diff --git a/crates/pf-client-core/src/session.rs b/crates/pf-client-core/src/session.rs
index c5b9d9e3..6863afd9 100644
--- a/crates/pf-client-core/src/session.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-client-core/src/session.rs
@@ -462,12 +462,21 @@ fn pump(
                             // paths (one recovery ask per 100 ms) so a burst of gaps — a full-screen
                             // pan shedding shards — can't storm the control stream. This fires ~120 ms
                             // before frames_dropped would, so recovery also starts sooner.
+                            //
+                            // A gap wider than RFI_MAX_RANGE is beyond any encoder's reference
+                            // history (a seconds-long outage — or a phantom index jump, e.g. the
+                            // first real AU after an old host's speed-test burst consumed video
+                            // indexes): RFI is hopeless there, so ask for the IDR resync directly.
                             if last_kf_req
                                 .is_none_or(|t| now.duration_since(t) >= Duration::from_millis(100))
                             {
                                 last_kf_req = Some(now);
-                                let _ =
-                                    connector.request_rfi(exp, frame.frame_index.wrapping_sub(1));
+                                if gap > punktfunk_core::packet::RFI_MAX_RANGE {
+                                    let _ = connector.request_keyframe();
+                                } else {
+                                    let _ = connector
+                                        .request_rfi(exp, frame.frame_index.wrapping_sub(1));
+                                }
                             }
                             tracing::trace!(
                                 gap,
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-core/src/client.rs b/crates/punktfunk-core/src/client.rs
index 78020d22..82a170c2 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-core/src/client.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-core/src/client.rs
@@ -375,14 +375,29 @@ struct RfiRecovery {
     last_req: Option<Instant>,
 }
 
+/// What a forward gap should ask the host for: a precise RFI for a recoverable range, a plain
+/// keyframe for a range wider than any encoder's reference history
+/// ([`crate::packet::RFI_MAX_RANGE`] — a seconds-long outage, or a phantom index jump such as an
+/// old host's speed-test burst consuming video indexes), or nothing (contiguous / straggler /
+/// throttled).
+#[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
+enum RecoveryAsk {
+    None,
+    Rfi(u32, u32),
+    Keyframe,
+}
+
 impl RfiRecovery {
     /// Pure decision behind [`NativeClient::note_frame_index`]: fold one received `frame_index` (in
-    /// receive order) observed at `now`, advancing the expectation and returning
-    /// `(gap, rfi_range)`. `gap` is whether this frame revealed a forward gap; `rfi_range` is
-    /// `Some((first_missing, last_missing))` when a (throttled) RFI should fire for the lost span, or
-    /// `None` when contiguous, a straggler, or throttled. Split out from the connection so the wrapping
-    /// arithmetic + [`RFI_THROTTLE`] are unit-testable without a live session (see the tests below).
-    fn observe(&mut self, frame_index: u32, now: Instant) -> (bool, Option<(u32, u32)>) {
+    /// receive order) observed at `now`, advancing the expectation and returning `(gap, ask)`.
+    /// `gap` is whether this frame revealed a forward gap (the embedder arms its post-loss display
+    /// freeze on it); `ask` is the (throttled) recovery request to fire — an RFI naming the exact
+    /// lost span, or a keyframe when the span exceeds [`crate::packet::RFI_MAX_RANGE`] (RFI is
+    /// hopeless there: no encoder holds references that old, and a huge jump is more likely a
+    /// resync — e.g. the first real AU after an old host's speed test — than a real loss). Split
+    /// out from the connection so the wrapping arithmetic + [`RFI_THROTTLE`] are unit-testable
+    /// without a live session (see the tests below).
+    fn observe(&mut self, frame_index: u32, now: Instant) -> (bool, RecoveryAsk) {
         match self.next_expected {
             Some(exp) => {
                 // Wrapping split at the half-space: a small positive delta is a forward gap
@@ -390,10 +405,10 @@ impl RfiRecovery {
                 let ahead = frame_index.wrapping_sub(exp);
                 if ahead == 0 {
                     self.next_expected = Some(frame_index.wrapping_add(1)); // contiguous
-                    (false, None)
+                    (false, RecoveryAsk::None)
                 } else if ahead < u32::MAX / 2 {
                     // Forward gap: [exp, frame_index-1] lost. Advance past this frame so the same
-                    // gap isn't re-detected, then fire a throttled RFI for the lost range.
+                    // gap isn't re-detected, then fire a throttled recovery ask for the lost range.
                     self.next_expected = Some(frame_index.wrapping_add(1));
                     let send = self
                         .last_req
@@ -401,15 +416,22 @@ impl RfiRecovery {
                     if send {
                         self.last_req = Some(now);
                     }
-                    let range = send.then(|| (exp, frame_index.wrapping_sub(1)));
-                    (true, range)
+                    let ask = if !send {
+                        RecoveryAsk::None
+                    } else if ahead > crate::packet::RFI_MAX_RANGE {
+                        RecoveryAsk::Keyframe
+                    } else {
+                        RecoveryAsk::Rfi(exp, frame_index.wrapping_sub(1))
+                    };
+                    (true, ask)
                 } else {
-                    (false, None) // straggler behind the delivery point — leave the expectation
+                    // Straggler behind the delivery point — leave the expectation.
+                    (false, RecoveryAsk::None)
                 }
             }
             None => {
                 self.next_expected = Some(frame_index.wrapping_add(1));
-                (false, None)
+                (false, RecoveryAsk::None)
             }
         }
     }
@@ -970,13 +992,21 @@ impl NativeClient {
     /// signal and shares one throttle across RFI + keyframe requests.)
     pub fn note_frame_index(&self, frame_index: u32) -> bool {
         // Decide (and update state) under the lock; fire the request after releasing it.
-        let (gap, rfi_range) = self
+        let (gap, ask) = self
             .rfi
             .lock()
             .unwrap()
             .observe(frame_index, Instant::now());
-        if let Some((first, last)) = rfi_range {
-            let _ = self.request_rfi(first, last);
+        match ask {
+            RecoveryAsk::Rfi(first, last) => {
+                let _ = self.request_rfi(first, last);
+            }
+            // A gap wider than any encoder's reference history (RFI_MAX_RANGE) — a seconds-long
+            // outage or a phantom index jump: RFI can't repair it, resync on a keyframe instead.
+            RecoveryAsk::Keyframe => {
+                let _ = self.request_keyframe();
+            }
+            RecoveryAsk::None => {}
         }
         gap
     }
@@ -1410,7 +1440,12 @@ async fn worker_main(args: WorkerArgs) {
                 // when the matching bit is set, so `0` stays an 8-bit BT.709 stream. HOST_TIMING is
                 // OR'd in unconditionally: every NativeClient build demuxes the 0xCF plane, and the
                 // bit only asks the host for observability datagrams (never changes the encode).
-                video_caps: video_caps | crate::quic::VIDEO_CAP_HOST_TIMING,
+                // PROBE_SEQ likewise: the shared reassembler keeps probe filler in its own window
+                // (every embedder inherits it), so the host may burst speed tests without consuming
+                // video frame indexes.
+                video_caps: video_caps
+                    | crate::quic::VIDEO_CAP_HOST_TIMING
+                    | crate::quic::VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ,
                 // Requested surround channel count; the host echoes the resolved value in Welcome.
                 audio_channels,
                 // The codecs this client can decode + its soft preference (0 = auto). The host
@@ -2071,7 +2106,7 @@ mod rfi_recovery_tests {
     //! The client-side loss-range detector shared by every embedder (Android, the C-ABI Apple
     //! client, the Windows shell pump). `observe` is pure over `(frame_index, now)`, so the wrapping
     //! frame arithmetic and the RFI throttle are exercised here without a live session.
-    use super::{RfiRecovery, RFI_THROTTLE};
+    use super::{RecoveryAsk, RfiRecovery, RFI_THROTTLE};
     use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
 
     // A fixed base instant; offsets model the throttle window deterministically (no sleeping).
@@ -2083,7 +2118,7 @@ mod rfi_recovery_tests {
     fn first_frame_arms_without_a_gap() {
         let mut r = RfiRecovery::default();
         // The opening frame only seeds the expectation — there is no prior frame to be missing.
-        assert_eq!(r.observe(100, base()), (false, None));
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(100, base()), (false, RecoveryAsk::None));
         assert_eq!(r.next_expected, Some(101));
     }
 
@@ -2092,9 +2127,9 @@ mod rfi_recovery_tests {
         let mut r = RfiRecovery::default();
         let t = base();
         r.observe(100, t);
-        assert_eq!(r.observe(101, t), (false, None));
-        assert_eq!(r.observe(102, t), (false, None));
-        assert_eq!(r.observe(103, t), (false, None));
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(101, t), (false, RecoveryAsk::None));
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(102, t), (false, RecoveryAsk::None));
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(103, t), (false, RecoveryAsk::None));
         assert_eq!(r.next_expected, Some(104));
     }
 
@@ -2104,7 +2139,7 @@ mod rfi_recovery_tests {
         let t = base();
         r.observe(100, t); // expecting 101 next
                            // 101..=104 were lost; 105 arrived. The RFI must name exactly the missing span.
-        assert_eq!(r.observe(105, t), (true, Some((101, 104))));
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(105, t), (true, RecoveryAsk::Rfi(101, 104)));
         // The expectation advances past the delivered frame so the same gap can't re-fire.
         assert_eq!(r.next_expected, Some(106));
     }
@@ -2115,7 +2150,7 @@ mod rfi_recovery_tests {
         let t = base();
         r.observe(100, t);
         // Exactly one frame (101) lost → range is the single index [101, 101].
-        assert_eq!(r.observe(102, t), (true, Some((101, 101))));
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(102, t), (true, RecoveryAsk::Rfi(101, 101)));
     }
 
