diff --git a/.changes/stalker-endpoint-discovery.md b/.changes/stalker-endpoint-discovery.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ed93eb173
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/stalker-endpoint-discovery.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+type: fix
+area: stalker
+issues: [850, 686, 755]
+---
+
+Stalker portals are no longer classified by their URL shape: importing probes
+the real API endpoint (`portal.php` vs `server/load.php`) and checks whether
+the portal actually requires authentication. Canonical Ministra URLs finally
+load content, `…/c` addresses resolve correctly, and misclassified existing
+portals repair themselves on first failure — keeping favorites and history.
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 491e6ce4a..9143e8159 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -1026,7 +1026,7 @@ engine` (restart required) or
 
 - Both portal types expose an account-info dialog through the same entry points: header playlist switcher (bottom section for the active playlist + per-row ⋮ menu), dashboard source card ⋮ menu, and the command palette. Gates use the shared predicates in `libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/portal-account-playlist.utils.ts`; `WorkspaceShellHeaderService.openAccountInfoFor()` picks the dialog by playlist type.
 - Xtream: `AccountInfoComponent` (`libs/portal/xtream/feature/src/lib/account-info/`), queries `get_account_info` live.
-- Stalker: `StalkerAccountInfoComponent` (`libs/portal/stalker/feature/src/lib/stalker-account-info/`), cached-first — renders the import-time `stalkerAccountInfo` snapshot instantly, then `StalkerAccountInfoService` refreshes (full portals: handshake+`get_profile`; `portal.php`: best-effort `account_info/get_main_info`, nested `js.account_info` envelope or flat fields). Details: `docs/architecture/stalker-portal.md` ("Account Info Dialog").
+- Stalker: `StalkerAccountInfoComponent` (`libs/portal/stalker/feature/src/lib/stalker-account-info/`), cached-first — renders the import-time `stalkerAccountInfo` snapshot instantly, then `StalkerAccountInfoService` refreshes, routing by the observed portal MODE rather than the URL shape (full mode: handshake+`get_profile`; simple mode: best-effort `account_info/get_main_info`, nested `js.account_info` envelope or flat fields), and re-routing when a lazy repair changes the mode mid-request. Details: `docs/architecture/stalker-portal.md` ("Account Info Dialog").
 - Dashboard source cards carry a passive subscription-expiry chip (amber within 7 days, error-toned once expired); account details remain behind ⋮ → Account info. `DashboardSourceExpiryService` (`libs/workspace/dashboard/data-access/`) gathers the facts: Xtream from `PortalStatusService.checkPortalStatusDetails()` (the switcher's cached status check, now carrying `exp_date`), Stalker from the persisted `stalkerAccountInfo` snapshot — it lives in the playlist payload, not on meta rows, so each Stalker source costs one memoized full-playlist read.
 
 **Favorites and Recently Viewed**:
diff --git a/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/stalker-portal-discovery.e2e.ts b/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/stalker-portal-discovery.e2e.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6578220e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/stalker-portal-discovery.e2e.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,257 @@
+import type { Page } from '@playwright/test';
+import {
+    addStalkerPortal,
+    closeElectronApp,
+    expect,
+    launchElectronApp,
+    openSources,
+    resetMockServers,
+    restartElectronApp,
+    sourceRowByTitle,
+    stalkerMockServer,
+    test,
+    waitForStalkerCatalog,
+} from './electron-test-fixtures';
+
+/**
+ * Endpoint discovery + behavior-based portal mode (issues #850, #686, #755).
+ *
+ * One persisted field — `isFullStalkerPortal` — decides whether the app
+ * authenticates at all. It used to be a URL-shape guess frozen at import:
+ * canonical `…/server/load.php` portals were persisted as token-free (every
+ * request answered the plain-text `Authorization failed.`), and `…/c` URLs
+ * were rewritten to a `portal.php` official Ministra never serves (404).
+ *
+ * The mock mirrors both worlds: `/portal.php` is a tolerant reseller panel,
+ * `/server/load.php` enforces the Bearer token like real middleware, and the
+ * `/ministra/*` prefix serves ONLY `server/load.php` — a genuine Ministra
+ * host where `portal.php` 404s.
+ */
+
+// Non-scenario MACs: every MAC gets deterministic auto-generated catalog
+// data, and per-MAC state cannot collide with the scenario MACs other spec
+// files rely on.
+const CANONICAL_IMPORT_MAC = '00:1A:79:00:00:21';
+const MINISTRA_IMPORT_MAC = '00:1A:79:00:00:22';
+const RESELLER_IMPORT_MAC = '00:1A:79:00:00:23';
+const REPAIR_FLAG_MAC = '00:1A:79:00:00:24';
+const REPAIR_ENDPOINT_MAC = '00:1A:79:00:00:25';
+const HEALTHY_RESELLER_MAC = '00:1A:79:00:00:26';
+
+interface StoredPortalConfig {
+    portalUrl: unknown;
+    isFullStalkerPortal: unknown;
+}
+
+type PlaylistStorageWindow = Window & {
+    electron: {
+        dbGetAppPlaylists: () => Promise<Record<string, unknown>[]>;
+        dbUpsertAppPlaylist: (
+            playlist: Record<string, unknown>
+        ) => Promise<unknown>;
+    };
+};
+
+async function readStoredPortalConfig(
+    page: Page,
+    title: string
+): Promise<StoredPortalConfig | null> {
+    return page.evaluate(async (playlistTitle) => {
+        const electron = (window as unknown as PlaylistStorageWindow).electron;
+        const playlists = await electron.dbGetAppPlaylists();
+        const row = playlists.find(
+            (playlist) => playlist['title'] === playlistTitle
+        );
+        return row
+            ? {
+                  portalUrl: row['portalUrl'],
+                  isFullStalkerPortal: row['isFullStalkerPortal'],
+              }
+            : null;
+    }, title);
+}
+
+async function seedStalkerPlaylist(
+    page: Page,
+    row: {
+        id: string;
+        title: string;
+        macAddress: string;
+        portalUrl: string;
+        isFullStalkerPortal: boolean;
+    }
+): Promise<void> {
+    const nowIso = new Date().toISOString();
+    await page.evaluate(async (playlist) => {
+        const electron = (window as unknown as PlaylistStorageWindow).electron;
+        await electron.dbUpsertAppPlaylist(playlist);
+    }, {
+        _id: row.id,
+        title: row.title,
+        macAddress: row.macAddress,
+        portalUrl: row.portalUrl,
+        isFullStalkerPortal: row.isFullStalkerPortal,
+        count: 0,
+        autoRefresh: false,
+        importDate: nowIso,
+        lastUsage: nowIso,
+        favorites: [],
+        recentlyViewed: [],
+    });
+}
+
+async function openSeededPortal(page: Page, title: string): Promise<void> {
+    await openSources(page);
+    await sourceRowByTitle(page, title).first().click();
+    await waitForStalkerCatalog(page);
+}
+
+test('@electron @stalker import discovery resolves canonical, ministra-/c and reseller URLs', async ({
+    dataDir,
+    request,
+}) => {
+    test.setTimeout(240_000);
+    await resetMockServers(request, ['stalker']);
+
+    const app = await launchElectronApp(dataDir);
+
+    try {
+        // 1) Canonical Ministra endpoint pasted directly (#850): the old
+        // import predicate missed `/server/load.php`, persisted the portal
+        // as token-free and every content request answered the plain-text
+        // "Authorization failed." — portal added, no content.
+        await addStalkerPortal(app.mainWindow, {
+            name: 'Canonical Load PHP',
+            macAddress: CANONICAL_IMPORT_MAC,
+            portalUrl: `${stalkerMockServer}/server/load.php`,
+        });
+        await waitForStalkerCatalog(app.mainWindow);
+        expect(
+            await readStoredPortalConfig(app.mainWindow, 'Canonical Load PHP')
+        ).toEqual({
+            portalUrl: `${stalkerMockServer}/server/load.php`,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        });
+
+        // 2) The `…/c` browser URL on a genuine Ministra host (#686/#755):
+        // the old rewrite produced `…/portal.php`, which 404s there. The
+        // probe must fall through the 404 to `server/load.php` and persist
+        // full-portal mode.
+        await openSources(app.mainWindow);
+        await addStalkerPortal(app.mainWindow, {
+            name: 'Ministra Slash C',
+            macAddress: MINISTRA_IMPORT_MAC,
+            portalUrl: `${stalkerMockServer}/ministra/c`,
+        });
+        await waitForStalkerCatalog(app.mainWindow);
+        expect(
+            await readStoredPortalConfig(app.mainWindow, 'Ministra Slash C')
+        ).toEqual({
+            portalUrl: `${stalkerMockServer}/ministra/server/load.php`,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        });
+
+        // 3) Reseller `…/c` URL: portal.php answers without a token, so the
+        // pre-discovery behavior (portal.php endpoint, simple mode, no
+        // handshake) must be preserved exactly.
+        await openSources(app.mainWindow);
+        await addStalkerPortal(app.mainWindow, {
+            name: 'Reseller Panel',
+            macAddress: RESELLER_IMPORT_MAC,
+            portalUrl: `${stalkerMockServer}/c`,
+        });
+        await waitForStalkerCatalog(app.mainWindow);
+        expect(
+            await readStoredPortalConfig(app.mainWindow, 'Reseller Panel')
+        ).toEqual({
+            portalUrl: `${stalkerMockServer}/portal.php`,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+        });
+    } finally {
+        await closeElectronApp(app);
+    }
+});
+
+test('@electron @stalker lazy repair fixes misclassified stored portals and never touches working ones', async ({
+    dataDir,
+    request,
+}) => {
+    test.setTimeout(240_000);
+    await resetMockServers(request, ['stalker']);
+
+    let app = await launchElectronApp(dataDir);
+
+    try {
+        // Rows exactly as the pre-discovery code persisted them.
+        await seedStalkerPlaylist(app.mainWindow, {
+            id: 'repair-flag-only',
+            title: 'Misclassified Canonical',
+            macAddress: REPAIR_FLAG_MAC,
+            portalUrl: `${stalkerMockServer}/server/load.php`,
+            // The old import predicate persisted false for this URL.
+            isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+        });
+        await seedStalkerPlaylist(app.mainWindow, {
+            id: 'repair-endpoint',
+            title: 'Broken Portal PHP Rewrite',
+            macAddress: REPAIR_ENDPOINT_MAC,
+            // The old `…/c` rewrite on a genuine Ministra host: 404 forever.
+            portalUrl: `${stalkerMockServer}/ministra/portal.php`,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+        });
+        await seedStalkerPlaylist(app.mainWindow, {
+            id: 'healthy-reseller',
+            title: 'Healthy Reseller',
+            macAddress: HEALTHY_RESELLER_MAC,
+            portalUrl: `${stalkerMockServer}/portal.php`,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+        });
+
+        // Fresh session so the seeded rows load like any long-existing
+        // playlist (the repair must work for users, not for this test).
+        const restarted = await restartElectronApp(app, dataDir);
+        app = restarted;
+
+        // Misclassified canonical portal: the first content request answers
+        // the plain-text auth failure, repair re-probes, proves the endpoint
+        // enforces the token, flips ONLY the flag and retries — the catalog
+        // must render in the same session.
+        await openSeededPortal(app.mainWindow, 'Misclassified Canonical');
+        await expect
+            .poll(() =>
+                readStoredPortalConfig(app.mainWindow, 'Misclassified Canonical')
+            )
+            .toEqual({
+                portalUrl: `${stalkerMockServer}/server/load.php`,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+
+        // Dead portal.php rewrite: the 404 triggers the repair, which lands
+        // on the canonical endpoint in full mode.
+        await openSeededPortal(app.mainWindow, 'Broken Portal PHP Rewrite');
+        await expect
+            .poll(() =>
+                readStoredPortalConfig(
+                    app.mainWindow,
+                    'Broken Portal PHP Rewrite'
+                )
+            )
+            .toEqual({
+                portalUrl: `${stalkerMockServer}/ministra/server/load.php`,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+
+        // Working reseller panel: browsing succeeds without any auth, so the
+        // repair never runs and the stored row stays byte-identical — the
+        // conservative core of the migration story.
+        await openSeededPortal(app.mainWindow, 'Healthy Reseller');
+        expect(
+            await readStoredPortalConfig(app.mainWindow, 'Healthy Reseller')
+        ).toEqual({
+            portalUrl: `${stalkerMockServer}/portal.php`,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+        });
+    } finally {
+        await closeElectronApp(app);
+    }
+});
diff --git a/apps/electron-backend/src/app/events/stalker.events.ts b/apps/electron-backend/src/app/events/stalker.events.ts
index 2dc383567..84b64d985 100644
--- a/apps/electron-backend/src/app/events/stalker.events.ts
+++ b/apps/electron-backend/src/app/events/stalker.events.ts
@@ -100,10 +100,15 @@ ipcMain.handle(
                     response.status,
                     response.statusText
                 );
-                throw {
-                    message: `HTTP Error: ${response.statusText}`,
-                    status: response.status,
-                };
+                // The numeric code must live in the MESSAGE: ipcRenderer
+                // strips custom properties from rejected values, and the
+                // renderer's endpoint discovery needs to tell a 404 (probe
+                // next candidate) from a network failure (stop probing).
+                const httpError = new Error(
+                    `HTTP Error ${response.status}: ${response.statusText}`
+                ) as Error & { status: number };
+                httpError.status = response.status;
+                throw httpError;
             }
 
             // Return the response data
@@ -163,16 +168,26 @@ ipcMain.handle(
             );
 
             // Format error response
-            if (axios.isAxiosError(error)) {
-                const errorResponse = {
-                    type: 'ERROR',
-                    message:
-                        error.response?.data?.message ||
-                        error.message ||
-                        'Failed to fetch data from Stalker portal',
-                    status: error.response?.status || 500,
-                };
-                throw errorResponse;
+            if (axios.isAxiosError(error) && error.response) {
+                // A real HTTP response (5xx lands here via validateStatus).
+                // Same parseable message shape as the 4xx branch: only the
+                // message crosses ipcRenderer.invoke, and the renderer's
+                // endpoint discovery must tell "this endpoint answered 5xx —
+                // try the next candidate" from a host-level failure.
+                const httpError = new Error(
+                    `HTTP Error ${error.response.status}: ${error.response.statusText ?? ''}`
+                ) as Error & { status: number };
+                httpError.status = error.response.status;
+                throw httpError;
+            } else if (axios.isAxiosError(error)) {
+                // A real Error, not a plain object: Electron serializes
+                // handler rejections via toString(), so a plain object
+                // reaches the renderer as "[object Object]" and its
+                // timeout-vs-connection classification is lost — discovery
+                // would stop probing as if the whole host were unreachable.
+                throw new Error(
+                    error.message || 'Failed to fetch data from Stalker portal'
+                );
             } else if (
                 error &&
                 typeof error === 'object' &&
diff --git a/apps/stalker-mock-server/README.md b/apps/stalker-mock-server/README.md
index 6bd9fd898..cc4138ba6 100644
--- a/apps/stalker-mock-server/README.md
+++ b/apps/stalker-mock-server/README.md
@@ -27,30 +27,26 @@ Then in IPTVnator, add a new Stalker portal:
 
 - **Portal URL**: `http://localhost:3210/portal.php` (tolerant panel-style endpoint)
   or `http://localhost:3210/stalker_portal/server/load.php` (canonical Ministra
-  endpoint — see [Two endpoints](#two-endpoints-tolerant-vs-strict) below)
+  endpoint — see [Endpoints](#endpoints-tolerant-strict-and-the-ministra-host) below)
 - **MAC Address**: one of the predefined scenarios below (or any MAC for auto-generated data)
 
-## Two endpoints: tolerant vs strict
+## Endpoints: tolerant, strict, and the /ministra host
 
-The same actions are served at two paths with deliberately different strictness,
-because the app treats them differently: a URL containing `/stalker_portal` is
-imported as a **full portal** (handshake + token + watchdog), anything else as a
-**simple portal** (no authentication at all).
+The same actions are served at several paths with deliberately different
+strictness. Since endpoint discovery landed, the app no longer guesses the
+portal mode from the URL shape: at import it probes `portal.php` →
+`server/load.php` → `stalker_portal/server/load.php` and classifies each
+endpoint by observed behavior (token-less `get_genres` answering data ⇒
+token-free panel; the plain-text auth failure ⇒ full portal, confirmed by a
+real handshake + `get_profile`). The mock's split makes every branch of that
+classification exercisable:
 
 | Path | Behaviour |
 |---|---|
-| `/portal.php` | Tolerant. Ignores the Bearer token and the MAC format, like most reseller panels in the wild. |
-| `/stalker_portal/server/load.php` | Strict. Enforces the token and the MAC format exactly like the real middleware. |
-| `/server/load.php` | Strict. The second full-portal URL shape the app recognizes; enforced identically. |
-
-> **Known app inconsistency:** `StalkerSessionService.isFullStalkerPortal`
-> classifies `/server/load.php` as a full portal, but the import dialog's
-> `isFullStalkerPortalUrl` checks only for `/stalker_portal`, so importing a bare
-> `…/server/load.php` URL persists `isFullStalkerPortal: false` and the app skips
-> the handshake. The mock is deliberately faithful to a **real** portal here
-> (that path enforces auth), which makes it the right fixture to drive the
-> upcoming fix that unifies those two predicates. Until then, import full
-> portals through a `/stalker_portal/...` URL.
+| `/portal.php` | Tolerant. Ignores the Bearer token and the MAC format, like most reseller panels in the wild — discovery classifies it as a token-free simple portal. |
+| `/stalker_portal/server/load.php` | Strict. Enforces the token and the MAC format exactly like the real middleware — discovery classifies it as a full portal. |
+| `/server/load.php` | Strict, enforced identically. Importing this bare canonical URL now authenticates (the historical import/runtime predicate divergence that skipped the handshake here is fixed). |
+| `/ministra/server/load.php` | Strict. The `/ministra/*` prefix simulates a **genuine Ministra host**: `/ministra/portal.php` 404s like a real installation (portal.php is a reseller alias official Stalker never ships), so `http://localhost:3210/ministra/c` exercises the probe's 404 fallthrough end to end. |
 
 The strict endpoint reproduces the parts of Stalker 4.9.35 that a client can
 actually get wrong:
diff --git a/apps/stalker-mock-server/src/main.ts b/apps/stalker-mock-server/src/main.ts
index 27ddea6ea..f6798b37a 100644
--- a/apps/stalker-mock-server/src/main.ts
+++ b/apps/stalker-mock-server/src/main.ts
@@ -96,6 +96,14 @@ app.use('/portal.php', portalRouter);
 app.use('/stalker_portal/server/load.php', createPortalRouter(true));
 app.use('/server/load.php', createPortalRouter(true));
 
+// Genuine-Ministra host simulation: everything under /ministra serves ONLY
+// the canonical `server/load.php` endpoint — `/ministra/portal.php` 404s like
+// a real Stalker/Ministra installation (portal.php is a reseller-panel alias
+// the official middleware never ships). This is what lets e2e prove the
+// endpoint-discovery fallthrough: `http://host/ministra/c` must probe
+// portal.php, hit the 404, and land on server/load.php in full-portal mode.
+app.use('/ministra/server/load.php', createPortalRouter(true));
+
 /**
  * Mirror of the app's full-portal predicates (`isFullStalkerPortal` checks
  * `/stalker_portal/` or `/server/load.php`; import-time normalization checks
diff --git a/apps/web-e2e/src/stalker.e2e.ts b/apps/web-e2e/src/stalker.e2e.ts
index bdda49a59..7b810053d 100644
--- a/apps/web-e2e/src/stalker.e2e.ts
+++ b/apps/web-e2e/src/stalker.e2e.ts
@@ -217,32 +217,6 @@ async function addFullStalkerPortal(
     }
 }
 
-/** Portal actions the app sent, in order, with the token each carried. */
-function recordPortalActions(page: Page): {
-    actions: string[];
-    tokensByAction: Map<string, string | null>;
-} {
-    const actions: string[] = [];
-    const tokensByAction = new Map<string, string | null>();
-
-    page.on('request', (request) => {
-        const url = new URL(request.url());
-        if (!url.pathname.endsWith('/stalker')) {
-            return;
-        }
-        const action = url.searchParams.get('action');
-        if (!action) {
-            return;
-        }
-        actions.push(action);
-        if (!tokensByAction.has(action)) {
-            tokensByAction.set(action, url.searchParams.get('token'));
-        }
-    });
-
-    return { actions, tokensByAction };
-}
-
 const CONTENT_ACTIONS = [
     'get_categories',
     'get_genres',
@@ -888,7 +862,8 @@ test.describe('@stalker full portal authentication', () => {
     test('handshakes and authenticates before loading content', async ({
         page,
     }) => {
-        const { actions, tokensByAction } = recordPortalActions(page);
+        const requests = recordPortalRequests(page);
+        const actionsInOrder = () => requests.map((entry) => entry.action);
 
         await addFullStalkerPortal(page, { mac: AUTH_FLOW_MAC });
 
@@ -898,32 +873,48 @@ test.describe('@stalker full portal authentication', () => {
             timeout: 30_000,
         });
 
+        // Endpoint discovery classifies the portal with a token-less
+        // get_genres probe BEFORE any authentication: the plain-text
+        // "Authorization failed." answer is what proves this endpoint
+        // enforces the token, so the probe must precede the handshake.
+        const probeIndex = requests.findIndex(
+            (entry) => entry.action === 'get_genres'
+        );
+        expect(probeIndex).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+        expect(requests[probeIndex].token).toBeFalsy();
+
+        const actions = actionsInOrder();
         expect(actions).toContain('handshake');
         expect(actions).toContain('get_profile');
+        expect(probeIndex).toBeLessThan(actions.indexOf('handshake'));
         expect(actions.indexOf('handshake')).toBeLessThan(
             actions.indexOf('get_profile')
         );
 
-        const contentAction = actions.find((action) =>
-            ['get_categories', 'get_genres'].includes(action)
-        );
-        expect(contentAction).toBeDefined();
-        expect(actions.indexOf('get_profile')).toBeLessThan(
-            actions.indexOf(contentAction as string)
-        );
-
-        // Content requests must carry the token; the handshake must not.
-        expect(tokensByAction.get('handshake')).toBeFalsy();
-        expect(tokensByAction.get(contentAction as string)).toBeTruthy();
+        // The first authenticated content request comes after get_profile
+        // and must carry the adopted token; the handshake must not.
+        const contentEntry = requests
+            .slice(actions.indexOf('get_profile') + 1)
+            .find((entry) => CONTENT_ACTIONS.includes(entry.action));
+        expect(contentEntry).toBeDefined();
+        expect(contentEntry?.token).toBeTruthy();
+        expect(
+            requests.find((entry) => entry.action === 'handshake')?.token
+        ).toBeFalsy();
 
         // The full-portal workflow must also keep the watchdog alive — an
         // authenticated get_events fires immediately (init=1) on activation.
         // Without this assertion the suite would stay green if the watchdog
         // wiring silently died, because its failures are swallowed by design.
         await expect
-            .poll(() => actions.includes('get_events'), { timeout: 30_000 })
+            .poll(
+                () =>
+                    requests.some(
+                        (entry) => entry.action === 'get_events' && entry.token
+                    ),
+                { timeout: 30_000 }
+            )
             .toBe(true);
-        expect(tokensByAction.get('get_events')).toBeTruthy();
     });
 
     test('never surfaces the portal plain-text auth failure as content', async ({
diff --git a/apps/web/src/app/services/electron.service.ts b/apps/web/src/app/services/electron.service.ts
index cef656806..4bef0c784 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/app/services/electron.service.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/app/services/electron.service.ts
@@ -277,6 +277,8 @@ export class ElectronService extends DataService {
         requestId?: string;
         token?: string;
         serialNumber?: string;
+        /** Endpoint-discovery probes expect failures; no error snackbar. */
+        silent?: boolean;
     }) {
         const context = createPortalDebugRequestContext({
             provider: 'stalker',
@@ -295,13 +297,15 @@ export class ElectronService extends DataService {
         } catch (err: unknown) {
             const errorInfo = this.getErrorDetails(err);
             this.logger.error('Stalker request error:', err);
-            this.snackBar.open(
-                `Error: ${errorInfo?.message ?? ' Not found'}, status: ${errorInfo?.status ?? 404}`,
-                'Close',
-                {
-                    duration: 5000,
-                }
-            );
+            if (!payload.silent) {
+                this.snackBar.open(
+                    `Error: ${errorInfo?.message ?? ' Not found'}, status: ${errorInfo?.status ?? 404}`,
+                    'Close',
+                    {
+                        duration: 5000,
+                    }
+                );
+            }
             throw err;
         }
     }
diff --git a/apps/web/src/app/services/pwa.service.spec.ts b/apps/web/src/app/services/pwa.service.spec.ts
index af92ca677..3052800b0 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/app/services/pwa.service.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/app/services/pwa.service.spec.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { EMPTY } from 'rxjs';
 import {
     PLAYLIST_PARSE_BY_URL,
     PLAYLIST_UPDATE,
+    STALKER_REQUEST,
 } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
 import { PwaService } from './pwa.service';
 
@@ -78,6 +79,47 @@ describe('PwaService', () => {
         expect(http.match(() => true)).toHaveLength(0);
     });
 
+    it('surfaces the stalker proxy error envelope as an HTTP error instead of undefined', async () => {
+        // The web-backend converts an upstream 404 into HTTP 200 with a
+        // `{ message, status }` body and NO `payload` key. Unwrapping
+        // `payload` silently returned undefined, so endpoint discovery and
+        // the lazy portal repair could never classify a dead endpoint.
+        // JSDOM ships no global fetch — install one for the call under test.
+        const originalFetch = globalThis.fetch;
+        globalThis.fetch = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+            ok: true,
+            json: async () => ({ message: 'Not Found', status: 404 }),
+        } as unknown as Response) as unknown as typeof fetch;
+
+        const request = service.sendIpcEvent(STALKER_REQUEST, {
+            url: 'http://portal.example/portal.php',
+            macAddress: '00:1A:79:AA:BB:CC',
+            params: { action: 'get_genres' },
+            silent: true,
+        }) as Promise<unknown>;
+        const outcome = (request as Promise<unknown>).then(
+            () => {
+                throw new Error('expected rejection');
+            },
+            (error: unknown) => error
+        );
+
+        // Provider-target registration goes through HttpClient first.
+        await Promise.resolve();
+        const registration = http.expectOne((candidate) =>
+            candidate.url.endsWith('/provider-targets')
+        );
+        registration.flush({ targetId: 'target-1' });
+
+        const error = (await outcome) as Error & { status?: number };
+        expect(error.message).toBe('HTTP Error 404: Not Found');
+        expect(error.status).toBe(404);
+        // silent flag: discovery probes expect failures — no snackbar.
+        expect(TestBed.inject(MatSnackBar).open).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+        globalThis.fetch = originalFetch;
+    });
+
     it('sends Stalker credentials as /stalker control params, including the serial', async () => {
         // JSDOM ships no fetch; install one for the proxy call.
         const fetchMock = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
diff --git a/apps/web/src/app/services/pwa.service.ts b/apps/web/src/app/services/pwa.service.ts
index 16158549b..6f9b9ba8d 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/app/services/pwa.service.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/app/services/pwa.service.ts
@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ export class PwaService extends DataService {
                     params: Record<string, string>;
                     token?: string;
                     serialNumber?: string;
+                    silent?: boolean;
                 }
             ) as T;
         }
@@ -481,6 +482,8 @@ export class PwaService extends DataService {
         macAddress: string;
         token?: string;
         serialNumber?: string;
+        /** Endpoint-discovery probes expect failures; no error snackbar. */
+        silent?: boolean;
     }) {
         let context = createPortalDebugRequestContext({
             provider: 'stalker',
@@ -534,6 +537,29 @@ export class PwaService extends DataService {
 
             // Parse and return the JSON response
             const responseBody = await response.json();
+
+            // The proxy converts upstream provider failures (404 on an
+            // absent endpoint, 5xx) into an HTTP 200 `{ message, status }`
+            // body WITHOUT a `payload` key. Surface those as errors carrying
+            // the status so endpoint discovery and the lazy portal repair
+            // can classify them — unwrapping `payload` here silently
+            // returned `undefined`, making a dead endpoint look like an
+            // empty answer and unreachable to the repair.
+            if (
+                responseBody &&
+                typeof responseBody === 'object' &&
+                !('payload' in responseBody) &&
+                typeof responseBody.status === 'number'
+            ) {
+                const proxyError = new Error(
+                    `HTTP Error ${responseBody.status}: ${
+                        responseBody.message ?? ''
+                    }`
+                ) as Error & { status: number };
+                proxyError.status = responseBody.status;
+                throw proxyError;
+            }
+
             logPortalDebugEvent(
                 createPortalDebugSuccessEvent(context, responseBody)
             );
@@ -543,13 +569,15 @@ export class PwaService extends DataService {
             logPortalDebugEvent(createPortalDebugErrorEvent(context, err));
             this.logger.error('Stalker request error:', err);
 
-            this.snackBar.open(
-                `Error: ${errorInfo?.message ?? ' Not found'}, status: ${errorInfo?.status ?? 404}`,
-                'Close',
-                {
-                    duration: 5000,
-                }
-            );
+            if (!payload.silent) {
+                this.snackBar.open(
+                    `Error: ${errorInfo?.message ?? ' Not found'}, status: ${errorInfo?.status ?? 404}`,
+                    'Close',
+                    {
+                        duration: 5000,
+                    }
+                );
+            }
             throw err;
         }
     }
diff --git a/docs/architecture/stalker-mock-server.md b/docs/architecture/stalker-mock-server.md
index 0e58ebfc1..ae4bcf58c 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/stalker-mock-server.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/stalker-mock-server.md
@@ -39,19 +39,22 @@ Stalker portals use MAC address as the primary credential. The mock server follo
 
 No files or databases are written. All state (generated content + favorites + portal sessions) lives in process memory and resets on server restart. This is intentional — tests should not share state across runs.
 
