diff --git a/lib/ble_interface/platforms/NimBLEPlatform.cpp b/lib/ble_interface/platforms/NimBLEPlatform.cpp
index f04ffe61..b12744e7 100644
--- a/lib/ble_interface/platforms/NimBLEPlatform.cpp
+++ b/lib/ble_interface/platforms/NimBLEPlatform.cpp
@@ -859,6 +859,7 @@ bool NimBLEPlatform::startScan(uint16_t duration_ms) {
              (reset_reason != 0 ? " (nimble_reason=" + std::to_string(reset_reason) + ")" : ""));
         _host_desync_since = 0;
         _host_reset_attempts = 0;
+        _last_desync_recovery = millis();  // Start cooldown before allowing connections
     }
 
     // Log GAP hardware state before checking
@@ -1014,6 +1015,14 @@ bool NimBLEPlatform::isScanning() const {
 bool NimBLEPlatform::connect(const BLEAddress& address, uint16_t timeout_ms) {
     NimBLEAddress nimAddr = toNimBLE(address);
 
+    // Skip connections during desync cooldown — connecting while the NimBLE
+    // stack is recovering from a desync can hang client->connect() (the host
+    // task can't process the completion event), leading to WDT crashes.
+    if (_host_desync_since != 0 || (_last_desync_recovery > 0 && millis() - _last_desync_recovery < DESYNC_CONNECT_COOLDOWN_MS)) {
+        DEBUG("NimBLEPlatform: Skipping connect during desync cooldown");
+        return false;
+    }
+
     // Rate limit connections to avoid overwhelming the BLE stack
     // Non-blocking: return false if too soon, caller can retry later
     static unsigned long last_connect_time = 0;
diff --git a/lib/ble_interface/platforms/NimBLEPlatform.h b/lib/ble_interface/platforms/NimBLEPlatform.h
index 97ff2330..fbe88f5e 100644
--- a/lib/ble_interface/platforms/NimBLEPlatform.h
+++ b/lib/ble_interface/platforms/NimBLEPlatform.h
@@ -279,11 +279,13 @@ private:
     uint8_t _conn_establish_fail_count = 0;  // rc=574 connection establishment failures
     unsigned long _last_full_recovery_time = 0;
     unsigned long _host_desync_since = 0;    // millis() when host first lost sync (0 = synced)
+    unsigned long _last_desync_recovery = 0; // millis() when last desync recovered (for connect cooldown)
     uint8_t _host_reset_attempts = 0;       // ble_hs_sched_reset attempts since last sync
     static constexpr uint8_t SCAN_FAIL_RECOVERY_THRESHOLD = 10;
     static constexpr uint8_t LIGHTWEIGHT_RESET_MAX_FAILS = 3;
     static constexpr uint8_t CONN_ESTABLISH_FAIL_THRESHOLD = 5;
     static constexpr unsigned long FULL_RECOVERY_COOLDOWN_MS = 60000;  // 60 seconds
+    static constexpr unsigned long DESYNC_CONNECT_COOLDOWN_MS = 30000;  // Don't connect for 30s after desync recovery
     static constexpr unsigned long HOST_DESYNC_REBOOT_MS = 60000;      // Reboot after 60s desync (no connections)
     bool recoverBLEStack();
     bool attemptHostReset();
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index 3cbad586..578dc56f 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -1196,6 +1196,29 @@ void setup() {
     INFO("╚══════════════════════════════════════╝");
     INFO("");
 
+    // Log ESP reset reason — helps diagnose crashes in soak tests
+    {
+        esp_reset_reason_t reason = esp_reset_reason();
+        const char* reason_str = "UNKNOWN";
+        switch (reason) {
+            case ESP_RST_POWERON:  reason_str = "POWERON"; break;
+            case ESP_RST_SW:       reason_str = "SOFTWARE"; break;
+            case ESP_RST_PANIC:    reason_str = "PANIC"; break;
+            case ESP_RST_INT_WDT:  reason_str = "INT_WDT"; break;
+            case ESP_RST_TASK_WDT: reason_str = "TASK_WDT"; break;
+            case ESP_RST_WDT:      reason_str = "WDT"; break;
+            case ESP_RST_DEEPSLEEP: reason_str = "DEEPSLEEP"; break;
+            case ESP_RST_BROWNOUT: reason_str = "BROWNOUT"; break;
+            case ESP_RST_SDIO:     reason_str = "SDIO"; break;
+            default: break;
+        }
+        if (reason != ESP_RST_POWERON) {
+            WARNING("Reset reason: " + std::string(reason_str) + " (" + std::to_string(reason) + ")");
+        } else {
+            INFO("Reset reason: " + std::string(reason_str));
+        }
+    }
+
     // Check for LXST crash breadcrumb from previous boot
     {
         Preferences _dbg;