     #[test]
@@ -2124,13 +2159,16 @@ mod rfi_recovery_tests {
         let t0 = base();
         r.observe(100, t0);
         // First gap fires the request and stamps the throttle.
-        assert_eq!(r.observe(105, t0), (true, Some((101, 104))));
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(105, t0), (true, RecoveryAsk::Rfi(101, 104)));
         // A second gap 50 ms later is still a gap, but the request is throttled away.
-        assert_eq!(r.observe(110, t0 + Duration::from_millis(50)), (true, None));
+        assert_eq!(
+            r.observe(110, t0 + Duration::from_millis(50)),
+            (true, RecoveryAsk::None)
+        );
         // Past the window, the request re-opens for the still-accurate lost span.
         assert_eq!(
             r.observe(120, t0 + RFI_THROTTLE + Duration::from_millis(1)),
-            (true, Some((111, 119)))
+            (true, RecoveryAsk::Rfi(111, 119))
         );
     }
 
@@ -2142,7 +2180,7 @@ mod rfi_recovery_tests {
         r.observe(105, t); // expecting 106 next
                            // A reordered late arrival (103, well behind 106) is neither a gap nor a request, and it
                            // must not rewind the expectation — otherwise the next in-order frame would false-gap.
-        assert_eq!(r.observe(103, t), (false, None));
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(103, t), (false, RecoveryAsk::None));
         assert_eq!(r.next_expected, Some(106));
     }
 
@@ -2151,9 +2189,9 @@ mod rfi_recovery_tests {
         let mut r = RfiRecovery::default();
         let t = base();
         r.observe(u32::MAX - 1, t); // expecting u32::MAX next
-        assert_eq!(r.observe(u32::MAX, t), (false, None)); // contiguous, expectation wraps to 0
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(u32::MAX, t), (false, RecoveryAsk::None)); // contiguous, wraps to 0
         assert_eq!(r.next_expected, Some(0));
-        assert_eq!(r.observe(0, t), (false, None)); // still contiguous across the wrap
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(0, t), (false, RecoveryAsk::None)); // still contiguous across the wrap
         assert_eq!(r.next_expected, Some(1));
     }
 
@@ -2163,9 +2201,29 @@ mod rfi_recovery_tests {
         let t = base();
         r.observe(u32::MAX - 1, t); // expecting u32::MAX next
                                     // u32::MAX was lost and 1 arrived → the lost span wraps: [u32::MAX, 0].
-        assert_eq!(r.observe(1, t), (true, Some((u32::MAX, 0))));
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(1, t), (true, RecoveryAsk::Rfi(u32::MAX, 0)));
         assert_eq!(r.next_expected, Some(2));
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn huge_gap_resyncs_via_keyframe_not_rfi() {
+        let mut r = RfiRecovery::default();
+        let t = base();
+        r.observe(100, t); // expecting 101 next
+                           // A jump wider than any encoder's reference history (RFI_MAX_RANGE): no valid
+                           // reference exists for an RFI, and the jump may be a phantom (an old host's
+                           // speed-test burst consuming video indexes) — ask for the IDR resync instead.
+        let jump = 100 + crate::packet::RFI_MAX_RANGE + 2;
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(jump, t), (true, RecoveryAsk::Keyframe));
+        // The expectation still advances past the delivered frame (no re-fire on the next one).
+        assert_eq!(r.next_expected, Some(jump + 1));
+        assert_eq!(r.observe(jump + 1, t), (false, RecoveryAsk::None));
+        // A huge gap consumes the shared throttle too — an immediate follow-up gap stays quiet.
+        assert_eq!(
+            r.observe(jump + 10, t + Duration::from_millis(1)),
+            (true, RecoveryAsk::None)
+        );
+    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-core/src/packet.rs b/crates/punktfunk-core/src/packet.rs
index 981efe6f..6eab5976 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-core/src/packet.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-core/src/packet.rs
@@ -54,6 +54,15 @@ pub const USER_FLAG_RECOVERY_POINT: u32 = 0x10;
 /// `AV_FRAME_FLAG_KEY` — this host flag is the only signal.
 pub const USER_FLAG_RECOVERY_ANCHOR: u32 = 0x20;
 
+/// Widest lost-frame range (frames, wrapping `last - first`) a reference-frame-invalidation
+/// recovery may be asked to repair; anything wider goes straight to the keyframe path on BOTH
+/// ends. RFI can only re-reference history the encoder still holds — NVENC keeps a 5-frame DPB,
+/// AMD LTR ~1 s of marks — and a genuine loss this wide (>1 s even at 240 fps) has no valid
+/// reference anywhere, so an RFI request for it is either hopeless or (worse) a phantom range
+/// from a desynced counter. Shared by the host's RFI dispatch (range → keyframe fallback) and the
+/// client-side gap detectors (huge gap → resync + keyframe request, no RFI).
+pub const RFI_MAX_RANGE: u32 = 256;
+
 /// Crypto framing overhead [`Session`](crate::session::Session) adds when encrypting:
 /// an 8-byte sequence prefix plus the GCM tag.
 pub const CRYPTO_OVERHEAD: usize = 8 + crate::crypto::TAG_LEN;
@@ -117,8 +126,18 @@ const _: () = assert!(HEADER_LEN == 40, "PacketHeader must be 40 bytes / unpadde
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 /// Splits encoded access units into FEC-protected shard packets. Host-side only.
+///
+/// Frame numbering: a caller can pass an **explicit** `frame_index` to
+/// [`packetize_each`](Self::packetize_each) (the punktfunk/1 encode loop owns the video numbering
+/// so the encoder's reference-frame-invalidation bookkeeping stays 1:1 with the wire across
+/// encoder rebuilds/resets), or pass `None` to draw from the internal counter (the legacy path —
+/// synthetic/spike/ABI sessions where no encoder cares). Speed-test probe filler draws from a
+/// **separate** index space ([`alloc_probe_index`](Self::alloc_probe_index)) so a burst never
+/// consumes video indexes — see [`crate::quic::VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ`].
 pub struct Packetizer {
     next_frame_index: u32,
+    /// Probe-space frame counter (see [`alloc_probe_index`](Self::alloc_probe_index)).
+    next_probe_index: u32,
     next_seq: u32,
     shard_payload: usize,
     fec: crate::config::FecConfig,
@@ -134,6 +153,7 @@ impl Packetizer {
     pub fn new(config: &Config) -> Self {
         Packetizer {
             next_frame_index: 0,
+            next_probe_index: 0,
             next_seq: 0,
             shard_payload: config.shard_payload,
             fec: config.fec,
@@ -142,6 +162,17 @@ impl Packetizer {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Allocate the next **probe-space** frame index (speed-test filler). A separate counter from
+    /// the video `frame_index`es so a multi-thousand-AU probe burst never advances the video
+    /// numbering — the client routes [`FLAG_PROBE`]-flagged shards into its own reassembly window
+    /// (see [`Reassembler`]), so the two spaces never collide. Only used against clients that
+    /// advertise [`crate::quic::VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ`].
+    pub fn alloc_probe_index(&mut self) -> u32 {
+        let i = self.next_probe_index;
+        self.next_probe_index = i.wrapping_add(1);
+        i
+    }
+
     /// Live-adjust the FEC recovery percentage (adaptive FEC). Takes effect on the next
     /// [`packetize`](Self::packetize); the wire is self-describing (each packet carries its block's
     /// data/recovery counts), so the receiver needs no notification. Clamped to ≤ 90.
@@ -165,7 +196,7 @@ impl Packetizer {
         coder: &dyn ErasureCoder,
     ) -> Result<Vec<Vec<u8>>> {
         let mut packets = Vec::new();
-        self.packetize_each(frame, pts_ns, user_flags, coder, |hdr, body| {
+        self.packetize_each(frame, pts_ns, user_flags, None, coder, |hdr, body| {
             let mut pkt = Vec::with_capacity(HEADER_LEN + body.len());
             pkt.extend_from_slice(hdr.as_bytes());
             pkt.extend_from_slice(body);
@@ -181,17 +212,27 @@ impl Packetizer {
     /// shard straight into a pooled wire buffer and seal in place
     /// ([`Session::seal_frame`](crate::session::Session::seal_frame)). An `emit` error aborts
     /// the frame mid-way (packet numbering has already advanced — callers treat it as fatal).
+    ///
+    /// `frame_index`: `Some(i)` stamps the AU with the caller's index — the punktfunk/1 encode
+    /// loop numbers video AUs itself so the encoder's RFI bookkeeping (LTR marks, DPB timestamps)
+    /// is 1:1 with what the client sees, surviving encoder rebuilds/resets that restart internal
+    /// counters. `None` draws from the internal counter (the legacy/self-numbering path). A
+    /// session must not mix the two styles for the same index space.
     pub fn packetize_each(
         &mut self,
         frame: &[u8],
         pts_ns: u64,
         user_flags: u32,
+        frame_index: Option<u32>,
         coder: &dyn ErasureCoder,
         mut emit: impl FnMut(&PacketHeader, &[u8]) -> Result<()>,
     ) -> Result<()> {
         let payload = self.shard_payload;
-        let frame_index = self.next_frame_index;
-        self.next_frame_index = self.next_frame_index.wrapping_add(1);
+        let frame_index = frame_index.unwrap_or_else(|| {
+            let i = self.next_frame_index;
+            self.next_frame_index = i.wrapping_add(1);
+            i
+        });
 
         // At least one (zero-padded) data shard even for an empty frame.
         let total_data = frame.len().div_ceil(payload).max(1);
@@ -343,10 +384,13 @@ impl ReassemblerLimits {
     }
 }
 
