diff --git a/apps/fxblox-web/src/components/setup/WalletSigner.tsx b/apps/fxblox-web/src/components/setup/WalletSigner.tsx
index 7e95c0e..144c0c4 100644
--- a/apps/fxblox-web/src/components/setup/WalletSigner.tsx
+++ b/apps/fxblox-web/src/components/setup/WalletSigner.tsx
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
 import { FxBox, FxButton, FxSpinner, FxText } from '@functionland/fx-ui';
+import { useLogger } from '@/hooks/useLogger';
 import { useColorMode } from '@/stores/useSettingsStore';
 import { getAppKit, setAppKitTheme } from '@/wallet/appkit';
 import { diag } from '@/wallet/diag';
@@ -150,9 +151,12 @@ export default function WalletSigner({
   const [requestLink, setRequestLink] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const requestLinkRef = useRef<string | null>(null);
   requestLinkRef.current = requestLink;
+  // Debug mode turns the automatic app-switch off — see the hop below for why that is a diagnostic, not a feature.
+  const { isDebugModeEnable: debug } = useLogger();
+  const [hopSkippedForDebug, setHopSkippedForDebug] = useState(false);
   // Latest props / wallet state for the stable callbacks below (the mobile effects closed over stale state).
-  const latest = useRef({ password, onLinkingChange, onPhaseChange, onSignature, onError, wallet });
-  latest.current = { password, onLinkingChange, onPhaseChange, onSignature, onError, wallet };
+  const latest = useRef({ password, onLinkingChange, onPhaseChange, onSignature, onError, wallet, debug });
+  latest.current = { password, onLinkingChange, onPhaseChange, onSignature, onError, wallet, debug };
 
   useEffect(() => {
     setAppKitTheme(mode);
@@ -199,6 +203,7 @@ export default function WalletSigner({
       setShowNudge(false);
       setShowStuckHint(false);
       setWalletShowedNothing(false);
+      setHopSkippedForDebug(false);
       wentToWalletRef.current = false;
       return undefined;
     }
@@ -322,6 +327,17 @@ export default function WalletSigner({
         // remaining case is a navigation in a shape we did not recognise: the wallet is already in front, and
         // hopping again would bounce the user twice.
         if (capture.captured() || !capture.sawOpen()) {
+          // Debug mode: leave the wallet alone. Every retry so far went into a MetaMask that the FIRST hop had
+          // already wedged on its splash screen, so none of them tested whether the deep link itself is what
+          // wedges a healthy warm wallet — while the one recovery the logs show working was a cold MetaMask
+          // picking the request up with no deep link at all. With the request on the relay and no hop, the
+          // user can switch to the wallet by hand and see what it shows; the button is still there for the
+          // deep link afterwards. Debug mode is an explicit opt-in used for exactly this kind of report.
+          if (latest.current.debug) {
+            diag('[sign] debug mode: NOT opening the wallet — switch to it by hand, or tap the button');
+            setHopSkippedForDebug(true);
+            return;
+          }
           diag(`[sign] opening the wallet on the request: ${link} activation=${userActivation()}`);
           wentToWalletRef.current = true;
           hopToWallet(link);
@@ -402,6 +418,11 @@ export default function WalletSigner({
           {t('setup.linkPassword.walletStuckHint')}
         </FxText>
       )}
+      {hopSkippedForDebug && (
+        <FxText variant="bodyXSRegular" color="warningBase" textAlign="center" testID="debug-no-auto-open">
+          {t('setup.linkPassword.debugNoAutoOpen')}
+        </FxText>
+      )}
       {showOpenWallet && walletLink && (
         <FxButton size="large" onPress={openWallet} testID="open-wallet">
           {t('setup.linkPassword.openWalletToApprove')}
diff --git a/apps/fxblox-web/src/i18n/locales/en/setup.json b/apps/fxblox-web/src/i18n/locales/en/setup.json
index 95e1eb7..1ee8522 100644
--- a/apps/fxblox-web/src/i18n/locales/en/setup.json
+++ b/apps/fxblox-web/src/i18n/locales/en/setup.json
@@ -59,7 +59,8 @@
       "walletConnectedTapSign": "Wallet connected. Tap below to approve the signature — this opens your wallet again.",
       "approveInWallet": "Approve the request in your wallet…",
       "walletStuckHint": "Wallet opened but stuck on its splash screen? Close it completely from your recent apps, then tap Open wallet to approve again — tapping without closing it first will not help. Your request stays valid. If this happens every time, Android is restricting the wallet in the background: set MetaMask and your browser to Unrestricted under Settings → Apps → (app) → Battery, and it stops.",
-      "openWalletToApprove": "Open wallet to approve"
+      "openWalletToApprove": "Open wallet to approve",
+      "debugNoAutoOpen": "Debug mode: the wallet was not opened automatically. The request is waiting on the relay — switch to your wallet from your recent apps and note what it shows, or tap Open wallet to approve."
