diff --git a/backend/app/api/routes/iot_gateway.py b/backend/app/api/routes/iot_gateway.py
index ca5cc9fc..76259338 100644
--- a/backend/app/api/routes/iot_gateway.py
+++ b/backend/app/api/routes/iot_gateway.py
@@ -133,11 +133,6 @@ async def _proxy_esp32(inst, path: str, request: Request) -> Response:
     )
 
 
-# Hop-by-hop / per-connection headers we never forward verbatim.
-_HOP_BY_HOP = {'host', 'transfer-encoding', 'connection', 'content-encoding',
-               'keep-alive', 'proxy-connection', 'upgrade'}
-
-
 async def _proxy_picow(bridge, path: str, request: Request) -> Response:
     """Reverse-proxy to a Pico W web server living in the browser-side lwIP.
 
@@ -149,13 +144,17 @@ async def _proxy_picow(bridge, path: str, request: Request) -> Response:
     query = request.url.query
     target = '/' + path + (('?' + query) if query else '')
 
-    headers = {
-        k: v for k, v in request.headers.items()
-        if k.lower() not in _HOP_BY_HOP
-    }
-    headers['Host'] = STA_IP
-    headers['Connection'] = 'close'   # make the chip's server FIN when done
-    if body and 'content-length' not in {k.lower() for k in headers}:
+    # Forward a MINIMAL request. The chip's servers are tiny — they typically
+    # read one small recv() (e.g. recv(1024)) and don't parse beyond the
+    # request line + Host. A browser sends kilobytes of headers (cookies,
+    # User-Agent, sec-*, ...); forwarding them verbatim overruns that recv,
+    # and the chip's lwIP then RSTs the connection when it closes with unread
+    # data — crashing blocking-socket sketches with ECONNRESET. Keep it lean.
+    headers = {'Host': STA_IP, 'Connection': 'close'}
+    ctype = request.headers.get('content-type')
+    if ctype:
+        headers['Content-Type'] = ctype
+    if body:
         headers['Content-Length'] = str(len(body))
 
     req_line = f'{request.method} {target} HTTP/1.1\r\n'
diff --git a/backend/app/services/picow_net/tcp_inbound.py b/backend/app/services/picow_net/tcp_inbound.py
index a1e0b26d..6f42cc46 100644
--- a/backend/app/services/picow_net/tcp_inbound.py
+++ b/backend/app/services/picow_net/tcp_inbound.py
@@ -128,6 +128,10 @@ class TcpInbound:
             return
 
         if conn.state != _State.ESTABLISHED:
+            # TIME_WAIT (or pre-handshake): re-ACK late retransmits so the chip
+            # closes cleanly. Never let it reach the outbound NAT (RST).
+            if tcp.payload or (tcp.flags & (TCP_FIN | TCP_SYN)):
+                await self._send(conn, TCP_ACK)
             return
 
         # In-order data only; re-ACK and drop anything out of order so the
@@ -199,7 +203,14 @@ class TcpInbound:
                         break   # got a full header block and went idle — good enough
             return bytes(conn.rx) if conn.rx else None
         finally:
-            self._conns.pop(our_port, None)
+            # TIME_WAIT: keep the connection around briefly so late chip
+            # segments (a retransmitted FIN, a trailing ACK) still match this
+            # connection and get absorbed/re-ACKed here, instead of falling
+            # through to the chip-initiated NAT which would RST them — a RST
+            # crashes blocking-socket sketches with ECONNRESET.
+            conn.state = _State.CLOSED
+            loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
+            loop.call_later(5.0, self._conns.pop, our_port, None)
 
     # ── frame emission ─────────────────────────────────────────────────