-/// Buffers incoming shards, recovers lost ones via FEC, and emits whole access units.
-/// Client-side only.
-pub struct Reassembler {
-    limits: ReassemblerLimits,
+/// One frame-index space's reassembly state: the in-flight frames, the recently-emitted memory,
+/// and the loss-window anchor. The [`Reassembler`] keeps two — video and speed-test probe filler —
+/// because the two ride **separate index counters** on a [`VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ`]-aware host
+/// (a probe burst must neither advance the video loss window nor be dropped as "stale" against
+/// it). [`VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ`]: crate::quic::VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ
+#[derive(Default)]
+struct ReassemblyWindow {
     frames: HashMap<u32, FrameBuf>,
     /// Recently-emitted frames, so stray/late shards can't resurrect them. Pruned to
     /// the reorder window alongside `frames`.
@@ -357,13 +401,27 @@ pub struct Reassembler {
     newest_frame: Option<(u32, u64)>,
 }
 
+/// Buffers incoming shards, recovers lost ones via FEC, and emits whole access units.
+/// Client-side only.
+pub struct Reassembler {
+    limits: ReassemblerLimits,
+    /// The video stream's window — its aged-out incomplete frames count into `frames_dropped`
+    /// (the client's loss-recovery trigger).
+    video: ReassemblyWindow,
+    /// Speed-test probe filler ([`FLAG_PROBE`] in `user_flags`). Routed by the flag, so it also
+    /// captures an OLD host's probe frames (which still carry video-space indexes — they complete
+    /// fine here, and keeping them out of the video window means a burst can no longer advance the
+    /// video loss anchor). Aged-out probe frames are NOT `frames_dropped` — probe loss is measured
+    /// bytes-wise by the probe accumulator and must not fire video recovery.
+    probe: ReassemblyWindow,
+}
+
 impl Reassembler {
     pub fn new(limits: ReassemblerLimits) -> Self {
         Reassembler {
             limits,
-            frames: HashMap::new(),
-            completed: HashSet::new(),
-            newest_frame: None,
+            video: ReassemblyWindow::default(),
+            probe: ReassemblyWindow::default(),
         }
     }
 
@@ -424,18 +482,28 @@ impl Reassembler {
         }
         let payload = pkt[HEADER_LEN..HEADER_LEN + shard_bytes].to_vec();
 
-        self.advance_window(hdr.frame_index, hdr.pts_ns, stats);
+        // Route by index space: speed-test probe filler (FLAG_PROBE in user_flags) reassembles in
+        // its own window so its indexes never interact with the video loss window — a probe burst
+        // can neither advance the video anchor nor be dropped as stale against it (and its aged-out
+        // frames never count as `frames_dropped`, which would fire video loss recovery).
+        let is_probe = hdr.user_flags & (FLAG_PROBE as u32) != 0;
+        let win = if is_probe {
+            &mut self.probe
+        } else {
+            &mut self.video
+        };
+        win.advance_window(hdr.frame_index, hdr.pts_ns, stats, !is_probe);
 
         // Drop shards for frames we've already emitted (e.g. the recovery shards of a
         // frame that completed early via the all-originals-present fast path) or that
         // have fallen out of the loss window.
-        if self.completed.contains(&hdr.frame_index) || self.is_stale(hdr.frame_index, hdr.pts_ns) {
+        if win.completed.contains(&hdr.frame_index) || win.is_stale(hdr.frame_index, hdr.pts_ns) {
             drop(stats);
             return Ok(None);
         }
 
         // First packet of a frame establishes its geometry; later packets must agree.
-        let frame = self
+        let frame = win
             .frames
             .entry(hdr.frame_index)
             .or_insert_with(|| FrameBuf {
@@ -521,8 +589,8 @@ impl Reassembler {
 
         // Whole frame ready?
         if frame.block_data.len() == frame.block_count {
-            let frame = self.frames.remove(&hdr.frame_index).unwrap();
-            self.completed.insert(hdr.frame_index);
+            let frame = win.frames.remove(&hdr.frame_index).unwrap();
+            win.completed.insert(hdr.frame_index);
             // Reserve based on the bytes we actually hold, not the (already-bounded but
             // still caller-supplied) frame_bytes, so a small frame can't over-reserve.
             let actual: usize = frame.block_data.values().map(|b| b.len()).sum();
@@ -541,11 +609,30 @@ impl Reassembler {
         Ok(None)
     }
 
+    /// Drop all in-flight state — every partially-assembled frame and the completed/abandoned
+    /// index memory, in both index spaces — as if the session just started. Used by the client's
+    /// backlog flush ([`Session::flush_backlog`](crate::session::Session::flush_backlog)): after
+    /// the socket backlog is discarded wholesale, the partial frames here can never complete
+    /// (their remaining shards were just thrown away) and the window anchors (`newest_frame`)
+    /// point into the discarded past.
+    pub fn reset(&mut self) {
+        self.video = ReassemblyWindow::default();
+        self.probe = ReassemblyWindow::default();
+    }
+}
+
+impl ReassemblyWindow {
     /// Track the newest frame, declare incomplete frames that fell out of the loss window
-    /// ([`LOSS_WINDOW_NS`] behind the newest pts, or [`HARD_LOSS_WINDOW`] indices) lost — counting
-    /// them dropped, which is what drives the client's recovery-keyframe request — and prune the
-    /// completed-index memory to [`REORDER_WINDOW`].
-    fn advance_window(&mut self, frame_index: u32, pts_ns: u64, stats: &StatsCounters) {
+    /// ([`LOSS_WINDOW_NS`] behind the newest pts, or [`HARD_LOSS_WINDOW`] indices) lost — for the
+    /// video window (`count_drops`) counting them dropped, which is what drives the client's
+    /// recovery-keyframe request — and prune the completed-index memory to [`REORDER_WINDOW`].
+    fn advance_window(
+        &mut self,
+        frame_index: u32,
+        pts_ns: u64,
+        stats: &StatsCounters,
+        count_drops: bool,
+    ) {
         let (newest, newest_pts) = match self.newest_frame {
             // `frame_index` is newer iff it's within the forward half of the index space.
             Some((n, p)) if frame_index.wrapping_sub(n) > u32::MAX / 2 => (n, p),
@@ -567,29 +654,17 @@ impl Reassembler {
             keep
         });
         let pruned = before - self.frames.len();
-        if pruned > 0 {
+        if pruned > 0 && count_drops {
             StatsCounters::add(&stats.frames_dropped, pruned as u64);
         }
         self.completed
             .retain(|&idx| newest.wrapping_sub(idx) <= REORDER_WINDOW);
     }
 
-    /// Drop all in-flight state — every partially-assembled frame and the completed/abandoned
-    /// index memory — as if the session just started. Used by the client's backlog flush
-    /// ([`Session::flush_backlog`](crate::session::Session::flush_backlog)): after the socket
-    /// backlog is discarded wholesale, the partial frames here can never complete (their remaining
-    /// shards were just thrown away) and the window anchor (`newest_frame`) points into the
-    /// discarded past.
-    pub fn reset(&mut self) {
-        self.frames.clear();
-        self.completed.clear();
-        self.newest_frame = None;
-    }
-
     /// True if this packet's frame lies outside the loss window (behind the newest frame by more
     /// than [`LOSS_WINDOW_NS`] of capture time or [`HARD_LOSS_WINDOW`] indices) — its shards
     /// arrive too late to be useful, and accepting one would only create a frame buffer the next
-    /// [`advance_window`] immediately declares lost.
+    /// [`advance_window`](Self::advance_window) immediately declares lost.
     fn is_stale(&self, frame_index: u32, pts_ns: u64) -> bool {
         match self.newest_frame {
             Some((n, newest_pts)) => {
@@ -769,6 +844,119 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(stats.snapshot().frames_dropped, 1, "no double-count");
     }
 
