diff --git a/client/internal/routemanager/manager.go b/client/internal/routemanager/manager.go
index 62933dbf1..16f8d48fa 100644
--- a/client/internal/routemanager/manager.go
+++ b/client/internal/routemanager/manager.go
@@ -836,29 +836,12 @@ func pickPreferredExitNode(info exitNodeInfo) route.NetID {
 
 // enforceSingleExitNode makes preferred the only selected exit node: every other
 // available exit node is deselected and preferred (if any) is selected, without
-// disturbing non-exit route selections. A global deselect-all is left untouched
-// so the user's "all off" stays in effect.
+// disturbing non-exit route selections. The whole reconciliation runs under a
+// single RouteSelector lock (SetExclusiveExitNode) so a concurrent deselect-all
+// cannot interleave and get undone; a global deselect-all is left untouched so
+// the user's "all off" stays in effect.
 func (m *DefaultManager) enforceSingleExitNode(preferred route.NetID, allIDs []route.NetID) {
-	if m.routeSelector.IsDeselectAll() {
-		return
-	}
-
-	others := make([]route.NetID, 0, len(allIDs))
-	for _, id := range allIDs {
-		if id != preferred {
-			others = append(others, id)
-		}
-	}
-	if len(others) > 0 {
-		if err := m.routeSelector.DeselectRoutes(others, allIDs); err != nil {
-			log.Warnf("deselect other exit nodes: %v", err)
-		}
-	}
-	if preferred != "" {
-		if err := m.routeSelector.SelectRoutes([]route.NetID{preferred}, true, allIDs); err != nil {
-			log.Warnf("select preferred exit node %q: %v", preferred, err)
-		}
-	}
+	m.routeSelector.SetExclusiveExitNode(preferred, allIDs)
 }
 
 func (m *DefaultManager) logExitNodeUpdate(info exitNodeInfo, preferred route.NetID) {
diff --git a/client/internal/routeselector/routeselector.go b/client/internal/routeselector/routeselector.go
index 3d2b19ba7..1254b384d 100644
--- a/client/internal/routeselector/routeselector.go
+++ b/client/internal/routeselector/routeselector.go
@@ -115,6 +115,35 @@ func (rs *RouteSelector) DeselectAllRoutes() {
 	clear(rs.selectedRoutes)
 }
 
+// SetExclusiveExitNode atomically makes preferred the only selected exit node
+// among exitIDs: every other ID in exitIDs is deselected and preferred (when
+// non-empty) is selected, all under a single lock. Holding the lock across the
+// whole reconciliation prevents a concurrent DeselectAllRoutes from interleaving
+// between the deselect and select steps and being silently undone. A global
+// deselect-all is left untouched so the user's "all off" stays in effect;
+// non-exit routes are never referenced, so their selection is preserved.
+func (rs *RouteSelector) SetExclusiveExitNode(preferred route.NetID, exitIDs []route.NetID) {
+	rs.mu.Lock()
+	defer rs.mu.Unlock()
+
+	if rs.deselectAll {
+		return
+	}
+
+	for _, id := range exitIDs {
+		if id == preferred {
+			continue
+		}
+		rs.deselectedRoutes[id] = struct{}{}
+		delete(rs.selectedRoutes, id)
+	}
+
+	if preferred != "" {
+		delete(rs.deselectedRoutes, preferred)
+		rs.selectedRoutes[preferred] = struct{}{}
+	}
+}
+
 // IsDeselectAll reports whether the global "deselect all" flag is set, i.e. the
 // user explicitly disabled every route. Callers enforcing per-route invariants
 // (e.g. single exit node) should leave the selection untouched when it is.