diff --git a/assets/js/views/App.vue b/assets/js/views/App.vue
index f6ec564dc..fdaffd896 100644
--- a/assets/js/views/App.vue
+++ b/assets/js/views/App.vue
@@ -28,6 +28,9 @@ import HelpModal from "../components/HelpModal.vue";
 import collector from "../mixins/collector";
 import { defineComponent } from "vue";
 
+const WS_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS = 5000;
+const WS_RETRY_PARAM = "wsRetry";
+
 // assume offline if not data received for 5 minutes
 let lastDataReceived = new Date();
 const maxDataAge = 60 * 1000 * 5;
@@ -57,6 +60,7 @@ export default defineComponent({
 	data: () => {
 		return {
 			reconnectTimeout: null as number | null,
+			openTimeout: null as number | null,
 			ws: null as WebSocket | null,
 			authNotConfigured: false,
 		};
@@ -125,6 +129,34 @@ export default defineComponent({
 				window.clearTimeout(this.reconnectTimeout);
 			}
 		},
+		// Safari 26 bug: with hash fragment URLs the HTTP upgrade
+		// request is sometimes silently dropped when serving from cache.
+		// Recover by navigating without hash, once (wsRetry guards against loops).
+		startOpenTimeout() {
+			const url = new URL(window.location.href);
+			if (url.searchParams.has(WS_RETRY_PARAM)) return;
+			this.openTimeout = window.setTimeout(() => {
+				console.warn("websocket open timeout, forcing navigation");
+				this.ws?.close();
+				url.hash = "";
+				url.searchParams.set(WS_RETRY_PARAM, "true");
+				window.location.href = url.href;
+			}, WS_OPEN_TIMEOUT_MS);
+		},
+		clearOpenTimeout(success = false) {
+			if (this.openTimeout) {
+				window.clearTimeout(this.openTimeout);
+				this.openTimeout = null;
+			}
+			if (success) {
+				const url = new URL(window.location.href);
+				if (url.searchParams.has(WS_RETRY_PARAM)) {
+					console.warn("websocket open timeout recovered, clearing retry param");
+					url.searchParams.delete(WS_RETRY_PARAM);
+					window.history.replaceState(window.history.state, "", url.href);
+				}
+			}
+		},
 		pageShowHandler(event: PageTransitionEvent) {
 			if (event.persisted) {
 				this.clearReconnectTimeout();
@@ -148,6 +180,7 @@ export default defineComponent({
 			}, 2500);
 		},
 		disconnect() {
+			this.clearOpenTimeout();
 			if (this.ws) {
 				this.ws.onerror = null;
 				this.ws.onopen = null;
@@ -174,20 +207,22 @@ export default defineComponent({
 
 			const loc = new URL("ws", window.location.href);
 			loc.protocol = window.location.protocol === "https:" ? "wss:" : "ws:";
-			// force Safari to use a fresh connection
-			loc.searchParams.set("t", String(Date.now()));
-			const uri = loc.href;
+			this.ws = new WebSocket(loc.href);
+
+			this.startOpenTimeout();
 
-			this.ws = new WebSocket(uri);
 			this.ws.onerror = () => {
 				console.log({ message: "Websocket error. Trying to reconnect." });
+				this.clearOpenTimeout();
 				this.ws?.close();
 			};
 			this.ws.onopen = () => {
+				this.clearOpenTimeout(true);
 				console.log("websocket connected");
 				window.app.setOnline();
 			};
 			this.ws.onclose = () => {
+				this.clearOpenTimeout();
 				window.app.setOffline();
 				this.reconnect();
 			};
diff --git a/tests/ws.spec.ts b/tests/ws.spec.ts
index 0e47c15fc..df6961d11 100644
--- a/tests/ws.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/ws.spec.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 import { test, expect } from "@playwright/test";
 import { start, stop, baseUrl } from "./evcc";
 
-const wsPattern = /\/ws\?/;
-
 test.use({ baseURL: baseUrl() });
 test.describe.configure({ mode: "parallel" });
 
@@ -14,7 +12,7 @@ test.afterEach(async () => {
 });
 
 test("show loadpoint with connect websocket", async ({ page }) => {
-  await page.routeWebSocket(wsPattern, (ws) => {
+  await page.routeWebSocket("/ws", (ws) => {
     const server = ws.connectToServer();
     ws.onMessage((message) => {
       server.send(message);
@@ -30,7 +28,7 @@ test("show loadpoint with connect websocket", async ({ page }) => {
 });
 
 test("show no config screen while startup", async ({ page }) => {
-  await page.routeWebSocket(wsPattern, () => {
+  await page.routeWebSocket("/ws", () => {
     // connect, but don't send any messages
   });
   await page.goto("/");
@@ -38,10 +36,32 @@ test("show no config screen while startup", async ({ page }) => {
 });
 
 test("show offline when websocket is closed", async ({ page }) => {
-  await page.routeWebSocket(wsPattern, (ws) => {
+  await page.routeWebSocket("/ws", (ws) => {
     ws.close();
   });
   await page.goto("/");
   await expect(page.getByText("Not connected to a server.")).toBeVisible();
   await expect(page.getByRole("link", { name: "Let's start configuration" })).toBeHidden();
 });
+
+test("force navigation after websocket open timeout", async ({ page }) => {
+  // Replace WebSocket with a mock that never fires onopen,
+  // simulating Safari's bug where the upgrade request is silently dropped.
+  await page.addInitScript(() => {
+    (window as any).WebSocket = class {
+      readyState = 0;
+      onopen: (() => void) | null = null;
+      onclose: ((ev: CloseEvent) => void) | null = null;
+      onerror: (() => void) | null = null;
+      onmessage: (() => void) | null = null;
+      close() {
+        this.readyState = 3;
+        this.onclose?.(new CloseEvent("close"));
+      }
+      send() {}
+    };
+  });
+  await page.goto("/");
+  // after the 5s open timeout the app navigates to strip the hash fragment
+  await page.waitForURL(/wsRetry/, { timeout: 10000 });
+});