+    /// The explicit-index path stamps the caller's `frame_index` and leaves the internal video
+    /// counter untouched — the punktfunk/1 encode loop owns the numbering, and mixing must not
+    /// perturb the legacy self-numbering path (tests/ABI/synthetic).
+    #[test]
+    fn explicit_frame_index_is_stamped_and_internal_counter_untouched() {
+        use crate::config::{FecConfig, FecScheme, ProtocolPhase, Role};
+        let cfg = Config {
+            role: Role::Host,
+            phase: ProtocolPhase::P2Punktfunk,
+            fec: FecConfig {
+                scheme: FecScheme::Gf16,
+                fec_percent: 0,
+                max_data_per_block: 8,
+            },
+            shard_payload: 16,
+            max_frame_bytes: 4096,
+            encrypt: false,
+            key: [0u8; 16],
+            salt: [0u8; 4],
+            loopback_drop_period: 0,
+        };
+        let coder = coder_for(FecScheme::Gf16);
+        let mut pk = Packetizer::new(&cfg);
+        let mut seen = Vec::new();
+        pk.packetize_each(&[1u8; 16], 0, 0, Some(4242), coder.as_ref(), |hdr, _| {
+            seen.push(hdr.frame_index);
+            Ok(())
+        })
+        .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(seen, vec![4242]);
+        // The legacy wrapper still numbers from the untouched internal counter.
+        let pkts = pk.packetize(&[1u8; 16], 0, 0, coder.as_ref()).unwrap();
+        let hdr = PacketHeader::read_from_bytes(&pkts[0][..HEADER_LEN]).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(hdr.frame_index, 0);
+        // The probe space is a third, independent counter.
+        assert_eq!(pk.alloc_probe_index(), 0);
+        assert_eq!(pk.alloc_probe_index(), 1);
+    }
+
+    /// Probe filler (FLAG_PROBE in user_flags) reassembles in its OWN window: a probe frame whose
+    /// index is far behind the video stream's completes anyway (an old client's single window
+    /// would drop it as stale), and video frames complete undisturbed around it.
+    #[test]
+    fn probe_frames_reassemble_in_their_own_window() {
+        let mut r = Reassembler::new(limits());
+        let coder = coder_for(FecScheme::Gf8);
+        let stats = StatsCounters::default();
+
+        // Establish a video stream far into its index space.
+        let mut v = base_header();
+        v.frame_index = 100_000;
+        v.pts_ns = 1_000_000_000;
+        assert!(r
+            .push(&packet(v), coder.as_ref(), &stats)
+            .unwrap()
+            .is_some());
+
+        // A probe frame at index 0 — 100k "behind" the video window — must still complete.
+        let mut p = base_header();
+        p.frame_index = 0;
+        p.pts_ns = 1_000_000_100;
+        p.user_flags = FLAG_PROBE as u32;
+        let got = r.push(&packet(p), coder.as_ref(), &stats).unwrap();
+        assert!(got.is_some(), "probe frame must complete in its own window");
+        assert_eq!(got.unwrap().flags & FLAG_PROBE as u32, FLAG_PROBE as u32);
+
+        // The probe burst must not have advanced the VIDEO window: the next video frame is
+        // contiguous and completes, with nothing counted dropped.
+        let mut v2 = base_header();
+        v2.frame_index = 100_001;
+        v2.pts_ns = 1_000_000_200;
+        assert!(r
+            .push(&packet(v2), coder.as_ref(), &stats)
+            .unwrap()
+            .is_some());
+        assert_eq!(stats.snapshot().frames_dropped, 0);
+    }
+
+    /// An incomplete probe frame aging out of the probe window is NOT a video `frames_dropped`
+    /// (which would fire the client's loss recovery) — probe loss is measured bytes-wise by the
+    /// probe accumulator.
+    #[test]
+    fn aged_out_probe_frames_do_not_count_as_dropped() {
+        let mut r = Reassembler::new(limits());
+        let coder = coder_for(FecScheme::Gf8);
+        let stats = StatsCounters::default();
+
+        // Probe frame 0: one of two shards — incomplete.
+        let mut p = base_header();
+        p.user_flags = FLAG_PROBE as u32;
+        p.data_shards = 2;
+        p.frame_bytes = 32;
+        assert!(r
+            .push(&packet(p), coder.as_ref(), &stats)
+            .unwrap()
+            .is_none());
+
+        // A much newer probe frame ages it out of the probe window.
+        let mut p2 = base_header();
+        p2.user_flags = FLAG_PROBE as u32;
+        p2.frame_index = 1;
+        p2.pts_ns = LOSS_WINDOW_NS + 1;
+        assert!(r
+            .push(&packet(p2), coder.as_ref(), &stats)
+            .unwrap()
+            .is_some());
+        assert_eq!(
+            stats.snapshot().frames_dropped,
+            0,
+            "probe-window drops must not fire video loss recovery"
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn rejects_wrong_shard_bytes_and_oversized_frame() {
         let coder = coder_for(FecScheme::Gf8);
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-core/src/quic/msgs.rs b/crates/punktfunk-core/src/quic/msgs.rs
index 36c69d16..32e0ee1c 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-core/src/quic/msgs.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-core/src/quic/msgs.rs
@@ -107,6 +107,18 @@ pub const VIDEO_CAP_444: u8 = 0x04;
 /// host ignores it and simply never sends any); a client that doesn't set it keeps the combined
 /// stage. Purely observability — never changes what the host encodes.
 pub const VIDEO_CAP_HOST_TIMING: u8 = 0x08;
+/// [`Hello::video_caps`] bit: the client's reassembler keeps **speed-test probe filler in its own
+/// frame-index space** (a second reassembly window keyed on the [`crate::packet::FLAG_PROBE`]
+/// user-flag), so probe bursts no longer consume video `frame_index`es. Without this, a mid-session
+/// speed test burns thousands of video indexes that are invisible to every client-side gap detector
+/// (probe frames are filtered before the pump sees them) — the first real AU afterwards reads as a
+/// phantom multi-thousand-frame loss (spurious freeze + a nonsense RFI). It also lets the host's
+/// encode loop own the video numbering outright (the wire-index contract
+/// [`crate::packet::Packetizer::packetize_each`] documents), which reference-frame invalidation
+/// depends on. The host runs mid-session probe bursts ONLY against clients that set this bit — an
+/// older client gets a declined (zeroed) [`ProbeResult`] instead of a measurement its single-window
+/// reassembler would silently drop as stale.
+pub const VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ: u8 = 0x10;
 
 /// QUIC application error code a punktfunk/1 client closes the control connection with on a
 /// **deliberate quit** (a user "stop", not a network drop). The host reads it off the connection's
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-core/src/session.rs b/crates/punktfunk-core/src/session.rs
index 89065dec..73a3e5f2 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-core/src/session.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-core/src/session.rs
@@ -161,6 +161,31 @@ impl Session {
         data: &[u8],
         pts_ns: u64,
         user_flags: u32,
+    ) -> Result<Vec<Vec<u8>>> {
+        self.seal_frame_inner(data, pts_ns, user_flags, None)
+    }
+
+    /// [`seal_frame`](Self::seal_frame) with the caller's **explicit** `frame_index` instead of the
+    /// packetizer's internal counter. The punktfunk/1 encode loop owns the video numbering (one
+    /// session-lifetime counter, stamped per AU) so the encoder's reference-frame-invalidation
+    /// bookkeeping stays 1:1 with the wire across encoder rebuilds/resets — see
+    /// [`Packetizer::packetize_each`]. A session must use ONE numbering style per index space.
+    pub fn seal_frame_at(
+        &mut self,
+        data: &[u8],
+        pts_ns: u64,
+        user_flags: u32,
+        frame_index: u32,
+    ) -> Result<Vec<Vec<u8>>> {
+        self.seal_frame_inner(data, pts_ns, user_flags, Some(frame_index))
+    }
+
+    fn seal_frame_inner(
+        &mut self,
+        data: &[u8],
+        pts_ns: u64,
+        user_flags: u32,
+        frame_index: Option<u32>,
     ) -> Result<Vec<Vec<u8>>> {
         if self.config.role != Role::Host {
             return Err(PunktfunkError::InvalidArg(
@@ -184,35 +209,36 @@ impl Session {
         } = self;
         let mut wires = std::mem::take(wire_pool);
         let mut used = 0usize;
-        let result = packetizer.packetize_each(data, pts_ns, user_flags, coder.as_ref(), {
-            let wires = &mut wires;
-            let used = &mut used;
-            move |hdr, body| {
-                if *used == wires.len() {
-                    wires.push(Vec::new());
-                }
-                let wire = &mut wires[*used];
-                *used += 1;
-                let seq = *next_seq;
-                *next_seq = next_seq.wrapping_add(1);
-                wire.clear();
-                match crypto {
-                    Some(c) => {
-                        // seq(8) ‖ header(40) ‖ shard ‖ tag scratch(16), sealed over [8..].
-                        wire.extend_from_slice(&seq.to_be_bytes());
-                        wire.extend_from_slice(hdr.as_bytes());
-                        wire.extend_from_slice(body);
-                        wire.resize(wire.len() + crate::crypto::TAG_LEN, 0);
-                        c.seal_in_place(seq, &mut wire[8..])?;
+        let result =
+            packetizer.packetize_each(data, pts_ns, user_flags, frame_index, coder.as_ref(), {
+                let wires = &mut wires;
+                let used = &mut used;
+                move |hdr, body| {
+                    if *used == wires.len() {
+                        wires.push(Vec::new());
                     }
-                    None => {
-                        wire.extend_from_slice(hdr.as_bytes());
-                        wire.extend_from_slice(body);
+                    let wire = &mut wires[*used];
+                    *used += 1;
+                    let seq = *next_seq;
+                    *next_seq = next_seq.wrapping_add(1);
+                    wire.clear();
+                    match crypto {
+                        Some(c) => {
+                            // seq(8) ‖ header(40) ‖ shard ‖ tag scratch(16), sealed over [8..].
+                            wire.extend_from_slice(&seq.to_be_bytes());
+                            wire.extend_from_slice(hdr.as_bytes());
+                            wire.extend_from_slice(body);
+                            wire.resize(wire.len() + crate::crypto::TAG_LEN, 0);
+                            c.seal_in_place(seq, &mut wire[8..])?;
+                        }
+                        None => {
+                            wire.extend_from_slice(hdr.as_bytes());
+                            wire.extend_from_slice(body);
+                        }
                     }
+                    Ok(())
                 }
-                Ok(())
-            }
-        });
+            });
         result?;
         // A smaller frame uses fewer buffers than the pool holds: drop the unused tail, same
         // as the previous `resize_with(packets.len(), ..)` did.
@@ -258,6 +284,23 @@ impl Session {
         r.map(|_| ())
     }
 
