diff --git a/client/cmd/login.go b/client/cmd/login.go
index 2a4172cb6..a41d5c51a 100644
--- a/client/cmd/login.go
+++ b/client/cmd/login.go
@@ -9,8 +9,6 @@ import (
 	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"golang.org/x/term"
-	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
-	gstatus "google.golang.org/grpc/status"
 
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/auth"
@@ -144,10 +142,7 @@ func doDaemonLogin(ctx context.Context, cmd *cobra.Command, providedSetupKey str
 	err = WithBackOff(func() error {
 		var backOffErr error
 		loginResp, backOffErr = client.Login(ctx, &loginRequest)
-		if s, ok := gstatus.FromError(backOffErr); ok && (s.Code() == codes.InvalidArgument ||
-			s.Code() == codes.PermissionDenied ||
-			s.Code() == codes.NotFound ||
-			s.Code() == codes.Unimplemented) {
+		if terminalLoginError(backOffErr) {
 			loginErr = backOffErr
 			return nil
 		}
diff --git a/client/cmd/root.go b/client/cmd/root.go
index be6479440..b599ca859 100644
--- a/client/cmd/root.go
+++ b/client/cmd/root.go
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
+	gstatus "google.golang.org/grpc/status"
 
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/anonymize"
 	daddr "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/daemonaddr"
@@ -285,6 +287,35 @@ func DialClientGRPCServer(ctx context.Context, addr string) (*grpc.ClientConn, e
 	return grpc.DialContext(ctx, target, opts...)
 }
 
+// terminalLoginError reports whether a Login failure is final, so the backoff
+// cycle stops and the caller is told what the daemon said instead of "login
+// backoff cycle failed" thirty seconds later. Retrying cannot change any of
+// these answers: the request is malformed, the caller is not allowed, the
+// target does not exist, a precondition on the daemon refuses it (the
+// update-settings kill switch, an MDM-managed field), or the method is not
+// implemented.
+//
+// Both `netbird up` and `netbird login` run Login through the backoff, and
+// they each carried their own copy of this list — which is how one of them
+// ended up retrying a refusal the other treated as final.
+func terminalLoginError(err error) bool {
+	s, ok := gstatus.FromError(err)
+	if !ok {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	switch s.Code() {
+	case codes.InvalidArgument,
+		codes.PermissionDenied,
+		codes.NotFound,
+		codes.FailedPrecondition,
+		codes.Unimplemented:
+		return true
+	default:
+		return false
+	}
+}
+
 // WithBackOff execute function in backoff cycle.
 func WithBackOff(bf func() error) error {
 	return backoff.RetryNotify(bf, CLIBackOffSettings, func(err error, duration time.Duration) {
diff --git a/client/cmd/up.go b/client/cmd/up.go
index e0dde3863..d821af8bb 100644
--- a/client/cmd/up.go
+++ b/client/cmd/up.go
@@ -403,11 +403,7 @@ func doDaemonUp(ctx context.Context, cmd *cobra.Command, client proto.DaemonServ
 	err = WithBackOff(func() error {
 		var backOffErr error
 		loginResp, backOffErr = client.Login(ctx, loginRequest)
-		if s, ok := gstatus.FromError(backOffErr); ok && (s.Code() == codes.InvalidArgument ||
-			s.Code() == codes.PermissionDenied ||
-			s.Code() == codes.NotFound ||
-			s.Code() == codes.FailedPrecondition ||
-			s.Code() == codes.Unimplemented) {
+		if terminalLoginError(backOffErr) {
 			loginErr = backOffErr
 			return nil
 		}
diff --git a/client/cmd/up_setconfig_refusal_test.go b/client/cmd/up_setconfig_refusal_test.go
index 38914f816..74623e434 100644
--- a/client/cmd/up_setconfig_refusal_test.go
+++ b/client/cmd/up_setconfig_refusal_test.go
@@ -55,3 +55,30 @@ func TestRefusedSettingsUpdate(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+// Both `netbird up` and `netbird login` drive Login through the backoff cycle,
+// and a final answer has to stop it: retrying a refusal only replaces the
+// daemon's reason with "login backoff cycle failed" thirty seconds later.
+func TestTerminalLoginError(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name         string
+		err          error
+		wantTerminal bool
+	}{
+		{name: "settings refused by the kill switch", err: gstatus.Errorf(codes.FailedPrecondition, "update settings are disabled"), wantTerminal: true},
+		{name: "field managed by MDM", err: gstatus.Errorf(codes.FailedPrecondition, "fields managed by MDM policy: managementURL"), wantTerminal: true},
+		{name: "caller not allowed", err: gstatus.Errorf(codes.PermissionDenied, "nope"), wantTerminal: true},
+		{name: "malformed request", err: gstatus.Errorf(codes.InvalidArgument, "nope"), wantTerminal: true},
+		{name: "profile not found", err: gstatus.Errorf(codes.NotFound, "nope"), wantTerminal: true},
+		{name: "method missing on an older daemon", err: gstatus.Errorf(codes.Unimplemented, "nope"), wantTerminal: true},
+		{name: "daemon unreachable, worth retrying", err: gstatus.Errorf(codes.Unavailable, "connection refused"), wantTerminal: false},
+		{name: "transient internal failure", err: gstatus.Errorf(codes.Internal, "boom"), wantTerminal: false},
+		{name: "not a status error", err: errors.New("boom"), wantTerminal: false},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			require.Equal(t, tt.wantTerminal, terminalLoginError(tt.err))
+		})
+	}
+}