] }, { polite, channel });
     const pc = FakePeerConnection.instances.at(-1);
     conn.acceptNegotiation();
 
@@ -121,6 +125,105 @@ describe('ICE recovery', () => {
         expect(closes).toEqual(['the peer stopped responding']);
     });
 
+    it('keeps one budget when an unanswered restart knocks the state back', async () => {
+        // Chrome reports 'disconnected' as soon as an unanswered restart offer
+        // is applied, and 'failed' again some 15s later. Each 'failed' must
+        // not start a fresh budget, or a vanished peer is never given up.
+        vi.useFakeTimers();
+        const { conn, pc, closes } = await makeConnection();
+        const restartIce = pc.restartIce.bind(pc);
+        pc.restartIce = () => {
+            restartIce();
+            queueMicrotask(() => pc.setConnectionState('disconnected'));
+            setTimeout(() => pc.setConnectionState('failed'), 15_000);
+        };
+
+        pc.setConnectionState('failed');
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(75_000);
+
+        expect(conn.closed).toBe(true);
+        expect(closes).toEqual(['the peer stopped responding']);
+    });
+
+    it('stays recovering while a restart knocks the state back', async () => {
+        vi.useFakeTimers();
+        const { conn, pc } = await makeConnection();
+
+        pc.setConnectionState('failed');
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(100);
+        pc.setConnectionState('disconnected');
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(100);
+
+        expect(conn.linkState).toBe('recovering');
+    });
+
+    it('counts the budget from the first sign of trouble, not from failure', async () => {
+        vi.useFakeTimers();
+        const { conn, pc, closes } = await makeConnection();
+
+        pc.setConnectionState('disconnected');
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(15_000);
+        pc.setConnectionState('failed');
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(46_000);
+
+        expect(conn.closed).toBe(true);
+        expect(closes).toEqual(['the peer stopped responding']);
+    });
+
+    it('gives up as soon as the app asked it to', async () => {
+        vi.useFakeTimers();
+        const channel = new LoopbackChannel('peer');
+        const conn = new PuterPeerConnection({ iceServers: [] }, { channel, recoveryTimeout: 20_000 });
+        const pc = FakePeerConnection.instances.at(-1);
+        conn.acceptNegotiation();
+        channel.onoffer({ type: 'offer', sdp: 'opening-offer' });
+        await flush();
+        pc.channels[0].open();
+
+        pc.setConnectionState('failed');
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(19_000);
+        expect(conn.closed).toBe(false);
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(2_000);
+        expect(conn.closed).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('leaves restarting to the impolite side when it is the polite one', async () => {
+        // Restart offers from both sides, held up together by the outage,
+        // collide once it ends; the polite side rolling its own back leaves
+        // Chrome sending it no video. It answers the impolite side instead.
+        vi.useFakeTimers();
+        const { conn, pc, channel, closes } = await makeConnection({ polite: true });
+        const seen = [];
+        conn.addEventListener('linkstate', (e) => seen.push(e.state));
+
+        pc.setConnectionState('failed');
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(20_000);
+        expect(pc.restarts).toBe(0);
+        expect(seen).toEqual(['recovering']);
+        expect(conn.closed).toBe(false);
+
+        channel.onoffer({ type: 'offer', sdp: 'restart-offer' });
+        await flush();
+        pc.setConnectionState('connected');
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(100);
+
+        expect(conn.linkState).toBe('connected');
+        expect(closes).toEqual([]);
+    });
+
+    it('still gives the link up on the polite side once the budget is spent', async () => {
+        vi.useFakeTimers();
+        const { conn, pc, closes } = await makeConnection({ polite: true });
+
+        pc.setConnectionState('failed');
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(59_000);
+        expect(conn.closed).toBe(false);
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(3_000);
+
+        expect(pc.restarts).toBe(0);
+        expect(closes).toEqual(['could not restore the connection']);
+    });
+
     it('waits for signalling rather than spending attempts it cannot send', async () => {
         vi.useFakeTimers();
         const { conn, pc, channel, closes } = await makeConnection();
@@ -155,18 +258,49 @@ describe('ICE recovery', () => {
         expect(closes).toEqual(['the peer hung up']);
     });
 
