diff --git a/dashboard/src/api/client.ts b/dashboard/src/api/client.ts
index 96b5719d..3dcecd21 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/api/client.ts
+++ b/dashboard/src/api/client.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,25 @@
 const BASE = "";
 
+/** A 401 from the API: an answer, not a failure to obtain one. Distinct from a
+ *  network or timeout error so callers can tell "not signed in" from "no reply
+ *  yet" and decline to retry the first. */
+export class UnauthorizedError extends Error {
+  constructor() {
+    super("Unauthorized");
+    this.name = "UnauthorizedError";
+  }
+}
+
+/** Must match the route in App.tsx. */
+const LOGIN_PATH = "/login";
+
+/** Trailing slashes trimmed: the router matches `/login/` to the same route, so
+ *  comparing the raw pathname would send a caller who arrived that way through
+ *  one more reload before the guard below started holding. */
+function onLoginPage() {
+  return window.location.pathname.replace(/\/+$/, "") === LOGIN_PATH;
+}
+
 async function request(path: string, opts: any = {}) {
   const controller = new AbortController();
   const timeoutMs = path === "/api/auth/me" ? 30000 : 10000;
@@ -13,8 +33,13 @@ async function request(path: string, opts: any = {}) {
     });
     clearTimeout(timer);
     if (res.status === 401) {
-      window.location.href = "/login";
-      throw new Error("Unauthorized");
+      // Not when already on the login page. Assigning the same URL reloads it,
+      // the reload re-runs this request, and its 401 assigns it again; where
+      // nothing can mint a session that does not terminate.
+      if (!onLoginPage()) {
+        window.location.href = LOGIN_PATH;
+      }
+      throw new UnauthorizedError();
     }
     if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${res.statusText}`);
     return res.json();
diff --git a/dashboard/src/context/AuthContext.tsx b/dashboard/src/context/AuthContext.tsx
index 7d556b45..c3065953 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/context/AuthContext.tsx
+++ b/dashboard/src/context/AuthContext.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { createContext, useContext, useState, useEffect } from "react";
-import { api } from "../api/client";
+import { api, UnauthorizedError } from "../api/client";
 
 const AuthContext = createContext(null);
 
@@ -17,8 +17,10 @@ export function AuthProvider({ children }) {
           if (!cancelled) { setUser(u); setLoading(false); }
           return;
         } catch (e) {
-          // client.js already redirects to /login on 401 — here we only
-          // land when there's a network/timeout error (server busy).
+          // A 401 is settled, so stop: the retries exist for a busy server, and
+          // repeating an unauthenticated call only holds the login card behind
+          // a loading state for the length of the backoff.
+          if (e instanceof UnauthorizedError) break;
           if (attempt < 3) {
             await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 1500 * (attempt + 1)));
           }
diff --git a/dashboard/src/test/authUnauthorized.test.tsx b/dashboard/src/test/authUnauthorized.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..390ec641
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dashboard/src/test/authUnauthorized.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from "vitest";
+import { render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { api, UnauthorizedError } from "../api/client";
+import { AuthProvider, useAuth } from "../context/AuthContext";
+
+/**
+ * A 401 is an answer, not a failure to get one.
+ *
+ * The client used to navigate to /login on every 401. On /login that is a
+ * same-URL assignment, which reloads; the reload re-runs the auth call, which
+ * 401s again. Where nothing can mint a session the page never settles, and the
+ * login card only flashes between reloads.
+ */
+
+const realLocation = window.location;
+
+function stubLocation(pathname: string) {
+  const loc = { pathname, href: `https://dash.retina.fm${pathname}` };
+  Object.defineProperty(window, "location", { value: loc, writable: true, configurable: true });
+  return loc;
+}
+
+describe("the API client on a 401", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", vi.fn(async () => new Response(null, { status: 401 })));
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+    Object.defineProperty(window, "location", {
+      value: realLocation,
+      writable: true,
+      configurable: true,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("sends a caller elsewhere in the app to the login page", async () => {
+    const loc = stubLocation("/nodes");
+    await expect(api.me()).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(UnauthorizedError);
+    expect(loc.href).toBe("/login");
+  });
+
+  it.each(["/login", "/login/"])(
+    "does not navigate when the caller is already on the login page (%s)",
+    async (pathname) => {
+      // Both spellings, because the router matches them to one route and only
+      // the raw string comparison would tell them apart.
+      const loc = stubLocation(pathname);
+      const untouched = loc.href;
+      await expect(api.me()).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(UnauthorizedError);
+      expect(loc.href).toBe(untouched);
+    }
+  );
+});
+
+function Probe() {
+  const { user, loading } = useAuth();
+  if (loading) return <span>deciding</span>;
+  return <span>{user ? "signed in" : "signed out"}</span>;
+}
+
+describe("AuthProvider on a 401", () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it("settles as signed out rather than retrying", async () => {
+    // The retries exist for a busy server. Spending them on a 401 leaves the
+    // login card behind a loading state for ~9s, which reads as a hung page.
+    vi.spyOn(api, "me").mockRejectedValue(new UnauthorizedError());
+    render(
+      <AuthProvider>
+        <Probe />
+      </AuthProvider>
+    );
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText("signed out")).toBeInTheDocument());
+    expect(api.me).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+});