diff --git a/client/ui/frontend/src/modules/profile/ProfileContext.tsx b/client/ui/frontend/src/modules/profile/ProfileContext.tsx
index 71ba18412..f57d27594 100644
--- a/client/ui/frontend/src/modules/profile/ProfileContext.tsx
+++ b/client/ui/frontend/src/modules/profile/ProfileContext.tsx
@@ -56,9 +56,17 @@ export const ProfileProvider = ({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) => {
             setActiveProfile(active.profileName || "default");
             setProfiles(list);
         } catch (e) {
+            // Daemon-down is already surfaced globally by
+            // DaemonUnavailableOverlay; a second popup on top of it is
+            // pure noise. Every profile RPC routes through the same gRPC
+            // conn, so the Unavailable code is the reliable marker.
+            const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
+            if (msg.includes("code = Unavailable")) {
+                return;
+            }
             await Dialogs.Error({
                 Title: i18next.t("profile.error.loadTitle"),
-                Message: e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e),
+                Message: msg,
             });
         } finally {
             setLoaded(true);
diff --git a/client/ui/grpc.go b/client/ui/grpc.go
index 1ee3e5518..33f781e8a 100644
--- a/client/ui/grpc.go
+++ b/client/ui/grpc.go
@@ -7,8 +7,10 @@ import (
 	"runtime"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	"google.golang.org/grpc"
+	"google.golang.org/grpc/backoff"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/credentials/insecure"
 
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/proto"
@@ -39,6 +41,19 @@ func (c *Conn) Client() (proto.DaemonServiceClient, error) {
 		strings.TrimPrefix(c.addr, "tcp://"),
 		grpc.WithTransportCredentials(insecure.NewCredentials()),
 		grpc.WithUserAgent(desktop.GetUIUserAgent()),
+		// Without ConnectParams the SubChannel uses gRPC's default 120s
+		// MaxDelay, so after a couple of failed dials the UI waits 30-60s
+		// before noticing a freshly-started daemon. The Wails UI is a
+		// desktop client expecting prompt reconnects, not a high-fanout
+		// backend, so a 5s cap is a better trade-off than the default.
+		grpc.WithConnectParams(grpc.ConnectParams{
+			Backoff: backoff.Config{
+				BaseDelay:  1 * time.Second,
+				Multiplier: 1.6,
+				Jitter:     0.2,
+				MaxDelay:   5 * time.Second,
+			},
+		}),
 	)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("dial daemon: %w", err)
diff --git a/client/ui/services/peers.go b/client/ui/services/peers.go
index 5503b2134..7d53a519a 100644
--- a/client/ui/services/peers.go
+++ b/client/ui/services/peers.go
@@ -253,14 +253,25 @@ func (s *Peers) ServiceShutdown() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// Get returns the current daemon status snapshot.
+// Get returns the current daemon status snapshot. When the daemon socket
+// is unreachable (process down, socket missing, permission denied) it
+// returns Status{Status: StatusDaemonUnavailable} instead of an error so
+// the frontend's initial useStatus().refresh() picks up the same string
+// the live event stream emits — the React overlay and per-screen gating
+// then key off a single status enum without a parallel "error" path.
 func (s *Peers) Get(ctx context.Context) (Status, error) {
 	cli, err := s.conn.Client()
 	if err != nil {
+		if isDaemonUnreachable(err) {
+			return Status{Status: StatusDaemonUnavailable}, nil
+		}
 		return Status{}, err
 	}
 	resp, err := cli.Status(ctx, &proto.StatusRequest{GetFullPeerStatus: true})
 	if err != nil {
+		if isDaemonUnreachable(err) {
+			return Status{Status: StatusDaemonUnavailable}, nil
+		}
 		return Status{}, err
 	}
 	return statusFromProto(resp), nil
diff --git a/client/ui/tray.go b/client/ui/tray.go
index 7c181a414..3e5fb6d9f 100644
--- a/client/ui/tray.go
+++ b/client/ui/tray.go
@@ -214,6 +214,9 @@ func (t *Tray) reapplyMenuState() {
 	if t.debugItem != nil {
 		t.debugItem.SetEnabled(!daemonUnavailable)
 	}
+	if t.profileSubmenuItem != nil {
+		t.profileSubmenuItem.SetEnabled(!daemonUnavailable)
+	}
 	if daemonVersion != "" && t.daemonVersionItem != nil {
 		t.daemonVersionItem.SetLabel(t.loc.T("tray.menu.daemonVersion", "version", daemonVersion))
 	}
@@ -511,6 +514,9 @@ func (t *Tray) applyStatus(st services.Status) {
 		if t.debugItem != nil {
 			t.debugItem.SetEnabled(!daemonUnavailable)
 		}
+		if t.profileSubmenuItem != nil {
+			t.profileSubmenuItem.SetEnabled(!daemonUnavailable)
+		}
 		// Refresh the Profiles submenu on every status-text transition: the
 		// daemon does not emit an active-profile event, so the startup race
 		// (UI loads profiles before autoconnect picks the persisted profile)