-    it('keeps recovering when the peer only lost its signalling session', async () => {
+    it('keeps recovering while a peer that lost its signalling might return', async () => {
         vi.useFakeTimers();
         const { conn, pc, channel, closes } = await makeConnection();
 
         channel.onpeergone('the peer server’s signalling dropped', true);
         pc.setConnectionState('failed');
-        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(10_000);
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(5_000);
 
         expect(pc.restarts).toBeGreaterThan(0);
         expect(conn.closed).toBe(false);
         expect(closes).toEqual([]);
     });
+
+    it('stops waiting on a peer whose signalling never comes back', async () => {
+        // Nothing it offers can be answered until that session returns, so
+        // spending the whole budget only holds up whoever is waiting on this
+        // connection to close before they act.
+        vi.useFakeTimers();
+        const { conn, pc, channel, closes } = await makeConnection();
+
+        channel.onpeergone('the peer server’s signalling dropped', true);
+        pc.setConnectionState('failed');
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(15_000);
+
+        expect(conn.closed).toBe(true);
+        expect(closes).toEqual(['the peer is no longer reachable']);
+    });
+
+    it('gets the full budget back when the peer reclaims its session', async () => {
+        vi.useFakeTimers();
+        const { conn, pc, channel, closes } = await makeConnection();
+
+        channel.onpeergone('the peer server’s signalling dropped', true);
+        pc.setConnectionState('failed');
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(5_000);
+
+        channel.onpeerback();
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(20_000);
+
+        expect(conn.closed).toBe(false);
+        expect(closes).toEqual([]);
+        expect(pc.restarts).toBeGreaterThan(1);
+    });
 });
 
 describe('signalling loss', () => {
diff --git a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerServer.js b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerServer.js
index 72aef6ffd..46120a86d 100644
--- a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerServer.js
+++ b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerServer.js
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ export class PuterPeerServer extends EventTarget {
         }
         this.#resumeToken = reply.resumeToken ?? this.#resumeToken;
         this.inviteCode = reply.invitecode ?? this.inviteCode;
-        return { inviteCode: this.inviteCode, resumed };
+        return { inviteCode: this.inviteCode, resumed, refused: reply.resumeRefused };
     }
 
     #scheduleReconnect () {
@@ -167,7 +167,11 @@ export class PuterPeerServer extends EventTarget {
         }
         this.#reconnectAttempts = 0;
         this.dispatchEvent(
-            new PuterPeerServerReconnectEvent(registration.inviteCode, registration.resumed),
+            new PuterPeerServerReconnectEvent(
+                registration.inviteCode,
+                registration.resumed,
+                registration.refused,
+            ),
         );
     }
 
