diff --git a/apps/fxblox-web/src/wallet/__tests__/appkit.test.ts b/apps/fxblox-web/src/wallet/__tests__/appkit.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ac311d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/fxblox-web/src/wallet/__tests__/appkit.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+
+const createAppKitMock = vi.hoisted(() =>
+  vi.fn((_options: unknown) => ({ setThemeMode: vi.fn(), disconnect: vi.fn() })),
+);
+vi.mock('@reown/appkit/react', () => ({ createAppKit: createAppKitMock }));
+vi.mock('@reown/appkit-adapter-ethers5', () => ({ Ethers5Adapter: class {} }));
+
+import { useSettingsStore } from '@/stores/useSettingsStore';
+
+/** `initAppKit` is a module-level singleton; each test wants a fresh one. */
+async function freshInitAppKit() {
+  vi.resetModules();
+  const mod = await import('../appkit');
+  return mod.initAppKit;
+}
+
+function metadataPassed(): Record<string, unknown> {
+  const call = createAppKitMock.mock.calls.at(-1)?.[0] as { metadata: Record<string, unknown> } | undefined;
+  if (!call) throw new Error('createAppKit was not called');
+  return call.metadata;
+}
+
+describe('initAppKit metadata', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    createAppKitMock.mockClear();
+    useSettingsStore.setState({ debugMode: undefined });
+  });
+  afterEach(() => {
+    useSettingsStore.setState({ debugMode: undefined });
+  });
+
+  it('tells the wallet where to send the user back to, by default', async () => {
+    const initAppKit = await freshInitAppKit();
+    initAppKit({ themeMode: 'dark' });
+    const metadata = metadataPassed();
+    expect(metadata.redirect).toEqual(expect.objectContaining({ universal: expect.any(String) }));
+    expect(metadata.name).toBe('FxBlox');
+  });
+
+  it('in debug mode, omits the return redirect so the wallet leaves the user where they are', async () => {
+    // A diagnostic: MetaMask was found already wedged on its splash screen after it sent the user back from
+    // a pairing approval, before any deep link reached it. Without a redirect it does not send them back,
+    // and the next log says whether it is still healthy when they switch to it by hand.
+    useSettingsStore.setState({
+      debugMode: { uniqueId: 'dbg', endDate: new Date(Date.now() + 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000) },
+    });
+    const initAppKit = await freshInitAppKit();
+    initAppKit({ themeMode: 'dark' });
+    const metadata = metadataPassed();
+    expect('redirect' in metadata).toBe(false);
+    // Everything else the wallet shows the user is untouched.
+    expect(metadata.name).toBe('FxBlox');
+    expect(metadata.url).toEqual(expect.any(String));
+  });
+
+  it('an expired debug mode counts as off', async () => {
+    useSettingsStore.setState({
+      debugMode: { uniqueId: 'dbg', endDate: new Date(Date.now() - 1000) },
+    });
+    const initAppKit = await freshInitAppKit();
+    initAppKit({ themeMode: 'dark' });
+    expect('redirect' in metadataPassed()).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/fxblox-web/src/wallet/appkit.ts b/apps/fxblox-web/src/wallet/appkit.ts
index f7c0900..bc8c410 100644
--- a/apps/fxblox-web/src/wallet/appkit.ts
+++ b/apps/fxblox-web/src/wallet/appkit.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@
 import { createAppKit, type AppKit } from '@reown/appkit/react';
 import { Ethers5Adapter } from '@reown/appkit-adapter-ethers5';
 import { env } from '@/config/env';
+import { isDebugModeActive, useSettingsStore } from '@/stores/useSettingsStore';
 import { APPKIT_NETWORKS, providerMetadata, skaleEuropaHub } from './chains';
+import { diag } from './diag';
 
 let instance: AppKit | null = null;
 
@@ -14,14 +16,37 @@ export interface InitAppKitOptions {
   themeMode?: 'light' | 'dark';
 }
 
+/**
+ * The metadata handed to the wallet in the session proposal — with one debug-mode difference.
+ *
+ * `providerMetadata.redirect` tells the wallet where to send the user back to after they approve (see
+ * chains.ts). A diagnostic log from the reporter's phone showed MetaMask already wedged on its splash screen
+ * twelve seconds after it approved a pairing and sent the user back — before any deep link was sent to it, on
+ * a plain resume from recent apps. Whatever puts it in that state happens on the way it returns the user, and
+ * the one thing here that makes it return the user is that redirect. So with debug mode on it is omitted: the
+ * wallet leaves the user where they are after approving, they switch back by hand, and the log says whether
+ * the wallet is then still healthy when they switch to it for the signature. Debug mode is an explicit opt-in
+ * used for exactly this kind of report; the default is unchanged.
+ *
+ * Decided here, not at the call sites, because there are two (LinkPassword's loader and WalletGate) and the
+ * first to run wins. AppKit reads the metadata once, so a change of debug mode needs a page reload to apply.
+ */
+function metadataForInit(): typeof providerMetadata | Omit<typeof providerMetadata, 'redirect'> {
+  if (!isDebugModeActive(useSettingsStore.getState().debugMode)) return providerMetadata;
+  const { redirect: _omitted, ...withoutRedirect } = providerMetadata;
+  return withoutRedirect;
+}
+
 export function initAppKit(opts: InitAppKitOptions = {}): AppKit {
   if (instance) return instance;
+  const metadata = metadataForInit();
+  diag(`[wallet] AppKit init — return redirect ${'redirect' in metadata ? 'on' : 'OFF (debug mode)'}`);
   instance = createAppKit({
     adapters: [new Ethers5Adapter()],
     networks: APPKIT_NETWORKS,
     defaultNetwork: skaleEuropaHub,
     projectId: env.REOWN_PROJECT_ID,
-    metadata: providerMetadata,
+    metadata,
     features: {
       analytics: false,
       email: false,