-### Two Endpoints With Different Strictness
+### Endpoints With Different Strictness
 
-The app decides how to talk to a portal from the shape of its URL: a URL
-containing `/stalker_portal` is imported as a **full portal** (handshake,
-`Authorization: Bearer`, watchdog), anything else as a **simple portal** with no
-authentication at all. The mock therefore serves the same action set at two
-paths:
+The app classifies a portal by observed behavior, not by URL shape: endpoint
+discovery (see `docs/architecture/stalker-portal.md`, "Portal Mode and
+Endpoint Discovery") probes candidates at import and on lazy repair, treating
+a token-less content request that returns data as a token-free panel and the
+middleware's plain-text auth failure as a token-enforcing full portal. The
+mock serves the same action set at several paths so every classification
+branch is exercisable:
 
 | Path | Router | Behaviour |
 |---|---|---|
 | `/portal.php` | `createPortalRouter(false)` | Tolerant: ignores the token and the MAC format, like most reseller panels |
 | `/stalker_portal/server/load.php` | `createPortalRouter(true)` | Strict: enforces both, like the real middleware |
-| `/server/load.php` | `createPortalRouter(true)` | Strict: the second URL shape `isFullStalkerPortal` recognizes |
+| `/server/load.php` | `createPortalRouter(true)` | Strict: the bare canonical Ministra shape, enforced identically |
+| `/ministra/server/load.php` | `createPortalRouter(true)` | Strict; the `/ministra/*` prefix has **no portal.php** (404s like genuine Ministra), so `/ministra/c` proves the probe's 404 fallthrough |
 
 The `/stalker` proxy route applies the same rule through
 `isFullPortalUrlShape()` — every URL the client would authenticate against is
diff --git a/docs/architecture/stalker-portal.md b/docs/architecture/stalker-portal.md
index ba5228c29..0ddde12fc 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/stalker-portal.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/stalker-portal.md
@@ -48,10 +48,97 @@ Primary route tree lives in
 
 1. Angular Stalker screens call methods/resources in `StalkerStore`.
 2. `StalkerStore` builds request params based on selected content type and current view state.
-3. Requests go through `DataService.sendIpcEvent(STALKER_REQUEST, ...)` or `StalkerSessionService` (full portal auth).
+3. Every portal API call funnels through `executeStalkerRequest()`
+   (`libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-request.utils.ts`),
+   the single choke point that decides the transport per portal mode:
+   full portals go through `StalkerSessionService` (handshake + Bearer token +
+   retry), token-free panels call
+   `DataService.sendIpcEvent(STALKER_REQUEST, ...)` directly. It also hooks
+   the lazy portal repair (see "Portal Mode and Endpoint Discovery").
 4. Electron main process handles `STALKER_REQUEST` in
    `apps/electron-backend/src/app/events/stalker.events.ts`.
-5. Axios calls Stalker `load.php` API with required headers/cookies and returns the raw `response.data` to the renderer; normalization happens in the store feature slices.
+5. Axios calls the portal's persisted API endpoint (`portal.php` on
+   reseller panels, `server/load.php` on canonical Stalker/Ministra) with
+   required headers/cookies and returns the raw `response.data` to the
+   renderer; normalization happens in the store feature slices.
+
+## Portal Mode and Endpoint Discovery
+
+Two portal modes exist, persisted per playlist as
+`Playlist.isFullStalkerPortal`:
+
+- **Full portal** (canonical Stalker/Ministra middleware): every request
+  except `handshake`, `get_profile`, `get_localization`, and `do_auth`
+  requires `Authorization: Bearer <token>`; auth failures are HTTP 200 with a
+  plain-text body (`Authorization failed.`, `Access denied.`,
+  `Unauthorized request.`), never a 401/403. While a full portal is the
+  active playlist, `StalkerSessionService` keeps a **watchdog** running —
+  periodic authenticated `watchdog/get_events` pings (currently every 25 s;
+  the protocol default expects 120 s, tracked for a later PR) whose failures
+  are non-fatal.
+- **Simple portal** (reseller-style `portal.php` panels): no auth lifecycle
+  at all — requests carry only the `mac=` cookie.
+
+The single predicate lives in `@iptvnator/shared/interfaces`
+(`stalker-portal-mode.util.ts`): `isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist()` treats the
+persisted flag as authoritative and falls back to the URL shape
+(`isFullStalkerPortalUrl()`: `/stalker_portal` or `/server/load.php`) only
+for legacy rows where the flag is undefined. Historically three diverging
+copies of this rule existed (import, session service, legacy-flag migration)
+and their drift shipped broken configurations (#850, #686, #755); no new
+consumer may re-implement the rule.
+
+**Endpoint discovery (import).** `portal.php` does not exist in official
+Stalker/Ministra — it is a reseller-panel alias; the canonical endpoint
+derived from a `…/c` URL is `<base>/server/load.php`. Instead of guessing
+from the URL shape, `StalkerPortalDiscoveryService`
+(`libs/portal/stalker/data-access`) probes candidates in order — the pasted
+URL itself when it already names a `.php` endpoint, then `<base>/portal.php`
+→ `<base>/server/load.php` → `<base>/stalker_portal/server/load.php` — and
+classifies each endpoint by observed behavior: a token-less
+`itv/get_genres` that returns data proves a token-free panel; the plain-text
+auth failure proves the endpoint enforces the token, which is confirmed by
+running the real handshake + `get_profile`. The import dialog persists the
+proven endpoint and mode. When no candidate answers at all, panel-style URLs
+fall back to the pre-discovery behavior (legacy `…/c` → `portal.php` rewrite,
+simple mode, import succeeds with a warning) so temporarily offline panels
+can still be added; canonical-shaped URLs abort like the old mandatory
+handshake did (both classifications run on the normalized
+`origin + pathname` form). Probe failure sequencing: ANY resolvable HTTP
+status moves to the next candidate — 4xx means the endpoint is absent, a
+5xx can be one broken handler beside a healthy sibling — and 401/403
+specifically classify as auth-required (the handshake is attempted, for
+middlewares that answer HTTP auth codes instead of the stock 200 +
+plain-text body). Status-less TIMEOUTS also continue (a single handler can
+hang); only connection-level failures (refused, unresolvable host) abort
+discovery, since every candidate shares the host.
+
+**Lazy repair (existing playlists).** The flag is frozen in the DB, so
+records persisted by the old guess stay broken without repair — but a large
+share of users are on working reseller panels, and only probing can tell the
+two apart, so there is deliberately **no eager one-shot migration**. Instead
+`StalkerPortalRepairService` re-probes a portal only after a request
+actually failed with a shape that a wrong endpoint/mode produces (the
+plain-text auth bodies AND their JSON envelopes (`js.error`/`js.msg`),
+HTTP 404 (endpoint absent), HTTP 401/403 (endpoint behind an HTTP auth
+gate), and terminal handshake/profile errors — never timeouts or other
+network failures), at most once per SOURCE CONFIGURATION (endpoint + mode + MAC +
+identity fingerprint) per playlist per session — an edited configuration
+may probe when it fails, while every already-probed one stays latched for
+the session — and persists only a configuration discovery has proven to
+answer, and only when it differs from the failing one. A repaired configuration is applied immediately via an
+in-session override inside `executeStalkerRequest()` (stale store snapshots
+keep working) and persisted through `PlaylistsService.transformPlaylistMeta`
+— the verification and the patch run in ONE slot of the per-playlist write
+queue, so a user edit that is queued but not yet committed wins over the
+repair instead of being overwritten; the transform patches the freshly read
+row (`portalUrl` + `isFullStalkerPortal` only, so user state can never be
+clobbered) and returns null to abort. Deletion runs through the same queue,
+so a repair can never resurrect a playlist deleted mid-probe. Portals
+that work are never probed, let alone rewritten. E2E coverage:
+`apps/electron-backend-e2e/src/stalker-portal-discovery.e2e.ts` against the
+mock's tolerant `/portal.php`, strict `/server/load.php`, and
+`portal.php`-less `/ministra/*` hosts.
 
 ## Main UI Components
 
@@ -606,14 +693,19 @@ counter, MAC/phone, and portal details.
 Data flow (two sources, cached-first):
 
 - Cached: `Playlist.stalkerAccountInfo`, captured from `get_profile` at
-  import time for full `/stalker_portal/` installations. The dialog loads it
-  by playlist id (the meta row does not carry it) and renders instantly with
-  a "Saved data" badge.
+  import time for portals discovery classified as FULL (endpoint discovery
+  decides this by behavior, so a token-enforcing `portal.php` panel is a
+  full portal too). The dialog loads it by playlist id (the meta row does
+  not carry it) and renders instantly with a "Saved data" badge.
 - Fresh: `StalkerAccountInfoService`
   (`libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-account-info.service.ts`).
-  Full portals re-run handshake + `get_profile`; `portal.php` panels are
-  queried with `account_info/get_main_info`, whose field set varies between
-  panels and is mapped best-effort (absent fields render nothing). A failed
+  Routing follows the observed MODE, never the endpoint shape: full-mode
+  portals re-run handshake + `get_profile`, simple-mode panels are queried
+  with `account_info/get_main_info`, whose field set varies between panels
+  and is mapped best-effort (absent fields render nothing). Both directions
+  re-route after a lazy repair changes the mode mid-request, so a portal
+  repaired from simple to full switches to the profile flow and vice
+  versa. A failed
   refresh keeps the cached snapshot and flags it. The two no-data outcomes
   differ: a portal that answers but publishes no account facts (and no
   cached snapshot exists) renders the ready-state "No account details"
diff --git a/docs/architecture/stalker-store-api-baseline.md b/docs/architecture/stalker-store-api-baseline.md
index b062fd7ca..e1ad8b994 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/stalker-store-api-baseline.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/stalker-store-api-baseline.md
@@ -59,7 +59,16 @@ These are currently reachable on the store object and used internally by compute
 - `getContentResource` (resource)
 - `serialSeasonsResource` (resource)
 - `vodSeriesSeasonsResource` (resource)
-- `makeStalkerRequest(...)`
+
+Removed:
+
+- `makeStalkerRequest(...)` — deleted with the endpoint-discovery work. It
+  was production-dead (no caller outside its own spec) and carried a fourth
+  private copy of the portal-mode branch. Every Stalker request goes through
+  `executeStalkerRequest()` (`stores/utils/stalker-request.utils.ts`), which
+  owns mode routing plus the lazy portal repair; no facade alias is provided
+  because reinstating one would reintroduce the drift the shared predicate
+  exists to prevent.
 
 During refactor:
 
diff --git a/libs/playlist/import/feature/src/lib/stalker-portal-import/stalker-portal-import.component.spec.ts b/libs/playlist/import/feature/src/lib/stalker-portal-import/stalker-portal-import.component.spec.ts
index dd9034684..d966e25fd 100644
--- a/libs/playlist/import/feature/src/lib/stalker-portal-import/stalker-portal-import.component.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/playlist/import/feature/src/lib/stalker-portal-import/stalker-portal-import.component.spec.ts
@@ -2,17 +2,23 @@ import { TestBed } from '@angular/core/testing';
 import { MatSnackBar } from '@angular/material/snack-bar';
 import { Store } from '@ngrx/store';
 import { TranslateService } from '@ngx-translate/core';
-import { StalkerSessionService } from '@iptvnator/portal/stalker/data-access';
+import { StalkerPortalDiscoveryService } from '@iptvnator/portal/stalker/data-access';
 import { StalkerPortalImportComponent } from './stalker-portal-import.component';
 
 describe('StalkerPortalImportComponent identity handling', () => {
     let component: StalkerPortalImportComponent;
-    let stalkerSession: { authenticate: jest.Mock };
+    let portalDiscovery: { discover: jest.Mock };
     let store: { dispatch: jest.Mock };
 
     beforeEach(() => {
-        stalkerSession = {
-            authenticate: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ token: 'token-1' }),
+        portalDiscovery = {
+            discover: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl:
+                    'https://portal.example.com/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+                token: 'token-1',
+            }),
         };
         store = {
             dispatch: jest.fn(),
@@ -20,7 +26,10 @@ describe('StalkerPortalImportComponent identity handling', () => {
 
         TestBed.configureTestingModule({
             providers: [
-                { provide: StalkerSessionService, useValue: stalkerSession },
+                {
+                    provide: StalkerPortalDiscoveryService,
+                    useValue: portalDiscovery,
+                },
                 { provide: Store, useValue: store },
                 {
                     provide: MatSnackBar,
@@ -54,8 +63,8 @@ describe('StalkerPortalImportComponent identity handling', () => {
 
         await component.addPlaylist();
 
-        expect(stalkerSession.authenticate).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-            'https://portal.example.com/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        expect(portalDiscovery.discover).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            'https://portal.example.com/stalker_portal/c',
             '00:1A:79:AA:BB:CC',
             {
                 serialNumber: 'CUSTOMSN123',
@@ -69,6 +78,10 @@ describe('StalkerPortalImportComponent identity handling', () => {
         const playlist = store.dispatch.mock.calls[0][0].playlist;
         expect(playlist).toEqual(
             expect.objectContaining({
+                portalUrl:
+                    'https://portal.example.com/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+                stalkerToken: 'token-1',
                 stalkerSerialNumber: 'CUSTOMSN123',
                 stalkerDeviceId1: 'DEVICE-ID-1',
                 stalkerDeviceId2: 'DEVICE-ID-2',
@@ -99,8 +112,8 @@ describe('StalkerPortalImportComponent identity handling', () => {
 
         await component.addPlaylist();
 
-        expect(stalkerSession.authenticate).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-            'https://portal.example.com/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        expect(portalDiscovery.discover).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            'https://portal.example.com/stalker_portal/c',
             '00:1A:79:AA:BB:CC',
             {}
         );
@@ -117,4 +130,52 @@ describe('StalkerPortalImportComponent identity handling', () => {
         expect(playlist.signature1).toBeUndefined();
         expect(playlist.signature2).toBeUndefined();
     });
+
+    it('classifies the offline fallback on the normalized URL, not the raw query', async () => {
+        // A query merely MENTIONING /server/load.php must not make a
+        // panel-style /c URL look canonical and abort the offline import.
+        portalDiscovery.discover.mockResolvedValue({ status: 'unreachable' });
+        component.form.patchValue({
+            _id: 'playlist-3',
+            title: 'Query Panel',
+            macAddress: '00:1A:79:AA:BB:CC',
+            portalUrl: 'https://panel.example.com/c?redirect=/server/load.php',
+            importDate: '2026-05-15T00:00:00.000Z',
+        });
+
+        await component.addPlaylist();
+
+        const playlist = store.dispatch.mock.calls[0][0].playlist;
+        expect(playlist).toEqual(
+            expect.objectContaining({
+                portalUrl: 'https://panel.example.com/portal.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+            })
+        );
+    });
+
+    it('normalizes a query-carrying /c URL in the unreachable-host fallback', async () => {
+        // Offline panel: discovery finds nothing, the legacy guess imports
+        // anyway — but the suffix rewrite must run on the PATH, or
+        // `/c?key=value` would persist the browser page instead of
+        // portal.php (and a 200 HTML answer is not a repair trigger later).
+        portalDiscovery.discover.mockResolvedValue({ status: 'unreachable' });
+        component.form.patchValue({
+            _id: 'playlist-2',
+            title: 'Offline Panel',
+            macAddress: '00:1A:79:AA:BB:CC',
+            portalUrl: 'https://panel.example.com/c?key=value',
+            importDate: '2026-05-15T00:00:00.000Z',
+        });
+
+        await component.addPlaylist();
+
+        const playlist = store.dispatch.mock.calls[0][0].playlist;
+        expect(playlist).toEqual(
+            expect.objectContaining({
+                portalUrl: 'https://panel.example.com/portal.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+            })
+        );
+    });
 });
diff --git a/libs/playlist/import/feature/src/lib/stalker-portal-import/stalker-portal-import.component.ts b/libs/playlist/import/feature/src/lib/stalker-portal-import/stalker-portal-import.component.ts
index 0345965ad..5a0b67222 100644
--- a/libs/playlist/import/feature/src/lib/stalker-portal-import/stalker-portal-import.component.ts
+++ b/libs/playlist/import/feature/src/lib/stalker-portal-import/stalker-portal-import.component.ts
@@ -13,11 +13,17 @@ import { Store } from '@ngrx/store';
 import { TranslatePipe, TranslateService } from '@ngx-translate/core';
 import { PlaylistActions } from '@iptvnator/m3u-state';
 import {
+    legacyTransformStalkerPortalUrl,
+    normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl,
+    StalkerPortalDiscoveryService,
     StalkerPortalIdentity,
-    StalkerSessionService,
     normalizeStalkerPortalIdentity,
 } from '@iptvnator/portal/stalker/data-access';
-import { createRandomId, Playlist } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+import {
+    createRandomId,
+    isFullStalkerPortalUrl,
+    Playlist,
+} from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
 
 @Component({
     imports: [
@@ -72,7 +78,7 @@ export class StalkerPortalImportComponent {
         userAgent: new FormControl(''),
     });
 
-    private readonly stalkerSessionService = inject(StalkerSessionService);
+    private readonly portalDiscovery = inject(StalkerPortalDiscoveryService);
     private readonly store = inject(Store);
     private readonly snackBar = inject(MatSnackBar);
     readonly translate = inject(TranslateService);
@@ -107,9 +113,6 @@ export class StalkerPortalImportComponent {
         try {
             const formValue = this.form.getRawValue();
             const originalUrl = formValue.portalUrl ?? '';
-            const transformedUrl = this.transformPortalUrl(originalUrl);
-            const isFullStalkerPortal =
-                this.isFullStalkerPortalUrl(originalUrl);
             const stalkerIdentity = normalizeStalkerPortalIdentity({
                 serialNumber: formValue.serialNumber ?? undefined,
                 deviceId1: formValue.deviceId1 ?? undefined,
@@ -118,55 +121,88 @@ export class StalkerPortalImportComponent {
                 signature2: formValue.signature2 ?? undefined,
             });
 
+            // Probe candidate endpoints and classify the portal by observed
+            // behavior (does it enforce the handshake token?) instead of
+            // guessing from the URL shape — the guess persisted broken
+            // configurations for canonical `…/server/load.php` portals and
+            // rewrote `…/c` to a `portal.php` official Ministra never serves.
+            const discovery = await this.portalDiscovery.discover(
+                originalUrl,
+                formValue.macAddress ?? '',
+                stalkerIdentity
+            );
+
+            let portalUrl: string;
+            let isFullStalkerPortal: boolean;
             let stalkerToken: string | undefined;
             let stalkerAccountInfo: Playlist['stalkerAccountInfo'] | undefined;
 
-            // For full stalker portal URLs, perform handshake and get profile
-            if (isFullStalkerPortal) {
-                try {
-                    const authResult =
-                        await this.stalkerSessionService.authenticate(
-                            transformedUrl,
-                            formValue.macAddress ?? '',
-                            stalkerIdentity
-                        );
+            if (discovery.status === 'resolved') {
+                portalUrl = discovery.portalUrl;
+                isFullStalkerPortal = discovery.isFullStalkerPortal;
+                stalkerToken = discovery.token;
 
-                    stalkerToken = authResult.token;
+                if (discovery.accountInfo) {
+                    stalkerAccountInfo = {
+                        login: discovery.accountInfo.login,
+                        expireDate: discovery.accountInfo.expire_date,
+                        tariffPlanName:
+                            discovery.accountInfo.tariff_plan_name,
+                        status: discovery.accountInfo.status,
+                    };
+                }
 
-                    if (authResult.accountInfo) {
-                        stalkerAccountInfo = {
-                            login: authResult.accountInfo.login,
-                            expireDate: authResult.accountInfo.expire_date,
-                            tariffPlanName:
-                                authResult.accountInfo.tariff_plan_name,
-                            status: authResult.accountInfo.status,
-                        };
-                    }
-
-                    // Show success notification with account info if available
-                    if (stalkerAccountInfo?.expireDate) {
-                        const expireDate = new Date(
-                            stalkerAccountInfo.expireDate * 1000
-                        );
-                        this.snackBar.open(
-                            `Portal validated. Expires: ${expireDate.toLocaleDateString()}`,
-                            undefined,
-                            { duration: 3000 }
-                        );
-                    }
-                } catch (error) {
-                    console.error(
-                        '[StalkerImport] Authentication failed:',
-                        error
+                if (stalkerAccountInfo?.expireDate) {
+                    const expireDate = new Date(
+                        stalkerAccountInfo.expireDate * 1000
                     );
                     this.snackBar.open(
-                        'Failed to authenticate with portal. Please check URL and MAC address.',
+                        `Portal validated. Expires: ${expireDate.toLocaleDateString()}`,
                         undefined,
-                        { duration: 5000 }
+                        { duration: 3000 }
                     );
-                    this.isLoading.set(false);
-                    return;
                 }
+            } else if (discovery.status === 'auth-rejected') {
+                console.error(
+                    '[StalkerImport] Authentication failed:',
+                    discovery.error
+                );
+                this.snackBar.open(
+                    'Failed to authenticate with portal. Please check URL and MAC address.',
+                    undefined,
+                    { duration: 5000 }
+                );
+                return;
+            } else if (
+                isFullStalkerPortalUrl(
+                    normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl(originalUrl) ?? originalUrl
+                )
+            ) {
+                // Unreachable host on a canonical-portal URL shape: the old
+                // flow aborted here too (its mandatory handshake could not
+                // succeed either).
+                this.snackBar.open(
+                    'Failed to authenticate with portal. Please check URL and MAC address.',
+                    undefined,
+                    { duration: 5000 }
+                );
+                return;
+            } else {
+                // Unreachable host on a panel-style URL: import with the
+                // legacy guess exactly like before discovery existed, so a
+                // temporarily offline panel can still be added. The lazy
+                // portal repair re-probes on the first real failure.
+                // Normalized first: the legacy suffix rewrites run on the
+                // path, so a query/fragment must not hide a trailing `/c`.
+                portalUrl = legacyTransformStalkerPortalUrl(
+                    normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl(originalUrl) ?? originalUrl
+                );
+                isFullStalkerPortal = false;
+                this.snackBar.open(
+                    'Portal did not respond; added without validation.',
+                    undefined,
+                    { duration: 5000 }
+                );
             }
 
             const {
@@ -180,7 +216,7 @@ export class StalkerPortalImportComponent {
 
             const playlist: Playlist = {
                 ...playlistFormValue,
-                portalUrl: transformedUrl,
+                portalUrl,
                 isFullStalkerPortal,
                 stalkerToken,
                 stalkerAccountInfo,
@@ -194,14 +230,6 @@ export class StalkerPortalImportComponent {
         }
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Checks if the URL is a full stalker portal URL that requires handshake authentication
-     * Pattern: example.com/stalker_portal/c or example.com/stalker_portal/...
-     */
-    isFullStalkerPortalUrl(url: string): boolean {
-        return url.includes('/stalker_portal');
-    }
-
     private toPlaylistIdentityFields(identity: StalkerPortalIdentity): {
         stalkerSerialNumber?: string;
         stalkerDeviceId1?: string;
@@ -228,48 +256,4 @@ export class StalkerPortalImportComponent {
         };
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Transforms the portal URL to the correct API endpoint
-     * - Simple URL (example.com/c) -> example.com/portal.php
-     * - Full stalker portal (example.com/stalker_portal/c) -> example.com/stalker_portal/server/load.php
-     */
-    transformPortalUrl(url: string): string {
-        // Remove trailing slashes
-        url = url.replace(/\/+$/, '');
-
-        // Case 1: Simple URL ending with /c -> convert to /portal.php
-        if (url.endsWith('/c')) {
-            // Check if it's a full stalker portal URL
-            if (url.includes('/stalker_portal')) {
-                // example.com/stalker_portal/c -> example.com/stalker_portal/server/load.php
-                return url.replace(
-                    /\/stalker_portal\/c$/,
-                    '/stalker_portal/server/load.php'
-                );
-            }
-            // Simple URL: example.com/c -> example.com/portal.php
-            return url.replace(/\/c$/, '/portal.php');
-        }
-
-        // Case 2: Full stalker portal URL without /c at the end
-        if (
-            url.includes('/stalker_portal') &&
-            !url.includes('/server/load.php')
-        ) {
-            // example.com/stalker_portal -> example.com/stalker_portal/server/load.php
-            if (url.endsWith('/stalker_portal')) {
-                return url + '/server/load.php';
-            }
-            // If it has other path segments after /stalker_portal, append server/load.php
-            if (!url.endsWith('/load.php')) {
-                return url.replace(
-                    /\/stalker_portal(\/.*)?$/,
-                    '/stalker_portal/server/load.php'
-                );
-            }
-        }
-
-        // Otherwise keep the provided url
-        return url;
-    }
 }
diff --git a/libs/portal/shared/data-access/src/lib/collection/stream-resolver.service.ts b/libs/portal/shared/data-access/src/lib/collection/stream-resolver.service.ts
index 839f40001..c1d726560 100644
--- a/libs/portal/shared/data-access/src/lib/collection/stream-resolver.service.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/shared/data-access/src/lib/collection/stream-resolver.service.ts
@@ -19,10 +19,12 @@ import {
 } from '@iptvnator/portal/xtream/data-access';
 import {
     buildStalkerExternalPlaybackHeaders,
+    executeStalkerRequest,
     getStalkerPortalOrigin,
     isCrossOriginStalkerStream,
     normalizeStalkerPlaybackCommand,
     resolveStalkerPlaybackUrl,
+    StalkerPortalRepairService,
     StalkerSessionService,
 } from '@iptvnator/portal/stalker/data-access';
 import { UnifiedCollectionItem } from '@iptvnator/portal/shared/util';
@@ -71,6 +73,7 @@ export class StreamResolverService {
     private readonly dataService = inject(DataService);
     private readonly epgBridge = inject(EpgRuntimeBridgeService);
     private readonly stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService);
+    private readonly portalRepair = inject(StalkerPortalRepairService);
     private readonly m3uEpgTimeoutMs = 3000;
     private readonly portalEpgTimeoutMs = 10000;
     private readonly xtreamEpgCache = new Map<string, XtreamEpgCacheEntry>();
@@ -352,8 +355,18 @@ export class StreamResolverService {
         };
 
         let response: StalkerCreateLinkResponse | undefined;
-        if (playlist?.isFullStalkerPortal && playlist) {
-            response = await this.stalkerSession.makeAuthenticatedRequest(
+        // Items opened from global collections can carry their own portal
+        // coordinates with no playlist row; only a playlist-backed request
+        // can go through the shared mode routing + lazy portal repair. When
+        // the row exists it wins over the item's snapshot of the portal URL
+        // (a repaired endpoint must beat a stale favorite).
+        if (playlist) {
+            response = await executeStalkerRequest<StalkerCreateLinkResponse>(
+                {
+                    dataService: this.dataService,
+                    stalkerSession: this.stalkerSession,
+                    portalRepair: this.portalRepair,
+                },
                 playlist,
                 params
             );
@@ -367,14 +380,23 @@ export class StreamResolverService {
 
         const rawCmd = response?.js?.cmd ?? '';
 