@@ -238,6 +242,7 @@ export class PuterPeerServer extends EventTarget {
         const connection = new PuterPeerConnection(this.#peerConfig, {
             polite: true,
             channel,
+            recoveryTimeout: this.#options.recoveryTimeout,
         });
         this.#channels.set(id, channel);
         this.connections.set(id, connection);
diff --git a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerServer.test.js b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerServer.test.js
index ec072f06e..08d8f459c 100644
--- a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerServer.test.js
+++ b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/PuterPeerServer.test.js
@@ -325,3 +325,40 @@ describe('PuterPeerServer reclaiming a dropped session', () => {
         expect(FakeWebSocket.latest).toBe(ws);
     });
 });
+
+describe('a link already recovering when the session is lost', () => {
+    it('gives up as soon as the reclaim fails, not when its budget runs out', async () => {
+        // The order a network switch produces: ICE dies first, recovery is
+        // already under way, and only then does the socket come back under
+        // a session that cannot reach this client any more.
+        vi.useFakeTimers();
+        const server = await startServer();
+        const ws = FakeWebSocket.latest;
+        await ws.onmessage({
+            data: JSON.stringify({ server: { connect: { id: 'c1', user: {} } } }),
+        });
+        const conn = server.connections.get('c1');
+        const pc = FakePeerConnection.instances.at(-1);
+        pc.channels[0].open();
+        const closes = [];
+        conn.addEventListener('close', (e) => closes.push(e.reason));
+
+        // ICE goes first; recovery starts while the socket is still up.
+        pc.setConnectionState('failed');
+        await flushMicrotasks();
+
+        // Then the socket dies and comes back without the session.
+        ws.onclose({});
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1_000);
+        await openSocket(FakeWebSocket.latest);
+        await answerCreate(FakeWebSocket.latest, {
+            success: true,
+            invitecode: 'invite-2',
+            resumeToken: 'tok-2',
+            resumed: false,
+        });
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1_000);
+
+        expect(closes).toEqual(['the peer is no longer reachable']);
+    });
+});
diff --git a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/events.js b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/events.js
index 8f72baf38..84a446588 100644
--- a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/events.js
+++ b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/events.js
@@ -16,10 +16,13 @@ export class PuterPeerServerConnectionEvent extends Event {
 export class PuterPeerServerReconnectEvent extends Event {
     inviteCode;
     resumed;
-    constructor (inviteCode, resumed) {
+    /** Why a reclaim was refused, when one was asked for and turned down. */
+    refused;
+    constructor (inviteCode, resumed, refused) {
         super('reconnect');
         this.inviteCode = inviteCode;
         this.resumed = resumed;
+        this.refused = refused;
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/index.js b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/index.js
index 1fb80e033..f00c26959 100644
--- a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/index.js
+++ b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/index.js
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ export class PeerModule extends PuterModule {
         const peerConfig = await this.#resolvePeerConfig(options);
         // Connecting is the impolite side: it makes the opening offer and
         // keeps it when the two ends collide.
-        const conn = new PuterPeerConnection(peerConfig, { polite: false });
+        const conn = new PuterPeerConnection(peerConfig, { polite: false, recoveryTimeout: options?.recoveryTimeout });
         await conn.connect(invitecode, options);
         return conn;
     }
diff --git a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/signalling.js b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/signalling.js
index 34202ebb1..2112a8d97 100644
--- a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/signalling.js
+++ b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/signalling.js
@@ -33,6 +33,9 @@ export class SignallingChannel {
     /** It came back, and anything waiting on it may go ahead. */
     /** @type {() => void} */
     onusable = () => {};
+    /** The peer reclaimed the session it dropped; it can answer again. */
+    /** @type {() => void} */
+    onpeerback = () => {};
 
     /**
      * Reads one relayed envelope and calls the handler for what it holds.
@@ -170,6 +173,10 @@ export class ClientSignallingChannel extends SignallingChannel {
             }
             return this.onrejected(new Error(msg.connect.error));
         }
+        if ( msg.reconnect ) {
+            this.onpeerback();
+            return;
+        }
         if ( msg.disconnect ) {
             this.onpeergone(msg.disconnect.reason, !! msg.disconnect.resumable);
             return;
diff --git a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/types.js b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/types.js
index 1ac877f22..a8d994e82 100644
--- a/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/types.js
+++ b/src/puter-js/src/modules/Peer/types.js
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@
  * @property {string} [turnGrant] A grant from `puter.peer.createGuestGrant()`, letting a guest with
  * no session use the Puter-managed relays on the granting account's allowance.
  * @property {number} [port] Internal loopback port used by supported Puter environments.
+ * @property {number} [recoveryTimeout] How long, in milliseconds, a connection keeps trying to
+ * rescue a broken link before closing, counted from when the link first showed trouble. Defaults
+ * to 60000.
  */
 
 /**