diff --git a/packages/relay/src/handshake-lifetime.test.ts b/packages/relay/src/handshake-lifetime.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ea99005916
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/relay/src/handshake-lifetime.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import { expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { exportPublicKey, generateKeyPair } from "./crypto.js";
+import type { Transport } from "./encrypted-channel.js";
+import { openClientSecureChannel } from "./secure-channel.js";
+
+/** A socket whose peer never acknowledges the close handshake. */
+class UnresponsiveTransport implements Transport {
+  onmessage: Transport["onmessage"] = null;
+  onclose: Transport["onclose"] = null;
+  onerror: Transport["onerror"] = null;
+  sends = 0;
+  closing = false;
+
+  send(): void {
+    this.sends += 1;
+    if (this.closing) throw new Error("WebSocket not open (readyState=2)");
+  }
+
+  close(): void {
+    this.closing = true;
+  }
+}
+
+it.each(["client close", "handshake rejection"] as const)(
+  "stops handshake retries after %s without a socket acknowledgment",
+  async (trigger) => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    const transport = new UnresponsiveTransport();
+    const errors: Error[] = [];
+    let closed = 0;
+    try {
+      const channel = await openClientSecureChannel(transport, {
+        daemonPublicKeyB64: exportPublicKey(generateKeyPair().publicKey),
+        minimumMode: "protected",
+        events: { onerror: (error) => errors.push(error) },
+      });
+      channel.onClose(() => closed++);
+
+      // The handshake still retries while the connection is wanted.
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(2_000);
+      expect(transport.sends).toBe(3);
+      if (trigger === "client close") {
+        channel.close();
+      } else {
+        transport.onmessage?.({ data: JSON.stringify({ type: "e2ee_ready" }), isBinary: false });
+      }
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(5_000);
+
+      expect(transport.sends).toBe(3);
+      expect(errors).toHaveLength(trigger === "client close" ? 0 : 1);
+      expect(closed).toBe(1);
+      // A late socket acknowledgment does not close the channel a second time.
+      transport.onclose?.(1000, "Normal closure");
+      expect(closed).toBe(1);
+    } finally {
+      vi.clearAllTimers();
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+    }
+  },
+);
diff --git a/packages/relay/src/secure-channel.ts b/packages/relay/src/secure-channel.ts
index 760dcc49d0..49cbce1a53 100644
--- a/packages/relay/src/secure-channel.ts
+++ b/packages/relay/src/secure-channel.ts
@@ -344,8 +344,7 @@ class ClientSecureChannel implements SecureChannel {
 
   private fail(code: number, reason: string): void {
     if (this.state === "closed") return;
-    this.state = "closed";
-    this.handshake = null;
+    this.notifyClosed();
     try {
       this.transport.close(code, reason);
     } catch {
@@ -364,13 +363,12 @@ class ClientSecureChannel implements SecureChannel {
   }
 
   close(code = 1000, reason = "Normal closure"): void {
+    this.notifyClosed();
     if (this.inner) {
       this.inner.close(code, reason);
     } else {
       this.transport.close(code, reason);
     }
-    this.state = "closed";
-    this.handshake = null;
   }
 
   isOpen(): boolean {