+        // Re-read the override AFTER the request: a lazy repair may have
+        // moved the endpoint during this very call, and both the relative
+        // `js.cmd` resolution and the playback header origin must follow
+        // the endpoint that actually answered.
+        const effectivePortalUrl = playlist
+            ? (this.portalRepair.applyOverride(playlist).portalUrl ??
+              portalUrl)
+            : portalUrl;
+
         return this.buildStalkerPlayback(item, playlist, {
             macAddress,
-            portalUrl,
+            portalUrl: effectivePortalUrl,
             // Shared normalizer from the Stalker store: strips the solution
             // prefix and resolves relative `/media/...` or `?...` responses
             // against the portal base instead of returning them verbatim.
             streamUrl: resolveStalkerPlaybackUrl(
-                portalUrl,
+                effectivePortalUrl,
                 item.stalkerCmd ?? '',
                 rawCmd
             ),
@@ -1005,19 +1027,16 @@ export class StreamResolverService {
             size: String(size),
         };
 
-        let response: StalkerEpgResponse;
-        if (playlist.isFullStalkerPortal) {
-            response = await this.stalkerSession.makeAuthenticatedRequest(
+        const response: StalkerEpgResponse =
+            await executeStalkerRequest<StalkerEpgResponse>(
+                {
+                    dataService: this.dataService,
+                    stalkerSession: this.stalkerSession,
+                    portalRepair: this.portalRepair,
+                },
                 playlist,
                 params
             );
-        } else {
-            response = await this.dataService.sendIpcEvent(STALKER_REQUEST, {
-                url: playlist.portalUrl,
-                macAddress: playlist.macAddress,
-                params,
-            });
-        }
 
         const epgData = Array.isArray(response?.js)
             ? response.js
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/index.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/index.ts
index 6f84e52cc..1b5f1df69 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/index.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/index.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@ export * from './lib/stalker-account-info.service';
 export * from './lib/stalker-content-types';
 export * from './lib/stalker-itv-cache.service';
 export * from './lib/stalker-live-playback.utils';
+export * from './lib/stalker-portal-discovery.service';
+export * from './lib/stalker-portal-discovery.utils';
+export * from './lib/stalker-portal-repair.service';
 export * from './lib/stalker-series.adapters';
 export * from './lib/stalker-session.service';
 export * from './lib/stalker-vod.utils';
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-account-info.service.spec.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-account-info.service.spec.ts
index dbd4417f1..22bf0de47 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-account-info.service.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-account-info.service.spec.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
     parseStalkerDate,
     StalkerAccountInfoService,
 } from './stalker-account-info.service';
+import { StalkerPortalRepairService } from './stalker-portal-repair.service';
 import { StalkerSessionService } from './stalker-session.service';
 
 describe('StalkerAccountInfoService', () => {
@@ -15,6 +16,11 @@ describe('StalkerAccountInfoService', () => {
         refreshAccountProfile: jest.Mock;
         makeAuthenticatedRequest: jest.Mock;
     };
+    let portalRepair: {
+        applyOverride: jest.Mock;
+        shouldAttemptRepair: jest.Mock;
+        repairPortal: jest.Mock;
+    };
 
     const portalPlaylist = {
         _id: 'stalker-1',
@@ -39,11 +45,20 @@ describe('StalkerAccountInfoService', () => {
             refreshAccountProfile: jest.fn(),
             makeAuthenticatedRequest: jest.fn(),
         };
+        portalRepair = {
+            applyOverride: jest.fn((playlist) => playlist),
+            shouldAttemptRepair: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(false),
+            repairPortal: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
+        };
 
         TestBed.configureTestingModule({
             providers: [
                 { provide: DataService, useValue: dataService },
                 { provide: StalkerSessionService, useValue: stalkerSession },
+                {
+                    provide: StalkerPortalRepairService,
+                    useValue: portalRepair,
+                },
             ],
         });
 
@@ -86,6 +101,185 @@ describe('StalkerAccountInfoService', () => {
         });
     });
 
+    it('repairs the portal and retries when the profile request hits a repair trigger', async () => {
+        // The full-portal profile path bypasses executeStalkerRequest, so
+        // opening the dialog on a playlist with a stale endpoint must be
+        // able to repair it instead of just failing.
+        const notFound = new Error('HTTP Error 404: Not Found');
+        stalkerSession.refreshAccountProfile
+            .mockRejectedValueOnce(notFound)
+            .mockResolvedValueOnce({ login: 'user-1' });
+        const repaired = {
+            ...fullPortalPlaylist,
+            portalUrl: 'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        } as PlaylistMeta;
+        portalRepair.shouldAttemptRepair.mockReturnValue(true);
+        portalRepair.repairPortal.mockResolvedValue(repaired);
+
+        const snapshot = await service.fetchAccountInfo(fullPortalPlaylist);
+
+        expect(portalRepair.repairPortal).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            fullPortalPlaylist
+        );
+        expect(
+            stalkerSession.refreshAccountProfile
+        ).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(
+            expect.objectContaining({ portalUrl: repaired.portalUrl })
+        );
+        expect(snapshot).toMatchObject({ login: 'user-1' });
+    });
+
+    it('re-routes to get_main_info when the repair proves the portal is simple', async () => {
+        // The playlist was wrongly marked full; discovery proves it is a
+        // token-free panel, so retrying the handshake profile would fail
+        // identically — the retry must use the simple-portal path.
+        stalkerSession.refreshAccountProfile.mockRejectedValue(
+            new Error('HTTP Error 404: Not Found')
+        );
+        dataService.sendIpcEvent.mockResolvedValue({
+            js: { login: 'panel-user' },
+        });
+        portalRepair.shouldAttemptRepair.mockReturnValue(true);
+        portalRepair.repairPortal.mockResolvedValue({
+            ...fullPortalPlaylist,
+            portalUrl: 'http://portal.example/portal.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+        } as PlaylistMeta);
+
+        const snapshot = await service.fetchAccountInfo(fullPortalPlaylist);
+
+        expect(dataService.sendIpcEvent).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            STALKER_REQUEST,
+            expect.objectContaining({
+                params: expect.objectContaining({ action: 'get_main_info' }),
+            })
+        );
+        expect(snapshot).toMatchObject({ login: 'panel-user' });
+    });
+
+    it('re-routes to the profile flow when a repair proves the portal is full', async () => {
+        // Legacy row marked simple: get_main_info goes through
+        // executeStalkerRequest, whose repair flips the mode to full and
+        // retries the same (wrong) action. The dialog must then switch to
+        // handshake + get_profile instead of showing nothing.
+        dataService.sendIpcEvent.mockResolvedValue({ js: null });
+        const repaired = {
+            ...portalPlaylist,
+            portalUrl: 'http://portal.example/server/load.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        } as PlaylistMeta;
+        portalRepair.applyOverride
+            .mockImplementationOnce((value: PlaylistMeta) => value)
+            .mockImplementation(() => repaired);
+        stalkerSession.refreshAccountProfile.mockResolvedValue({
+            login: 'full-user',
+        });
+
+        const snapshot = await service.fetchAccountInfo(portalPlaylist);
+
+        expect(stalkerSession.refreshAccountProfile).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            expect.objectContaining({ isFullStalkerPortal: true })
+        );
+        expect(snapshot).toMatchObject({ login: 'full-user' });
+    });
+
+    it('prefers the profile flow over a PARTIAL main-info answer after a mode repair', async () => {
+        // A bare login from get_main_info must not win over the profile
+        // flow once the repair proved the portal is full — expiry and
+        // tariff live only behind handshake + get_profile.
+        dataService.sendIpcEvent.mockResolvedValue({
+            js: { login: 'partial-user' },
+        });
+        const repaired = {
+            ...portalPlaylist,
+            portalUrl: 'http://portal.example/server/load.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        } as PlaylistMeta;
+        portalRepair.applyOverride
+            .mockImplementationOnce((value: PlaylistMeta) => value)
+            .mockImplementationOnce((value: PlaylistMeta) => value)
+            .mockImplementation(() => repaired);
+        stalkerSession.refreshAccountProfile.mockResolvedValue({
+            login: 'full-user',
+            expire_date: '1795000000',
+            tariff_plan_name: 'Premium',
+        });
+
+        const snapshot = await service.fetchAccountInfo(portalPlaylist);
+
+        expect(snapshot).toMatchObject({
+            login: 'full-user',
+            tariffPlanName: 'Premium',
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('keeps the partial main-info facts when the profile flow publishes nothing', async () => {
+        dataService.sendIpcEvent.mockResolvedValue({
+            js: { login: 'partial-user' },
+        });
+        const repaired = {
+            ...portalPlaylist,
+            portalUrl: 'http://portal.example/server/load.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        } as PlaylistMeta;
+        // applyOverride runs twice before the repair lands (routing, then
+        // inside executeStalkerRequest); only afterwards does it report the
+        // repaired playlist.
+        portalRepair.applyOverride
+            .mockImplementationOnce((value: PlaylistMeta) => value)
+            .mockImplementationOnce((value: PlaylistMeta) => value)
+            .mockImplementation(() => repaired);
+        stalkerSession.refreshAccountProfile.mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+
+        const snapshot = await service.fetchAccountInfo(portalPlaylist);
+
+        expect(snapshot).toMatchObject({ login: 'partial-user' });
+    });
+
+    it('re-routes to the profile flow when the post-repair main-info retry rejects', async () => {
+        // A full installation that does not implement get_main_info answers
+        // the internal retry with 404 — the rejection must reach the
+        // repaired-mode check instead of failing the dialog.
+        dataService.sendIpcEvent.mockRejectedValue(
+            new Error('HTTP Error 404: Not Found')
+        );
+        const repaired = {
+            ...portalPlaylist,
+            portalUrl: 'http://portal.example/server/load.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        } as PlaylistMeta;
+        portalRepair.applyOverride
+            .mockImplementationOnce((value: PlaylistMeta) => value)
+            .mockImplementationOnce((value: PlaylistMeta) => value)
+            .mockImplementation(() => repaired);
+        stalkerSession.refreshAccountProfile.mockResolvedValue({
+            login: 'full-user',
+        });
+
+        const snapshot = await service.fetchAccountInfo(portalPlaylist);
+
+        expect(snapshot).toMatchObject({ login: 'full-user' });
+    });
+
+    it('rethrows a main-info failure when no repair changed the mode', async () => {
+        const boom = new Error('HTTP Error 404: Not Found');
+        dataService.sendIpcEvent.mockRejectedValue(boom);
+
+        await expect(service.fetchAccountInfo(portalPlaylist)).rejects.toBe(
+            boom
+        );
+    });
+
+    it('rethrows profile failures the repair declines to act on', async () => {
+        const boom = new Error('timeout of 15000ms exceeded');
+        stalkerSession.refreshAccountProfile.mockRejectedValue(boom);
+
+        await expect(
+            service.fetchAccountInfo(fullPortalPlaylist)
+        ).rejects.toBe(boom);
+        expect(portalRepair.repairPortal).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
     it('returns null when the full-portal profile has no account block', async () => {
         stalkerSession.refreshAccountProfile.mockResolvedValue(undefined);
 
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-account-info.service.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-account-info.service.ts
index aa6afb855..215cd8171 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-account-info.service.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-account-info.service.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 import { inject, Injectable } from '@angular/core';
 import { DataService } from '@iptvnator/services';
-import { PlaylistMeta } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+import {
+    isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist,
+    PlaylistMeta,
+} from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+import { StalkerPortalRepairService } from './stalker-portal-repair.service';
 import { StalkerSessionService } from './stalker-session.service';
 import {
     executeStalkerRequest,
@@ -63,6 +67,7 @@ interface StalkerMainInfoResponse {
 export class StalkerAccountInfoService {
     private readonly dataService = inject(DataService);
     private readonly stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService);
+    private readonly portalRepair = inject(StalkerPortalRepairService);
 
     async fetchAccountInfo(
         playlist: PlaylistMeta
@@ -71,15 +76,82 @@ export class StalkerAccountInfoService {
             return null;
         }
 
-        if (isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(playlist)) {
-            return this.fetchViaProfile(playlist);
+        const effectivePlaylist = this.portalRepair.applyOverride(playlist);
+        if (isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(effectivePlaylist)) {
+            return this.fetchViaProfile(effectivePlaylist);
         }
 
-        return this.fetchViaMainInfo(playlist);
+        // A REJECTED main-info call must reach the same repaired-mode check
+        // as an empty or partial one: a repair can flip the portal to full
+        // mid-request, and a full installation that does not implement
+        // `get_main_info` answers the internal retry with 404.
+        let snapshot: StalkerAccountSnapshot | null = null;
+        let mainInfoError: unknown;
+        try {
+            snapshot = await this.fetchViaMainInfo(effectivePlaylist);
+        } catch (error) {
+            mainInfoError = error;
+        }
+
+        // `fetchViaMainInfo` runs through executeStalkerRequest, whose lazy
+        // repair retries the SAME action internally. If that repair proved
+        // the portal is actually a full one, `get_main_info` was the wrong
+        // call: canonical installations publish subscription details only
+        // through handshake + get_profile, so even a PARTIAL main-info
+        // answer (a bare login) must not win over the profile flow. Checked
+        // before accepting the snapshot, symmetric with the full→simple
+        // re-route in `fetchViaProfile`.
+        const repairedPlaylist = this.portalRepair.applyOverride(playlist);
+        if (
+            isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(repairedPlaylist) &&
+            !isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(effectivePlaylist)
+        ) {
+            const profileSnapshot =
+                await this.fetchViaProfile(repairedPlaylist);
+            // Keep the partial main-info facts if the profile path itself
+            // publishes nothing — losing data to the re-route would be
+            // worse than the incomplete answer.
+            return profileSnapshot ?? snapshot;
+        }
+
+        // No mode change: a main-info failure is the caller's failure.
+        if (mainInfoError !== undefined) {
+            throw mainInfoError;
+        }
+
+        return snapshot;
     }
 
     private async fetchViaProfile(
         playlist: PlaylistMeta
+    ): Promise<StalkerAccountSnapshot | null> {
+        try {
+            return await this.requestProfileSnapshot(playlist);
+        } catch (error) {
+            // The profile path does not go through executeStalkerRequest,
+            // so wire the same lazy repair here: opening the account dialog
+            // on a playlist with a stale endpoint must be able to fix it
+            // instead of waiting for an unrelated catalog request.
+            if (!this.portalRepair.shouldAttemptRepair(playlist, error)) {
+                throw error;
+            }
+
+            const repaired = await this.portalRepair.repairPortal(playlist);
+            if (!repaired) {
+                throw error;
+            }
+
+            // Re-enter the MODE routing: a repair can prove the portal is a
+            // token-free panel, and retrying the handshake-based profile
+            // against it would fail exactly the same way.
+            return isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(repaired)
+                ? this.requestProfileSnapshot(repaired)
+                : this.fetchViaMainInfo(repaired);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private async requestProfileSnapshot(
+        playlist: PlaylistMeta
     ): Promise<StalkerAccountSnapshot | null> {
         // Goes through the session service rather than calling
         // authenticate() directly: it serializes with any in-flight
@@ -109,6 +181,7 @@ export class StalkerAccountInfoService {
             {
                 dataService: this.dataService,
                 stalkerSession: this.stalkerSession,
+                portalRepair: this.portalRepair,
             },
             playlist,
             {
@@ -146,26 +219,10 @@ export class StalkerAccountInfoService {
     }
 }
 
-/**
- * Whether a playlist should use the full `/stalker_portal/` flow.
- *
- * The persisted flag is authoritative when present, but a playlist
- * restored from an older backup can carry `undefined` after the one-shot
- * metadata migration has already run — fall back to the same URL rule
- * that migration uses (`withExplicitLegacyStalkerPortalFlag` in
- * PlaylistsService) rather than mislabelling it as a legacy panel.
- */
-export function isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(playlist: PlaylistMeta): boolean {
-    if (playlist.isFullStalkerPortal !== undefined) {
-        return Boolean(playlist.isFullStalkerPortal);
-    }
-
-    const portalUrl = playlist.portalUrl ?? playlist.url ?? '';
-    return (
-        portalUrl.includes('/stalker_portal') ||
-        portalUrl.includes('/server/load.php')
-    );
-}
+// The portal-mode predicate moved to `@iptvnator/shared/interfaces`
+// (stalker-portal-mode.util) so every consumer shares one rule; re-exported
+// here for existing importers.
+export { isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist };
 
 function normalizeSnapshot(
     snapshot: StalkerAccountSnapshot
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-identity.utils.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-identity.utils.ts
index 99b35c0c1..a619466fa 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-identity.utils.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-identity.utils.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import {
+    normalizeStalkerIdentityValue,
     normalizeStalkerPortalIdentity as normalizeSharedStalkerPortalIdentity,
     type Playlist,
     type StalkerPortalIdentity,
@@ -13,6 +14,37 @@ export {
     type StalkerPortalIdentity,
 } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
 
+/**
+ * Canonical fingerprint of WHO a portal session belongs to: the MAC plus
+ * every Stalker identity field, trim-normalized so blank and absent values
+ * are equivalent. The repair override, the once-per-config probe latch and
+ * the session token cache are all keyed/validated with this — a session
+ * negotiated for one fingerprint must never serve another.
+ */
+export function stalkerIdentityFingerprint(
+    playlist: Pick<
+        Playlist,
+        | 'macAddress'
+        | 'stalkerSerialNumber'
+        | 'stalkerDeviceId1'
+        | 'stalkerDeviceId2'
+        | 'stalkerSignature1'
+        | 'stalkerSignature2'
+    >
+): string {
+    // JSON-encoded, not delimiter-joined: identity values are unrestricted
+    // strings, and an unescaped separator would let distinct tuples alias
+    // each other and bypass the identity invalidation.
+    return JSON.stringify([
+        normalizeStalkerIdentityValue(playlist.macAddress) ?? '',
+        normalizeStalkerIdentityValue(playlist.stalkerSerialNumber) ?? '',
+        normalizeStalkerIdentityValue(playlist.stalkerDeviceId1) ?? '',
+        normalizeStalkerIdentityValue(playlist.stalkerDeviceId2) ?? '',
+        normalizeStalkerIdentityValue(playlist.stalkerSignature1) ?? '',
+        normalizeStalkerIdentityValue(playlist.stalkerSignature2) ?? '',
+    ]);
+}
+
 export function getStalkerPortalIdentityFromPlaylist(
     playlist: Pick<
         Playlist,
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-itv-cache.service.spec.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-itv-cache.service.spec.ts
index ef647483a..ad042ba62 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-itv-cache.service.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-itv-cache.service.spec.ts
@@ -52,7 +52,9 @@ function pageOf(items: unknown[], totalItems: number, pageSize = 14) {
 
 const UNSUPPORTED_ACTION = { js: { error: 'Unknown action: get_all_channels' } };
 
-async function flushMicrotasks(times = 5): Promise<void> {
+// Depth 10: executeStalkerRequest routes through an extra async hop for
+// the portal-repair pipeline, so page transitions settle a tick later.
+async function flushMicrotasks(times = 10): Promise<void> {
     for (let index = 0; index < times; index += 1) {
         await Promise.resolve();
     }
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-itv-cache.service.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-itv-cache.service.ts
index f16bcbee5..3400e8038 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-itv-cache.service.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-itv-cache.service.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import {
     StalkerItvLoadProgress,
     loadFullItvChannelList,
 } from './stalker-itv-channel-loader';
+import { StalkerPortalRepairService } from './stalker-portal-repair.service';
 import { StalkerSessionService } from './stalker-session.service';
 import { StalkerRequestDeps } from './stores/utils';
 
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@ export class StalkerItvCacheService {
     private readonly requestDeps: StalkerRequestDeps = {
         dataService: inject(DataService),
         stalkerSession: inject(StalkerSessionService),
+        portalRepair: inject(StalkerPortalRepairService),
     };
 
