diff --git a/desktop/index.html b/desktop/index.html
index 10e0c92..8c0035f 100644
--- a/desktop/index.html
+++ b/desktop/index.html
@@ -191,6 +191,10 @@
               <input id="s-direct-only" type="checkbox" />
               Direct-only mode (no relay fallback — fails if P2P can't connect)
             </label>
+            <label class="checkbox">
+              <input id="s-birthday-attack" type="checkbox" />
+              Birthday attack (opens extra ports for hard NAT — adds ~3s to setup)
+            </label>
           </div>
           <div class="settings-section" id="s-call-debug-section" style="display:none">
             <h3>Call Debug Log</h3>
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
index 8a0afb3..9d9a96e 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -337,8 +337,12 @@ async fn connect(
     // fails if direct P2P doesn't connect. Useful for testing NAT
     // traversal without the relay masking failures.
     direct_only: Option<bool>,
+    // Enable birthday attack for hard NAT traversal. Adds ~3s to
+    // call setup when peer has symmetric NAT.
+    birthday_attack: Option<bool>,
 ) -> Result<String, String> {
     let force_direct = direct_only.unwrap_or(false);
+    let enable_birthday = birthday_attack.unwrap_or(false);
     emit_call_debug(&app, "connect:start", serde_json::json!({
         "relay": relay,
         "room": room,
@@ -346,6 +350,7 @@ async fn connect(
         "peer_local_addrs": peer_local_addrs,
         "peer_mapped_addr": peer_mapped_addr,
         "direct_only": force_direct,
+        "birthday_attack": enable_birthday,
     }));
     let mut engine_lock = state.engine.lock().await;
     if engine_lock.is_some() {
@@ -450,7 +455,7 @@ async fn connect(
                 // the race immediately — LAN/cone calls shouldn't wait.
                 let mut birthday_addrs: Vec<std::net::SocketAddr> = Vec::new();
                 {
-                    let peer_needs_birthday = {
+                    let peer_needs_birthday = enable_birthday && {
                         let sig = state.signal.lock().await;
                         sig.peer_hard_nat_probe.as_ref()
                             .map(|p| p.allocation != "port-preserving")
diff --git a/desktop/src/main.ts b/desktop/src/main.ts
index f9580a4..eb0f0e8 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/main.ts
@@ -209,6 +209,7 @@ const sOsAec = document.getElementById("s-os-aec") as HTMLInputElement;
 const sDredDebug = document.getElementById("s-dred-debug") as HTMLInputElement;
 const sCallDebug = document.getElementById("s-call-debug") as HTMLInputElement;
 const sDirectOnly = document.getElementById("s-direct-only") as HTMLInputElement;
+const sBirthdayAttack = document.getElementById("s-birthday-attack") as HTMLInputElement;
 const sCallDebugSection = document.getElementById("s-call-debug-section") as HTMLDivElement;
 const sCallDebugLogEl = document.getElementById("s-call-debug-log") as HTMLDivElement;
 const sCallDebugClearBtn = document.getElementById("s-call-debug-clear") as HTMLButtonElement;
@@ -291,6 +292,9 @@ interface Settings {
   /// Debug: skip relay fallback on direct calls — fail if P2P
   /// doesn't connect. Useful for testing NAT traversal.
   directOnly: boolean;
+  /// Enable birthday attack for hard NAT traversal. Adds ~3s to
+  /// call setup when peer has symmetric NAT. Off by default.
+  birthdayAttack: boolean;
 }
 
 function loadSettings(): Settings {
@@ -306,6 +310,7 @@ function loadSettings(): Settings {
     dredDebugLogs: false,
     callDebugLogs: false,
     directOnly: false,
+    birthdayAttack: false,
   };
   try {
     const raw = localStorage.getItem("wzp-settings");
@@ -1181,6 +1186,7 @@ function openSettings() {
   sDredDebug.checked = !!s.dredDebugLogs;
   sCallDebug.checked = !!s.callDebugLogs;
   sDirectOnly.checked = !!s.directOnly;
+  sBirthdayAttack.checked = !!s.birthdayAttack;
   // Show the debug-log panel only when the user has the flag on —
   // keeps the settings panel short in normal use.
   sCallDebugSection.style.display = s.callDebugLogs ? "" : "none";
@@ -1344,6 +1350,7 @@ settingsSave.addEventListener("click", () => {
   s.dredDebugLogs = sDredDebug.checked;
   s.callDebugLogs = sCallDebug.checked;
   s.directOnly = sDirectOnly.checked;
+  s.birthdayAttack = sBirthdayAttack.checked;
   saveSettingsObj(s);
   // Push the new flags to the Rust side immediately so the next
   // frame / call already honors them without waiting for a restart.
@@ -1700,6 +1707,7 @@ listen("signal-event", (event: any) => {
             peerLocalAddrs: data.peer_local_addrs ?? [],
             peerMappedAddr: data.peer_mapped_addr ?? null,
             directOnly: loadSettings().directOnly || false,
+            birthdayAttack: loadSettings().birthdayAttack || false,
           });
           showCallScreen();
         } catch (e: any) {