diff --git a/src/api/video-queries.ts b/src/api/video-queries.ts
index 1586b55..d95aeee 100644
--- a/src/api/video-queries.ts
+++ b/src/api/video-queries.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ export const useSearchVideos = createInfiniteQuery<
 export const useVideoDetail = createQuery<VideoDetail, { id: string }, Error>({
   queryKey: ['video'],
   fetcher: (variables) => fetchVideoDetail(variables.id),
+  // The fetcher already times out after 15s; with the default 2 retries a
+  // dead network keeps the watch screen spinning for ~48s before the error
+  // screen appears, which reads as a freeze. Fail once, let the user retry.
+  retry: 0,
 });
 
 /** Single page of a user's uploads (the site's user page has no pagination). */
diff --git a/src/app/(app)/index.tsx b/src/app/(app)/index.tsx
index 0dc1ccb..cc8482a 100644
--- a/src/app/(app)/index.tsx
+++ b/src/app/(app)/index.tsx
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ export default function BrowseScreen() {
 
   // Default browse = genre only (no query, no sort), matching the site. Query is
   // added only when typing; sort/tags/broad only when set in the filter sheet.
-  const { data, fetchNextPage, isFetchingNextPage, isLoading, refetch, isFetching } =
+  const { data, fetchNextPage, hasNextPage, isFetchingNextPage, isLoading, refetch, isFetching } =
     useSearchVideos({
       variables: {
         genre,
@@ -117,7 +117,12 @@ export default function BrowseScreen() {
 
       <VideoGrid
         items={items}
-        onEndReached={() => fetchNextPage()}
+        onEndReached={() => {
+          // Short lists fire onEndReached repeatedly (especially with one
+          // row of results); without the guard each fire queues another
+          // page fetch and walks the whole site on a struggling network.
+          if (hasNextPage && !isFetchingNextPage) void fetchNextPage();
+        }}
         onRefresh={() => refetch()}
         isRefreshing={isFetching && !isLoading}
         isFetchingNextPage={isFetchingNextPage}
diff --git a/src/app/tag/[name].tsx b/src/app/tag/[name].tsx
index 56f69bc..021d22a 100644
--- a/src/app/tag/[name].tsx
+++ b/src/app/tag/[name].tsx
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ export default function TagScreen() {
   // text — the `tags[]` filter knows nothing about them.
   const searchTags = params.type === 'query' ? undefined : [name];
   const query = params.type === 'query' ? name : undefined;
-  const { data, fetchNextPage, isFetchingNextPage, isLoading, refetch, isFetching } =
+  const { data, fetchNextPage, hasNextPage, isFetchingNextPage, isLoading, refetch, isFetching } =
     useSearchVideos({ variables: { tags: searchTags, query } });
 
   const items = useMemo(() => data?.pages.flatMap((p) => p.items) ?? [], [data]);
@@ -29,7 +29,9 @@ export default function TagScreen() {
       </View>
       <VideoGrid
         items={items}
-        onEndReached={() => fetchNextPage()}
+        onEndReached={() => {
+          if (hasNextPage && !isFetchingNextPage) void fetchNextPage();
+        }}
         onRefresh={() => refetch()}
         isRefreshing={isFetching && !isLoading}
         isFetchingNextPage={isFetchingNextPage}
diff --git a/src/app/watch/[id].tsx b/src/app/watch/[id].tsx
index df7833f..9aec8e4 100644
--- a/src/app/watch/[id].tsx
+++ b/src/app/watch/[id].tsx
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import {
 import { useEvent } from 'expo';
 import { Link, useFocusEffect, useLocalSearchParams } from 'expo-router';
 import { useVideoPlayer } from 'expo-video';
-import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react';
+import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 import { ActivityIndicator, Pressable, ScrollView, Share, Text, View } from 'react-native';
 
 export { ScreenErrorBoundary as ErrorBoundary };
@@ -81,13 +81,20 @@ export default function WatchScreen() {
 
   const { autoplay } = usePlaybackSettings();
 
+  // Focus guard for the slow-network case: the detail query can resolve long
+  // after the user has backed out of this screen (it stays mounted in the
+  // stack). Firing play() then would start a player that was never attached
+  // to a view — or play audio underneath the previous screen — so autoplay
+  // must only run while this screen actually has focus.
+  const isFocusedRef = useRef(true);
+
   // Start playback automatically when the screen is entered or the source
   // changes (new video via the stack, or a resolution switch) unless the
   // user opted out in Settings. Coming back from a deeper screen (author /
   // tag) stays paused — the focus cleanup below paused it on leave.
   // biome-ignore lint/correctness/useExhaustiveDependencies: videoSource is an intentional trigger — replay when the source lands or switches.
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (!autoplay) return;
+    if (!autoplay || !isFocusedRef.current) return;
     try {
       player.play();
     } catch {
@@ -102,7 +109,9 @@ export default function WatchScreen() {
   // "shared object already released", which is safe to ignore.
   useFocusEffect(
     useCallback(() => {
+      isFocusedRef.current = true;
       return () => {
+        isFocusedRef.current = false;
         try {
           player.pause();
         } catch {