     /** Portal keys whose full channel list is loaded. */
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-discovery.service.spec.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-discovery.service.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..38471a5ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-discovery.service.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,346 @@
+import { TestBed } from '@angular/core/testing';
+import { DataService } from '@iptvnator/services';
+import { StalkerPortalDiscoveryService } from './stalker-portal-discovery.service';
+import { StalkerSessionService } from './stalker-session.service';
+
+jest.mock('@iptvnator/portal/shared/util', () => ({
+    createLogger: () => ({
+        debug: jest.fn(),
+        info: jest.fn(),
+        warn: jest.fn(),
+        error: jest.fn(),
+    }),
+}));
+
+const MAC = '00:1A:79:AA:BB:CC';
+
+describe('StalkerPortalDiscoveryService', () => {
+    let service: StalkerPortalDiscoveryService;
+    let sendIpcEvent: jest.Mock;
+    let authenticate: jest.Mock;
+
+    /** Maps probed endpoint URL → resolved value or rejection. */
+    function mockProbes(
+        handlers: Record<string, { resolve?: unknown; reject?: unknown }>
+    ): void {
+        sendIpcEvent.mockImplementation((_event, payload) => {
+            const { url } = payload as { url: string };
+            const handler = handlers[url];
+            if (!handler) {
+                return Promise.reject(
+                    new Error(`unexpected probe for ${url}`)
+                );
+            }
+            if ('reject' in handler) {
+                return Promise.reject(handler.reject);
+            }
+            return Promise.resolve(handler.resolve);
+        });
+    }
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        sendIpcEvent = jest.fn();
+        authenticate = jest.fn();
+
+        TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+            providers: [
+                { provide: DataService, useValue: { sendIpcEvent } },
+                { provide: StalkerSessionService, useValue: { authenticate } },
+            ],
+        });
+
+        service = TestBed.inject(StalkerPortalDiscoveryService);
+    });
+
+    it('resolves a tolerant portal.php panel as a simple portal without authenticating', async () => {
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://panel.example/portal.php': {
+                resolve: { js: [{ id: '1', title: 'News' }] },
+            },
+        });
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover('http://panel.example/c', MAC);
+
+        expect(outcome).toEqual({
+            status: 'resolved',
+            portalUrl: 'http://panel.example/portal.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+        });
+        expect(authenticate).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+        // The winning candidate ends discovery — no further probes.
+        expect(sendIpcEvent).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it('falls through a 404 portal.php to server/load.php and classifies by handshake', async () => {
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://ministra.example/portal.php': {
+                reject: { message: 'HTTP Error: Not Found', status: 404 },
+            },
+            'http://ministra.example/server/load.php': {
+                resolve: 'Authorization failed.',
+            },
+        });
+        authenticate.mockResolvedValue({
+            token: 'TOKEN1',
+            accountInfo: { login: 'user-1' },
+        });
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover(
+            'http://ministra.example/c',
+            MAC,
+            { serialNumber: 'SN1' }
+        );
+
+        expect(outcome).toEqual({
+            status: 'resolved',
+            portalUrl: 'http://ministra.example/server/load.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            token: 'TOKEN1',
+            accountInfo: { login: 'user-1' },
+        });
+        expect(authenticate).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            'http://ministra.example/server/load.php',
+            MAC,
+            { serialNumber: 'SN1' }
+        );
+    });
+
+    it('resolves a pasted canonical URL in full mode without probing portal.php first', async () => {
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://ministra.example/server/load.php': {
+                resolve: 'Authorization failed.',
+            },
+        });
+        authenticate.mockResolvedValue({ token: 'TOKEN2' });
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover(
+            'http://ministra.example/server/load.php',
+            MAC
+        );
+
+        expect(outcome).toMatchObject({
+            status: 'resolved',
+            portalUrl: 'http://ministra.example/server/load.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        });
+        expect(sendIpcEvent).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it('classifies a token-enforcing portal.php panel as a full portal', async () => {
+        // Strict reseller panels exist; behavior beats the URL shape.
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://strict.example/portal.php': {
+                resolve: 'Authorization failed.',
+            },
+        });
+        authenticate.mockResolvedValue({ token: 'TOKEN3' });
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover('http://strict.example/c', MAC);
+
+        expect(outcome).toMatchObject({
+            status: 'resolved',
+            portalUrl: 'http://strict.example/portal.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('reports auth-rejected when an endpoint demands auth we cannot complete', async () => {
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://ministra.example/portal.php': {
+                reject: { message: 'HTTP Error: Not Found', status: 404 },
+            },
+            'http://ministra.example/server/load.php': {
+                resolve: 'Authorization failed.',
+            },
+            'http://ministra.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php': {
+                reject: { message: 'HTTP Error: Not Found', status: 404 },
+            },
+        });
+        authenticate.mockRejectedValue(new Error('Profile error: blocked'));
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover(
+            'http://ministra.example/c',
+            MAC
+        );
+
+        expect(outcome).toMatchObject({
+            status: 'auth-rejected',
+            portalUrl: 'http://ministra.example/server/load.php',
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('treats an HTTP 401/403 probe answer as auth-required, not endpoint-absent', async () => {
+        // Non-standard middlewares answer 401 where the stock server sends
+        // HTTP 200 + plain text; skipping the candidate would abort imports
+        // for portals that previously authenticated directly.
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://gated.example/portal.php': {
+                reject: { message: 'HTTP Error 401: Unauthorized', status: 401 },
+            },
+        });
+        authenticate.mockResolvedValue({ token: 'TOKEN4' });
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover('http://gated.example/c', MAC);
+
+        expect(outcome).toMatchObject({
+            status: 'resolved',
+            portalUrl: 'http://gated.example/portal.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        });
+        expect(authenticate).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            'http://gated.example/portal.php',
+            MAC,
+            {}
+        );
+    });
+
+    it('records a 401 candidate as auth-rejected when the handshake is refused', async () => {
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://gated.example/portal.php': {
+                reject: { message: 'HTTP Error 403: Forbidden', status: 403 },
+            },
+            'http://gated.example/server/load.php': {
+                reject: { message: 'HTTP Error 404: Not Found', status: 404 },
+            },
+            'http://gated.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php': {
+                reject: { message: 'HTTP Error 404: Not Found', status: 404 },
+            },
+        });
+        authenticate.mockRejectedValue(new Error('Handshake failed: No token received'));
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover('http://gated.example/c', MAC);
+
+        expect(outcome).toMatchObject({
+            status: 'auth-rejected',
+            portalUrl: 'http://gated.example/portal.php',
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('rejects a candidate whose get_profile answers a structured denial', async () => {
+        // The handshake can hand out a token whose profile call still
+        // denies; accepting it would persist an unusable endpoint and skip
+        // the healthy sibling.
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://mixed.example/portal.php': {
+                resolve: 'Authorization failed.',
+            },
+            'http://mixed.example/server/load.php': {
+                resolve: { js: [{ id: '1' }] },
+            },
+        });
+        authenticate.mockResolvedValue({
+            token: 'TOKEN-BAD',
+            profileResponse: { js: { error: 'Invalid token' } },
+        });
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover('http://mixed.example/c', MAC);
+
+        // Discovery moved on and resolved the healthy sibling instead.
+        expect(outcome).toEqual({
+            status: 'resolved',
+            portalUrl: 'http://mixed.example/server/load.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('reports unreachable when every candidate 404s', async () => {
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://empty.example/portal.php': {
+                reject: { message: 'HTTP Error: Not Found', status: 404 },
+            },
+            'http://empty.example/server/load.php': {
+                reject: { message: 'HTTP Error: Not Found', status: 404 },
+            },
+            'http://empty.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php': {
+                reject: { message: 'HTTP Error: Not Found', status: 404 },
+            },
+        });
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover('http://empty.example/c', MAC);
+
+        expect(outcome).toEqual({ status: 'unreachable' });
+    });
+
+    it('stops probing after a network-level failure — all candidates share the host', async () => {
+        // Post-IPC, a network failure carries no resolvable HTTP status:
+        // ipcRenderer strips the object shape and the message has no
+        // "HTTP Error NNN" marker.
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://down.example/portal.php': {
+                reject: new Error(
+                    "Error invoking remote method 'STALKER_REQUEST': connect ECONNREFUSED"
+                ),
+            },
+        });
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover('http://down.example/c', MAC);
+
+        expect(outcome).toEqual({ status: 'unreachable' });
+        expect(sendIpcEvent).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it('keeps probing past a candidate timeout — one handler can hang while siblings work', async () => {
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://slow.example/portal.php': {
+                reject: new Error(
+                    "Error invoking remote method 'STALKER_REQUEST': timeout of 15000ms exceeded"
+                ),
+            },
+            'http://slow.example/server/load.php': {
+                resolve: { js: [] },
+            },
+        });
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover('http://slow.example/c', MAC);
+
+        expect(outcome).toEqual({
+            status: 'resolved',
+            portalUrl: 'http://slow.example/server/load.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('keeps probing past an endpoint-specific 5xx — the host answered', async () => {
+        // One broken handler (a dead portal.php returning 500) must not
+        // hide a healthy sibling endpoint on the same host.
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://flaky.example/portal.php': {
+                reject: {
+                    message: 'HTTP Error 500: Internal Server Error',
+                    status: 500,
+                },
+            },
+            'http://flaky.example/server/load.php': {
+                resolve: 'Authorization failed.',
+            },
+        });
+        authenticate.mockResolvedValue({ token: 'TOKEN5' });
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover('http://flaky.example/c', MAC);
+
+        expect(outcome).toMatchObject({
+            status: 'resolved',
+            portalUrl: 'http://flaky.example/server/load.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('skips endpoints that answer with something that is not a portal', async () => {
+        mockProbes({
+            'http://mixed.example/portal.php': {
+                resolve: '<html>It works!</html>',
+            },
+            'http://mixed.example/server/load.php': {
+                resolve: { js: [] },
+            },
+        });
+
+        const outcome = await service.discover('http://mixed.example/c', MAC);
+
+        expect(outcome).toEqual({
+            status: 'resolved',
+            portalUrl: 'http://mixed.example/server/load.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+        });
+    });
+});
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-discovery.service.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-discovery.service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0764d747a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-discovery.service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,252 @@
+import { Injectable, inject } from '@angular/core';
+import { DataService } from '@iptvnator/services';
+import { STALKER_REQUEST } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+import { createLogger } from '@iptvnator/portal/shared/util';
+import {
+    StalkerProfileResponse,
+    StalkerSessionService,
+} from './stalker-session.service';
+import { type StalkerPortalIdentity } from './stalker-identity.utils';
+import {
+    buildStalkerEndpointCandidates,
+    classifyStalkerProbeResponse,
+    getStalkerRequestErrorStatus,
+    isStalkerAuthFailureResponse,
+    isStalkerProbeTimeout,
+} from './stalker-portal-discovery.utils';
+
+/** A candidate endpoint answered and its auth behavior was observed. */
+export interface StalkerPortalEndpointResolution {
+    status: 'resolved';
+    /** The endpoint that actually answered content requests. */
+    portalUrl: string;
+    /** Observed behavior: true when the endpoint enforces the Bearer token. */
+    isFullStalkerPortal: boolean;
+    /** Session token from the classification handshake (full portals only). */
+    token?: string;
+    /** Account block from the classification `get_profile` (full portals only). */
+    accountInfo?: StalkerProfileResponse['js']['account_info'];
+}
+
+/**
+ * An endpoint exists and demands authentication, but the handshake/profile
+ * flow was refused — wrong MAC, blocked account, or a panel we cannot
+ * authenticate against. Nothing may be persisted from this outcome.
+ */
+export interface StalkerPortalDiscoveryRejection {
+    status: 'auth-rejected';
+    portalUrl: string;
+    error?: unknown;
+}
+
+/** No candidate answered like a Stalker portal (host down or not a portal). */
+export interface StalkerPortalDiscoveryUnreachable {
+    status: 'unreachable';
+}
+
+export type StalkerPortalDiscoveryOutcome =
+    | StalkerPortalEndpointResolution
+    | StalkerPortalDiscoveryRejection
+    | StalkerPortalDiscoveryUnreachable;
+
+/** Per-request guard so a hanging host cannot stall discovery forever. */
+const PROBE_TIMEOUT_MS = 20_000;
+/** authenticate() is two sequential requests; give it a matching budget. */
+const AUTH_TIMEOUT_MS = 45_000;
+
+function withTimeout<T>(promise: Promise<T>, timeoutMs: number): Promise<T> {
+    return new Promise<T>((resolve, reject) => {
+        const timer = setTimeout(
+            () => reject(new Error('Stalker portal probe timed out')),
+            timeoutMs
+        );
+        promise.then(
+            (value) => {
+                clearTimeout(timer);
+                resolve(value);
+            },
+            (error) => {
+                clearTimeout(timer);
+                reject(error);
+            }
+        );
+    });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Resolves which API endpoint a Stalker portal actually answers on and
+ * whether it enforces the full auth lifecycle — by probing, not by URL
+ * shape. Used at import time and by the lazy repair of previously
+ * misclassified playlists.
+ */
+@Injectable({ providedIn: 'root' })
+export class StalkerPortalDiscoveryService {
+    private readonly dataService = inject(DataService);
+    private readonly stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService);
+    private readonly logger = createLogger('StalkerPortalDiscovery');
+
+    /**
+     * Probes candidate endpoints in order and classifies the first one that
+     * answers. Per candidate: a token-less content request that returns real
+     * data proves a token-free panel; the middleware's plain-text auth
+     * failure proves the endpoint exists and enforces the token, which is
+     * then confirmed by attempting the real handshake + `get_profile` flow.
+     */
+    async discover(
+        rawUrl: string,
+        macAddress: string,
+        identity: StalkerPortalIdentity = {}
+    ): Promise<StalkerPortalDiscoveryOutcome> {
+        const candidates = buildStalkerEndpointCandidates(rawUrl);
+        let authRejection: StalkerPortalDiscoveryRejection | null = null;
+
+        for (const candidate of candidates) {
+            let probeResponse: unknown;
+            try {
+                probeResponse = await this.probeContent(candidate, macAddress);
+            } catch (error) {
+                const status = getStalkerRequestErrorStatus(error);
+                if (status === 401 || status === 403) {
+                    // The endpoint exists but sits behind an HTTP auth gate —
+                    // non-standard middlewares answer 401/403 where the stock
+                    // server answers 200 + plain text. Attempt the real
+                    // handshake instead of skipping a valid candidate.
+                    const outcome = await this.confirmFullPortal(
+                        candidate,
+                        macAddress,
+                        identity
+                    );
+                    if (outcome.status === 'resolved') {
+                        return outcome;
+                    }
+                    authRejection = authRejection ?? outcome;
+                    continue;
+                }
+                if (status !== undefined) {
+                    // Any resolvable HTTP status proves the HOST answered:
+                    // 4xx means this endpoint is absent, and a 5xx here can
+                    // be one broken handler (a dead /portal.php) while a
+                    // sibling candidate works — keep probing either way.
+                    continue;
+                }
+                if (isStalkerProbeTimeout(error)) {
+                    // A timeout can also be one hanging handler with healthy
+                    // siblings; each further candidate stays bounded by its
+                    // own probe budget.
+                    this.logger.warn(
+                        'Stalker portal probe timed out; trying the next candidate'
+                    );
+                    continue;
+                }
+                // Connection-level failure (refused, unresolvable host):
+                // every candidate lives on the same host, so further probing
+                // cannot succeed either.
+                this.logger.warn(
+                    'Stalker portal probe failed at network level; stopping discovery'
+                );
+                return authRejection ?? { status: 'unreachable' };
+            }
+
+            switch (classifyStalkerProbeResponse(probeResponse)) {
+                case 'data':
+                    return {
+                        status: 'resolved',
+                        portalUrl: candidate,
+                        isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+                    };
+                case 'auth-required': {
+                    const outcome = await this.confirmFullPortal(
+                        candidate,
+                        macAddress,
+                        identity
+                    );
+                    if (outcome.status === 'resolved') {
+                        return outcome;
+                    }
+                    // The endpoint is real but refused our credentials;
+                    // remember the first such endpoint in case no later
+                    // candidate resolves.
+                    authRejection = authRejection ?? outcome;
+                    continue;
+                }
+                case 'not-a-portal':
+                    continue;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return authRejection ?? { status: 'unreachable' };
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Confirms a token-enforcing endpoint by running the real handshake +
+     * `get_profile` flow against it.
+     */
+    private async confirmFullPortal(
+        candidate: string,
+        macAddress: string,
+        identity: StalkerPortalIdentity
+    ): Promise<
+        StalkerPortalEndpointResolution | StalkerPortalDiscoveryRejection
+    > {
+        try {
+            const auth = await withTimeout(
+                this.stalkerSession.authenticate(
+                    candidate,
+                    macAddress,
+                    identity
+                ),
+                AUTH_TIMEOUT_MS
+            );
+            // A handshake can hand out a token whose `get_profile` still
+            // answers a structured denial (`{js:{error:'Invalid token'}}`);
+            // `authenticate()` only inspects `msg`/`block_msg`, so reporting
+            // `resolved` here would persist an unusable endpoint and stop
+            // before a healthy sibling is probed.
+            if (isStalkerAuthFailureResponse(auth.profileResponse)) {
+                return {
+                    status: 'auth-rejected',
+                    portalUrl: candidate,
+                    error: auth.profileResponse,
+                };
+            }
+            return {
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: candidate,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+                token: auth.token,
+                accountInfo: auth.accountInfo,
+            };
+        } catch (error) {
+            return {
+                status: 'auth-rejected',
+                portalUrl: candidate,
+                error,
+            };
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Token-less, read-only content request (`itv/get_genres`) — the
+     * cheapest action every Stalker-compatible panel implements and the
+     * canonical middleware gates behind the Bearer token.
+     */
+    private probeContent(url: string, macAddress: string): Promise<unknown> {
+        return withTimeout(
+            Promise.resolve(
+                this.dataService.sendIpcEvent<unknown>(STALKER_REQUEST, {
+                    url,
+                    macAddress,
+                    params: {
+                        type: 'itv',
+                        action: 'get_genres',
+                        JsHttpRequest: '1-xml',
+                    },
+                    // Probing absent endpoints fails BY DESIGN — the
+                    // transport services skip their error snackbar for us.
+                    silent: true,
+                })
+            ),
+            PROBE_TIMEOUT_MS
+        );
+    }
+}
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-discovery.utils.spec.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-discovery.utils.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8b99a9e2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-discovery.utils.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,385 @@
+import {
+    buildStalkerEndpointCandidates,
+    classifyStalkerProbeResponse,
+    getStalkerRequestErrorStatus,
+    isStalkerAuthFailureBody,
+    isStalkerAuthFailureMessage,
+    isStalkerAuthFailureResponse,
+    legacyTransformStalkerPortalUrl,
+    normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl,
+} from './stalker-portal-discovery.utils';
+
+describe('buildStalkerEndpointCandidates', () => {
+    it('probes the standard order for a /c URL users copy from the browser', () => {
+        expect(
+            buildStalkerEndpointCandidates('http://portal.example/c')
+        ).toEqual([
+            'http://portal.example/portal.php',
+            'http://portal.example/server/load.php',
+            'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it('probes the same order for a bare host', () => {
+        expect(buildStalkerEndpointCandidates('http://portal.example')).toEqual(
+            [
+                'http://portal.example/portal.php',
+                'http://portal.example/server/load.php',
+                'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+            ]
+        );
+    });
+
+    it('strips trailing slashes before deriving candidates', () => {
+        expect(
+            buildStalkerEndpointCandidates('http://portal.example/c///')
+        ).toEqual([
+            'http://portal.example/portal.php',
+            'http://portal.example/server/load.php',
+            'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it('gives an explicitly pasted .php endpoint the first shot', () => {
+        expect(
+            buildStalkerEndpointCandidates(
+                'http://portal.example/server/load.php'
+            )
+        ).toEqual([
+            'http://portal.example/server/load.php',
+            'http://portal.example/portal.php',
+            'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it('keeps a nonstandard pasted endpoint as the first candidate', () => {
+        expect(
+            buildStalkerEndpointCandidates('http://portal.example/cp/portal.php')
+        ).toEqual([
+            'http://portal.example/cp/portal.php',
+            'http://portal.example/cp/server/load.php',
+            'http://portal.example/cp/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it('derives standard fallbacks from a nonstandard endpoint\'s directory', () => {
+        // The pasted endpoint keeps the first shot, but recovery candidates
+        // must be its SIBLINGS — not paths appended to the file itself.
+        expect(
+            buildStalkerEndpointCandidates('http://portal.example/cp/api.php')
+        ).toEqual([
+            'http://portal.example/cp/api.php',
+            'http://portal.example/cp/portal.php',
+            'http://portal.example/cp/server/load.php',
+            'http://portal.example/cp/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it('keeps a real installation directory named c', () => {
+        // `/tenant/c/portal.php` means the installation lives in `/tenant/c`
+        // — the `/c` landing-page rewrite must not strip it, or the
+        // siblings would be probed one level too high.
+        expect(
+            buildStalkerEndpointCandidates(
+                'http://portal.example/tenant/c/portal.php'
+            )
+        ).toEqual([
+            'http://portal.example/tenant/c/portal.php',
+            'http://portal.example/tenant/c/server/load.php',
+            'http://portal.example/tenant/c/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it('never nests stalker_portal twice for a /stalker_portal/c URL', () => {
+        expect(
+            buildStalkerEndpointCandidates(
+                'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/c'
+            )
+        ).toEqual([
+            'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/portal.php',
+            'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it('deduplicates the pasted canonical stalker_portal endpoint', () => {
+        expect(
+            buildStalkerEndpointCandidates(
+                'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php'
+            )
+        ).toEqual([
+            'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+            'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/portal.php',
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it('derives candidates from the pathname when the URL carries a query or fragment', () => {
+        // Suffix matching on the raw string would keep `/c` and append the
+        // endpoints inside the query — every probe would still hit /c.
+        expect(
+            buildStalkerEndpointCandidates('http://portal.example/c?key=value')
+        ).toEqual([
+            'http://portal.example/portal.php',
+            'http://portal.example/server/load.php',
+            'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        ]);
+        expect(
+            buildStalkerEndpointCandidates(
+                'http://portal.example:8080/portal.php?sn=1#frag'
+            )
+        ).toEqual([
+            'http://portal.example:8080/portal.php',
+            'http://portal.example:8080/server/load.php',
+            'http://portal.example:8080/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        ]);
+    });
+
+    it('returns no candidates for empty or unparseable URLs', () => {
+        expect(buildStalkerEndpointCandidates('   ')).toEqual([]);
+        expect(buildStalkerEndpointCandidates('not-a-url')).toEqual([]);
+    });
+});
+
+describe('normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl', () => {
+    it('reduces a URL to origin + pathname', () => {
+        expect(
+            normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl('http://host.example/c?key=value#f')
+        ).toBe('http://host.example/c');
+        expect(
+            normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl('  http://host.example:8080/c/  ')
+        ).toBe('http://host.example:8080/c');
+    });
+
+    it('feeds the legacy fallback transform a rewritable path', () => {
+        // The offline-import fallback runs the legacy /c → portal.php
+        // rewrite on this form; unnormalized input would keep the /c page.
+        expect(
+            legacyTransformStalkerPortalUrl(
+                normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl(
+                    'http://host.example/c?key=value'
+                ) ?? ''
+            )
+        ).toBe('http://host.example/portal.php');
+    });
+
+    it('returns null for unparseable input', () => {
+        expect(normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl('not-a-url')).toBeNull();
+        expect(normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl('   ')).toBeNull();
+    });
+
+    it('preserves the accepted URL authority instead of rebuilding from origin', () => {
+        // Basic-auth credentials must not be silently dropped…
+        expect(
+            normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl(
+                'https://user:pass@host.example/c?key=value'
+            )
+        ).toBe('https://user:pass@host.example/c');
+        // …and file: URLs (origin "null") must stay parseable rather than
+        // becoming "null/tmp/c" and throwing in the candidate builder.
+        expect(normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl('file:///tmp/c')).toBe(
+            'file:///tmp/c'
+        );
+        expect(buildStalkerEndpointCandidates('file:///tmp/c')).toEqual([
+            'file:///tmp/portal.php',
+            'file:///tmp/server/load.php',
+            'file:///tmp/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        ]);
+        expect(
+            buildStalkerEndpointCandidates('https://user:pass@host.example/c')
+        ).toEqual([
+            'https://user:pass@host.example/portal.php',
+            'https://user:pass@host.example/server/load.php',
+            'https://user:pass@host.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        ]);
+    });
+});
+
+describe('isStalkerAuthFailureBody', () => {
+    it.each([
+        'Authorization failed.',
+        'Authorization failed. 75',
+        'Access denied.',
+        'Unauthorized request.',
+        '  Authorization failed.  ',
+    ])('recognizes the middleware body %j', (body) => {
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureBody(body)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('rejects long HTML pages that merely mention the phrase', () => {
+        const page = `<html><head><title>Site</title></head><body>${'x'.repeat(
+            300
+        )} access denied ${'y'.repeat(100)}</body></html>`;
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureBody(page)).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('rejects non-string and empty responses', () => {
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureBody({ js: [] })).toBe(false);
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureBody(undefined)).toBe(false);
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureBody(null)).toBe(false);
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureBody('')).toBe(false);
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureBody('OK')).toBe(false);
+    });
+});
+
+describe('isStalkerAuthFailureResponse', () => {
+    it('recognizes both the plain-text body and the JSON envelope forms', () => {
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureResponse('Authorization failed.')).toBe(
+            true
+        );
+        expect(
+            isStalkerAuthFailureResponse({
+                js: { error: 'Authorization failed' },
+            })
+        ).toBe(true);
+        expect(
+            isStalkerAuthFailureResponse({ js: { msg: 'Access denied.' } })
+        ).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('recognizes the wider structured-field phrases the session service accepts', () => {
+        expect(
+            isStalkerAuthFailureResponse({ js: { error: 'Invalid token' } })
+        ).toBe(true);
+        expect(
+            isStalkerAuthFailureResponse({ js: { error: 'Auth failed' } })
+        ).toBe(true);
+        expect(
+            isStalkerAuthFailureResponse({ js: { msg: 'unauthorized' } })
+        ).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('does not flag ordinary data or unrelated js errors', () => {
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureResponse({ js: { data: [] } })).toBe(false);
+        expect(
+            isStalkerAuthFailureResponse({
+                js: { error: 'Unknown action: get_genres' },
+            })
+        ).toBe(false);
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureResponse(undefined)).toBe(false);
+    });
+});
+
+describe('isStalkerAuthFailureMessage', () => {
+    it('matches the wide phrase set our own auth layer produces', () => {
+        expect(
+            isStalkerAuthFailureMessage('Profile error: Invalid token')
+        ).toBe(true);
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureMessage('Profile error: Auth failed')).toBe(
+            true
+        );
+        expect(
+            isStalkerAuthFailureMessage('Profile error: Access denied.')
+        ).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('stays narrower than a free-form body check for unrelated text', () => {
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureMessage('nothing_to_play')).toBe(false);
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureMessage('timeout of 15000ms exceeded')).toBe(
+            false
+        );
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureMessage(undefined)).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('is wider than the plain-text BODY matcher on purpose', () => {
+        // A portal BODY saying "Invalid token" is not one of the three
+        // middleware phrases; a controlled Error message is.
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureBody('Invalid token')).toBe(false);
+        expect(isStalkerAuthFailureMessage('Invalid token')).toBe(true);
+    });
+});
+
+describe('classifyStalkerProbeResponse', () => {
+    it('classifies a js envelope as data', () => {
+        expect(classifyStalkerProbeResponse({ js: [] })).toBe('data');
+        expect(classifyStalkerProbeResponse({ js: { data: [] } })).toBe('data');
+    });
+
+    it('classifies the plain-text auth failure as auth-required', () => {
+        expect(classifyStalkerProbeResponse('Authorization failed.')).toBe(
+            'auth-required'
+        );
+    });
+
+    it('classifies the JSON-envelope auth failure as auth-required, not data', () => {
+        // Some panels answer HTTP 200 + {js:{error:"Authorization failed"}}
+        // instead of the plain-text body; treating it as data would persist
+        // the portal as token-free with no repair trigger ever firing.
+        expect(
+            classifyStalkerProbeResponse({
+                js: { error: 'Authorization failed' },
+            })
+        ).toBe('auth-required');
+    });
+
+    it('requires a real get_genres data shape, not a bare js key', () => {
+        // A 200 error envelope must not end discovery on a broken
+        // candidate — the healthy sibling would never be probed.
+        expect(
+            classifyStalkerProbeResponse({ js: { error: 'Unknown action' } })
+        ).toBe('not-a-portal');
+        expect(classifyStalkerProbeResponse({ js: false })).toBe(
+            'not-a-portal'
+        );
+        expect(classifyStalkerProbeResponse({ js: null })).toBe(
+            'not-a-portal'
+        );
+        expect(classifyStalkerProbeResponse({ js: {} })).toBe('not-a-portal');
+    });
+
+    it('classifies anything else as not-a-portal', () => {
+        expect(classifyStalkerProbeResponse('<html>welcome</html>')).toBe(
+            'not-a-portal'
+        );
+        expect(classifyStalkerProbeResponse(undefined)).toBe('not-a-portal');
+        expect(classifyStalkerProbeResponse({ payload: 1 })).toBe(
+            'not-a-portal'
+        );
+    });
+});
+
+describe('getStalkerRequestErrorStatus', () => {
+    it('reads the status the Electron transport throws for HTTP errors', () => {
+        expect(
+            getStalkerRequestErrorStatus({
+                message: 'HTTP Error 404: Not Found',
+                status: 404,
+            })
+        ).toBe(404);
+    });
+
+    it('parses the status out of the IPC-wrapped message — invoke strips custom properties', () => {
+        expect(
+            getStalkerRequestErrorStatus(
+                new Error(
+                    "Error invoking remote method 'STALKER_REQUEST': HTTP Error 404: Not Found"
+                )
+            )
+        ).toBe(404);
+        // HTTP/2 has no reason phrases; the code alone must be enough.
+        expect(
+            getStalkerRequestErrorStatus(new Error('HTTP Error 404: '))
+        ).toBe(404);
+    });
+
+    it('returns undefined for plain errors', () => {
+        expect(getStalkerRequestErrorStatus(new Error('boom'))).toBeUndefined();
+        expect(getStalkerRequestErrorStatus(undefined)).toBeUndefined();
+        expect(getStalkerRequestErrorStatus({ status: '404' })).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+});
+
+describe('legacyTransformStalkerPortalUrl', () => {
+    it('keeps the historical rewrites for the unreachable-host fallback', () => {
+        expect(legacyTransformStalkerPortalUrl('http://x.example/c')).toBe(
+            'http://x.example/portal.php'
+        );
+        expect(
+            legacyTransformStalkerPortalUrl('http://x.example/stalker_portal/c')
+        ).toBe('http://x.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php');
+        expect(
+            legacyTransformStalkerPortalUrl('http://x.example/stalker_portal')
+        ).toBe('http://x.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php');
+        expect(
+            legacyTransformStalkerPortalUrl('http://x.example/portal.php')
+        ).toBe('http://x.example/portal.php');
+    });
+});
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-discovery.utils.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-discovery.utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..40a5ff0f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-discovery.utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,324 @@
+/**
+ * Pure helpers for Stalker portal endpoint discovery.
+ *
+ * The portal API endpoint cannot be derived reliably from the URL a user
+ * pastes: `portal.php` is a reseller-panel alias that official
+ * Stalker/Ministra never serves, while genuine installations answer at
+ * `<base>/server/load.php` (optionally under `/stalker_portal`). Discovery
+ * therefore probes concrete candidates and classifies each endpoint by how
+ * it responds, instead of guessing from the URL shape (#850, #686, #755).
+ */
+
+/**
+ * Candidate API endpoints for a pasted portal URL, in probe order.
+ *
+ * An explicit `.php` endpoint pasted by the user (or persisted by a previous
+ * import) always gets the first shot — nonstandard panel paths exist in the
+ * wild and must not lose to the standard candidates. After that the order is
+ * `portal.php` → `server/load.php` → `stalker_portal/server/load.php`, so
+ * reseller panels resolve exactly as they did before discovery existed.
+ */
+/**
+ * Reduces a pasted portal URL to `origin + pathname` (no query, no
+ * fragment, no trailing slashes). Suffix logic anywhere in discovery must
+ * run on this form: string-suffix matching on the raw URL would bolt
+ * endpoint rewrites onto the query instead of the path. Returns null for
+ * input the URL parser rejects.
+ */
+export function normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl(rawUrl: string): string | null {
+    const trimmed = rawUrl.trim();
+    if (!trimmed) {
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    try {
+        // Mutate the parsed URL instead of rebuilding from `origin`:
+        // origin-reconstruction destroys authority information the import
+        // validator accepts — file: URLs have origin "null" and basic-auth
+        // credentials (user:pass@host) would be silently dropped.
+        const parsed = new URL(trimmed);
+        parsed.search = '';
+        parsed.hash = '';
+        parsed.pathname = parsed.pathname.replace(/\/+$/, '');
+        return parsed.href;
+    } catch {
+        return null;
+    }
+}
+
+export function buildStalkerEndpointCandidates(rawUrl: string): string[] {
+    // Queries and fragments are dropped from every candidate — the Stalker
+    // API endpoints take their parameters per request, and a stored query
+    // would collide with the transport's own query building.
+    const normalized = normalizeStalkerPortalInputUrl(rawUrl);
+    if (normalized === null) {
+        return [];
+    }
+
+    const parsed = new URL(normalized);
+    const path = parsed.pathname.replace(/\/+$/, '');
+    // Candidates swap only the PATH: scheme, credentials, host and port of
+    // the accepted URL are preserved verbatim.
+    const candidateFrom = (candidatePath: string): string => {
+        const candidate = new URL(parsed.href);
+        candidate.pathname = candidatePath;
+        return candidate.href;
+    };
+
+    const candidates: string[] = [];
+    if (/\.php$/i.test(path)) {
+        candidates.push(candidateFrom(path));
+    }
+
+    const base = /\.php$/i.test(path)
+        ? // An endpoint file was pasted: strip only the FILE part. The `/c`
+          // landing-page rewrite must not run here — a real installation
+          // directory named `c` (`/tenant/c/portal.php`) would otherwise be
+          // stripped too and the siblings probed one level too high.
+          path
+              .replace(/\/portal\.php$/i, '')
+              .replace(/\/server\/load\.php$/i, '')
+              // A nonstandard pasted endpoint (…/cp/api.php) keeps its
+              // first-shot candidate above, but the standard fallbacks must
+              // be its SIBLINGS — the directory, not the file.
+              .replace(/\/[^/]*\.php$/i, '')
+        : // The `/c` landing page users copy from the browser is not part
+          // of the API path.
+          path.replace(/\/c$/i, '');
+
+    candidates.push(candidateFrom(`${base}/portal.php`));
+    candidates.push(candidateFrom(`${base}/server/load.php`));
+    // `<base>/server/load.php` already IS the canonical form when the base
+    // ends in /stalker_portal — nesting it again would probe a path no
+    // server has.
+    if (!/\/stalker_portal(\/|$)/i.test(base)) {
+        candidates.push(candidateFrom(`${base}/stalker_portal/server/load.php`));
+    }
+
+    return [...new Set(candidates)];
+}
+
+/**
+ * The stock Stalker middleware answers auth failures with HTTP 200 and a
+ * bare plain-text body — never a 401/403. These are the three exact strings
+ * it emits (sometimes with a trailing numeric counter).
+ */
+const STALKER_AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS = [
+    /authorization\s+failed/i,
+    /access\s+denied/i,
+    /unauthorized\s+request/i,
+];
+
+/**
+ * Whether a portal response body is one of the middleware's plain-text auth
+ * failures. The length cap keeps an arbitrary HTML error page that merely
+ * mentions "access denied" from being mistaken for the middleware's bare
+ * phrase.
+ */
+export function isStalkerAuthFailureBody(response: unknown): boolean {
+    if (typeof response !== 'string') {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    const body = response.trim();
+    if (body.length === 0 || body.length > 200) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    return STALKER_AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS.some((pattern) => pattern.test(body));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Whether a portal response is an authorization failure in EITHER wire
+ * shape: the middleware's plain-text body, or the JSON envelope some panels
+ * answer instead (`{ js: { error: "Authorization failed" } }` /
+ * `{ js: { msg: … } }` — the same forms
+ * `StalkerSessionService.isAuthorizationError()` recognizes). Classification
+ * and the lazy-repair trigger must use this, not the string-only primitive:
+ * a JSON-failing panel would otherwise be persisted as token-free and never
+ * repaired.
+ */
+export function isStalkerAuthFailureResponse(response: unknown): boolean {
+    if (isStalkerAuthFailureBody(response)) {
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    if (
+        response === null ||
+        typeof response !== 'object' ||
+        !('js' in (response as Record<string, unknown>))
+    ) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    const js = (response as { js?: unknown }).js;
+    if (js === null || typeof js !== 'object') {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    const { error, msg } = js as { error?: unknown; msg?: unknown };
+    return [error, msg].some(
+        (value) =>
+            typeof value === 'string' && isStalkerJsonAuthFailurePhrase(value)
+    );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Auth-failure phrases accepted inside the STRUCTURED `js.error`/`js.msg`
+ * fields. Deliberately wider than the plain-text body patterns (which stay
+ * narrow to avoid matching arbitrary HTML pages): these are the same forms
+ * `StalkerSessionService.isAuthorizationError()` recognizes — panels answer
+ * "Invalid token", "Auth failed" or bare "unauthorized" here.
+ */
+const STALKER_JSON_AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS = [
+    ...STALKER_AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS,
+    /auth\s+failed/i,
+    /invalid\s+token/i,
+    /\bunauthorized\b/i,
+    /authorization/i,
+];
+
+/**
+ * Whether an ERROR MESSAGE reports an authorization failure. Uses the wide
+ * phrase set (including `Invalid token` / `Auth failed`) because the input
+ * is a controlled string produced by our own auth layer — e.g.
+ * `Error('Profile error: Invalid token')` — not an arbitrary portal body,
+ * where the same breadth would false-positive on HTML pages.
+ */
+export function isStalkerAuthFailureMessage(message: unknown): boolean {
+    return (
+        typeof message === 'string' && isStalkerJsonAuthFailurePhrase(message)
+    );
+}
+
+function isStalkerJsonAuthFailurePhrase(value: string): boolean {
+    const phrase = value.trim();
+    if (phrase.length === 0 || phrase.length > 200) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    return STALKER_JSON_AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS.some((pattern) =>
+        pattern.test(phrase)
+    );
+}
+
+export type StalkerProbeClassification = 'data' | 'auth-required' | 'not-a-portal';
+
+/**
+ * Classifies what a token-less content request got back from a candidate
+ * endpoint: real JSON data (token-free panel), the middleware's plain-text
+ * auth failure (endpoint exists and enforces the token), or something that
+ * is not a Stalker portal at all.
+ */
+export function classifyStalkerProbeResponse(
+    response: unknown
+): StalkerProbeClassification {
+    if (isStalkerAuthFailureResponse(response)) {
+        return 'auth-required';
+    }
+
+    if (response !== null && typeof response === 'object') {
+        const js = (response as { js?: unknown }).js;
+        // The probe asks for `itv/get_genres`, whose success shape is a
+        // list (or a `{data: [...]}` envelope). A bare `js` key is NOT
+        // enough: panels answer HTTP 200 with `{js: {error: "Unknown
+        // action"}}` or `{js: false}`, and accepting those would end
+        // discovery on a broken candidate and persist an empty catalog.
+        if (Array.isArray(js)) {
+            return 'data';
+        }
+        if (js !== null && typeof js === 'object') {
+            const { data, error } = js as { data?: unknown; error?: unknown };
+            if (Array.isArray(data) && error === undefined) {
+                return 'data';
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    return 'not-a-portal';
+}
+
+/**
+ * HTTP status carried by a failed Stalker transport call, when there is one.
+ * The Electron handler rejects with an Error whose message is
+ * `HTTP Error <code>: <statusText>` (network-level failures map to 500) —
+ * but `ipcRenderer.invoke` strips every custom property from a rejected
+ * value and re-wraps the message, so in the renderer the numeric `status`
+ * field usually does NOT survive and the code must be parsed back out of
+ * the message text.
+ */
+export function getStalkerRequestErrorStatus(
+    error: unknown
+): number | undefined {
+    if (error === null || typeof error !== 'object') {
+        return undefined;
+    }
+
+    if ('status' in error) {
+        const status = (error as { status?: unknown }).status;
+        if (typeof status === 'number') {
+            return status;
+        }
+    }
+
+    if ('message' in error) {
+        const match = /HTTP Error (\d{3})\b/.exec(
+            String((error as { message?: unknown }).message ?? '')
+        );
+        if (match) {
+            return Number(match[1]);
+        }
+    }
+
+    return undefined;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Whether a status-less probe failure is a TIMEOUT (renderer probe budget,
+ * axios request timeout, ETIMEDOUT). A timeout can be one hanging handler
+ * while sibling endpoints answer fine, so discovery continues past it;
+ * connection-level failures (ECONNREFUSED, ENOTFOUND, …) still stop the
+ * loop — they prove the HOST is unreachable for every candidate.
+ */
+export function isStalkerProbeTimeout(error: unknown): boolean {
+    if (error === null || typeof error !== 'object' || !('message' in error)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    const message = String((error as { message?: unknown }).message ?? '');
+    return /timed out|timeout of \d+\s*ms|ETIMEDOUT/i.test(message);
+}
+
+/**
+ * The pre-discovery URL rewrite (`…/c` → `portal.php`, `…/stalker_portal/c`
+ * → `…/stalker_portal/server/load.php`). Kept ONLY as the fallback for
+ * imports where no candidate could be probed (host unreachable); discovery
+ * results always win over this guess.
+ */
+export function legacyTransformStalkerPortalUrl(url: string): string {
+    url = url.replace(/\/+$/, '');
+
+    if (url.endsWith('/c')) {
+        if (url.includes('/stalker_portal')) {
+            return url.replace(
+                /\/stalker_portal\/c$/,
+                '/stalker_portal/server/load.php'
+            );
+        }
+        return url.replace(/\/c$/, '/portal.php');
+    }
+
+    if (url.includes('/stalker_portal') && !url.includes('/server/load.php')) {
+        if (url.endsWith('/stalker_portal')) {
+            return url + '/server/load.php';
+        }
+        if (!url.endsWith('/load.php')) {
+            return url.replace(
+                /\/stalker_portal(\/.*)?$/,
+                '/stalker_portal/server/load.php'
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    return url;
+}
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-repair.service.spec.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-repair.service.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fd99719f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-repair.service.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,671 @@
+import { TestBed } from '@angular/core/testing';
+import { of, throwError } from 'rxjs';
+import type { Playlist } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+import { PlaylistsService } from '@iptvnator/services';
+import { PlaylistMeta } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+import { StalkerPortalDiscoveryService } from './stalker-portal-discovery.service';
+import { StalkerPortalRepairService } from './stalker-portal-repair.service';
+import { StalkerSessionService } from './stalker-session.service';
+
+jest.mock('@iptvnator/portal/shared/util', () => ({
+    createLogger: () => ({
+        debug: jest.fn(),
+        info: jest.fn(),
+        warn: jest.fn(),
+        error: jest.fn(),
+    }),
+}));
+
+const MISCLASSIFIED = {
+    _id: 'portal-1',
+    title: 'Canonical Ministra',
+    portalUrl: 'http://ministra.example/server/load.php',
+    macAddress: '00:1A:79:AA:BB:CC',
+    isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+} as PlaylistMeta;
+
+describe('StalkerPortalRepairService', () => {
+    let service: StalkerPortalRepairService;
+    let discover: jest.Mock;
+    let transformPlaylistMeta: jest.Mock;
+    /** What the persisted row looks like when the repair re-verifies it. */
+    let persistedRow: Playlist | undefined;
+    /** The row the atomic transform actually wrote, if any. */
+    let writtenRow: Playlist | null;
+    /** When set, the atomic write fails AFTER the transform verified. */
+    let persistError: Error | null;
+    let setCachedToken: jest.Mock;
+    let clearCachedToken: jest.Mock;
+    let refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist: jest.Mock;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        discover = jest.fn();
+        persistedRow = MISCLASSIFIED as Playlist;
+        writtenRow = null;
+        persistError = null;
+        // Mirrors PlaylistsService.transformPlaylistMeta semantics: the
+        // transform runs on the current row inside the write queue; null
+        // aborts, otherwise the returned row is persisted.
+        transformPlaylistMeta = jest.fn((_id, transform) => {
+            if (!persistedRow) {
+                return of(null);
+            }
+            const next = transform(persistedRow) as Playlist | null;
+            if (next === null) {
+                return of(null);
+            }
+            if (persistError) {
+                return throwError(() => persistError);
+            }
+            writtenRow = next;
+            return of(next);
+        });
+        setCachedToken = jest.fn();
+        clearCachedToken = jest.fn();
+        refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist = jest.fn();
+
+        TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+            providers: [
+                {
+                    provide: StalkerPortalDiscoveryService,
+                    useValue: { discover },
+                },
+                {
+                    provide: PlaylistsService,
+                    useValue: {
+                        transformPlaylistMeta,
+                        getPlaylistById: jest.fn(() => of(persistedRow)),
+                    },
+                },
+                {
+                    provide: StalkerSessionService,
+                    useValue: {
+                        setCachedToken,
+                        clearCachedToken,
+                        refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist,
+                    },
+                },
+            ],
+        });
+
+        service = TestBed.inject(StalkerPortalRepairService);
+    });
+
+    describe('shouldAttemptRepair', () => {
+        it('triggers on the middleware plain-text auth bodies', () => {
+            expect(
+                service.shouldAttemptRepair(MISCLASSIFIED, 'Authorization failed.')
+            ).toBe(true);
+            expect(
+                service.shouldAttemptRepair(
+                    MISCLASSIFIED,
+                    'Unauthorized request.'
+                )
+            ).toBe(true);
+        });
+
+        it('triggers on HTTP 404 — the persisted endpoint does not exist', () => {
+            expect(
+                service.shouldAttemptRepair(MISCLASSIFIED, {
+                    message: 'HTTP Error 404: Not Found',
+                    status: 404,
+                })
+            ).toBe(true);
+        });
+
+        it('triggers on HTTP 401/403 — discovery classifies those endpoints as auth-required', () => {
+            expect(
+                service.shouldAttemptRepair(MISCLASSIFIED, {
+                    message: 'HTTP Error 401: Unauthorized',
+                    status: 401,
+                })
+            ).toBe(true);
+            expect(
+                service.shouldAttemptRepair(MISCLASSIFIED, {
+                    message: 'HTTP Error 403: Forbidden',
+                    status: 403,
+                })
+            ).toBe(true);
+            // Endpoint-specific server errors are still not repair triggers.
+            expect(
+                service.shouldAttemptRepair(MISCLASSIFIED, {
+                    message: 'HTTP Error 500: Internal Server Error',
+                    status: 500,
+                })
+            ).toBe(false);
+        });
+
+        it('triggers on terminal session auth errors', () => {
+            expect(
+                service.shouldAttemptRepair(
+                    MISCLASSIFIED,
+                    new Error('Authorization failed after retry')
+                )
+            ).toBe(true);
+            expect(
+                service.shouldAttemptRepair(
+                    MISCLASSIFIED,
+                    new Error('Handshake failed: No token received')
+                )
+            ).toBe(true);
+        });
+
+        it.each([
+            'Profile error: Access denied.',
+            'Profile error: Unauthorized request.',
+            'Profile error: Invalid token',
+            'Profile error: Auth failed',
+        ])('triggers on the wrapped profile denial %j', (message) => {
+            // Authentication wraps structured denials; the trigger uses the
+            // same failure set as discovery and the session service, so
+            // these cannot bypass the repair.
+            expect(
+                service.shouldAttemptRepair(MISCLASSIFIED, new Error(message))
+            ).toBe(true);
+        });
+
+        it('never triggers on timeouts or other network failures', () => {
+            expect(
+                service.shouldAttemptRepair(MISCLASSIFIED, {
+                    type: 'ERROR',
+                    message: 'timeout of 15000ms exceeded',
+                    status: 500,
+                })
+            ).toBe(false);
+            expect(
+                service.shouldAttemptRepair(MISCLASSIFIED, { js: [] })
+            ).toBe(false);
+        });
+
+        it('never triggers for playlists without portal coordinates', () => {
+            expect(
+                service.shouldAttemptRepair(
+                    { _id: 'x', macAddress: 'mac' } as PlaylistMeta,
+                    'Authorization failed.'
+                )
+            ).toBe(false);
+        });
+    });
+
+    describe('repairPortal', () => {
+        it('persists a proven different mode and returns the patched playlist', async () => {
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: 'http://ministra.example/server/load.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+                token: 'TOKEN1',
+            });
+
+            const repaired = await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+
+            expect(repaired).toMatchObject({
+                _id: 'portal-1',
+                portalUrl: 'http://ministra.example/server/load.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            // The atomic transform patched the FRESH row (verified inside
+            // the write queue), so user state can never be clobbered.
+            expect(writtenRow).toMatchObject({
+                _id: 'portal-1',
+                portalUrl: 'http://ministra.example/server/load.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            // The classification handshake already produced a token,
+            // tagged with the playlist as its identity source.
+            expect(setCachedToken).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+                'portal-1',
+                'TOKEN1',
+                expect.objectContaining({ _id: 'portal-1' })
+            );
+            // A repaired ACTIVE playlist must re-sync the watchdog now: a
+            // simple→full flip has to start the keepalive mid-session.
+            expect(refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+                expect.objectContaining({
+                    _id: 'portal-1',
+                    isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+                })
+            );
+        });
+
+        it('repairs a dead portal.php endpoint to the canonical one', async () => {
+            const wrongEndpoint = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                portalUrl: 'http://ministra.example/portal.php',
+            } as PlaylistMeta;
+            persistedRow = wrongEndpoint as Playlist;
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: 'http://ministra.example/server/load.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+                token: 'TOKEN2',
+            });
+
+            const repaired = await service.repairPortal(wrongEndpoint);
+
+            expect(repaired?.portalUrl).toBe(
+                'http://ministra.example/server/load.php'
+            );
+            expect(service.applyOverride(wrongEndpoint).portalUrl).toBe(
+                'http://ministra.example/server/load.php'
+            );
+        });
+
+        it('changes nothing when probing confirms the stored configuration', async () => {
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+            });
+
+            const repaired = await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+
+            expect(repaired).toBeNull();
+            expect(writtenRow).toBeNull();
+            expect(service.applyOverride(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBe(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            expect(refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+        });
+
+        it('changes nothing when the probe finds no working configuration', async () => {
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({ status: 'unreachable' });
+
+            expect(await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBeNull();
+            expect(writtenRow).toBeNull();
+        });
+
+        it('changes nothing when the probe is rejected by the portal', async () => {
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'auth-rejected',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+            });
+
+            expect(await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBeNull();
+            expect(writtenRow).toBeNull();
+        });
+
+        it('probes at most once per playlist per session', async () => {
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({ status: 'unreachable' });
+
+            await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        });
+
+        it('re-enters for an edited configuration after awaiting a pending probe', async () => {
+            // A's probe is in flight when a request from the EDITED config B
+            // fails: after A settles (and is discarded by the row guard), B
+            // must get its own probe instead of inheriting A's outcome.
+            const edited = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                portalUrl: 'http://edited.example/portal.php',
+            } as PlaylistMeta;
+            persistedRow = edited as Playlist;
+
+            let resolveFirstDiscovery!: (value: unknown) => void;
+            discover.mockReturnValueOnce(
+                new Promise((resolve) => (resolveFirstDiscovery = resolve))
+            );
+            discover.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: 'http://edited.example/server/load.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+
+            const oldRepair = service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            const editedRepair = service.repairPortal(edited);
+
+            resolveFirstDiscovery({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+
+            expect(await oldRepair).toBeNull();
+            const repaired = await editedRepair;
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+            expect(repaired?.portalUrl).toBe(
+                'http://edited.example/server/load.php'
+            );
+        });
+
+        it('shares one in-flight probe between concurrent failing requests', async () => {
+            let resolveDiscovery!: (value: unknown) => void;
+            discover.mockReturnValue(
+                new Promise((resolve) => (resolveDiscovery = resolve))
+            );
+
+            const first = service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            const second = service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            resolveDiscovery({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+
+            const [a, b] = await Promise.all([first, second]);
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(a?.isFullStalkerPortal).toBe(true);
+            expect(b?.isFullStalkerPortal).toBe(true);
+        });
+
+        it('hands out the completed override to later failing callers without re-probing', async () => {
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+
+            await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            // A caller still holding the stale playlist object fails and asks
+            // again: it gets the override without a second probe.
+            const again = await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(again?.isFullStalkerPortal).toBe(true);
+
+            // A caller already on the repaired configuration gets null — its
+            // failure has another cause, and retrying would loop.
+            const alreadyApplied = service.applyOverride(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            expect(await service.repairPortal(alreadyApplied)).toBeNull();
+        });
+
+        it('drops the override and re-arms probing when the user edits portal metadata', async () => {
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            expect(service.applyOverride(MISCLASSIFIED)).toMatchObject({
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+
+            // The user pointed the playlist somewhere else through the
+            // playlist dialog: the ID-keyed override must not keep rewriting
+            // requests to the old repaired endpoint.
+            const edited = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                portalUrl: 'http://other.example/portal.php',
+            } as PlaylistMeta;
+            expect(service.applyOverride(edited)).toBe(edited);
+
+            // …and the once-per-session latch re-arms so the EDITED
+            // configuration may probe if it fails too.
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: 'http://other.example/server/load.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            persistedRow = edited as Playlist;
+            const repairedAgain = await service.repairPortal(edited);
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+            expect(repairedAgain?.portalUrl).toBe(
+                'http://other.example/server/load.php'
+            );
+        });
+
+        it('discards an in-flight repair when the row was edited during the probe', async () => {
+            // The probe can run for tens of seconds; a user who saves a new
+            // portal URL meanwhile must win over the repair of the old one.
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            persistedRow = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                portalUrl: 'http://edited.example/portal.php',
+            } as Playlist;
+
+            expect(await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBeNull();
+            expect(writtenRow).toBeNull();
+            expect(refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+            expect(service.applyOverride(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBe(MISCLASSIFIED);
+        });
+
+        it('discards an in-flight repair when the MAC or identity changed during the probe', async () => {
+            // The probe authenticated AS an identity — a token and watchdog
+            // for the old MAC must not be installed onto the edited account.
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            persistedRow = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                macAddress: '00:1A:79:00:99:99',
+            } as Playlist;
+
+            expect(await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBeNull();
+            expect(writtenRow).toBeNull();
+            expect(setCachedToken).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+            expect(refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+        });
+
+        it('never aliases distinct identities across field boundaries', async () => {
+            // Delimiter-style fingerprints would treat serial "a|b" +
+            // empty device as equal to serial "a" + device "b" and skip
+            // the identity invalidation entirely.
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            const pipedIdentity = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                stalkerSerialNumber: 'a|b',
+            } as PlaylistMeta;
+            persistedRow = pipedIdentity as Playlist;
+            await service.repairPortal(pipedIdentity);
+            clearCachedToken.mockClear();
+
+            const shiftedIdentity = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                stalkerSerialNumber: 'a',
+                stalkerDeviceId1: 'b',
+            } as PlaylistMeta;
+
+            // A DIFFERENT identity must invalidate, not inherit.
+            expect(service.applyOverride(shiftedIdentity)).toBe(
+                shiftedIdentity
+            );
+            expect(clearCachedToken).toHaveBeenCalledWith('portal-1');
+        });
+
+        it('reinstalls the remembered repair when a restored configuration fails again', async () => {
+            // Repair A, edit to B (drops the active override), restore A:
+            // A's next failure must reinstall the remembered outcome
+            // WITHOUT a second discovery — not stay broken until restart.
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+            const editedIdentity = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                macAddress: '00:1A:79:00:44:44',
+            } as PlaylistMeta;
+            // The edit drops the active override…
+            expect(service.applyOverride(editedIdentity)).toBe(editedIdentity);
+            expect(service.applyOverride(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBe(MISCLASSIFIED);
+
+            // …and the restored configuration reinstalls it on failure.
+            refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist.mockClear();
+            const restored = await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(restored).toMatchObject({ isFullStalkerPortal: true });
+            expect(service.applyOverride(MISCLASSIFIED)).toMatchObject({
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            // The reinstall re-syncs the watchdog exactly like a fresh
+            // repair — the intermediate edit may have stopped the keepalive.
+            expect(refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+                expect.objectContaining({ isFullStalkerPortal: true })
+            );
+        });
+
+        it('does not resurrect a remembered override while the row holds another config', async () => {
+            // Repair A→B, then the user edits the row to an unrelated C. A
+            // stale A request failing afterwards must NOT reinstall B (it
+            // would retry against B and repoint the watchdog away from C).
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: 'http://b.example/server/load.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+
+            const otherConfig = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                portalUrl: 'http://c.example/portal.php',
+            } as PlaylistMeta;
+            // The edit drops the active override…
+            expect(service.applyOverride(otherConfig)).toBe(otherConfig);
+            persistedRow = otherConfig as Playlist;
+            refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist.mockClear();
+
+            // …and a stale A request does not bring it back.
+            expect(await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBeNull();
+            expect(service.applyOverride(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBe(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            expect(refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+        });
+
+        it('drops the override and the cached token when only the identity was edited', async () => {
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            expect(service.applyOverride(MISCLASSIFIED)).toMatchObject({
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            clearCachedToken.mockClear();
+
+            // Same URL and mode, different MAC: the repair token belongs to
+            // the previous identity and must be retired with the override.
+            const editedIdentity = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                macAddress: '00:1A:79:00:88:88',
+            } as PlaylistMeta;
+
+            expect(service.applyOverride(editedIdentity)).toBe(editedIdentity);
+            expect(clearCachedToken).toHaveBeenCalledWith('portal-1');
+            // The latch is re-armed for the edited identity.
+            discover.mockClear();
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({ status: 'unreachable' });
+            persistedRow = editedIdentity as Playlist;
+            await service.repairPortal(editedIdentity);
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        });
+
+        it('re-probes a DISCARDED configuration once the row is restored to it', async () => {
+            // A's probe was discarded because the row moved to B mid-probe;
+            // after the user restores the row to A, A's next failure must
+            // probe again instead of staying dead for the session.
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            persistedRow = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                portalUrl: 'http://edited.example/portal.php',
+            } as Playlist;
+            expect(await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBeNull();
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+            // Row restored to A → the discarded marker yields to a new probe.
+            persistedRow = MISCLASSIFIED as Playlist;
+            const repaired = await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+            expect(repaired).toMatchObject({ isFullStalkerPortal: true });
+        });
+
+        it('re-arms the EDITED configuration after a mid-probe edit discarded a repair', async () => {
+            const edited = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                portalUrl: 'http://edited.example/portal.php',
+            } as PlaylistMeta;
+
+            // Probe of the OLD config lands after the user edit → discarded.
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            persistedRow = edited as Playlist;
+            expect(await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBeNull();
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+            // A stale snapshot of the already-probed config must NOT loop
+            // the probe…
+            expect(await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBeNull();
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+            // …but the EDITED configuration failing later must be allowed
+            // to repair without an application restart.
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: 'http://edited.example/server/load.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            const repaired = await service.repairPortal(edited);
+            expect(discover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+            expect(repaired?.portalUrl).toBe(
+                'http://edited.example/server/load.php'
+            );
+        });
+
+        it('discards an in-flight repair when the playlist was deleted during the probe', async () => {
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            persistedRow = undefined;
+
+            expect(await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED)).toBeNull();
+            expect(writtenRow).toBeNull();
+        });
+
+        it('keeps the session-only override when persisting fails', async () => {
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: MISCLASSIFIED.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            });
+            // The transform verified the row, but the WRITE failed.
+            persistError = new Error('db locked');
+
+            const repaired = await service.repairPortal(MISCLASSIFIED);
+
+            expect(repaired?.isFullStalkerPortal).toBe(true);
+            expect(service.applyOverride(MISCLASSIFIED).isFullStalkerPortal).toBe(
+                true
+            );
+        });
+
+        it('clears a stale cached token when a portal turns out token-free', async () => {
+            const wronglyFull = {
+                ...MISCLASSIFIED,
+                portalUrl: 'http://panel.example/server/load.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            } as PlaylistMeta;
+            persistedRow = wronglyFull as Playlist;
+            discover.mockResolvedValue({
+                status: 'resolved',
+                portalUrl: 'http://panel.example/portal.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+            });
+
+            const repaired = await service.repairPortal(wronglyFull);
+
+            expect(repaired?.isFullStalkerPortal).toBe(false);
+            expect(clearCachedToken).toHaveBeenCalledWith('portal-1');
+        });
+    });
+});
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-repair.service.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-repair.service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f72bff60c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-portal-repair.service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,490 @@
+import { Injectable, Injector, inject } from '@angular/core';
+import { firstValueFrom } from 'rxjs';
+import { PlaylistsService } from '@iptvnator/services';
+import {
+    isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist,
+    type PlaylistMeta,
+} from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+import { createLogger } from '@iptvnator/portal/shared/util';
+import { StalkerPortalDiscoveryService } from './stalker-portal-discovery.service';
+import {
+    getStalkerRequestErrorStatus,
+    isStalkerAuthFailureMessage,
+    isStalkerAuthFailureResponse,
+} from './stalker-portal-discovery.utils';
+import {
+    getStalkerPortalIdentityFromPlaylist,
+    stalkerIdentityFingerprint,
+} from './stalker-identity.utils';
+import { StalkerSessionService } from './stalker-session.service';
+import {
+    type StalkerPortalRepairApi,
+    toStalkerSessionPlaylist,
+} from './stores/utils/stalker-request.utils';
+
+/**
+ * What a probe of one source configuration concluded this session:
+ * an override to (re)install, 'no-change' (probed; the stored configuration
+ * is what probing proves, or nothing answered), or 'discarded' (the row
+ * moved on mid-probe, so the outcome never applied to any persisted state).
+ */
+type StalkerProbeRecord = StalkerPortalModeOverride | 'no-change' | 'discarded';
+
+interface StalkerPortalModeOverride {
+    /** The failing configuration this repair replaced. */
+    sourcePortalUrl?: string;
+    sourceIsFullStalkerPortal: boolean;
+    /** MAC + Stalker identity the repair probe authenticated as. */
+    identityFingerprint: string;
+    /** The proven-working configuration. */
+    portalUrl: string;
+    isFullStalkerPortal: boolean;
+}
+
+
+
+/**
+ * Lazy repair for playlists whose persisted portal endpoint or mode is
+ * wrong. The flag used to be a URL-shape guess frozen at import, so a
+ * canonical `…/server/load.php` portal could sit misclassified as
+ * token-free forever — every request answered `Authorization failed.` and
+ * the only "fix" was deleting the playlist (losing favorites, recents and
+ * positions).
+ *
+ * Deliberately NOT an eager one-shot migration: a large share of users are
+ * on reseller `portal.php` panels that work without any auth, and nothing
+ * short of probing can distinguish those from misclassified canonical
+ * portals. Instead, repair is evidence-driven and conservative:
+ *
+ * - it runs only after a request ACTUALLY failed with a repair trigger
+ *   (the middleware's plain-text auth bodies, or HTTP 404 — a portal that
+ *   works is never probed, let alone rewritten);
+ * - it probes at most once per SOURCE CONFIGURATION (endpoint, mode, MAC,
+ *   identity) per playlist per session — an edited configuration may probe
+ *   when it fails, an already-probed one stays latched;
+ * - it persists only a configuration that discovery PROVED to answer, and
+ *   only when that configuration differs from the failing one.
+ *
+ * A successful repair also installs an in-session override so already-held
+ * stale playlist objects (store state, route snapshots) start using the
+ * corrected endpoint immediately — the persisted row makes it permanent.
+ */
+@Injectable({ providedIn: 'root' })
+export class StalkerPortalRepairService implements StalkerPortalRepairApi {
+    private readonly discovery = inject(StalkerPortalDiscoveryService);
+    // Resolved lazily: PlaylistsService pulls the whole persistence stack
+    // (IndexedDB, snackbar, translations) and is only needed at the moment a
+    // repair actually persists — never on the hot request path.
+    private readonly injector = inject(Injector);
+    private readonly stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService);
+    private readonly logger = createLogger('StalkerPortalRepair');
+
+    private readonly overrides = new Map<string, StalkerPortalModeOverride>();
+    /**
+     * The OUTCOME of every probe this session, per playlist, keyed by the
+     * source-configuration fingerprint: the override the probe produced, or
+     * null when it changed nothing. Keeping full history (not just the last
+     * entry) stops alternating edits (A→B→A) from re-running discovery via
+     * stale snapshots — and keeping the OUTCOME (not just an attempted
+     * flag) lets a configuration the user restores reinstall its remembered
+     * repair instead of staying broken until restart. A configuration never
+     * probed — including one whose mid-probe edit discarded a repair —
+     * probes when IT fails.
+     */
+    private readonly probeHistory = new Map<
+        string,
+        Map<string, StalkerProbeRecord>
+    >();
+    private readonly pendingRepairs = new Map<
+        string,
+        Promise<PlaylistMeta | null>
+    >();
+
+    constructor() {
+        // The watchdog resolves its playlist from the persisted row; while a
+        // repair's persistence is pending (or failed) that row still carries
+        // the broken configuration, so pings must see the override too. The
+        // typeof guard keeps isolated TestBeds with partial session mocks
+        // working.
+        if (
+            typeof this.stalkerSession.registerWatchdogPlaylistDecorator ===
+            'function'
+        ) {
+            this.stalkerSession.registerWatchdogPlaylistDecorator((playlist) =>
+                this.applyOverride(playlist)
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the playlist with a completed repair applied, or the playlist
+     * unchanged (same reference) when there is nothing to apply.
+     *
+     * The override is tied to the SOURCE configuration it repaired: it only
+     * rewrites objects still carrying that failing configuration (stale
+     * store snapshots). A playlist carrying anything else means the user
+     * edited the portal metadata through the playlist dialog — the override
+     * and the once-per-session probe latch are dropped so the edited
+     * configuration is used verbatim and may repair again if IT fails.
+     */
+    applyOverride<T extends PlaylistMeta>(playlist: T): T {
+        const override = this.overrides.get(playlist._id);
+        if (!override) {
+            return playlist;
+        }
+
+        if (
+            stalkerIdentityFingerprint(playlist) !== override.identityFingerprint
+        ) {
+            // The MAC or Stalker identity was edited after the repair. The
+            // override AND the token the repair authenticated for the
+            // PREVIOUS identity must go — otherwise requests and watchdog
+            // pings would pair the edited identity with a foreign session.
+            this.dropOverride(playlist._id);
+            return playlist;
+        }
+
+        if (
+            playlist.portalUrl === override.portalUrl &&
+            playlist.isFullStalkerPortal === override.isFullStalkerPortal
+        ) {
+            // Already carrying the repaired values (e.g. a freshly read row).
+            return playlist;
+        }
+
+        if (
+            playlist.portalUrl === override.sourcePortalUrl &&
+            isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(playlist) ===
+                override.sourceIsFullStalkerPortal
+        ) {
+            return {
+                ...playlist,
+                portalUrl: override.portalUrl,
+                isFullStalkerPortal: override.isFullStalkerPortal,
+            };
+        }
+
+        // The portal URL or mode was edited to something else entirely —
+        // same story: the edited configuration is used verbatim and the
+        // repair session state is retired.
+        this.dropOverride(playlist._id);
+        return playlist;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Retires the session artifacts a repair installed for a playlist: the
+     * ACTIVE override and the cached token (authenticated for the pre-edit
+     * identity/endpoint). The probe history deliberately survives: it both
+     * blocks re-probing of already-attempted configurations (A→B→A cannot
+     * loop discovery through stale snapshots) and lets a restored
+     * configuration reinstall its remembered repair.
+     */
+    private dropOverride(playlistId: string): void {
+        this.overrides.delete(playlistId);
+        this.stalkerSession.clearCachedToken(playlistId);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Whether a failure justifies probing at all. Only the failure shapes a
+     * wrong endpoint/mode actually produces qualify: the middleware's
+     * plain-text/JSON auth failures (misclassified canonical portal
+     * answering a token-less request), HTTP 404 (persisted endpoint does
+     * not exist), HTTP 401/403 (endpoint behind an HTTP auth gate), and
+     * the session service's terminal auth/handshake errors. Timeouts and
+     * other network failures never trigger a probe —
+     * a portal that is temporarily down must not be reclassified.
+     */
+    shouldAttemptRepair(playlist: PlaylistMeta, failure: unknown): boolean {
+        if (!playlist._id || !playlist.portalUrl || !playlist.macAddress) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        if (isStalkerAuthFailureResponse(failure)) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        const status = getStalkerRequestErrorStatus(failure);
+        if (status === 404 || status === 401 || status === 403) {
+            // 404: the persisted endpoint does not exist on this server.
+            // 401/403: a token-free-classified playlist hit an HTTP auth
+            // gate — discovery classifies these endpoints as auth-required,
+            // so the repair must be allowed to reach it.
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        if (
+            failure !== null &&
+            typeof failure === 'object' &&
+            'message' in failure
+        ) {
+            const message = String(
+                (failure as { message?: unknown }).message ?? ''
+            );
+            // The SAME failure set the session service uses for error
+            // messages — authentication wraps structured denials as
+            // `Error('Profile error: Access denied.')` or
+            // `Error('Profile error: Invalid token')`, and a narrower
+            // pattern here would let those bypass the repair entirely.
+            return (
+                isStalkerAuthFailureMessage(message) ||
+                /handshake failed/i.test(message)
+            );
+        }
+
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Probes the stored portal and, when discovery proves a DIFFERENT
+     * working configuration, persists it and returns the patched playlist
+     * for a one-shot retry. Returns null when nothing may change: probe
+     * found nothing, probe confirmed the stored configuration (the failure
+     * has another cause, e.g. an expired subscription), or a repair for
+     * this playlist already ran this session.
+     */
+    async repairPortal(playlist: PlaylistMeta): Promise<PlaylistMeta | null> {
+        const playlistId = playlist._id;
+
+        const pending = this.pendingRepairs.get(playlistId);
+        if (pending) {
+            // Wait the in-flight probe out, then RE-ENTER: the caller may
+            // carry a different (edited) configuration whose fingerprint
+            // was never attempted — it must get its own probe instead of
+            // inheriting whatever the old repair concluded.
+            await pending;
+            return this.repairPortal(playlist);
+        }
+
+        const fingerprint = this.repairSourceFingerprint(playlist);
+        const history = this.probeHistory.get(playlistId) ?? new Map();
+        const record = history.get(fingerprint) as
+            | StalkerProbeRecord
+            | undefined;
+        if (record === 'discarded') {
+            // The probe for this configuration was discarded because the
+            // row had moved on mid-probe. If the row has since been
+            // RESTORED to it, the outcome was never recorded — probe again.
+            // A stale snapshot (row still elsewhere) stays declined, gated
+            // by one cheap row read instead of a discovery run.
+            if (!(await this.rowCurrentlyMatches(playlist))) {
+                return this.reapplyIfChanged(playlist);
+            }
+            history.delete(fingerprint);
+        } else if (record !== undefined) {
+            if (
+                record !== 'no-change' &&
+                !this.overrides.has(playlistId) &&
+                // Reinstall ONLY when the persisted row actually carries
+                // this configuration again. A stale request for A while the
+                // row now holds an unrelated C must not resurrect A's
+                // override — that would retry against B and repoint the
+                // watchdog away from C.
+                (await this.rowCurrentlyMatches(playlist))
+            ) {
+                // The user restored a configuration whose override was
+                // dropped by an intermediate edit: reinstall the remembered
+                // outcome — probing again is unnecessary, and doing nothing
+                // would leave the restored configuration broken until
+                // restart.
+                this.overrides.set(playlistId, record);
+                // Same synchronization as a fresh repair: if the
+                // intermediate configuration stopped the active watchdog,
+                // the restored full-portal session needs its keepalive back.
+                this.stalkerSession.refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist(
+                    toStalkerSessionPlaylist(this.applyOverride(playlist))
+                );
+            }
+            return this.reapplyIfChanged(playlist);
+        }
+
+        // Reserved BEFORE the probe; the run overwrites it with the
+        // produced override or the 'discarded' marker.
+        history.set(fingerprint, 'no-change');
+        this.probeHistory.set(playlistId, history);
+        const run = this.runRepair(playlist);
+        this.pendingRepairs.set(playlistId, run);
+        try {
+            return await run;
+        } finally {
+            this.pendingRepairs.delete(playlistId);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Everything a probe's outcome depends on: endpoint, mode, MAC and the
+     * full Stalker identity — the same field set `rowStillMatchesSource`
+     * verifies before committing.
+     */
+    private repairSourceFingerprint(playlist: PlaylistMeta): string {
+        // JSON-encoded for the same reason as the identity fingerprint:
+        // unrestricted values must not alias across field boundaries.
+        return JSON.stringify([
+            playlist.portalUrl ?? '',
+            isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(playlist),
+            stalkerIdentityFingerprint(playlist),
+        ]);
+    }
+
+    private reapplyIfChanged(playlist: PlaylistMeta): PlaylistMeta | null {
+        const applied = this.applyOverride(playlist);
+        return applied === playlist ? null : applied;
+    }
+
+    private async runRepair(
+        playlist: PlaylistMeta
+    ): Promise<PlaylistMeta | null> {
+        const outcome = await this.discovery.discover(
+            playlist.portalUrl ?? '',
+            playlist.macAddress ?? '',
+            getStalkerPortalIdentityFromPlaylist(playlist)
+        );
+
+        if (outcome.status !== 'resolved') {
+            this.logger.info(
+                `Portal probe found no working configuration (${outcome.status}); leaving playlist untouched`
+            );
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        const storedMode = isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(playlist);
+        if (
+            outcome.portalUrl === playlist.portalUrl &&
+            outcome.isFullStalkerPortal === storedMode
+        ) {
+            // The stored configuration is exactly what probing proves — the
+            // failure has a different cause and rewriting would fix nothing.
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        // TOCTOU guard: the probe can run for tens of seconds, and the user
+        // may have edited the portal metadata (or deleted the playlist)
+        // meanwhile. The verification and the patch run ATOMICALLY inside
+        // the per-playlist write queue — a plain read-check-then-update
+        // pair would still race an edit that is queued but not committed.
+        // The transform patches the FRESH row, so nothing stale can clobber
+        // user state; returning null aborts without writing.
+        let verifiedAgainstRow = false;
+        try {
+            await firstValueFrom(
+                this.injector
+                    .get(PlaylistsService)
+                    .transformPlaylistMeta(playlist._id, (row) => {
+                        if (!this.rowMatchesSource(row, playlist, storedMode)) {
+                            return null;
+                        }
+                        verifiedAgainstRow = true;
+                        return {
+                            ...row,
+                            portalUrl: outcome.portalUrl,
+                            isFullStalkerPortal: outcome.isFullStalkerPortal,
+                        };
+                    })
+            );
+        } catch (error) {
+            // A failed WRITE after successful verification keeps the
+            // session-only override below; a failed READ means the premise
+            // could not be verified and the repair is discarded.
+            this.logger.warn(
+                'Persisting repaired portal mode failed',
+                error
+            );
+        }
+
+        if (!verifiedAgainstRow) {
+            this.logger.info(
+                'Portal configuration changed while probing; discarding repair'
+            );
+            // Marked explicitly: a later failure of this configuration may
+            // probe again once the row is RESTORED to it — unlike a probe
+            // whose outcome genuinely applied ('no-change'/override).
+            this.probeHistory
+                .get(playlist._id)
+                ?.set(this.repairSourceFingerprint(playlist), 'discarded');
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        const override: StalkerPortalModeOverride = {
+            sourcePortalUrl: playlist.portalUrl,
+            sourceIsFullStalkerPortal: storedMode,
+            identityFingerprint: stalkerIdentityFingerprint(playlist),
+            portalUrl: outcome.portalUrl,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: outcome.isFullStalkerPortal,
+        };
+        this.overrides.set(playlist._id, override);
+        this.probeHistory
+            .get(playlist._id)
+            ?.set(this.repairSourceFingerprint(playlist), override);
+
+        if (outcome.isFullStalkerPortal && outcome.token) {
+            // The classification handshake already authenticated; reuse its
+            // token so the retry does not immediately handshake again. The
+            // playlist itself is the identity source — a repair never
+            // changes WHO the session belongs to, only WHERE it talks.
+            this.stalkerSession.setCachedToken(
+                playlist._id,
+                outcome.token,
+                playlist
+            );
+        } else if (!outcome.isFullStalkerPortal) {
+            this.stalkerSession.clearCachedToken(playlist._id);
+        }
+
+        // If this playlist currently owns the watchdog, re-sync it with the
+        // repaired configuration: a simple→full repair must START the
+        // keepalive and an endpoint change must repoint it — the session
+        // service otherwise keeps the activation-time snapshot forever.
+        this.stalkerSession.refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist(
+            toStalkerSessionPlaylist(this.applyOverride(playlist))
+        );
+
+        this.logger.info(
+            `Repaired portal mode: isFullStalkerPortal=${outcome.isFullStalkerPortal}`
+        );
+
+        return this.applyOverride(playlist);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Cheap gate for retrying a DISCARDED configuration: reads the current
+     * row and reports whether it now carries the caller's configuration.
+     * Only avoids pointless discovery runs — the authoritative check stays
+     * the atomic transform.
+     */
+    private async rowCurrentlyMatches(
+        playlist: PlaylistMeta
+    ): Promise<boolean> {
+        try {
+            const row = await firstValueFrom(
+                this.injector
+                    .get(PlaylistsService)
+                    .getPlaylistById(playlist._id)
+            );
+            return (
+                !!row &&
+                this.repairSourceFingerprint(row) ===
+                    this.repairSourceFingerprint(playlist)
+            );
+        } catch {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Whether the persisted row still carries the configuration the repair
+     * was computed for — endpoint, mode, and the identity the probe
+     * authenticated as. Runs synchronously INSIDE the atomic transform.
+     */
+    private rowMatchesSource(
+        row: PlaylistMeta,
+        playlist: PlaylistMeta,
+        sourceMode: boolean
+    ): boolean {
+        return (
+            row.portalUrl === playlist.portalUrl &&
+            isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(row) === sourceMode &&
+            stalkerIdentityFingerprint(row) ===
+                stalkerIdentityFingerprint(playlist)
+        );
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-session.service.spec.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-session.service.spec.ts
index 9da8369c3..ee2e776b7 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-session.service.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-session.service.spec.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { TestBed } from '@angular/core/testing';
-import { DataService } from '@iptvnator/services';
+import { of } from 'rxjs';
+import { DataService, PlaylistsService } from '@iptvnator/services';
 import { Playlist } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
 import {
     STALKER_SERIAL_NUMBER,
@@ -23,6 +24,327 @@ type GetProfileWithIdentity = (
     handshakeRandom: string
 ) => Promise<StalkerProfileResponse>;
 
