diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/engine.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/engine.rs
index 62ee8f8..2cdda6c 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/engine.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/engine.rs
@@ -601,8 +601,15 @@ impl CallEngine {
             }
         }
 
+        // Run audio_start on a blocking thread — wzp_oboe_start is a
+        // sync FFI call that can stall waiting for the Android audio
+        // HAL. Calling it directly blocks the tokio worker thread,
+        // which freezes all async tasks including our own timeouts.
         let t_pre_audio = call_t0.elapsed().as_millis();
-        if let Err(code) = crate::wzp_native::audio_start() {
+        let audio_start_result = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(crate::wzp_native::audio_start)
+            .await
+            .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("audio_start task panic: {e}"))?;
+        if let Err(code) = audio_start_result {
             return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
                 "wzp_native_audio_start failed: code {code}"
             ));
diff --git a/desktop/src/main.ts b/desktop/src/main.ts
index 9161d10..dbef306 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main.ts
+++ b/desktop/src/main.ts
@@ -335,13 +335,19 @@ joinVoiceBtn.addEventListener("click", async () => {
   joinVoiceBtn.textContent = "Connecting…";
   (joinVoiceBtn as HTMLButtonElement).disabled = true;
   try {
-    await invoke("connect", {
-      relay: relay.address,
-      room: s.room || "general",
-      alias: s.alias || "",
-      osAec: s.osAec,
-      quality: s.quality || "auto",
-    });
+    const connectRace = Promise.race([
+      invoke("connect", {
+        relay: relay.address,
+        room: s.room || "general",
+        alias: s.alias || "",
+        osAec: s.osAec,
+        quality: s.quality || "auto",
+      }),
+      new Promise<never>((_, reject) =>
+        setTimeout(() => reject("connect timed out (15s) — check audio permissions"), 15000)
+      ),
+    ]);
+    await connectRace;
     enterVoice(false);
   } catch (e: any) {
     console.error("connect failed:", e);