+    /// Host: seal + send one **speed-test probe filler** access unit in the probe index space
+    /// (its own frame counter + the [`crate::packet::FLAG_PROBE`] user-flag) so a burst never
+    /// consumes video `frame_index`es — the client reassembles probe frames in a separate window
+    /// and its gap detectors never see them. Only call this against a client that advertised
+    /// [`crate::quic::VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ`]; an older client's single-window reassembler would
+    /// drop probe-space indexes as stale against the video stream.
+    pub fn submit_probe_frame(&mut self, data: &[u8], pts_ns: u64) -> Result<()> {
+        let idx = self.packetizer.alloc_probe_index();
+        let wires =
+            self.seal_frame_inner(data, pts_ns, crate::packet::FLAG_PROBE as u32, Some(idx))?;
+        let refs: Vec<&[u8]> = wires.iter().map(|w| w.as_slice()).collect();
+        let r = self.send_sealed(&refs);
+        drop(refs);
+        self.reclaim_wires(wires);
+        r.map(|_| ())
+    }
+
     /// Host: live-adjust the FEC recovery percentage (adaptive FEC). Affects the next
     /// [`submit_frame`](Self::submit_frame)/[`seal_frame`](Self::seal_frame); the receiver needs no
     /// notification (each packet's header carries its block's data/recovery shard counts).
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode.rs
index fc288ad2..f1aef906 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode.rs
@@ -21,10 +21,13 @@ pub struct EncodedFrame {
     pub keyframe: bool,
     /// True when this AU is a **reference-frame-invalidation recovery frame** — a clean P-frame the
     /// encoder coded against a known-good reference in response to
-    /// [`invalidate_ref_frames`](Encoder::invalidate_ref_frames) (AMD LTR force-reference). The pump
-    /// tags it [`punktfunk_core::packet::USER_FLAG_RECOVERY_ANCHOR`] so the client lifts its post-loss
-    /// freeze on it without an IDR. Only the native-AMF LTR path sets it; every other backend leaves
-    /// it `false` (their RFI, when present, re-references transparently with no distinct clean-point AU).
+    /// [`invalidate_ref_frames`](Encoder::invalidate_ref_frames). The pump tags it
+    /// [`punktfunk_core::packet::USER_FLAG_RECOVERY_ANCHOR`] so the client lifts its post-loss
+    /// freeze on it without an IDR. Set by BOTH RFI backends: native AMF (the LTR force-reference
+    /// frame) and Windows direct-NVENC (the first frame encoded after `nvEncInvalidateRefFrames` —
+    /// the invalidation applies at the next `encode_picture`, so that AU is by construction the
+    /// clean re-anchor). Without it the client's freeze can only lift on an IDR — which the host
+    /// suppresses after a successful RFI (the cooldown), a ~1 s frozen stall per loss event.
     pub recovery_anchor: bool,
 }
 
@@ -201,8 +204,9 @@ pub struct EncoderCaps {
     /// The encoder can perform real reference-frame invalidation — i.e.
     /// [`invalidate_ref_frames`](Encoder::invalidate_ref_frames) can return `true`. When `false`
     /// the caller skips that always-`false` call and forces a keyframe directly on loss recovery.
-    /// Only the Windows direct-NVENC path implements RFI; libavcodec (Linux NVENC), VAAPI and
-    /// AMF/QSV always keyframe.
+    /// Two backends implement RFI: Windows direct-NVENC (`nvEncInvalidateRefFrames`) and native
+    /// AMF (user-LTR force-reference, when the driver accepted the LTR slots at open). The
+    /// libavcodec paths (Linux NVENC, VAAPI, QSV) can't express it and always keyframe.
     pub supports_rfi: bool,
     /// The encoder emits in-band HDR mastering/CLL SEI from [`set_hdr_meta`](Encoder::set_hdr_meta).
     /// When `false`, `set_hdr_meta` is a no-op and no in-band grade reaches the client. Only the
@@ -242,6 +246,22 @@ pub struct EncoderCaps {
 /// A hardware encoder. One per session; runs on the encode thread.
 pub trait Encoder: Send {
     fn submit(&mut self, frame: &CapturedFrame) -> Result<()>;
+    /// [`submit`](Self::submit) with the **wire frame index** this frame's AU will carry — the
+    /// number the packetizer stamps on it and the client's loss reports/RFI requests name. The
+    /// session glue predicts it exactly as `AUs sent so far + frames in flight` (AUs are emitted
+    /// FIFO, one per submission; anything that would break the prediction — an in-place reset, a
+    /// device-change teardown, an encoder rebuild — forfeits the in-flight frames on BOTH sides
+    /// and clears the encoder's reference state, so stale predictions die with it). The RFI
+    /// backends pin their frame numbering (LTR marks, DPB timestamps) to this so
+    /// [`invalidate_ref_frames`](Self::invalidate_ref_frames) compares client frame numbers
+    /// against the same domain — an encoder-internal counter desyncs from the wire on the first
+    /// mid-stream rebuild (adaptive bitrate steps do this under congestion, exactly when losses
+    /// happen). Default: ignore the index and delegate to `submit` (backends without per-frame
+    /// reference bookkeeping don't care).
+    fn submit_indexed(&mut self, frame: &CapturedFrame, wire_index: u32) -> Result<()> {
+        let _ = wire_index;
+        self.submit(frame)
+    }
     /// This encoder's static [capabilities](EncoderCaps) (RFI, HDR SEI), so the session glue can
     /// route by query rather than rely on the no-op/`false` defaults of
     /// [`invalidate_ref_frames`](Self::invalidate_ref_frames) / [`set_hdr_meta`](Self::set_hdr_meta).
@@ -259,13 +279,14 @@ pub trait Encoder: Send {
     /// Default: no-op (SDR encoders / libavcodec paths that don't attach it yet). Cheap to call
     /// every frame; only the direct-NVENC path consumes it.
     fn set_hdr_meta(&mut self, _meta: Option<punktfunk_core::quic::HdrMeta>) {}
-    /// Invalidate a contiguous range of previously-encoded reference frames (client frame numbers,
-    /// as reported in a loss-recovery request) so the encoder re-references an older still-valid
-    /// frame instead of emitting a full IDR. Returns `true` if a real reference invalidation was
-    /// performed; `false` means the encoder couldn't (range older than the DPB, or the backend has
-    /// no RFI) and the caller should fall back to [`request_keyframe`](Self::request_keyframe).
-    /// Default: `false` — only the Windows direct-NVENC path implements true RFI; libavcodec
-    /// (Linux NVENC) and VAAPI can't express `nvEncInvalidateRefFrames`, so they keyframe.
+    /// Invalidate a contiguous range of previously-encoded reference frames (client frame numbers
+    /// — WIRE frame indexes, the domain [`submit_indexed`](Self::submit_indexed) pins the encoder's
+    /// bookkeeping to) so the encoder re-references an older still-valid frame instead of emitting
+    /// a full IDR. Returns `true` if a real reference invalidation was performed; `false` means the
+    /// encoder couldn't (range older than the DPB/LTR history, or the backend has no RFI) and the
+    /// caller should fall back to [`request_keyframe`](Self::request_keyframe). Default: `false` —
+    /// the Windows direct-NVENC path (`nvEncInvalidateRefFrames`) and native AMF (LTR
+    /// force-reference) implement true RFI; the libavcodec paths can't express it, so they keyframe.
     fn invalidate_ref_frames(&mut self, _first_frame: i64, _last_frame: i64) -> bool {
         false
     }
@@ -441,6 +462,9 @@ impl Encoder for TrackedEncoder {
     fn submit(&mut self, frame: &CapturedFrame) -> Result<()> {
         self.inner.submit(frame)
     }
+    fn submit_indexed(&mut self, frame: &CapturedFrame, wire_index: u32) -> Result<()> {
+        self.inner.submit_indexed(frame, wire_index)
+    }
     fn caps(&self) -> EncoderCaps {
         self.inner.caps()
     }
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/mod.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/mod.rs
index 4cf950e0..15991caf 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/mod.rs
@@ -149,6 +149,22 @@ fn nvenc_input(format: PixelFormat) -> (Pixel, bool) {
     }
 }
 
+/// The [`NvencEncoder::open`] arguments, kept on the encoder so [`Encoder::reset`] can rebuild it
+/// in place with the session's negotiated parameters — the encode-stall watchdog's recovery lever
+/// (drop the wedged libavcodec encoder, reopen fresh, forfeit the owed AUs, restart at an IDR).
+#[derive(Clone, Copy)]
+struct OpenArgs {
+    codec: Codec,
+    format: PixelFormat,
+    width: u32,
+    height: u32,
+    fps: u32,
+    bitrate_bps: u64,
+    cuda: bool,
+    bit_depth: u8,
+    chroma: ChromaFormat,
+}
+
 pub struct NvencEncoder {
     enc: encoder::video::Encoder,
     /// Reusable 4-bpp CPU input frame (CPU path only; `None` for the zero-copy/CUDA path).
@@ -181,6 +197,8 @@ pub struct NvencEncoder {
     /// open so the pump's per-AU `caps()` doesn't re-read `PUNKTFUNK_IR_PERIOD_FRAMES`; the pump marks
     /// every Nth AU with `USER_FLAG_RECOVERY_POINT` for the client's clean re-anchor.
     intra_refresh_period: u32,
+    /// The open arguments, for the in-place [`reset`](Encoder::reset) rebuild.
+    args: OpenArgs,
 }
 
 // `CudaHw` holds raw `AVBufferRef`s and `sws_444` a raw `SwsContext`; the encoder lives on a single
@@ -534,6 +552,17 @@ impl NvencEncoder {
             } else {
                 0
             },
+            args: OpenArgs {
+                codec,
+                format,
+                width,
+                height,
+                fps,
+                bitrate_bps,
+                cuda,
+                bit_depth,
+                chroma,
+            },
         })
     }
 }
@@ -582,6 +611,35 @@ impl Encoder for NvencEncoder {
         self.force_kf = true;
     }
 