+describe('StalkerSessionService watchdog row resolution', () => {
+    const activationSnapshot = {
+        _id: 'portal-1',
+        title: 'Portal',
+        portalUrl: 'https://portal.example.com/server/load.php',
+        macAddress: '00:1A:79:AA:BB:CC',
+        isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        lastUsage: '',
+    } as unknown as Playlist;
+
+    let sendIpcEvent: jest.Mock;
+    let getPlaylistById: jest.Mock;
+    let service: StalkerSessionService;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'crypto', {
+            configurable: true,
+            value: {
+                subtle: {
+                    digest: jest.fn(
+                        async () => new Uint8Array(20).fill(1).buffer
+                    ),
+                },
+            },
+        });
+        sendIpcEvent = jest
+            .fn()
+            .mockResolvedValue({ js: { token: 'TOK', random: 'r' } });
+        getPlaylistById = jest.fn();
+
+        TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+            providers: [
+                StalkerSessionService,
+                { provide: DataService, useValue: { sendIpcEvent } },
+                {
+                    provide: PlaylistsService,
+                    useValue: { getPlaylistById },
+                },
+            ],
+        });
+        service = TestBed.inject(StalkerSessionService);
+    });
+
+    it('authenticates watchdog pings as the freshly persisted row, not the activation snapshot', async () => {
+        // The user edited the MAC after the watchdog started: the very next
+        // ping must use the stored row — pairing the old identity would
+        // keep an old session alive and repopulate the token cache with it.
+        const editedRow = {
+            ...activationSnapshot,
+            macAddress: '00:1A:79:00:77:77',
+        };
+        getPlaylistById.mockReturnValue(of(editedRow));
+
+        service.setActiveWatchdogPlaylist(activationSnapshot);
+        // The init ping runs on a floating promise chain.
+        for (let i = 0; i < 20; i += 1) {
+            await Promise.resolve();
+        }
+
+        expect(getPlaylistById).toHaveBeenCalledWith('portal-1');
+        expect(sendIpcEvent).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            expect.anything(),
+            expect.objectContaining({
+                macAddress: '00:1A:79:00:77:77',
+            })
+        );
+        service.setActiveWatchdogPlaylist(null);
+    });
+
+    it('overlays the registered repair decorator on the resolved row', async () => {
+        // Simple→full repair whose persistence has not landed yet: the row
+        // still says simple, and without the overlay the ping would stop
+        // the freshly started keepalive.
+        const simpleRow = {
+            ...activationSnapshot,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+        };
+        getPlaylistById.mockReturnValue(of(simpleRow));
+        service.registerWatchdogPlaylistDecorator((playlist) => ({
+            ...playlist,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        }));
+
+        service.setActiveWatchdogPlaylist(activationSnapshot);
+        for (let i = 0; i < 20; i += 1) {
+            await Promise.resolve();
+        }
+
+        // The keepalive survived (no stopWatchdog) and authenticated.
+        expect(sendIpcEvent).toHaveBeenCalled();
+        service.setActiveWatchdogPlaylist(null);
+    });
+});
+
+describe('StalkerSessionService identity-tagged token cache', () => {
+    const playlistA = {
+        _id: 'portal-1',
+        title: 'Portal',
+        portalUrl: 'https://portal.example.com/server/load.php',
+        macAddress: '00:1A:79:AA:BB:CC',
+        isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        lastUsage: '',
+    } as unknown as Playlist;
+
+    let sendIpcEvent: jest.Mock;
+    let service: StalkerSessionService;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        Object.defineProperty(globalThis, 'crypto', {
+            configurable: true,
+            value: {
+                subtle: {
+                    digest: jest.fn(
+                        async () => new Uint8Array(20).fill(1).buffer
+                    ),
+                },
+            },
+        });
+        sendIpcEvent = jest
+            .fn()
+            .mockResolvedValue({ js: { token: 'FRESH', random: 'r' } });
+
+        TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+            providers: [
+                StalkerSessionService,
+                { provide: DataService, useValue: { sendIpcEvent } },
+            ],
+        });
+        service = TestBed.inject(StalkerSessionService);
+    });
+
+    it('reuses a cached token only for the identity it was negotiated for', async () => {
+        service.setCachedToken('portal-1', 'OLD-IDENTITY-TOKEN', playlistA);
+
+        const sameIdentity = await service.ensureToken(playlistA);
+        expect(sameIdentity.token).toBe('OLD-IDENTITY-TOKEN');
+        expect(sendIpcEvent).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+        // The user edited the MAC: the cached session belongs to the old
+        // identity and must be replaced by a fresh authentication.
+        const editedIdentity = {
+            ...playlistA,
+            macAddress: '00:1A:79:00:66:66',
+        } as Playlist;
+        const reAuthenticated = await service.ensureToken(editedIdentity);
+
+        expect(reAuthenticated.token).toBe('FRESH');
+        expect(sendIpcEvent).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    it('does not hand an in-flight authentication result to an edited identity', async () => {
+        // Deferred transport: the first auth (old identity) is still in
+        // flight when the edited identity asks for a token.
+        const pendingResolvers: Array<(value: unknown) => void> = [];
+        sendIpcEvent.mockImplementation(
+            () =>
+                new Promise((resolve) => {
+                    pendingResolvers.push(resolve);
+                })
+        );
+
+        const oldAuth = service.ensureToken(playlistA);
+        for (let i = 0; i < 5; i += 1) {
+            await Promise.resolve();
+        }
+
+        const editedIdentity = {
+            ...playlistA,
+            macAddress: '00:1A:79:00:55:55',
+        } as Playlist;
+        const editedAuth = service.ensureToken(editedIdentity);
+
+        // Settle the OLD identity's handshake + profile.
+        pendingResolvers[0]({ js: { token: 'TOKEN-OLD', random: 'r' } });
+        for (let i = 0; i < 10; i += 1) {
+            await Promise.resolve();
+        }
+        pendingResolvers[1]?.({ js: {} });
+        await expect(oldAuth).resolves.toMatchObject({ token: 'TOKEN-OLD' });
+
+        // The edited identity re-enters and negotiates its OWN session.
+        for (let i = 0; i < 10; i += 1) {
+            await Promise.resolve();
+        }
+        pendingResolvers[2]?.({ js: { token: 'TOKEN-NEW', random: 'r' } });
+        for (let i = 0; i < 10; i += 1) {
+            await Promise.resolve();
+        }
+        pendingResolvers[3]?.({ js: {} });
+
+        await expect(editedAuth).resolves.toMatchObject({
+            token: 'TOKEN-NEW',
+        });
+    });
+
+    it('treats IPC-wrapped HTTP 401/403 as an authorization failure', async () => {
+        // The custom `status` property does not survive ipcRenderer, so an
+        // expired-token 403 arrives as message text only.
+        service.setCachedToken('portal-1', 'EXPIRED', playlistA);
+        sendIpcEvent.mockRejectedValueOnce(
+            new Error(
+                "Error invoking remote method 'STALKER_REQUEST': HTTP Error 403: Forbidden"
+            )
+        );
+        sendIpcEvent.mockResolvedValue({ js: { token: 'FRESH', random: 'r' } });
+
+        await service
+            .makeAuthenticatedRequest(playlistA, { action: 'get_genres' })
+            .catch(() => undefined);
+
+        // The dead token was retired rather than kept for the next caller.
+        expect(service.getCachedToken('portal-1')).not.toBe('EXPIRED');
+    });
+
+    it.each(['Access denied.', 'Unauthorized request.'])(
+        'retires the token for the %j plain-text failure too',
+        async (body) => {
+            // The session predicate shares the discovery/repair failure
+            // set: a phrase one layer treats as an auth failure must not be
+            // ignored here, or the expired token survives the session.
+            service.setCachedToken('portal-1', 'EXPIRED', playlistA);
+            sendIpcEvent.mockResolvedValue(body);
+
+            await service
+                .makeAuthenticatedRequest(
+                    playlistA,
+                    { action: 'get_genres' },
+                    false
+                )
+                .catch(() => undefined);
+
+            expect(service.getCachedToken('portal-1')).toBeNull();
+        }
+    );
+
+    it('retires a failed token even on the no-retry path (watchdog pings)', async () => {
+        service.setCachedToken('portal-1', 'DEAD', playlistA);
+        sendIpcEvent.mockResolvedValue('Authorization failed.');
+
+        await expect(
+            service.makeAuthenticatedRequest(
+                playlistA,
+                { action: 'get_events' },
+                false
+            )
+        ).rejects.toThrow('Authorization failed after retry');
+
+        // Leaving the dead token cached would hand it to the next caller.
+        expect(service.getCachedToken('portal-1')).toBeNull();
+    });
+});
+
+describe('StalkerSessionService.refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist', () => {
+    const basePlaylist = {
+        _id: 'portal-1',
+        title: 'Portal',
+        portalUrl: 'https://portal.example.com/server/load.php',
+        macAddress: '00:1A:79:AA:BB:CC',
+        isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+        lastUsage: '',
+    } as unknown as Playlist;
+
+    let service: StalkerSessionService;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+        TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+            providers: [
+                StalkerSessionService,
+                {
+                    provide: DataService,
+                    useValue: {
+                        sendIpcEvent: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ js: {} }),
+                    },
+                },
+            ],
+        });
+        service = TestBed.inject(StalkerSessionService);
+    });
+
+    it('re-applies the repaired configuration to the ACTIVE watchdog playlist', () => {
+        service.setActiveWatchdogPlaylist(basePlaylist);
+        const apply = jest.spyOn(service, 'setActiveWatchdogPlaylist');
+
+        const repaired = {
+            ...basePlaylist,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        } as Playlist;
+        service.refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist(repaired);
+
+        // Delegation is the contract: setActiveWatchdogPlaylist owns the
+        // start/stop/repoint logic, refresh only feeds it the fresh row.
+        expect(apply).toHaveBeenCalledWith(repaired);
+        service.setActiveWatchdogPlaylist(null);
+    });
+
+    it('ignores playlists that do not own the watchdog', () => {
+        service.setActiveWatchdogPlaylist(basePlaylist);
+        const apply = jest.spyOn(service, 'setActiveWatchdogPlaylist');
+
+        service.refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist({
+            ...basePlaylist,
+            _id: 'other-portal',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        } as Playlist);
+
+        expect(apply).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+        service.setActiveWatchdogPlaylist(null);
+    });
+
+    it('is a no-op when no watchdog playlist is active at all', () => {
+        const apply = jest.spyOn(service, 'setActiveWatchdogPlaylist');
+
+        service.refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist({
+            ...basePlaylist,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        } as Playlist);
+
+        expect(apply).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+});
+
 describe('StalkerSessionService identity payloads', () => {
     const portalUrl =
         'https://portal.example.com/stalker_portal/server/load.php';
@@ -261,7 +583,7 @@ describe('StalkerSessionService identity payloads', () => {
             isFullStalkerPortal: true,
         } as Playlist;
 
