diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 7729818..5f1fe90 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -587,6 +587,29 @@ jobs:
           ln -sfn /tmp/pw-install/node_modules/playwright-core apps/web/node_modules/playwright-core
           /tmp/pw-install/node_modules/.bin/playwright install chromium --with-deps
 
+      - name: Re-warm routes immediately before smoke run
+        # The earlier warm-up runs ~4 minutes before the smoke tests (seed,
+        # Node setup, Playwright install all take real time on QNAP). In
+        # between, the Next.js dev server on a constrained host can evict
+        # or recompile routes under memory pressure — test #2 kept hitting
+        # ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED on / while tests for /auth/signin and api
+        # routes worked fine. Re-warm both routes (same IP pin) just
+        # before Playwright starts so the server is guaranteed hot.
+        run: |
+          warm() {
+            local path="$1"
+            local expect="$2"
+            for i in $(seq 1 24); do
+              CODE=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" --max-time 30 "${APP_BASE_URL}${path}" || echo "000")
+              echo "Re-warm ${path} $i: HTTP $CODE"
+              if [ "$CODE" = "$expect" ]; then return 0; fi
+              sleep 3
+            done
+            echo "Re-warm ${path} did not reach $expect; continuing anyway"
+          }
+          warm / 307
+          warm /auth/signin 200
+
       - name: Run smoke tests
         # Use the pinned APP_BASE_URL (explicit IP) so Chromium hits the same
         # container as the warm-up probes.