+    /// Encode-stall recovery: drop the wedged libavcodec encoder and reopen it fresh with the
+    /// session's negotiated parameters (the stored [`OpenArgs`]) — the drop-and-reopen lever the
+    /// QSV/VAAPI paths use, so the encode-stall watchdog can heal a wedged NVENC/driver instead of
+    /// ending the session. Owed AUs are forfeited; the fresh encoder opens on an IDR.
+    fn reset(&mut self) -> bool {
+        let a = self.args;
+        match Self::open(
+            a.codec,
+            a.format,
+            a.width,
+            a.height,
+            a.fps,
+            a.bitrate_bps,
+            a.cuda,
+            a.bit_depth,
+            a.chroma,
+        ) {
+            Ok(mut fresh) => {
+                fresh.force_kf = true;
+                *self = fresh; // drops the wedged encoder (frees its contexts) in the same step
+                true
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::error!(error = %format!("{e:#}"), "NVENC in-place reopen failed");
+                false
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     fn poll(&mut self) -> Result<Option<EncodedFrame>> {
         let mut pkt = Packet::empty();
         match self.enc.receive_packet(&mut pkt) {
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/vaapi.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/vaapi.rs
index 62972455..a696ca0a 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/vaapi.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/vaapi.rs
@@ -1126,6 +1126,19 @@ impl Encoder for VaapiEncoder {
         self.force_kf = true;
     }
 
+    /// Encode-stall recovery: drop the wedged libavcodec encoder (its `Drop` releases the VA
+    /// surfaces/filter graph/devices) and let the next `submit` rebuild it lazily from the first
+    /// frame's payload, exactly like first-frame bring-up — the same drop-and-reopen lever the
+    /// Windows QSV path has. The owed AUs are forfeited (`in_flight` zeroed) and the rebuilt
+    /// encoder's first frame is forced IDR so the client resyncs immediately. Without this the
+    /// encode-stall watchdog had no lever on Linux AMD/Intel and a wedged driver ended the session.
+    fn reset(&mut self) -> bool {
+        self.inner = None;
+        self.in_flight = 0;
+        self.force_kf = true;
+        true
+    }
+
     fn poll(&mut self) -> Result<Option<EncodedFrame>> {
         // With `async_depth > 1`, `submit` no longer waits for the ASIC — the AU for the frame we
         // just sent lands ~one hardware-encode-time later. Wait for it (bounded) so it still ships
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/sw.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/sw.rs
index d9017e32..691738b3 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/sw.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/sw.rs
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ use openh264::encoder::{
 };
 use openh264::formats::YUVSlices;
 use openh264::OpenH264API;
+use std::collections::VecDeque;
 
 pub struct OpenH264Encoder {
     enc: Oh264,
@@ -34,8 +35,11 @@ pub struct OpenH264Encoder {
     v_plane: Vec<u8>,
     frame_idx: i64,
     force_kf: bool,
-    /// At most one AU per submit (no lookahead), handed back by the next `poll`.
-    pending: Option<EncodedFrame>,
+    /// One AU per submit (no lookahead), handed back FIFO by `poll`. A queue, not an `Option`:
+    /// the session loop pipelines up to `capturer.pipeline_depth()` submits before polling, and a
+    /// single-slot pending would silently overwrite (lose) the older AUs — including the opening
+    /// IDR — and permanently skew the loop's FIFO pts pairing.
+    pending: VecDeque<EncodedFrame>,
 }
 
 // openh264's Encoder holds a raw C handle (not auto-Send); it lives on the single encode thread.
@@ -88,7 +92,7 @@ impl OpenH264Encoder {
             v_plane: vec![0; (w / 2) * (h / 2)],
             frame_idx: 0,
             force_kf: false,
-            pending: None,
+            pending: VecDeque::new(),
         })
     }
 
@@ -207,7 +211,7 @@ impl Encoder for OpenH264Encoder {
         if !data.is_empty() {
             let keyframe = matches!(bs.frame_type(), FrameType::IDR | FrameType::I);
             let pts_ns = self.frame_idx as u64 * 1_000_000_000 / self.fps.max(1) as u64;
-            self.pending = Some(EncodedFrame {
+            self.pending.push_back(EncodedFrame {
                 data,
                 pts_ns,
                 keyframe,
@@ -223,7 +227,7 @@ impl Encoder for OpenH264Encoder {
     }
 
     fn poll(&mut self) -> Result<Option<EncodedFrame>> {
-        Ok(self.pending.take())
+        Ok(self.pending.pop_front())
     }
 
     fn flush(&mut self) -> Result<()> {
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/amf.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/amf.rs
index cbdf177c..417b6241 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/amf.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/amf.rs
@@ -1840,7 +1840,12 @@ impl Encoder for AmfEncoder {
         );
         self.ensure_inner(&frame.device)?;
         let cur_idx = self.frame_idx;
-        let forced = std::mem::take(&mut self.force_kf) || self.frame_idx == 0;
+        // A component's FIRST submission must be a forced IDR (stream-start contract: in-band
+        // headers + LTR re-anchor). Detected via the fresh ring counter, NOT `frame_idx == 0`:
+        // `submit_indexed` pins frame_idx to the wire index, which is non-zero when a mid-session
+        // rebuild (bitrate step / reset escalation) brings a new component up.
+        let opening = self.inner.as_ref().is_none_or(|i| i.next == 0);
+        let forced = std::mem::take(&mut self.force_kf) || opening;
         let pts_100ns = self.frame_idx * 10_000_000 / self.fps.max(1) as i64;
         self.frame_idx += 1;
         // --- LTR-RFI per-frame decisions (design: the AMD twin of NVENC intra-refresh recovery) ---
@@ -2118,6 +2123,21 @@ impl Encoder for AmfEncoder {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    /// Pin this submission's frame number to the wire frame index its AU will carry (see the
+    /// trait doc): the LTR slots then store WIRE indexes, so [`invalidate_ref_frames`]'s
+    /// pre-loss check (`slot < first`, both in client frame numbers) stays correct across every
+    /// encoder rebuild/reset — an internal counter desyncs on the first adaptive-bitrate rebuild,
+    /// making the check vacuously true and risking a force-reference to an LTR marked INSIDE the
+    /// lost range (a corrupted frame shipped as a clean recovery anchor). `frame_idx` also feeds
+    /// the AMF SetPts; a re-pin only ever moves it backward across a reset (fresh component, so a
+    /// pts restart is harmless) and forward on a rebuild (monotonic within any one component).
+    ///
+    /// [`invalidate_ref_frames`]: Encoder::invalidate_ref_frames
+    fn submit_indexed(&mut self, frame: &CapturedFrame, wire_index: u32) -> Result<()> {
+        self.frame_idx = wire_index as i64;
+        self.submit(frame)
+    }
+
     fn request_keyframe(&mut self) {
         self.force_kf = true;
     }
@@ -2145,8 +2165,10 @@ impl Encoder for AmfEncoder {
         }
         // Pick the newest LTR strictly OLDER than the loss: the most recent known-good reference the
         // client still holds, so re-referencing it costs the least (smallest recovery-frame residual).
-        // Frame numbers are 1:1 with the client's (both count submissions in order — see the NVENC
-        // path), so `ltr_slots` (which store `frame_idx`) compare directly against `first`.
+        // `ltr_slots` store the WIRE frame index of the marked frame (`submit_indexed` pins
+        // `frame_idx` to it per submission), so they compare directly against the client's `first`
+        // — and stay comparable across encoder rebuilds/resets, where an internal counter would
+        // make this check vacuous and risk force-referencing an LTR marked INSIDE the lost range.
         let mut best: Option<(usize, i64)> = None;
         for (slot, marked) in self.ltr_slots.iter().enumerate() {
             if let Some(idx) = *marked {
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/nvenc.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/nvenc.rs
index 73ba818c..923d7509 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/nvenc.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/nvenc.rs
@@ -429,10 +429,25 @@ pub struct NvencD3d11Encoder {
     async_rt: Option<AsyncRetrieve>,
     /// `NV_ENC_CAPS_ASYNC_ENCODE_SUPPORT` from the caps probe — gates the async retrieve mode.
     async_supported: bool,
-    /// (bitstream, mapped input resource to unmap after retrieval, pts_ns) per in-flight encode.
-    pending: VecDeque<(nv::NV_ENC_OUTPUT_PTR, nv::NV_ENC_INPUT_PTR, u64)>,
+    /// (bitstream, mapped input resource to unmap after retrieval, pts_ns, recovery-anchor) per
+    /// in-flight encode. The fourth field tags the first frame encoded after a successful
+    /// [`invalidate_ref_frames`](Encoder::invalidate_ref_frames) — the clean re-anchor P-frame the
+    /// client lifts its post-loss freeze on (see [`EncodedFrame::recovery_anchor`]).
+    pending: VecDeque<(nv::NV_ENC_OUTPUT_PTR, nv::NV_ENC_INPUT_PTR, u64, bool)>,
+    /// The frame number of the NEXT submission (also its `inputTimeStamp`). Pinned per frame by
+    /// [`Encoder::submit_indexed`] to the WIRE frame index the AU will carry, so the DPB timestamps
+    /// `invalidate_ref_frames` compares client frame numbers against stay 1:1 with the wire across
+    /// encoder rebuilds/resets (an internal counter desyncs on the first adaptive-bitrate rebuild —
+    /// RFI then never matches again). Self-increments as a fallback for un-indexed callers (tests).
     frame_idx: i64,
     force_kf: bool,
+    /// A successful [`invalidate_ref_frames`](Encoder::invalidate_ref_frames) arms this; the next
+    /// `submit` consumes it into `pending` so that AU ships as the recovery anchor. NVENC applies
+    /// the invalidation at the next `encode_picture`, so that frame is by construction the first
+    /// one coded against only-valid references — without tagging it the client's freeze can only
+    /// lift on an IDR, which the session glue suppresses after an RFI success (the cooldown):
+    /// a ~1 s frozen stall per loss event on NVIDIA hosts.
+    pending_anchor: bool,
     inited: bool,
     /// GPU capabilities probed once via `nvEncGetEncodeCaps` before configuring (Apollo's
     /// `get_encoder_cap`): gates 10-bit/custom-VBV/RFI on what this card actually supports instead
@@ -507,6 +522,7 @@ impl NvencD3d11Encoder {
             pending: VecDeque::new(),
             frame_idx: 0,
             force_kf: false,
+            pending_anchor: false,
             inited: false,
             rfi_supported: false,
             custom_vbv: false,
@@ -536,7 +552,7 @@ impl NvencD3d11Encoder {
             while rt.done_rx.try_recv().is_ok() {}
         }
         // Unmap any in-flight inputs, then unregister every cached texture and destroy the bitstreams.
-        for (_, map, _) in &self.pending {
+        for (_, map, _, _) in &self.pending {
             if !map.is_null() {
                 let _ = (api().unmap_input_resource)(self.encoder, *map);
             }
@@ -569,8 +585,10 @@ impl NvencD3d11Encoder {
         self.inited = false;
         self.next = 0;
         // The new session starts with an empty DPB (its first frame is an IDR), so any prior
-        // invalidation range is meaningless against it.
+        // invalidation range is meaningless against it — and the IDR is itself the re-anchor,
+        // so a pending anchor tag from a pre-teardown RFI is stale too.
         self.last_rfi_range = None;
+        self.pending_anchor = false;
     }
 