-        service.setCachedToken(playlist._id, 'stale-token');
+        service.setCachedToken(playlist._id, 'stale-token', playlist);
 
         let release: (value: { token: string }) => void = () => undefined;
         jest.spyOn(service, 'authenticate').mockImplementation(
@@ -296,7 +618,7 @@ describe('StalkerSessionService identity payloads', () => {
         jest.spyOn(service, 'ensureToken')
             .mockResolvedValueOnce({ token: 'stale-token' })
             .mockResolvedValueOnce({ token: 'fresh-token' });
-        service.setCachedToken(playlist._id, 'fresh-token');
+        service.setCachedToken(playlist._id, 'fresh-token', playlist);
 
         dataService.sendIpcEvent
             .mockResolvedValueOnce({ js: 'Authorization failed. 75' })
@@ -327,7 +649,7 @@ describe('StalkerSessionService identity payloads', () => {
         jest.spyOn(service, 'ensureToken')
             .mockResolvedValueOnce({ token: 'dead-token' })
             .mockResolvedValueOnce({ token: 'new-token' });
-        service.setCachedToken(playlist._id, 'dead-token');
+        service.setCachedToken(playlist._id, 'dead-token', playlist);
 
         dataService.sendIpcEvent
             .mockResolvedValueOnce({ js: 'Authorization failed. 75' })
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-session.service.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-session.service.ts
index bca8ef00b..910036dec 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-session.service.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker-session.service.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,23 @@
-import { Injectable, inject } from '@angular/core';
-import { Playlist, STALKER_REQUEST } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
-import { DataService } from '@iptvnator/services';
+import { Injectable, Injector, inject } from '@angular/core';
+import { firstValueFrom } from 'rxjs';
+import {
+    isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist,
+    isFullStalkerPortalUrl,
+    Playlist,
+    PlaylistMeta,
+    STALKER_REQUEST,
+} from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+import { DataService, PlaylistsService } from '@iptvnator/services';
 import { createLogger } from '@iptvnator/portal/shared/util';
+import {
+    isStalkerAuthFailureMessage,
+    isStalkerAuthFailureResponse,
+} from './stalker-portal-discovery.utils';
 import {
     getStalkerPortalIdentityFromPlaylist,
     LEGACY_DEFAULT_STALKER_SERIAL,
     normalizeStalkerPortalIdentity,
+    stalkerIdentityFingerprint,
     type StalkerPortalIdentity,
 } from './stalker-identity.utils';
 
@@ -88,16 +100,33 @@ interface StalkerAuthConfirmationResponse {
 })
 export class StalkerSessionService {
     private dataService = inject(DataService);
+    // Lazy: PlaylistsService drags the persistence stack and is only needed
+    // when a watchdog ping re-resolves its playlist from the stored row.
+    private readonly injector = inject(Injector);
     private readonly logger = createLogger('StalkerSession');
 
-    // In-memory token cache for current session (keyed by playlist ID)
-    private tokenCache = new Map<string, string>();
+    // In-memory token cache for the current session, keyed by playlist ID
+    // and tagged with the identity fingerprint the session was negotiated
+    // for — an edited MAC/identity must never inherit the previous token.
+    private tokenCache = new Map<
+        string,
+        { token: string; identityFingerprint: string }
+    >();
+    private watchdogPlaylistDecorator:
+        | ((playlist: Playlist) => Playlist)
+        | null = null;
 
-    // Pending authentication promises to prevent race conditions
-    // When multiple requests need a token simultaneously, they all wait for the same auth
+    // Pending authentication promises to prevent race conditions.
+    // When multiple requests need a token simultaneously, they all wait for
+    // the same auth — but ONLY when they act as the same identity: a result
+    // negotiated for a pre-edit identity must not be adopted by requests
+    // carrying the edited one.
     private pendingAuth = new Map<
         string,
-        Promise<{ token: string; serialNumber?: string }>
+        {
+            promise: Promise<{ token: string; serialNumber?: string }>;
+            identityFingerprint: string;
+        }
     >();
     private watchdogIntervals = new Map<
         string,
@@ -108,27 +137,49 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
     private activeWatchdogPlaylistId: string | null = null;
 
