diff --git a/client/public/version.js b/client/public/version.js
index 8252c1d..93a1e1e 100644
--- a/client/public/version.js
+++ b/client/public/version.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 // Maintainer-controlled web client version.
 // Format: YYYY.MM.DD Rn (example: 2026.02.20 R2)
-window.CHGRID_WEB_VERSION = "2026.02.22 R167";
+window.CHGRID_WEB_VERSION = "2026.02.22 R168";
 // Optional display timezone for timestamps. Falls back to America/Detroit if unset/invalid.
 window.CHGRID_TIME_ZONE = "America/Detroit";
diff --git a/client/src/main.ts b/client/src/main.ts
index 588e039..21faf6b 100644
--- a/client/src/main.ts
+++ b/client/src/main.ts
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ const MIC_INPUT_GAIN_STEP = 0.05;
 const HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_MS = 10_000;
 const RECONNECT_DELAY_MS = 5_000;
 const RECONNECT_MAX_ATTEMPTS = 3;
+const AUTO_RECONNECT_AFTER_RELOAD_KEY = 'chatGridAutoReconnectAfterReload';
 
 declare global {
   interface Window {
@@ -526,6 +527,19 @@ function handleSignalingStatus(message: string): void {
   pushChatMessage(message);
 }
 
+/** Performs cache-busted navigation and marks session for one-time auto-connect. */
+function reloadClientForVersion(version: string): void {
+  try {
+    sessionStorage.setItem(AUTO_RECONNECT_AFTER_RELOAD_KEY, '1');
+  } catch {
+    // Ignore sessionStorage failures.
+  }
+  const nextUrl = new URL(window.location.href);
+  nextUrl.searchParams.set('v', version || 'unknown');
+  nextUrl.searchParams.set('t', String(Date.now()));
+  window.location.replace(nextUrl.toString());
+}
+
 /** Appends a chat/system line to the bounded status history buffer. */
 function pushChatMessage(message: string): void {
   messageBuffer.push(message);
@@ -1140,6 +1154,10 @@ async function reconnectWithRetry(reason: 'heartbeat' | 'socketClose'): Promise<
   for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= RECONNECT_MAX_ATTEMPTS; attempt += 1) {
     await new Promise((resolve) => window.setTimeout(resolve, RECONNECT_DELAY_MS));
     await connect();
+    const waitStartedAt = Date.now();
+    while (!state.running && Date.now() - waitStartedAt < 4_000) {
+      await new Promise((resolve) => window.setTimeout(resolve, 100));
+    }
     if (state.running) {
       reconnectInFlight = false;
       return;
@@ -1159,7 +1177,12 @@ function getConnectionFlowDeps(): ConnectFlowDeps {
     state,
     dom,
     sanitizeName,
-    updateStatus: (message) => pushChatMessage(message),
+    updateStatus: (message) => {
+      if (reconnectInFlight && message === 'Disconnected.') {
+        return;
+      }
+      pushChatMessage(message);
+    },
     updateConnectAvailability,
     settingsSaveNickname: (value) => settings.saveNickname(value),
     mediaIsConnecting: () => mediaSession.isConnecting(),
@@ -1274,7 +1297,7 @@ async function onSignalingMessage(message: IncomingMessage): Promise<void> {
       reloadScheduledForVersionMismatch = true;
       pushChatMessage(`Server version ${incomingVersion} detected. Reloading client...`);
       window.setTimeout(() => {
-        window.location.reload();
+        reloadClientForVersion(incomingVersion);
       }, 50);
       return;
     }
@@ -1454,8 +1477,10 @@ function handleNormalModeInput(code: string, shiftKey: boolean): void {
         state.mode = 'listItems';
         const first = state.items.get(state.sortedItemIds[0]);
         if (first) {
+          const itemCount = state.sortedItemIds.length;
+          const itemLabelText = itemCount === 1 ? 'item' : 'items';
           updateStatus(
-            `List: ${itemLabel(first)}, ${distanceDirectionPhrase(state.player.x, state.player.y, first.x, first.y)}, ${first.x}, ${first.y}`,
+            `${itemCount} ${itemLabelText}. List: ${itemLabel(first)}, ${distanceDirectionPhrase(state.player.x, state.player.y, first.x, first.y)}, ${first.x}, ${first.y}`,
           );
         }
         audio.sfxUiBlip();
@@ -1566,8 +1591,10 @@ function handleNormalModeInput(code: string, shiftKey: boolean): void {
         state.mode = 'listUsers';
         const first = state.peers.get(state.sortedPeerIds[0]);
         if (first) {
+          const userCount = state.sortedPeerIds.length;
+          const userLabelText = userCount === 1 ? 'user' : 'users';
           updateStatus(
-            `List: ${first.nickname}, ${distanceDirectionPhrase(state.player.x, state.player.y, first.x, first.y)}, ${first.x}, ${first.y}`,
+            `${userCount} ${userLabelText}. List: ${first.nickname}, ${distanceDirectionPhrase(state.player.x, state.player.y, first.x, first.y)}, ${first.x}, ${first.y}`,
           );
         }
         audio.sfxUiBlip();
@@ -2171,3 +2198,13 @@ if (storedNickname) {
 updateConnectAvailability();
 updateDeviceSummary();
 updateStatus('Welcome to the Chat Grid. Press the Settings button to configure your audio, then Connect to join the grid.');
+try {
+  if (sessionStorage.getItem(AUTO_RECONNECT_AFTER_RELOAD_KEY) === '1') {
+    sessionStorage.removeItem(AUTO_RECONNECT_AFTER_RELOAD_KEY);
+    if (storedNickname) {
+      void connect();
+    }
+  }
+} catch {
+  // Ignore sessionStorage failures.
+}
diff --git a/deploy/README.md b/deploy/README.md
index e2e822d..54f77ab 100644
--- a/deploy/README.md
+++ b/deploy/README.md
@@ -103,6 +103,7 @@ cd /home/bestmidi/chgrid
 Notes:
 - Replace `yourdomain.com` with your real domain.
 - Script copies `deploy/apache/chgrid-vhost-snippet.conf`, runs `rebuildhttpdconf`, then restarts Apache via WHM restart command.
+- Snippet now includes no-cache headers for `/chgrid/` and `/chgrid/index.html` so client updates are not stuck on stale HTML.
 
 ## 7) Optional HTTPS relay for HTTP radio streams
 
diff --git a/deploy/apache/chgrid-vhost-snippet.conf b/deploy/apache/chgrid-vhost-snippet.conf
index 033e8f5..ba7680e 100644
--- a/deploy/apache/chgrid-vhost-snippet.conf
+++ b/deploy/apache/chgrid-vhost-snippet.conf
@@ -1,7 +1,15 @@
 # Add inside your SSL VirtualHost include for bestmidi.com.
 # Keep your existing main DocumentRoot unchanged when hosting Chat Grid under /chgrid.
 # Required modules: proxy, proxy_http, proxy_wstunnel
+# Optional but recommended modules for client update freshness: headers, setenvif
 
 # Proxy websocket signaling endpoint to local Python service.
 ProxyPass        /ws  ws://127.0.0.1:8765
 ProxyPassReverse /ws  ws://127.0.0.1:8765
+
+# Ensure HTML entrypoint is never cached so version updates are picked up quickly.
+<LocationMatch "^/chgrid/?$|^/chgrid/index\\.html$">
+  Header set Cache-Control "no-store, no-cache, must-revalidate"
+  Header set Pragma "no-cache"
+  Header set Expires "0"
+</LocationMatch>