diff --git a/frontend/src/components/workspace/browser-view/use-browser-stream.ts b/frontend/src/components/workspace/browser-view/use-browser-stream.ts
index 3992d0d4d..d7a858378 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/workspace/browser-view/use-browser-stream.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/components/workspace/browser-view/use-browser-stream.ts
@@ -71,7 +71,11 @@ export function useBrowserStream(
   );
   const [liveUrl, setLiveUrl] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [tabs, setTabs] = useState<BrowserTab[]>([]);
-  const [connectionAttempt, setConnectionAttempt] = useState(0);
+  // This state is only a lifecycle-generation signal. The actual consecutive
+  // reconnect count lives in a ref so resetting it after a successful open
+  // does not recreate the WebSocket effect.
+  const [reconnectGeneration, setReconnectGeneration] = useState(0);
+  const reconnectAttemptRef = useRef(0);
   const socketRef = useRef<WebSocket | null>(null);
   const pendingNavigateRef = useRef<Extract<
     BrowserInputEvent,
@@ -108,7 +112,8 @@ export function useBrowserStream(
     if (enabled) {
       return;
     }
-    setConnectionAttempt(0);
+    reconnectAttemptRef.current = 0;
+    setReconnectGeneration(0);
     frameBuffer.dispose();
     setLiveUrl(null);
     setTabs([]);
@@ -143,15 +148,17 @@ export function useBrowserStream(
       }
       // Exponential backoff with a ceiling + attempt cap so a server that keeps
       // rejecting the upgrade cannot pin the client in a tight reconnect loop.
-      if (connectionAttempt >= RECONNECT_MAX_ATTEMPTS) {
+      const attempt = reconnectAttemptRef.current;
+      if (attempt >= RECONNECT_MAX_ATTEMPTS) {
         return;
       }
       const delay = Math.min(
-        RECONNECT_BASE_DELAY_MS * 2 ** connectionAttempt,
+        RECONNECT_BASE_DELAY_MS * 2 ** attempt,
         RECONNECT_MAX_DELAY_MS,
       );
       reconnectTimer = window.setTimeout(() => {
-        setConnectionAttempt((attempt) => attempt + 1);
+        reconnectAttemptRef.current += 1;
+        setReconnectGeneration((generation) => generation + 1);
       }, delay);
     };
 
@@ -166,7 +173,7 @@ export function useBrowserStream(
       // mounted, so after RECONNECT_MAX_ATTEMPTS total reconnects — even across
       // many healthy connections — scheduleReconnect would bail forever and
       // Live would go permanently dead until the panel is toggled off/on.
-      setConnectionAttempt(0);
+      reconnectAttemptRef.current = 0;
       setStatus("open");
     };
     socket.onmessage = (message) => {
@@ -229,7 +236,7 @@ export function useBrowserStream(
       socket.close();
       frameBuffer.dispose();
     };
-  }, [connectionAttempt, enabled, frameBuffer, threadId]);
+  }, [reconnectGeneration, enabled, frameBuffer, threadId]);
 
   // Steer an already-open stream toward a changed seed in-band instead of
   // rebuilding the socket. Only navigates when the live page differs from the
diff --git a/frontend/tests/unit/components/workspace/browser-view/use-browser-stream.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/tests/unit/components/workspace/browser-view/use-browser-stream.dom.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..43c0b8939
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/tests/unit/components/workspace/browser-view/use-browser-stream.dom.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, rs, test } from "@rstest/core";
+import { act, cleanup, renderHook } from "@testing-library/react";
+
+rs.mock("@/components/workspace/browser-view/api", () => ({
+  browserStreamURL: (threadId: string) => `ws://example.test/${threadId}`,
+}));
+
+import { useBrowserStream } from "@/components/workspace/browser-view/use-browser-stream";
+
+class FakeWebSocket {
+  static readonly OPEN = 1;
+  static readonly CLOSED = 3;
+  static instances: FakeWebSocket[] = [];
+
+  readonly url: string;
+  readyState = 0;
+  binaryType = "";
+  closeCalls = 0;
+  onopen: (() => void) | null = null;
+  onclose: (() => void) | null = null;
+  onerror: (() => void) | null = null;
+  onmessage: ((message: MessageEvent) => void) | null = null;
+
+  constructor(url: string) {
+    this.url = url;
+    FakeWebSocket.instances.push(this);
+  }
+
+  send() {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+
+  close() {
+    this.closeCalls += 1;
+    this.readyState = FakeWebSocket.CLOSED;
+  }
+
+  open() {
+    this.readyState = FakeWebSocket.OPEN;
+    this.onopen?.();
+  }
+
+  disconnect() {
+    this.readyState = FakeWebSocket.CLOSED;
+    this.onclose?.();
+  }
+}
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  cleanup();
+  rs.useRealTimers();
+  rs.restoreAllMocks();
+  rs.unstubAllGlobals();
+  FakeWebSocket.instances = [];
+});
+
+describe("useBrowserStream", () => {
+  test("keeps a successfully reconnected socket instead of recreating it", async () => {
+    rs.useFakeTimers();
+    rs.stubGlobal("WebSocket", FakeWebSocket as unknown as typeof WebSocket);
+
+    renderHook(() => useBrowserStream("thread-1", true));
+    expect(FakeWebSocket.instances).toHaveLength(1);
+
+    act(() => {
+      FakeWebSocket.instances[0]?.open();
+      FakeWebSocket.instances[0]?.disconnect();
+    });
+
+    act(() => {
+      void rs.advanceTimersByTime(800);
+    });
+    expect(FakeWebSocket.instances).toHaveLength(2);
+
+    act(() => {
+      FakeWebSocket.instances[1]?.open();
+    });
+
+    expect(FakeWebSocket.instances).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(FakeWebSocket.instances[1]?.closeCalls).toBe(0);
+
+    act(() => {
+      FakeWebSocket.instances[1]?.disconnect();
+      void rs.advanceTimersByTime(799);
+    });
+    expect(FakeWebSocket.instances).toHaveLength(2);
+
+    act(() => {
+      void rs.advanceTimersByTime(1);
+    });
+    expect(FakeWebSocket.instances).toHaveLength(3);
+  });
+});