     /// Query one `NV_ENC_CAPS` value for this codec on an open session; 0 on any error (treat an
@@ -1133,7 +1151,7 @@ impl NvencD3d11Encoder {
     /// error surfaces AFTER the unmap (the resource is retired either way) so the session glue's
     /// rebuild path starts from clean state.
     fn absorb_done(&mut self, done: RetrieveDone) -> Result<()> {
-        let Some((bs, map, pts_ns)) = self.pending.pop_front() else {
+        let Some((bs, map, pts_ns, anchor)) = self.pending.pop_front() else {
             bail!("NVENC async: completion with no in-flight frame (pairing bug)");
         };
         if bs as usize != done.bs {
@@ -1157,7 +1175,7 @@ impl NvencD3d11Encoder {
                 data,
                 pts_ns,
                 keyframe,
-                recovery_anchor: false,
+                recovery_anchor: anchor,
             });
         Ok(())
     }
@@ -1249,6 +1267,11 @@ impl Encoder for NvencD3d11Encoder {
             self.init_session(&device)?;
             self.init_device = dev_raw;
         }
+        // The session's opening frame — NVENC emits it as an IDR regardless of pic flags, so the
+        // in-band HDR SEI must ride it too. Detected via the still-empty output slot counter
+        // (`teardown` zeroes it), NOT via `pts == 0`: `submit_indexed` pins pts to the wire frame
+        // index, which is non-zero on a mid-session encoder rebuild's first frame.
+        let opening = self.next == 0;
         // Async backpressure: never hand NVENC an output bitstream that is still in flight, and
         // keep in-flight depth within the capturer's texture ring (see `async_inflight_cap`). At
         // the cap, block on the OLDEST completion (the retrieve thread is already waiting on its
@@ -1323,6 +1346,10 @@ impl Encoder for NvencD3d11Encoder {
             } else {
                 0
             };
+            // Recovery anchor (armed by a successful invalidate_ref_frames): THIS frame is the
+            // first one encoded after the invalidation — the clean re-anchor. A simultaneous
+            // forced IDR is itself the re-anchor, so the tag is dropped in that case.
+            let anchor = std::mem::take(&mut self.pending_anchor) && flags == 0;
             let mut pic = nv::NV_ENC_PIC_PARAMS {
                 version: nv::NV_ENC_PIC_PARAMS_VER,
                 inputWidth: self.width,
@@ -1349,7 +1376,7 @@ impl Encoder for NvencD3d11Encoder {
             // built from the source display's metadata. Any decoder — incl. stock Moonlight — then
             // tone-maps from the real grade. HEVC/H.264 carry SEI; AV1 uses metadata OBUs (follow-up).
             // The scratch buffers must outlive `encode_picture`, so they live in this scope.
-            let is_idr = flags != 0 || pts == 0;
+            let is_idr = flags != 0 || opening;
             let mastering_sei = self
                 .hdr_meta
                 .map(|m| crate::hdr::hevc_mastering_display_sei(&m));
@@ -1391,8 +1418,12 @@ impl Encoder for NvencD3d11Encoder {
             (api().encode_picture)(self.encoder, &mut pic)
                 .nv_ok()
                 .map_err(|e| anyhow!("encode_picture: {e:?}"))?;
-            self.pending
-                .push_back((self.bitstreams[slot], mp.mappedResource, captured.pts_ns));
+            self.pending.push_back((
+                self.bitstreams[slot],
+                mp.mappedResource,
+                captured.pts_ns,
+                anchor,
+            ));
             // Async: hand the in-flight encode to the retrieve thread (channel capacity = POOL ≥
             // in-flight, so this send never blocks). The pending entry above pairs with its
             // completion FIFO in `absorb_done`.
@@ -1409,6 +1440,16 @@ impl Encoder for NvencD3d11Encoder {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    /// Pin this submission's frame number (= its `inputTimeStamp`) to the wire frame index the AU
+    /// will carry, so the DPB timestamps `invalidate_ref_frames` matches client frame numbers
+    /// against are the wire's — 1:1 across every rebuild/reset (see the trait doc). Within a
+    /// session the loop's prediction is nondecreasing; a repeat after a reset lands on a fresh
+    /// session (teardown cleared the DPB and `last_rfi_range`), so re-pinning is always sound.
+    fn submit_indexed(&mut self, frame: &CapturedFrame, wire_index: u32) -> Result<()> {
+        self.frame_idx = wire_index as i64;
+        self.submit(frame)
+    }
+
     fn request_keyframe(&mut self) {
         self.force_kf = true;
     }
@@ -1442,9 +1483,13 @@ impl Encoder for NvencD3d11Encoder {
         if self.encoder.is_null() || !self.rfi_supported || first < 0 || first > last {
             return false;
         }
-        // Already invalidated a covering range for this loss event — nothing more to do, no IDR.
+        // Already invalidated a covering range for this loss event — no new driver calls needed,
+        // no IDR. RE-ARM the anchor though: the client re-asking means the previous recovery
+        // anchor AU may itself have been lost, and the next frame is just as clean a re-anchor
+        // (it too references only valid frames).
         if let Some((pf, pl)) = self.last_rfi_range {
             if first >= pf && last <= pl {
+                self.pending_anchor = true;
                 return true;
             }
         }
@@ -1460,9 +1505,11 @@ impl Encoder for NvencD3d11Encoder {
         if first > last {
             return false;
         }
-        // We tag each input with `inputTimeStamp = frame_idx` (0,1,2,…), which is also the client's
-        // frame number (the packetizer numbers frames in submit order), so the client's lost-frame
-        // range maps 1:1 onto the timestamps NVENC invalidates here.
+        // Each input's `inputTimeStamp` is `frame_idx`, which `submit_indexed` pins to the WIRE
+        // frame index the AU carries — so the client's lost-frame range maps 1:1 onto the
+        // timestamps NVENC invalidates here, and stays 1:1 across encoder rebuilds/resets (an
+        // internal counter would desync on the first adaptive-bitrate rebuild and RFI would then
+        // clamp every range into first > last, silently degrading to IDR-only forever).
         // SAFETY: `invalidate_ref_frames` is a function pointer from the runtime-loaded `EncodeApi` table.
         // `self.encoder` was checked non-null at the top of this fn and is the live session; this runs
         // on the encode thread (like submit/poll), so there is no concurrent NVENC use. Each `ts` was
@@ -1480,6 +1527,11 @@ impl Encoder for NvencD3d11Encoder {
             }
         }
         self.last_rfi_range = Some((first, last));
+        // The next submitted frame is the first one encoded after the invalidation — the clean
+        // re-anchor P-frame. Arm the tag so its AU ships with `recovery_anchor` and the client
+        // lifts its post-loss freeze on it (instead of waiting ~1 s for the cooldown-suppressed
+        // IDR fallback).
+        self.pending_anchor = true;
         true
     }
 
@@ -1504,7 +1556,7 @@ impl Encoder for NvencD3d11Encoder {
                 .ready
                 .pop_front());
         }
-        let Some((bs, map, pts_ns)) = self.pending.pop_front() else {
+        let Some((bs, map, pts_ns, anchor)) = self.pending.pop_front() else {
             return Ok(None);
         };
         // SAFETY: a non-empty `pending` implies `submit` ran, so `self.encoder` is the live session
@@ -1545,11 +1597,28 @@ impl Encoder for NvencD3d11Encoder {
                 data,
                 pts_ns,
                 keyframe,
-                recovery_anchor: false,
+                recovery_anchor: anchor,
             }))
         }
     }
 