     /**
-     * Checks if a URL is a full stalker portal URL (requires handshake)
-     * Full stalker portal URLs contain /stalker_portal/ in the path
+     * Checks if a URL looks like a full stalker portal URL (requires
+     * handshake). Delegates to the shared predicate in
+     * `@iptvnator/shared/interfaces` — the flag persisted by endpoint
+     * discovery is authoritative; this URL rule is only the legacy fallback.
      */
     isFullStalkerPortal(url: string): boolean {
-        return (
-            url.includes('/stalker_portal/') || url.includes('/server/load.php')
-        );
+        return isFullStalkerPortalUrl(url);
     }
 
     /**
-     * Gets the cached token for a playlist, or null if not cached
+     * Gets the cached token for a playlist, or null if not cached.
+     * Identity validation happens in `ensureToken`; this raw accessor stays
+     * for playback fast paths that cannot supply an identity (PR 6 scope).
      */
     getCachedToken(playlistId: string): string | null {
-        return this.tokenCache.get(playlistId) || null;
+        return this.tokenCache.get(playlistId)?.token || null;
     }
 
     /**
-     * Sets a token in the cache
+     * Caches a token together with the identity fingerprint of the playlist
+     * the session was negotiated for.
      */
-    setCachedToken(playlistId: string, token: string): void {
-        this.tokenCache.set(playlistId, token);
+    setCachedToken(
+        playlistId: string,
+        token: string,
+        identitySource: PlaylistMeta
+    ): void {
+        this.tokenCache.set(playlistId, {
+            token,
+            identityFingerprint: stalkerIdentityFingerprint(identitySource),
+        });
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Lets the repair layer overlay its in-session override on the row a
+     * watchdog ping resolves: the persisted row can still carry a
+     * pre-repair configuration while persistence is pending (or failed),
+     * and pinging that configuration would stop or misdirect the keepalive.
+     */
+    registerWatchdogPlaylistDecorator(
+        decorator: (playlist: Playlist) => Playlist
+    ): void {
+        this.watchdogPlaylistDecorator = decorator;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -156,7 +207,7 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
 
         if (
             !playlist ||
-            !playlist.isFullStalkerPortal ||
+            !isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(playlist) ||
             !playlist.portalUrl ||
             !playlist.macAddress
         ) {
@@ -169,6 +220,22 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
         this.startWatchdog(playlist);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Re-evaluates the watchdog for a playlist whose portal configuration
+     * was just repaired. Only reacts when the playlist IS the active
+     * watchdog target: a simple→full repair starts the required keepalive,
+     * full→simple stops it, and an endpoint change repoints the pings —
+     * without waiting for the next route activation (the activation-time
+     * snapshot in `watchdogPlaylists` would otherwise stay stale).
+     */
+    refreshActiveWatchdogPlaylist(playlist: Playlist): void {
+        if (this.activeWatchdogPlaylistId !== playlist._id) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        this.setActiveWatchdogPlaylist(playlist);
+    }
+
     private startWatchdog(playlist: Playlist): void {
         const playlistId = playlist._id;
         this.watchdogPlaylists.set(playlistId, playlist);
@@ -196,6 +263,47 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
         this.watchdogInFlight.delete(playlistId);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * The playlist a watchdog ping authenticates as. The persisted row is
+     * the source of truth: portal metadata (endpoint, mode, MAC, identity)
+     * edited or repaired mid-session must reach the keepalive within one
+     * ping cycle — the activation-time snapshot is only the fallback when
+     * the row cannot be read.
+     */
+    private async resolveWatchdogPlaylist(
+        playlistId: string
+    ): Promise<Playlist | undefined> {
+        try {
+            const row = await firstValueFrom(
+                this.injector
+                    .get(PlaylistsService)
+                    .getPlaylistById(playlistId)
+            );
+            if (row) {
+                const playlist = row as Playlist;
+                // Keep the fallback snapshot fresh for the next cycle.
+                this.watchdogPlaylists.set(playlistId, playlist);
+                return this.decorateWatchdogPlaylist(playlist);
+            }
+        } catch {
+            // Store unavailable (e.g. isolated tests): keep the snapshot.
+        }
+
+        const snapshot = this.watchdogPlaylists.get(playlistId);
+        return snapshot ? this.decorateWatchdogPlaylist(snapshot) : snapshot;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Overlays the repair layer's in-session override (when registered) so
+     * a ping never authenticates against a configuration a completed repair
+     * has already proven broken — even before persistence lands.
+     */
+    private decorateWatchdogPlaylist(playlist: Playlist): Playlist {
+        return this.watchdogPlaylistDecorator
+            ? this.watchdogPlaylistDecorator(playlist)
+            : playlist;
+    }
+
     private async sendWatchdogPing(
         playlistId: string,
         init: '0' | '1'
@@ -204,19 +312,21 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
             return;
         }
 
-        const playlist = this.watchdogPlaylists.get(playlistId);
-        if (
-            !playlist ||
-            !playlist.portalUrl ||
-            !playlist.macAddress ||
-            !playlist.isFullStalkerPortal
-        ) {
-            this.stopWatchdog(playlistId);
-            return;
-        }
-
+        // Claimed BEFORE the row read: it awaits, and two overlapping pings
+        // passing the check together would double-fire the keepalive.
         this.watchdogInFlight.add(playlistId);
         try {
+            const playlist = await this.resolveWatchdogPlaylist(playlistId);
+            if (
+                !playlist ||
+                !playlist.portalUrl ||
+                !playlist.macAddress ||
+                !isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(playlist)
+            ) {
+                this.stopWatchdog(playlistId);
+                return;
+            }
+
             await this.makeAuthenticatedRequest(
                 playlist,
                 {
@@ -417,6 +527,8 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
     ): Promise<{
         token: string;
         accountInfo?: StalkerProfileResponse['js']['account_info'];
+        /** Raw envelope so callers can apply their own failure checks. */
+        profileResponse?: StalkerProfileResponse;
     }> {
         const normalizedIdentity = normalizeStalkerPortalIdentity(identity);
 
@@ -451,6 +563,7 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
             return {
                 token,
                 accountInfo: profileResponse?.js?.account_info,
+                profileResponse,
             };
         } catch (error) {
             // Profile fetch failed - this is a real error, propagate it
@@ -468,24 +581,52 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
         playlist: Playlist
     ): Promise<{ token: string | null; serialNumber?: string }> {
         // If not a full stalker portal, no token needed
-        if (!playlist.isFullStalkerPortal) {
+        if (!isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(playlist)) {
             return { token: null };
         }
 
         const identity = getStalkerPortalIdentityFromPlaylist(playlist);
 
-        // Check in-memory cache first (valid for current session only)
-        const cachedToken = this.getCachedToken(playlist._id);
-        if (cachedToken) {
-            return { token: cachedToken, serialNumber: identity.serialNumber };
+        // Check in-memory cache first (valid for current session only).
+        const cached = this.tokenCache.get(playlist._id);
+        if (cached) {
+            if (
+                cached.identityFingerprint ===
+                stalkerIdentityFingerprint(playlist)
+            ) {
+                return {
+                    token: cached.token,
+                    serialNumber: identity.serialNumber,
+                };
+            }
+            // The cached session was negotiated for a DIFFERENT identity
+            // (the playlist was edited): retire it and authenticate as the
+            // current one instead of pairing new identity with old session.
+            this.clearCachedToken(playlist._id);
         }
 
         // Check if there's already a pending authentication for this playlist
         // This prevents race conditions when multiple resources request a token simultaneously
-        const pendingPromise = this.pendingAuth.get(playlist._id);
-        if (pendingPromise) {
-            this.logger.debug('Waiting for pending authentication...');
-            return pendingPromise;
+        const pendingEntry = this.pendingAuth.get(playlist._id);
+        if (pendingEntry) {
+            if (
+                pendingEntry.identityFingerprint ===
+                stalkerIdentityFingerprint(playlist)
+            ) {
+                this.logger.debug('Waiting for pending authentication...');
+                return pendingEntry.promise;
+            }
+
+            // An authentication for a DIFFERENT (pre-edit) identity is in
+            // flight. Its result must not be adopted, but starting a
+            // competing handshake would strand it with a dead token on
+            // strict portals — wait for it to settle, then re-enter and
+            // authenticate as the current identity.
+            this.logger.debug(
+                'Waiting out an authentication for a different identity...'
+            );
+            await pendingEntry.promise.catch(() => undefined);
+            return this.ensureToken(playlist);
         }
 
         // No cached token - need to do full authentication (handshake + get_profile)
@@ -506,7 +647,7 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
                     macAddress,
                     identity
                 );
-                this.setCachedToken(playlist._id, token);
+                this.setCachedToken(playlist._id, token, playlist);
                 return { token, serialNumber: identity.serialNumber };
             } finally {
                 // Clean up pending promise regardless of success/failure
@@ -515,7 +656,10 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
         })();
 
         // Store the pending promise so other concurrent requests can wait on it
-        this.pendingAuth.set(playlist._id, authPromise);
+        this.pendingAuth.set(playlist._id, {
+            promise: authPromise,
+            identityFingerprint: stalkerIdentityFingerprint(playlist),
+        });
 
         return authPromise;
     }
@@ -553,7 +697,7 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
             this.logger.debug('Waiting for pending authentication...');
             // A failed pending auth must not abort the refresh; this call
             // performs its own handshake either way.
-            await inFlight.catch(() => undefined);
+            await inFlight.promise.catch(() => undefined);
         }
 
         // Publish the slot before the first await so no other waiter can
@@ -574,7 +718,11 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
         // Waiters attach their own handlers; this one only keeps a
         // rejected slot from surfacing as an unhandled rejection.
         void slot.catch(() => undefined);
-        this.pendingAuth.set(playlist._id, slot);
+        const slotEntry = {
+            promise: slot,
+            identityFingerprint: stalkerIdentityFingerprint(playlist),
+        };
+        this.pendingAuth.set(playlist._id, slotEntry);
 
         // ensureToken() reads tokenCache before pendingAuth, so leaving the
         // old token there would hand a token this handshake is about to
@@ -588,7 +736,7 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
                 macAddress,
                 identity
             );
-            this.setCachedToken(playlist._id, result.token);
+            this.setCachedToken(playlist._id, result.token, playlist);
             settleSlot({
                 token: result.token,
                 serialNumber: identity.serialNumber,
@@ -600,7 +748,7 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
         } finally {
             // Only retire our own entry: a caller that started a later
             // authentication owns the map slot from then on.
-            if (this.pendingAuth.get(playlist._id) === slot) {
+            if (this.pendingAuth.get(playlist._id) === slotEntry) {
                 this.pendingAuth.delete(playlist._id);
             }
         }
@@ -630,6 +778,29 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
 
         const response = responseOrError as Record<string, unknown>;
 
+        // The complete set of portal auth failures — the plain-text bodies
+        // (`Authorization failed.`, `Access denied.`, `Unauthorized
+        // request.`) and their JSON-envelope forms. Shared with endpoint
+        // discovery and the lazy repair so a phrase one layer classifies as
+        // an auth failure cannot be ignored by another: the session would
+        // otherwise keep an expired token and every later request fails.
+        if (
+            isStalkerAuthFailureResponse(responseOrError) ||
+            isStalkerAuthFailureMessage(response?.['message'])
+        ) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        // HTTP auth codes surviving the IPC boundary only as message text
+        // (`HTTP Error 401: …`): the custom `status` property is stripped by
+        // ipcRenderer, so the numeric code must be read from the message.
+        if (
+            typeof response?.['message'] === 'string' &&
+            /HTTP Error 40[13]\b/.test(response['message'])
+        ) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
         // Convert response to string for pattern matching
         const responseStr = JSON.stringify(responseOrError).toLowerCase();
 
@@ -682,9 +853,11 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
 
             // Check for authorization failure in response
             if (this.isAuthorizationError(response)) {
-                if (retryOnAuthFailure && playlist.isFullStalkerPortal) {
-                    // Retire the failed token so the retry re-authenticates
-                    this.retireFailedToken(playlist._id, token);
+                // Retire the failed token even when not retrying (e.g.
+                // watchdog pings): leaving it cached would hand a dead
+                // session to the next caller.
+                this.retireFailedToken(playlist._id, token);
+                if (retryOnAuthFailure && isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(playlist)) {
                     // Retry once with fresh authentication
                     return this.makeAuthenticatedRequest<T>(
                         playlist,
@@ -699,18 +872,21 @@ export class StalkerSessionService {
             return response;
         } catch (error) {
             // Check if error indicates auth failure
-            if (
-                this.isAuthorizationError(error) &&
-                retryOnAuthFailure &&
-                playlist.isFullStalkerPortal
-            ) {
-                // Retire the failed token and retry with new handshake
+            if (this.isAuthorizationError(error)) {
+                // Same rule as above: a failed session is retired even on
+                // the no-retry path.
                 this.retireFailedToken(playlist._id, token);
-                return this.makeAuthenticatedRequest<T>(
-                    playlist,
-                    params,
-                    false
-                );
+                if (
+                    retryOnAuthFailure &&
+                    isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(playlist)
+                ) {
+                    // Retry with a fresh handshake
+                    return this.makeAuthenticatedRequest<T>(
+                        playlist,
+                        params,
+                        false
+                    );
+                }
             }
             throw error;
         }
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker.store.compat.spec.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker.store.compat.spec.ts
index c527fd0b2..c92727cb8 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker.store.compat.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stalker.store.compat.spec.ts
@@ -148,7 +148,6 @@ describe('StalkerStore API compatibility smoke', () => {
             'addToRecentlyViewed',
             'removeFromRecentlyViewed',
             'fetchChannelEpg',
-            'makeStalkerRequest',
         ];
 
         for (const methodName of expectedMethods) {
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-content.feature.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-content.feature.ts
index 567152ec3..6591af5fb 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-content.feature.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-content.feature.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import {
 } from '../../models';
 import { StalkerContentTypes } from '../../stalker-content-types';
 import { StalkerItvCacheService } from '../../stalker-itv-cache.service';
+import { StalkerPortalRepairService } from '../../stalker-portal-repair.service';
 import { StalkerSessionService } from '../../stalker-session.service';
 import {
     ResourceState,
@@ -194,6 +195,7 @@ export function withStalkerContent() {
                 store,
                 dataService = inject(DataService),
                 stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService),
+                portalRepair = inject(StalkerPortalRepairService),
                 translateService = inject(TranslateService),
                 itvCache = inject(StalkerItvCacheService)
             ) => {
@@ -202,6 +204,7 @@ export function withStalkerContent() {
                 const requestDeps = {
                     dataService,
                     stalkerSession,
+                    portalRepair,
                 };
 
                 return {
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-epg.feature.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-epg.feature.ts
index 02b0110bb..b4975ac0f 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-epg.feature.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-epg.feature.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import {
     StalkerPortalActions,
 } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
 import { normalizeStalkerEntityId } from '../../stalker-vod.utils';
+import { StalkerPortalRepairService } from '../../stalker-portal-repair.service';
 import { StalkerSessionService } from '../../stalker-session.service';
 import { StalkerEpgFeatureStoreContract } from '../stalker-store.contracts';
 import { executeStalkerRequest } from '../utils';
@@ -101,6 +102,7 @@ export function withStalkerEpg() {
                 store,
                 dataService = inject(DataService),
                 stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService),
+                portalRepair = inject(StalkerPortalRepairService),
                 runtime = inject(RuntimeCapabilitiesService),
                 epgBridge = inject(EpgRuntimeBridgeService)
             ) => {
@@ -109,6 +111,7 @@ export function withStalkerEpg() {
                 const requestDeps = {
                     dataService,
                     stalkerSession,
+                    portalRepair,
                 };
                 const supportsEpg = (): boolean => runtime.supportsEpg;
 
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-player.feature.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-player.feature.ts
index 9509aa759..37b0d9e98 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-player.feature.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-player.feature.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import {
     isCrossOriginStalkerStream,
     STALKER_MAG_USER_AGENT,
 } from '../../stalker-live-playback.utils';
+import { StalkerPortalRepairService } from '../../stalker-portal-repair.service';
 import { StalkerSessionService } from '../../stalker-session.service';
 import {
     normalizeStalkerEntityId,
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@ export function withStalkerPlayer() {
                 playlistService = inject(PlaylistsService),
                 playerService = inject(PORTAL_PLAYER),
                 stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService),
+                portalRepair = inject(StalkerPortalRepairService),
                 snackBar = inject(MatSnackBar),
                 translate = inject(TranslateService),
                 ngrxStore = inject(Store)
@@ -63,6 +65,7 @@ export function withStalkerPlayer() {
                 const requestDeps = {
                     dataService,
                     stalkerSession,
+                    portalRepair,
                 };
 
                 const createRequestPlaylist = (
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-portal.feature.spec.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-portal.feature.spec.ts
index 30225b006..159c2001e 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-portal.feature.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-portal.feature.spec.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import { TestBed } from '@angular/core/testing';
 import { signalStore } from '@ngrx/signals';
 import { DataService, RuntimeCapabilitiesService } from '@iptvnator/services';
-import { PlaylistMeta, STALKER_REQUEST } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+import { PlaylistMeta } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+import { StalkerPortalRepairService } from '../../stalker-portal-repair.service';
 import { StalkerSessionService } from '../../stalker-session.service';
 import { withStalkerPortal } from './with-stalker-portal.feature';
 
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@ describe('withStalkerPortal', () => {
         ensureToken: jest.Mock;
         setActiveWatchdogPlaylist: jest.Mock;
     };
+    let applyOverride: jest.Mock;
 
     beforeEach(() => {
         dbCreatePlaylist = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
@@ -57,6 +59,7 @@ describe('withStalkerPortal', () => {
             ensureToken: jest.fn(),
             setActiveWatchdogPlaylist: jest.fn(),
         };
+        applyOverride = jest.fn((playlist) => playlist);
 
         TestBed.configureTestingModule({
             providers: [
@@ -75,6 +78,10 @@ describe('withStalkerPortal', () => {
                     provide: StalkerSessionService,
                     useValue: stalkerSession,
                 },
+                {
+                    provide: StalkerPortalRepairService,
+                    useValue: { applyOverride },
+                },
             ],
         });
 
@@ -100,6 +107,29 @@ describe('withStalkerPortal', () => {
         );
     });
 
+    it('hands the repaired configuration to the watchdog and store on activation', async () => {
+        // Route re-activation passes the stale NgRx meta; the repair
+        // override must win here, or reopening the portal would stop or
+        // repoint the repaired keepalive back to the broken configuration.
+        const repaired = {
+            ...PLAYLIST,
+            portalUrl: 'http://demo.example/server/load.php',
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        };
+        applyOverride.mockReturnValue(repaired);
+
+        await store.setCurrentPlaylist(PLAYLIST);
+
+        expect(applyOverride).toHaveBeenCalledWith(PLAYLIST);
+        expect(stalkerSession.setActiveWatchdogPlaylist).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            expect.objectContaining({
+                portalUrl: 'http://demo.example/server/load.php',
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+            })
+        );
+        expect(store.currentPlaylist()).toEqual(repaired);
+    });
+
     it('does not touch SQLite when the Electron bridge is partial', async () => {
         runtime.supportsStalkerPlaylistSqliteSync = false;
 
@@ -109,21 +139,4 @@ describe('withStalkerPortal', () => {
         expect(dbCreatePlaylist).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
 
-    it('sends Stalker requests through DataService without requiring the SQLite bridge', async () => {
-        const dataService = TestBed.inject(DataService) as unknown as {
-            sendIpcEvent: jest.Mock;
-        };
-        dataService.sendIpcEvent.mockResolvedValue({ js: { data: [] } });
-
-        await store.makeStalkerRequest(PLAYLIST, { action: 'get_profile' });
-
-        expect(dataService.sendIpcEvent).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-            STALKER_REQUEST,
-            expect.objectContaining({
-                macAddress: '00:1A:79:00:00:01',
-                params: { action: 'get_profile' },
-                url: 'http://demo.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
-            })
-        );
-    });
 });
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-portal.feature.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-portal.feature.ts
index 16c8cd06c..81549ea38 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-portal.feature.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-portal.feature.ts
@@ -3,12 +3,12 @@ import {
     patchState,
     signalStoreFeature,
     withMethods,
-    withProps,
     withState,
 } from '@ngrx/signals';
-import { PlaylistMeta, STALKER_REQUEST } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+import { PlaylistMeta } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
 import { createLogger } from '@iptvnator/portal/shared/util';
-import { DataService, RuntimeCapabilitiesService } from '@iptvnator/services';
+import { RuntimeCapabilitiesService } from '@iptvnator/services';
+import { StalkerPortalRepairService } from '../../stalker-portal-repair.service';
 import { StalkerSessionService } from '../../stalker-session.service';
 import { toStalkerSessionPlaylist } from '../utils';
 
@@ -40,57 +40,32 @@ export function withStalkerPortal() {
     const logger = createLogger('withStalkerPortal');
     return signalStoreFeature(
         withState<StalkerPortalState>(initialPortalState),
-        withProps(
-            (
-                _store,
-                dataService = inject(DataService),
-                stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService)
-            ) => ({
-                /**
-                 * Helper to make stalker requests with automatic token handling
-                 */
-                async makeStalkerRequest(
-                    playlist: PlaylistMeta,
-                    params: Record<string, string | number>
-                ) {
-                    // Get token if it's a full stalker portal
-                    let token: string | undefined;
-                    let serialNumber: string | undefined;
-                    if (playlist.isFullStalkerPortal) {
-                        try {
-                            const result = await stalkerSession.ensureToken(
-                                toStalkerSessionPlaylist(playlist)
-                            );
-                            token = result.token ?? undefined;
-                            serialNumber = result.serialNumber;
-                        } catch (error) {
-                            logger.error('Failed to get stalker token', error);
-                        }
-                    }
-
-                    return dataService.sendIpcEvent(STALKER_REQUEST, {
-                        url: playlist.portalUrl,
-                        macAddress: playlist.macAddress,
-                        params,
-                        token,
-                        serialNumber,
-                    });
-                },
-            })
-        ),
+        // NOTE: the old `makeStalkerRequest` prop was removed — it was a
+        // production-dead fourth copy of the portal-mode branch. All request
+        // paths go through `executeStalkerRequest` (stores/utils), which
+        // applies the shared predicate and the lazy portal repair.
         withMethods(
             (
                 store,
                 stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService),
+                portalRepair = inject(StalkerPortalRepairService),
                 runtime = inject(RuntimeCapabilitiesService)
             ) => ({
                 async setCurrentPlaylist(playlist: PlaylistMeta | undefined) {
+                    // A lazy repair may have corrected this playlist's
+                    // endpoint/mode while the NgRx meta stayed stale; route
+                    // re-activation must not hand the stale snapshot back to
+                    // the watchdog (it would stop or repoint the repaired
+                    // keepalive) or into the store state.
+                    const effectivePlaylist = playlist
+                        ? portalRepair.applyOverride(playlist)
+                        : playlist;
                     stalkerSession.setActiveWatchdogPlaylist(
-                        playlist
-                            ? toStalkerSessionPlaylist(playlist)
+                        effectivePlaylist
+                            ? toStalkerSessionPlaylist(effectivePlaylist)
                             : undefined
                     );
-                    patchState(store, { currentPlaylist: playlist });
+                    patchState(store, { currentPlaylist: effectivePlaylist });
 
                     // Ensure Stalker playlist exists in SQLite for playback positions
                     // Only sync if this is actually a Stalker playlist (has macAddress and portalUrl)
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-series.feature.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-series.feature.ts
index 79ecf9256..5d749bf21 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-series.feature.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-series.feature.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import {
     StalkerVodSeriesSeason,
 } from '../../models';
 import { StalkerContentTypes } from '../../stalker-content-types';
+import { StalkerPortalRepairService } from '../../stalker-portal-repair.service';
 import { StalkerSessionService } from '../../stalker-session.service';
 import { isStalkerSeriesFlag } from '../../stalker-vod.utils';
 import { StalkerSeriesFeatureStoreContract } from '../stalker-store.contracts';
@@ -82,13 +83,15 @@ export function withStalkerSeries() {
             (
                 store,
                 dataService = inject(DataService),
-                stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService)
+                stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService),
+                portalRepair = inject(StalkerPortalRepairService)
             ) => {
                 const storeContext = store as typeof store &
                     StalkerSeriesStoreContext;
                 const requestDeps = {
                     dataService,
                     stalkerSession,
+                    portalRepair,
                 };
 
                 return {
@@ -223,13 +226,15 @@ export function withStalkerSeries() {
             (
                 store,
                 dataService = inject(DataService),
-                stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService)
+                stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService),
+                portalRepair = inject(StalkerPortalRepairService)
             ) => {
                 const storeContext = store as typeof store &
                     Pick<StalkerSeriesStoreContext, 'currentPlaylist'>;
                 const requestDeps = {
                     dataService,
                     stalkerSession,
+                    portalRepair,
                 };
 
                 return {
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-snapshot-refresh.feature.spec.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-snapshot-refresh.feature.spec.ts
index 6bd6416e0..413ab6d0e 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-snapshot-refresh.feature.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-snapshot-refresh.feature.spec.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ const PLAYLIST = {
     title: 'Demo Stalker',
     portalUrl: 'http://demo.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
     macAddress: '00:1A:79:00:00:01',
+    // Explicit: with the flag undefined the shared predicate would fall back
+    // to the URL shape, classify this as a full portal and route through the
+    // (empty) session mock instead of the DataService mock under test.
+    isFullStalkerPortal: false,
 } as PlaylistMeta;
 
 const SNAPSHOT: StalkerVodSource = {
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-snapshot-refresh.feature.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-snapshot-refresh.feature.ts
index 7c427590c..5c9f22450 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-snapshot-refresh.feature.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/features/with-stalker-snapshot-refresh.feature.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import {
     StalkerPortalActions,
 } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
 import { StalkerVodSource } from '../../models';
+import { StalkerPortalRepairService } from '../../stalker-portal-repair.service';
 import { StalkerSessionService } from '../../stalker-session.service';
 import { normalizeStalkerEntityId } from '../../stalker-vod.utils';
 import { StalkerPortalStoreContract } from '../stalker-store.contracts';
@@ -50,13 +51,15 @@ export function withStalkerSnapshotRefresh() {
             (
                 store,
                 dataService = inject(DataService),
-                stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService)
+                stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService),
+                portalRepair = inject(StalkerPortalRepairService)
             ) => {
                 const storeContext = store as typeof store &
                     StalkerPortalStoreContract;
                 const requestDeps: StalkerRequestDeps = {
                     dataService,
                     stalkerSession,
+                    portalRepair,
                 };
 
                 const findFreshRow = async (
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-player-request.utils.spec.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-player-request.utils.spec.ts
index f625d5438..38e94137f 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-player-request.utils.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-player-request.utils.spec.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,73 @@ describe('stalker-player-request.utils', () => {
         };
     });
 
