diff --git a/frontend/src/__tests__/pi-linux-mode-restart.test.ts b/frontend/src/__tests__/pi-linux-mode-restart.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4d2255b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/__tests__/pi-linux-mode-restart.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+/**
+ * Turning on Linux mode must actually boot the guest.
+ *
+ * The button pins the mode and restarts the board: stopBoard, then
+ * startBoard a moment later. That second call has to reach the board's
+ * bridge and open its WebSocket — when it silently did not, the user got
+ * no guest, no error, and a toolbar still showing Stop.
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, vi } from 'vitest';
+
+// The bridge opens a real WebSocket; capture the instances instead.
+const opened: string[] = [];
+class FakeSocket {
+  static OPEN = 1;
+  static CONNECTING = 0;
+  static CLOSING = 2;
+  static CLOSED = 3;
+  readyState = 0;
+  onopen: (() => void) | null = null;
+  onclose: (() => void) | null = null;
+  onerror: (() => void) | null = null;
+  onmessage: ((e: { data: string }) => void) | null = null;
+  sent: string[] = [];
+  constructor(public url: string) {
+    opened.push(url);
+  }
+  send(d: string) {
+    this.sent.push(d);
+  }
+  close() {
+    this.readyState = FakeSocket.CLOSING;
+  }
+}
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  opened.length = 0;
+  (globalThis as unknown as { WebSocket: unknown }).WebSocket = FakeSocket;
+});
+
+describe('Linux mode restart', () => {
+  it('opens the guest WebSocket when the board is pinned to linux', async () => {
+    const { useSimulatorStore, getBoardBridge } = await import(
+      '../store/useSimulatorStore'
+    );
+
+    const id = useSimulatorStore.getState().addBoard('raspberry-pi-3', 10, 10);
+    expect(getBoardBridge(id), 'the board must get a bridge on add').toBeTruthy();
+
+    // What the Linux-mode button does: pin, stop, start.
+    useSimulatorStore.getState().updateBoard(id, { enginePinned: 'linux' });
+    useSimulatorStore.getState().stopBoard(id);
+    useSimulatorStore.getState().startBoard(id);
+
+    expect(opened.filter((u) => u.includes('/simulation/ws/')).length).toBe(1);
+    const board = useSimulatorStore.getState().boards.find((b) => b.id === id);
+    expect(board?.engineMode).toBe('linux');
+    expect(board?.running, 'the toolbar must show a running board').toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('reconnects even when the previous socket is still closing', async () => {
+    const { useSimulatorStore, getBoardBridge } = await import(
+      '../store/useSimulatorStore'
+    );
+    const id = useSimulatorStore.getState().addBoard('raspberry-pi-4', 10, 10);
+    const bridge = getBoardBridge(id)!;
+
+    useSimulatorStore.getState().updateBoard(id, { enginePinned: 'linux' });
+    useSimulatorStore.getState().startBoard(id);
+    expect(opened.length).toBe(1);
+
+    // Stop closes the socket; a CLOSING socket used to look "alive" and
+    // the next start became a no-op.
+    useSimulatorStore.getState().stopBoard(id);
+    bridge.connect();
+    expect(opened.length).toBe(2);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/store/useSimulatorStore.ts b/frontend/src/store/useSimulatorStore.ts
index 0bf8cea4..ffe0e914 100644
--- a/frontend/src/store/useSimulatorStore.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/store/useSimulatorStore.ts
@@ -1912,6 +1912,7 @@ export const useSimulatorStore = create<SimulatorState>((set, get) => {
     },
 
     startBoard: (boardId: string) => {
+      const boardKindOfBoard = (b: { boardKind: string }): string => b.boardKind;
       const board = get().boards.find((b) => b.id === boardId);
       if (!board) return;
 
@@ -1954,7 +1955,22 @@ export const useSimulatorStore = create<SimulatorState>((set, get) => {
             });
           });
         } else {
-          getBoardBridge(boardId)?.connect();
+          const bridge = getBoardBridge(boardId);
+          if (bridge) {
+            bridge.connect();
+          } else {
+            // A Pi with no bridge cannot boot, and the optional-chain
+            // version of this call failed in silence: no guest, no error,
+            // and a toolbar still showing Stop. Say so.
+            console.warn(
+              `[${boardKindOfBoard(board)}] no bridge for ${boardId}: the guest cannot start`,
+            );
+            set((s) => ({
+              boards: s.boards.map((b) =>
+                b.id === boardId ? { ...b, running: false } : b,
+              ),
+            }));
+          }
         }
       } else if (isEsp32Kind(board.boardKind)) {
         // Pre-register sensors connected to this board so the QEMU worker