     },
     "connectToBlox": {
       "intro": "Turn your Blox on, then connect to it with Bluetooth. We'll suggest other ways if that doesn't work.",
diff --git a/apps/fxblox-web/src/i18n/locales/zh/setup.json b/apps/fxblox-web/src/i18n/locales/zh/setup.json
index 8cc7368..d519dcb 100644
--- a/apps/fxblox-web/src/i18n/locales/zh/setup.json
+++ b/apps/fxblox-web/src/i18n/locales/zh/setup.json
@@ -59,7 +59,8 @@
       "walletConnectedTapSign": "钱包已连接。点击下方按钮进行签名 — 这会再次打开您的钱包。",
       "approveInWallet": "请在您的钱包中确认此请求…",
       "walletStuckHint": "钱包已打开但停在启动画面？请从最近任务中彻底关闭钱包，然后再次点击“打开钱包进行签名” — 不先关闭钱包而直接再次点击是没有用的。您的签名请求仍然有效。如果每次都这样，说明 Android 正在后台限制钱包：请在 设置 → 应用 → （应用）→ 电池 中，将 MetaMask 和您的浏览器设为“不受限制”，问题即可消除。",
-      "openWalletToApprove": "打开钱包进行签名"
+      "openWalletToApprove": "打开钱包进行签名",
+      "debugNoAutoOpen": "调试模式：未自动打开钱包。请求已在中继上等待 — 请从最近任务中切换到您的钱包并记录它显示的内容，或点击“打开钱包进行签名”。"
     },
     "connectToBlox": {
       "intro": "打开您的 Blox，然后通过蓝牙连接。如果不成功，我们会为您提供其他方式。",
diff --git a/apps/fxblox-web/src/screens/InitialSetup/__tests__/LinkPassword.test.tsx b/apps/fxblox-web/src/screens/InitialSetup/__tests__/LinkPassword.test.tsx
index 019386f..5764ed3 100644
--- a/apps/fxblox-web/src/screens/InitialSetup/__tests__/LinkPassword.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/fxblox-web/src/screens/InitialSetup/__tests__/LinkPassword.test.tsx
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ vi.mock('@/platform/linking', async (importOriginal) => {
 });
 
 import { WALLET_NUDGE_MS, WALLET_STUCK_MS } from '@/components/setup/WalletSigner';
+import { useSettingsStore } from '@/stores/useSettingsStore';
 import { useUserProfileStore } from '@/stores/useUserProfileStore';
 import * as linking from '@/platform/linking';
 import * as secureStore from '@/platform/secureStore';
@@ -455,6 +456,57 @@ describe('LinkPassword', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it('wallet path: in debug mode the request goes out but the wallet is NOT opened automatically', async () => {
+    // A diagnostic, not a feature. Every retry so far went into a wallet the first hop had already wedged, so
+    // nothing has tested whether the deep link itself wedges a healthy warm wallet. With the request on the
+    // relay and no hop, the user can switch to the wallet by hand and report what it shows; the button stays
+    // for the deep link afterwards.
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    vi.mocked(linking.assign).mockClear();
+    const listeners = new Set<(payload: unknown) => void>();
+    let approve: (sig: string) => void = () => undefined;
+    wallet.state.account = '0xABC';
+    wallet.state.connected = true;
+    wallet.state.provider = {
+      request: vi.fn(() => {
+        for (const fn of [...listeners])
+          fn({ topic: 'topic-1', request: {}, chainId: 'eip155:1', id: 42 });
+        return new Promise<string>((resolve) => (approve = resolve));
+      }),
+      session: { peer: { metadata: { redirect: { native: 'metamask://' } } } },
+      client: {
+        on: (_event: string, fn: (payload: unknown) => void) => listeners.add(fn),
+        off: (_event: string, fn: (payload: unknown) => void) => listeners.delete(fn),
+      },
+    } as never;
+    useSettingsStore.setState({
+      debugMode: { uniqueId: 'dbg', endDate: new Date(Date.now() + 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000) },
+    });
+    try {
+      await renderSetupAt('/setup/link-password');
+      await fillPasswordAndConsent(user);
+      await user.click(await screen.findByTestId('sign-with-wallet'));
+
+      // Past the macrotask the hop is deferred by, so "not yet" cannot masquerade as "never".
+      expect(await screen.findByTestId('debug-no-auto-open')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      await act(async () => {
+        await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 0));
+      });
+      expect(linking.assign).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+      // The deep link is still one tap away.
+      await user.click(screen.getByTestId('open-wallet'));
+      expect(linking.assign).toHaveBeenCalledWith('metamask://wc?requestId=42&sessionTopic=topic-1');
+
+      await act(async () => {
+        approve('0xlate');
+      });
+      await waitFor(() => expect(useUserProfileStore.getState().signiture).toBe('0xlate'));
+    } finally {
+      useSettingsStore.setState({ debugMode: undefined });
+    }
+  });
+
   it('wallet path: a visibility change before any hop is not treated as a wedged wallet', async () => {
     // Tab switches happen for all sorts of reasons. Only a return from a wallet WE sent them to is evidence.
     const user = userEvent.setup();