+    it('resolves relative replies against arbitrary discovered installations', async () => {
+        // Discovery can persist a nested endpoint (/cp/server/load.php);
+        // the base must come from the endpoint's API suffix, not from a
+        // fixed stalker_portal|c|portal segment allowlist.
+        dataService.sendIpcEvent.mockResolvedValue({
+            js: { cmd: '/media/video_5.mpg' },
+        });
+
+        const streamUrl = await fetchStalkerPlaybackLink(
+            {
+                dataService: dataService as never,
+                stalkerSession: stalkerSession as StalkerSessionService,
+            },
+            {
+                playlist: {
+                    ...PLAYLIST,
+                    portalUrl: 'http://demo.example/cp/server/load.php',
+                } as PlaylistMeta,
+                selectedContentType: 'vod',
+                cmd: '/media/source.mpg',
+            }
+        );
+
+        expect(streamUrl).toBe('http://demo.example/cp/media/video_5.mpg');
+    });
+
+    it('resolves relative create_link replies against the repaired endpoint', async () => {
+        // A lazy repair can move the endpoint while the caller still holds
+        // the activation-time playlist snapshot; the relative `js.cmd` must
+        // resolve against the endpoint that actually answered.
+        dataService.sendIpcEvent.mockResolvedValue({
+            js: { cmd: 'ffmpeg /media/video_9.mpg' },
+        });
+        // Old row: root portal.php (base path ''). Repaired endpoint lives
+        // under /stalker_portal — the resolver keeps that segment as the
+        // base for root-relative replies, so the two resolve differently.
+        const stalePlaylist = {
+            ...PLAYLIST,
+            portalUrl: 'http://demo.example/portal.php',
+        } as PlaylistMeta;
+        const repaired = {
+            ...stalePlaylist,
+            portalUrl: 'http://demo.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+        } as PlaylistMeta;
+
+        const streamUrl = await fetchStalkerPlaybackLink(
+            {
+                dataService: dataService as never,
+                stalkerSession: stalkerSession as StalkerSessionService,
+                portalRepair: {
+                    applyOverride: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(repaired),
+                    shouldAttemptRepair: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(false),
+                    repairPortal: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
+                },
+            },
+            {
+                playlist: stalePlaylist,
+                selectedContentType: 'vod',
+                cmd: '/media/source.mpg',
+            }
+        );
+
+        expect(streamUrl).toBe(
+            'http://demo.example/stalker_portal/media/video_9.mpg'
+        );
+    });
+
     it('builds create_link requests and normalizes relative portal URLs', async () => {
         dataService.sendIpcEvent.mockResolvedValue({
             js: { cmd: '/media/video_77.mpg' },
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-player-request.utils.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-player-request.utils.ts
index 7ee5b9c51..a5649fa03 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-player-request.utils.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-player-request.utils.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@ import {
 import { StalkerSessionService } from '../../stalker-session.service';
 import { StalkerContentTypes } from '../../stalker-content-types';
 import { StalkerContentType } from '../stalker-store.contracts';
-import { executeStalkerRequest } from './stalker-request.utils';
+import {
+    executeStalkerRequest,
+    type StalkerPortalRepairApi,
+} from './stalker-request.utils';
 
 export interface StalkerPlayerResponse {
     js?: {
@@ -23,6 +26,7 @@ export interface StalkerPlayerResponse {
 export interface StalkerPlayerRequestDeps {
     dataService: DataService;
     stalkerSession: StalkerSessionService;
+    portalRepair?: StalkerPortalRepairApi;
 }
 
 export interface StalkerPlayableItemLike extends StalkerPortalItem {
@@ -68,17 +72,28 @@ export function resolveStalkerPlaybackUrl(
 
     try {
         const portalUrlObj = new URL(portalUrl);
-        const pathParts = portalUrlObj.pathname.split('/');
+        // The installation base is the endpoint path MINUS the API suffix
+        // discovery appended (`/portal.php`, `/server/load.php`) — endpoint
+        // discovery can persist arbitrary nested installations
+        // (`/cp/server/load.php`), so a fixed segment allowlist would
+        // resolve `/media/...` against the wrong root. The legacy marker
+        // segments stay as the fallback for URLs that carry neither suffix.
+        const endpointPath = portalUrlObj.pathname;
         let basePath = '';
-
-        for (let index = 0; index < pathParts.length; index += 1) {
-            if (
-                pathParts[index] === 'stalker_portal' ||
-                pathParts[index] === 'c' ||
-                pathParts[index] === 'portal'
-            ) {
-                basePath = '/' + pathParts.slice(1, index + 1).join('/');
-                break;
+        const apiSuffix = /\/(?:portal\.php|server\/load\.php|[^/]*\.php)$/i;
+        if (apiSuffix.test(endpointPath)) {
+            basePath = endpointPath.replace(apiSuffix, '');
+        } else {
+            const pathParts = endpointPath.split('/');
+            for (let index = 0; index < pathParts.length; index += 1) {
+                if (
+                    pathParts[index] === 'stalker_portal' ||
+                    pathParts[index] === 'c' ||
+                    pathParts[index] === 'portal'
+                ) {
+                    basePath = '/' + pathParts.slice(1, index + 1).join('/');
+                    break;
+                }
             }
         }
 
@@ -146,8 +161,16 @@ export async function fetchStalkerPlaybackLink(
         throw new Error(response.js.error);
     }
 
+    // Applied AFTER the request on purpose: a lazy repair may have moved
+    // the endpoint during this very call, and a relative `js.cmd`
+    // (`/media/...`) must resolve against the endpoint that actually
+    // answered — not the activation-time snapshot in options.playlist.
+    const effectivePlaylist = deps.portalRepair
+        ? deps.portalRepair.applyOverride(options.playlist)
+        : options.playlist;
+
     const streamUrl = resolveStalkerPlaybackUrl(
-        options.playlist.portalUrl ?? '',
+        effectivePlaylist.portalUrl ?? '',
         options.cmd,
         response.js?.cmd ?? ''
     );
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-request.utils.spec.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-request.utils.spec.ts
index 47607e9ef..568055315 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-request.utils.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-request.utils.spec.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { PlaylistMeta, STALKER_REQUEST } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
 import {
     executeStalkerRequest,
+    type StalkerPortalRepairApi,
     type StalkerRequestDeps,
 } from './stalker-request.utils';
 
@@ -76,3 +77,141 @@ describe('executeStalkerRequest', () => {
         ).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
 });
+
+describe('executeStalkerRequest portal-mode fallback', () => {
+    it('authenticates legacy rows with an undefined flag but a canonical URL', async () => {
+        // The historical import predicate persisted nothing for some rows;
+        // the shared predicate must fall back to the URL rule instead of
+        // silently skipping authentication (the #850 failure shape).
+        const deps = createDeps();
+        const playlist = {
+            _id: 'stalker-legacy',
+            title: 'Legacy row',
+            portalUrl: 'https://portal.example.test/server/load.php',
+            macAddress: 'has-mac-address',
+        } as PlaylistMeta;
+
+        await executeStalkerRequest(deps, playlist, CATEGORY_PARAMS);
+
+        expect(deps.stalkerSession.makeAuthenticatedRequest).toHaveBeenCalled();
+        expect(deps.dataService.sendIpcEvent).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+});
+
+describe('executeStalkerRequest lazy portal repair', () => {
+    const PLAYLIST = {
+        _id: 'stalker-misclassified',
+        title: 'Misclassified portal',
+        portalUrl: 'https://portal.example.test/server/load.php',
+        macAddress: 'has-mac-address',
+        isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+    } as PlaylistMeta;
+
+    function createRepair(
+        overrides: Partial<StalkerPortalRepairApi> = {}
+    ): StalkerPortalRepairApi {
+        return {
+            applyOverride: jest.fn((playlist) => playlist),
+            shouldAttemptRepair: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(false),
+            repairPortal: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
+            ...overrides,
+        } as StalkerPortalRepairApi;
+    }
+
+    it('retries once against the repaired configuration after an auth-failure body', async () => {
+        const deps = createDeps();
+        deps.dataService.sendIpcEvent = jest
+            .fn()
+            .mockResolvedValue('Authorization failed.');
+        const repaired = {
+            ...PLAYLIST,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        } as PlaylistMeta;
+        deps.portalRepair = createRepair({
+            shouldAttemptRepair: jest.fn(
+                (_playlist, failure) => failure === 'Authorization failed.'
+            ),
+            repairPortal: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(repaired),
+        });
+
+        const response = await executeStalkerRequest(
+            deps,
+            PLAYLIST,
+            CATEGORY_PARAMS
+        );
+
+        // The retry ran in full-portal mode against the repaired row.
+        expect(
+            deps.stalkerSession.makeAuthenticatedRequest
+        ).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+            expect.objectContaining({ isFullStalkerPortal: true }),
+            CATEGORY_PARAMS
+        );
+        expect(response).toEqual({ js: [] });
+    });
+
+    it('returns the raw response when the repair declines to change anything', async () => {
+        const deps = createDeps();
+        deps.dataService.sendIpcEvent = jest
+            .fn()
+            .mockResolvedValue('Authorization failed.');
+        deps.portalRepair = createRepair({
+            shouldAttemptRepair: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(true),
+        });
+
+        const response = await executeStalkerRequest(
+            deps,
+            PLAYLIST,
+            CATEGORY_PARAMS
+        );
+
+        expect(response).toBe('Authorization failed.');
+        expect(deps.dataService.sendIpcEvent).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it('repairs after a thrown transport error and rethrows when nothing changed', async () => {
+        const deps = createDeps();
+        const notFound = { message: 'HTTP Error: Not Found', status: 404 };
+        deps.dataService.sendIpcEvent = jest.fn().mockRejectedValue(notFound);
+        const repair = createRepair({
+            shouldAttemptRepair: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(true),
+        });
+        deps.portalRepair = repair;
+
+        await expect(
+            executeStalkerRequest(deps, PLAYLIST, CATEGORY_PARAMS)
+        ).rejects.toBe(notFound);
+        expect(repair.repairPortal).toHaveBeenCalledWith(PLAYLIST);
+    });
+
+    it('applies an existing override before dispatching', async () => {
+        const deps = createDeps();
+        const repaired = {
+            ...PLAYLIST,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+        } as PlaylistMeta;
+        deps.portalRepair = createRepair({
+            applyOverride: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(repaired),
+        });
+
+        await executeStalkerRequest(deps, PLAYLIST, CATEGORY_PARAMS);
+
+        expect(
+            deps.stalkerSession.makeAuthenticatedRequest
+        ).toHaveBeenCalled();
+        expect(deps.dataService.sendIpcEvent).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    it('never repairs on healthy responses', async () => {
+        const deps = createDeps();
+        const repair = createRepair();
+        deps.portalRepair = repair;
+
+        await executeStalkerRequest(deps, PLAYLIST, CATEGORY_PARAMS);
+
+        expect(repair.shouldAttemptRepair).toHaveBeenCalledWith(PLAYLIST, {
+            js: [],
+        });
+        expect(repair.repairPortal).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+});
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-request.utils.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-request.utils.ts
index bc61bd959..f07f4b622 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-request.utils.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/data-access/src/lib/stores/utils/stalker-request.utils.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,34 @@
 import { DataService } from '@iptvnator/services';
-import { Playlist, PlaylistMeta, STALKER_REQUEST } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
+import {
+    isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist,
+    Playlist,
+    PlaylistMeta,
+    STALKER_REQUEST,
+} from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
 import { StalkerSessionService } from '../../stalker-session.service';
 
+/**
+ * The slice of `StalkerPortalRepairService` the request pipeline needs.
+ * Declared here (instead of importing the service) so the service can live
+ * at the lib root and depend on these utils without a cycle.
+ */
+export interface StalkerPortalRepairApi {
+    /** Applies a completed repair; returns the SAME reference when no-op. */
+    applyOverride<T extends PlaylistMeta>(playlist: T): T;
+    /** Whether this failure shape justifies probing the portal at all. */
+    shouldAttemptRepair(playlist: PlaylistMeta, failure: unknown): boolean;
+    /**
+     * Probes and persists a proven-different configuration; null when
+     * nothing may change.
+     */
+    repairPortal(playlist: PlaylistMeta): Promise<PlaylistMeta | null>;
+}
+
 export interface StalkerRequestDeps {
     dataService: DataService;
     stalkerSession: StalkerSessionService;
+    /** Optional lazy portal-mode repair; wired by the store feature slices. */
+    portalRepair?: StalkerPortalRepairApi;
 }
 
 export function toStalkerSessionPlaylist(playlist: PlaylistMeta): Playlist {
@@ -14,12 +38,19 @@ export function toStalkerSessionPlaylist(playlist: PlaylistMeta): Playlist {
     } as Playlist;
 }
 
-export async function executeStalkerRequest<T>(
+/**
+ * Routes one Stalker request according to the playlist's portal mode:
+ * full portals go through the authenticated session (handshake + Bearer
+ * token + retry), token-free panels are called directly. The mode comes
+ * from the shared `isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist` predicate — the single
+ * rule every portal-mode consumer uses.
+ */
+async function dispatchStalkerRequest<T>(
     deps: StalkerRequestDeps,
     playlist: PlaylistMeta,
     params: Record<string, string | number>
 ): Promise<T> {
-    if (playlist.isFullStalkerPortal) {
+    if (isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(playlist)) {
         return deps.stalkerSession.makeAuthenticatedRequest<T>(
             toStalkerSessionPlaylist(playlist),
             params
@@ -32,3 +63,48 @@ export async function executeStalkerRequest<T>(
         params,
     });
 }
+
+/**
+ * Single choke point for Stalker API calls. On top of the mode routing it
+ * hooks the lazy portal repair: when a request fails in a way only a wrong
+ * persisted endpoint/mode produces (plain-text `Authorization failed.`
+ * bodies on token-less requests, HTTP 404 on a vanished endpoint, terminal
+ * handshake failures), the repair service re-probes the portal once per
+ * session and — only when a different configuration is PROVEN to work —
+ * the request is retried against it. Healthy portals never probe.
+ */
+export async function executeStalkerRequest<T>(
+    deps: StalkerRequestDeps,
+    playlist: PlaylistMeta,
+    params: Record<string, string | number>
+): Promise<T> {
+    const effective = deps.portalRepair
+        ? deps.portalRepair.applyOverride(playlist)
+        : playlist;
+
+    try {
+        const response = await dispatchStalkerRequest<T>(
+            deps,
+            effective,
+            params
+        );
+
+        if (deps.portalRepair?.shouldAttemptRepair(effective, response)) {
+            const repaired = await deps.portalRepair.repairPortal(effective);
+            if (repaired) {
+                return dispatchStalkerRequest<T>(deps, repaired, params);
+            }
+        }
+
+        return response;
+    } catch (error) {
+        if (deps.portalRepair?.shouldAttemptRepair(effective, error)) {
+            const repaired = await deps.portalRepair.repairPortal(effective);
+            if (repaired) {
+                return dispatchStalkerRequest<T>(deps, repaired, params);
+            }
+        }
+
+        throw error;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/libs/portal/stalker/feature/src/lib/stalker-search/stalker-search.component.ts b/libs/portal/stalker/feature/src/lib/stalker-search/stalker-search.component.ts
index 19f22ab74..3a3b03f4f 100644
--- a/libs/portal/stalker/feature/src/lib/stalker-search/stalker-search.component.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/stalker/feature/src/lib/stalker-search/stalker-search.component.ts
@@ -13,13 +13,15 @@ import { MatCheckboxModule } from '@angular/material/checkbox';
 import { MatSnackBar } from '@angular/material/snack-bar';
 import { ActivatedRoute } from '@angular/router';
 import { TranslatePipe, TranslateService } from '@ngx-translate/core';
-import { StalkerSessionService } from '@iptvnator/portal/stalker/data-access';
+import {
+    executeStalkerRequest,
+    StalkerPortalRepairService,
+    StalkerSessionService,
+} from '@iptvnator/portal/stalker/data-access';
 import { DataService, PlaylistsService } from '@iptvnator/services';
 import {
     PlaybackPositionData,
-    Playlist,
     ResolvedPortalPlayback,
-    STALKER_REQUEST,
     StalkerPortalActions,
     VodDetailsItem,
 } from '@iptvnator/shared/interfaces';
@@ -97,6 +99,7 @@ export class StalkerSearchComponent {
     private readonly portalPlayer = inject(PORTAL_PLAYER);
     private readonly stalkerStore = inject(StalkerStore);
     private readonly stalkerSession = inject(StalkerSessionService);
+    private readonly portalRepair = inject(StalkerPortalRepairService);
     private readonly snackBar = inject(MatSnackBar);
     private readonly translateService = inject(TranslateService);
     private readonly logger = createLogger('StalkerSearch');
@@ -191,30 +194,19 @@ export class StalkerSearchComponent {
                 ...(contentType === 'vod' ? { genre: '0' } : {}),
             };
 
-            // Full portals need the handshake token. The persisted flag can
-            // be missing on the active-playlist meta object, so fall back
-            // to URL detection — otherwise the portal answers
-            // "Authorization failed." and the search looks empty.
-            const isFullPortal =
-                (playlist as Playlist).isFullStalkerPortal ??
-                this.stalkerSession.isFullStalkerPortal(portalUrl);
-
-            const response = isFullPortal
-                ? await this.stalkerSession.makeAuthenticatedRequest<StalkerSearchResponse>(
-                      {
-                          ...(playlist as Playlist),
-                          isFullStalkerPortal: true,
-                      },
-                      requestParams
-                  )
-                : await this.dataService.sendIpcEvent<StalkerSearchResponse>(
-                      STALKER_REQUEST,
-                      {
-                          url: portalUrl,
-                          macAddress,
-                          params: requestParams,
-                      }
-                  );
+            // executeStalkerRequest owns the portal-mode decision (shared
+            // predicate with URL fallback for legacy rows) and the lazy
+            // portal repair, so search cannot drift from the catalog paths.
+            const response =
+                await executeStalkerRequest<StalkerSearchResponse>(
+                    {
+                        dataService: this.dataService,
+                        stalkerSession: this.stalkerSession,
+                        portalRepair: this.portalRepair,
+                    },
+                    playlist,
+                    requestParams
+                );
             const items = response.js?.data || [];
             return items.map((item: StalkerVodSource) =>
                 this.processItemUrls(item, portalUrl)
diff --git a/libs/services/src/lib/playlists.service.spec.ts b/libs/services/src/lib/playlists.service.spec.ts
index f240dd9fd..144d062a0 100644
--- a/libs/services/src/lib/playlists.service.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/services/src/lib/playlists.service.spec.ts
@@ -1290,6 +1290,9 @@ describe('PlaylistsService', () => {
                         store.current = target;
                     }
                 }),
+                dbDeletePlaylist: jest.fn(async () => {
+                    store.current = undefined as unknown as Playlist;
+                }),
             };
             return { store, electron };
         }
@@ -1479,6 +1482,87 @@ describe('PlaylistsService', () => {
             expect(electron.dbUpsertAppPlaylist).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
         });
 
+        it('serializes deletion behind queued writes so nothing resurrects the row', async () => {
+            const { store, electron } = createStatefulElectronStore(
+                createBasePlaylist('portal-delete-race')
+            );
+            testWindow.electron = electron;
+            const service = createService();
+
+            // A conditional transform (the repair's write path) is queued
+            // when the user deletes the playlist: the delete must run AFTER
+            // the queued write, leaving the row deleted — not upserted back.
+            await Promise.all([
+                firstValueFrom(
+                    service.transformPlaylistMeta(
+                        'portal-delete-race',
+                        (current) => ({
+                            ...current,
+                            portalUrl: 'http://x/portal.php',
+                        })
+                    )
+                ),
+                firstValueFrom(service.deletePlaylist('portal-delete-race')),
+            ]);
+
+            expect(store.current).toBeUndefined();
+            const upsertOrder =
+                electron.dbUpsertAppPlaylist.mock.invocationCallOrder[0];
+            const deleteOrder =
+                electron.dbDeletePlaylist.mock.invocationCallOrder[0];
+            expect(deleteOrder).toBeGreaterThan(upsertOrder);
+        });
+
+        it('transformPlaylistMeta aborts without writing when the transform returns null', async () => {
+            const { store, electron } = createStatefulElectronStore(
+                createBasePlaylist('portal-meta-abort')
+            );
+            testWindow.electron = electron;
+            const service = createService();
+            const writesBefore = electron.dbUpsertAppPlaylist.mock.calls.length;
+
+            const result = await firstValueFrom(
+                service.transformPlaylistMeta('portal-meta-abort', () => null)
+            );
+
+            expect(result).toBeNull();
+            expect(electron.dbUpsertAppPlaylist.mock.calls.length).toBe(
+                writesBefore
+            );
+        });
+
+        it('transformPlaylistMeta persists the transformed row and serializes with queued edits', async () => {
+            const { store, electron } = createStatefulElectronStore(
+                createBasePlaylist('portal-meta-write')
+            );
+            testWindow.electron = electron;
+            const service = createService();
+
+            // A queued edit commits first; the conditional transform then
+            // sees ITS result — the property the Stalker portal repair
+            // relies on to never overwrite a user edit racing the probe.
+            await Promise.all([
+                firstValueFrom(
+                    service.updatePlaylistMeta({
+                        _id: 'portal-meta-write',
+                        title: 'Edited Title',
+                    } as never)
+                ),
+                firstValueFrom(
+                    service.transformPlaylistMeta(
+                        'portal-meta-write',
+                        (current) =>
+                            current.title === 'Edited Title'
+                                ? { ...current, portalUrl: 'http://x/portal.php' }
+                                : null
+                    )
+                ),
+            ]);
+
+            expect(store.current.title).toBe('Edited Title');
+            expect(store.current.portalUrl).toBe('http://x/portal.php');
+        });
+
         it('applies overlapping favorites transforms atomically', async () => {
             const { store, electron } = createStatefulElectronStore(
                 createBasePlaylist('portal-transform-race')
diff --git a/libs/services/src/lib/playlists.service.ts b/libs/services/src/lib/playlists.service.ts
index 85b332a10..2b3031066 100644
--- a/libs/services/src/lib/playlists.service.ts
+++ b/libs/services/src/lib/playlists.service.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import {
     Channel,
     DbStores,
     extractStalkerItemId,
+    isFullStalkerPortalUrl,
     isM3uRecentlyViewedItem,
     M3uFavoriteChannel,
     M3uRecentlyViewedItem,
@@ -254,13 +255,10 @@ export class PlaylistsService {
         }
 
         const portalUrl = playlist.portalUrl ?? playlist.url ?? '';
-        const isFullPortal =
-            portalUrl.includes('/stalker_portal') ||
-            portalUrl.includes('/server/load.php');
 
         return {
             ...playlist,
-            isFullStalkerPortal: isFullPortal,
+            isFullStalkerPortal: isFullStalkerPortalUrl(portalUrl),
         };
     }
 
@@ -475,17 +473,27 @@ export class PlaylistsService {
     }
 
     deletePlaylist(playlistId: string): Observable<{ success: boolean }> {
-        const delete$: Observable<unknown> = this.isElectronStorageAvailable
-            ? this.runOnSqlite(async () => {
-                  const electron = this.electronApi;
-                  if (!electron) {
-                      return undefined;
-                  }
+        // Deletion goes through the SAME per-playlist queue as every write:
+        // a queued mutation (e.g. the Stalker portal repair's conditional
+        // transform) landing after an unserialized delete would upsert the
+        // row back and resurrect the playlist.
+        const delete$: Observable<unknown> = this.serializePlaylistWrite(
+            playlistId,
+            async () => {
+                if (this.isElectronStorageAvailable) {
+                    await this.ensureElectronPlaylistMigrations();
+                    const electron = this.electronApi;
+                    if (electron) {
+                        await electron.dbDeletePlaylist(playlistId);
+                    }
+                    return undefined;
+                }
 
-                  await electron.dbDeletePlaylist(playlistId);
-                  return undefined;
-              })
-            : this.dbService.delete(DbStores.Playlists, playlistId);
+                return firstValueFrom(
+                    this.dbService.delete(DbStores.Playlists, playlistId)
+                );
+            }
+        );
 
         return delete$.pipe(
             switchMap(() => from(this.runPlaylistDeleteCleanups(playlistId))),
@@ -769,6 +777,41 @@ export class PlaylistsService {
         });
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Applies an atomic, conditional meta mutation: the transform runs on
+     * the freshly read row INSIDE the per-playlist write queue and may
+     * return null to abort without writing. Callers use this when the
+     * decision to write depends on the row's CURRENT state — e.g. the lazy
+     * Stalker portal repair verifying the row still carries the
+     * configuration it probed; a plain read-check-then-update pair would
+     * race a user edit already queued but not yet committed.
+     */
+    transformPlaylistMeta(
+        playlistId: string,
+        transform: (current: Playlist) => Playlist | null
+    ): Observable<Playlist | null> {
+        if (!playlistId) {
+            throw new Error('Playlist ID is required');
+        }
+
+        return this.serializePlaylistWrite(playlistId, async () => {
+            const playlist = await firstValueFrom(
+                this.getPlaylistById(playlistId)
+            );
+            if (!playlist) {
+                return null;
+            }
+
+            const nextPlaylist = transform(playlist);
+            if (nextPlaylist === null) {
+                return null;
+            }
+
+            await this.persistPlaylistMutation(nextPlaylist);
+            return nextPlaylist;
+        });
+    }
+
     updateManyPlaylists(playlists: Playlist[]) {
         if (playlists.length === 0) {
             return of([]);
diff --git a/libs/shared/interfaces/src/index.ts b/libs/shared/interfaces/src/index.ts
index f9fbbf598..4593b09ab 100644
--- a/libs/shared/interfaces/src/index.ts
+++ b/libs/shared/interfaces/src/index.ts
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ export * from './lib/security-policy-error.utils';
 export * from './lib/settings.interface';
 export * from './lib/stalker-cmd-encoding.util';
 export * from './lib/stalker-portal-actions.enum';
+export * from './lib/stalker-portal-mode.util';
 export * from './lib/store-keys.enum';
 export * from './lib/stream-format.enum';
 export * from './lib/catalog-title-match.interface';
diff --git a/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/stalker-portal-mode.util.spec.ts b/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/stalker-portal-mode.util.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c58ee8a1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/stalker-portal-mode.util.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+import {
+    isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist,
+    isFullStalkerPortalUrl,
+} from './stalker-portal-mode.util';
+
+describe('isFullStalkerPortalUrl', () => {
+    it.each([
+        // The canonical Ministra endpoint the old IMPORT predicate missed —
+        // the root cause of "portal added, no content" (#850).
+        'http://portal.example/server/load.php',
+        // /stalker_portal without a trailing slash, which the old RUNTIME
+        // predicate (`includes('/stalker_portal/')`) missed.
+        'http://portal.example/stalker_portal',
+        'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/c',
+        'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/server/load.php',
+    ])('classifies %s as a full portal URL', (url) => {
+        expect(isFullStalkerPortalUrl(url)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it.each([
+        'http://portal.example/portal.php',
+        'http://portal.example/c',
+        'http://portal.example',
+        '',
+    ])('classifies %s as a non-full portal URL', (url) => {
+        expect(isFullStalkerPortalUrl(url)).toBe(false);
+    });
+});
+
+describe('isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist', () => {
+    it('trusts an explicit true flag even for a portal.php URL', () => {
+        // Discovery can prove a portal.php panel enforces the token; the
+        // observed behavior must beat the URL shape.
+        expect(
+            isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist({
+                isFullStalkerPortal: true,
+                portalUrl: 'http://portal.example/portal.php',
+            })
+        ).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('trusts an explicit false flag even for a canonical URL', () => {
+        expect(
+            isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist({
+                isFullStalkerPortal: false,
+                portalUrl: 'http://portal.example/server/load.php',
+            })
+        ).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('falls back to the portalUrl shape when the flag is undefined', () => {
+        expect(
+            isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist({
+                portalUrl: 'http://portal.example/server/load.php',
+            })
+        ).toBe(true);
+        expect(
+            isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist({
+                portalUrl: 'http://portal.example/portal.php',
+            })
+        ).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('falls back to the legacy url field when portalUrl is absent', () => {
+        expect(
+            isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist({
+                url: 'http://portal.example/stalker_portal/c',
+            })
+        ).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('treats a playlist with no URL at all as a simple portal', () => {
+        expect(isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist({})).toBe(false);
+    });
+});
diff --git a/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/stalker-portal-mode.util.ts b/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/stalker-portal-mode.util.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4fcc23362
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/shared/interfaces/src/lib/stalker-portal-mode.util.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+/**
+ * Single source of truth for the "full Stalker portal" decision.
+ *
+ * A full portal is one that requires the handshake + Bearer-token auth
+ * lifecycle (canonical Stalker/Ministra middleware); a simple portal is a
+ * reseller-style `portal.php` panel that answers without any auth. The
+ * persisted `Playlist.isFullStalkerPortal` flag is authoritative — since
+ * endpoint discovery it records OBSERVED behavior, not a URL guess. The URL
+ * shape is only a fallback for legacy rows that predate the flag.
+ *
+ * History: three predicates used to coexist (import checked
+ * `/stalker_portal`, runtime checked `/stalker_portal/` OR
+ * `/server/load.php`, the legacy-repair migration checked a third variant)
+ * and their drift misclassified canonical `…/server/load.php` portals as
+ * token-free at import (#850, #686, #755). Every consumer must go through
+ * these helpers so the rule cannot fork again.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * URL shapes that identify a canonical (full) Stalker portal endpoint.
+ * Union of the historical import/runtime/migration variants: matches
+ * `/stalker_portal` with or without a trailing slash and the root-level
+ * `/server/load.php` used by Ministra installations.
+ */
+export function isFullStalkerPortalUrl(url: string): boolean {
+    return url.includes('/stalker_portal') || url.includes('/server/load.php');
+}
+
+/**
+ * Whether a playlist should use the full-portal auth lifecycle
+ * (handshake, Bearer token, watchdog).
+ *
+ * The persisted flag wins when present; rows restored from older backups can
+ * carry `undefined` even after the one-shot metadata migration ran, so those
+ * fall back to the URL rule instead of being mislabelled as legacy panels.
+ */
+export function isFullStalkerPortalPlaylist(playlist: {
+    isFullStalkerPortal?: boolean;
+    portalUrl?: string;
+    url?: string;
+}): boolean {
+    if (playlist.isFullStalkerPortal !== undefined) {
+        return Boolean(playlist.isFullStalkerPortal);
+    }
+
+    return isFullStalkerPortalUrl(playlist.portalUrl ?? playlist.url ?? '');
+}