+    /// Encode-stall recovery: tear the whole session down (the same teardown a capture-device
+    /// change uses) and let the next `submit` rebuild it lazily on the current device — the owed
+    /// AUs are forfeited and the fresh session opens on an IDR. Gives the encode-stall watchdog a
+    /// healing lever on NVENC instead of ending the session. Caveat: the SYNC retrieve mode blocks
+    /// inside `lock_bitstream`, so a driver wedge that hangs the lock never returns to the loop
+    /// for the watchdog to fire — this lever fully protects the async retrieve mode (5 s event
+    /// timeouts surface as poll errors) and the submit-side failure paths.
+    fn reset(&mut self) -> bool {
+        // SAFETY: `teardown` (an `unsafe fn`) requires the encode thread with no NVENC call in
+        // flight and a session whose cached resources belong to `self.encoder` — all hold here
+        // (reset is called from the session loop between submit/poll, like every other method),
+        // and it early-returns on an already-null session.
+        unsafe { self.teardown() };
+        self.force_kf = true;
+        true
+    }
+
     fn flush(&mut self) -> Result<()> {
         Ok(()) // P1/ULL + frameIntervalP=1: each submit yields its AU; no internal queue to drain.
     }
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/stream.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/stream.rs
index 1e5f8905..60b9c059 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/stream.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/stream.rs
@@ -436,7 +436,10 @@ fn sendmmsg_all(sock: &UdpSocket, pkts: &[Vec<u8>]) -> std::io::Result<()> {
 /// behind encode (measured ~3 ms/frame at 4K, which capped GameStream's frame rate well below what
 /// the encoder alone can sustain).
 struct RawFrame {
-    aus: Vec<(Vec<u8>, FrameType)>,
+    /// `(bitstream, type, wire frameIndex)` per AU. The stream loop assigns the index (it owns
+    /// the numbering — see its `au_seq`), so the encoder's RFI bookkeeping stays 1:1 with what
+    /// Moonlight sees across mid-stream encoder rebuilds.
+    aus: Vec<(Vec<u8>, FrameType, u32)>,
     ts: u32,
 }
 
@@ -460,8 +463,8 @@ fn spawn_packetizer(
             crate::punktfunk1::boost_thread_priority(false);
             while let Ok(frame) = rx.recv() {
                 let mut batch: PacketBatch = Vec::new();
-                for (au, ft) in frame.aus {
-                    batch.extend(pk.packetize(&au, ft, frame.ts));
+                for (au, ft, idx) in frame.aus {
+                    batch.extend(pk.packetize(&au, ft, frame.ts, Some(idx)));
                 }
                 if batch.is_empty() {
                     continue;
@@ -660,6 +663,16 @@ fn stream_body(
     // routed through the same coalesce gate as client IDR requests so a burst of drops (congestion)
     // can't become an IDR storm.
     let mut recover_after_drop = false;
+    // The stream's wire frameIndex numbering, owned HERE (the index of the next AU handed to the
+    // packetizer thread; a dropped-at-the-queue frame consumes none). A submission's future index
+    // is `au_seq + enc_inflight` (AUs are emitted FIFO, one per submission); passing it to
+    // `Encoder::submit_indexed` keeps the encoder's RFI bookkeeping 1:1 with Moonlight's frame
+    // numbers across the in-place encoder rebuild above (an internal counter would desync there).
+    // A pipeline-head drop desyncs the prediction by the dropped AU count for the frames already
+    // in flight — bounded and self-healing: the drop arms `recover_after_drop`, whose forced IDR
+    // resets the encoder's reference state (stale LTR/DPB bookkeeping dies with it).
+    let mut au_seq: u32 = 0;
+    let mut enc_inflight: u32 = 0;
 
     while running.load(Ordering::SeqCst) {
         let tick = Instant::now();
@@ -728,6 +741,10 @@ fn stream_body(
                 enc.request_keyframe();
                 last_keyframe = Some(Instant::now());
                 next_frame = Instant::now();
+                // The old encoder died with its in-flight submissions — their AUs will never
+                // arrive, so the numbering prediction restarts at `au_seq` (the fresh encoder's
+                // reference state is empty, so the reused predictions meet no stale bookkeeping).
+                enc_inflight = 0;
                 tracing::info!("gamestream: source rebuilt — stream continues");
                 continue;
             }
@@ -742,7 +759,13 @@ fn stream_body(
         if let Some((first, last)) = rfi_range.lock().unwrap().take() {
             // Prefer reference-frame invalidation when the encoder supports it (no costly IDR
             // spike); otherwise — or if the range is too old to invalidate — fall back to a keyframe.
-            if !(supports_rfi && enc.invalidate_ref_frames(first, last)) {
+            // Sanity-cap the range first: wider than RFI_MAX_RANGE exceeds any encoder's reference
+            // history (or is a phantom range from a desynced counter) — keyframe, never a
+            // force-reference that could ship corruption as a clean frame.
+            let width = (last as u32).wrapping_sub(first as u32);
+            if width > punktfunk_core::packet::RFI_MAX_RANGE
+                || !(supports_rfi && enc.invalidate_ref_frames(first, last))
+            {
                 want_keyframe = true;
             }
         }
@@ -766,21 +789,27 @@ fn stream_body(
                 tracing::debug!("video: keyframe request coalesced (IDR still in flight)");
             }
         }
-        enc.submit(&frame).context("encoder submit")?;
+        enc.submit_indexed(&frame, au_seq.wrapping_add(enc_inflight))
+            .context("encoder submit")?;
+        enc_inflight = enc_inflight.wrapping_add(1);
         let t_enc = tick.elapsed();
 
         // 90 kHz RTP timestamp from wall-clock, so a variable capture rate stays correct.
         let ts = (stream_start.elapsed().as_secs_f64() * 90_000.0) as u32;
         // Drain the encoder's access units (owned buffers) — FEC/packetization runs on the
-        // packetizer thread, off this loop, so it never serializes behind encode.
-        let mut aus: Vec<(Vec<u8>, FrameType)> = Vec::new();
+        // packetizer thread, off this loop, so it never serializes behind encode. Each AU is
+        // stamped with its wire frameIndex here (`au_seq + position`); the numbering only
+        // ADVANCES if the batch is actually enqueued below (a dropped batch consumes none).
+        let mut aus: Vec<(Vec<u8>, FrameType, u32)> = Vec::new();
         while let Some(au) = enc.poll().context("encoder poll")? {
             let ft = if au.keyframe {
                 FrameType::Idr
             } else {
                 FrameType::P
             };
-            aus.push((au.data, ft));
+            let idx = au_seq.wrapping_add(aus.len() as u32);
+            aus.push((au.data, ft, idx));
+            enc_inflight = enc_inflight.saturating_sub(1);
         }
         let t_pkt = tick.elapsed();
 
@@ -788,9 +817,11 @@ fn stream_body(
         // (packetizer, or the paced sender behind it) is behind — drop this frame (FEC/RFI covers the
         // client) and keep encoding, so a downstream stall can never cap the encode rate.
         if !aus.is_empty() {
+            let batch_len = aus.len() as u32;
             match raw_tx.try_send(RawFrame { aus, ts }) {
                 Ok(()) => {
                     sent_batches += 1;
+                    au_seq = au_seq.wrapping_add(batch_len);
                 }
                 Err(std::sync::mpsc::TrySendError::Full(_)) => {
                     dropped_batches += 1;
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/video.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/video.rs
index 561296e2..bb917cb3 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/video.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/video.rs
@@ -69,14 +69,22 @@ impl VideoPacketizer {
     }
 
     /// Packetize one encoded AU into wire datagrams (data shards + Cauchy RS parity shards).
+    ///
+    /// `frame_index`: `Some(i)` stamps the caller's index (the stream loop owns the numbering so
+    /// the encoder's RFI bookkeeping stays 1:1 with the wire across mid-stream encoder rebuilds —
+    /// see `Encoder::submit_indexed`); `None` draws from the internal counter (tests/harnesses).
     pub fn packetize(
         &mut self,
         au: &[u8],
         frame_type: FrameType,
         timestamp_90k: u32,
+        frame_index: Option<u32>,
     ) -> Vec<Vec<u8>> {
-        let frame_index = self.frame_index;
-        self.frame_index = self.frame_index.wrapping_add(1);
+        let frame_index = frame_index.unwrap_or_else(|| {
+            let i = self.frame_index;
+            self.frame_index = i.wrapping_add(1);
+            i
+        });
         let pps = self.payload_per_shard;
         let blocksize = SHARD_HEADER + pps; // = packet_size + 16
         let pct = self.fec_percentage;
@@ -235,7 +243,7 @@ mod tests {
         let mut pk = VideoPacketizer::new(1392, 0, 0); // data-only; pps = 1392+16-32 = 1376
         assert_eq!(pk.payload_per_shard, 1376);
         let au = vec![0xABu8; 4000]; // 8+4000 = 4008 → ceil(4008/1376) = 3 data shards
-        let pkts = pk.packetize(&au, FrameType::Idr, 90_000);
+        let pkts = pk.packetize(&au, FrameType::Idr, 90_000, None);
         assert_eq!(pkts.len(), 3);
         for p in &pkts {
             assert_eq!(p.len(), SHARD_HEADER + 1376);
@@ -266,7 +274,7 @@ mod tests {
         for ps in [0usize, 15, 16, 17, 32] {
             let mut pk = VideoPacketizer::new(ps, 20, 2);
             assert!(pk.payload_per_shard >= 1, "pps must never be 0 (ps={ps})");
-            let _ = pk.packetize(&[0xCDu8; 200], FrameType::Idr, 0); // must not panic
+            let _ = pk.packetize(&[0xCDu8; 200], FrameType::Idr, 0, None); // must not panic
         }
     }
 
@@ -274,7 +282,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn multi_block_split() {
         let mut pk = VideoPacketizer::new(1392, 0, 0); // data-only
         let au = vec![0u8; 600_000];
-        let pkts = pk.packetize(&au, FrameType::P, 0);
+        let pkts = pk.packetize(&au, FrameType::P, 0, None);
         let total = (8 + au.len()).div_ceil(1376);
         assert_eq!(pkts.len(), total);
         let n_blocks = total.div_ceil(255).clamp(1, 4);
@@ -286,7 +294,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn emits_parity_shards() {
         let mut pk = VideoPacketizer::new(1392, 20, 0); // pps = 1376, 20% FEC
         let au = vec![0xABu8; 4000]; // 8+4000 = 4008 → 3 data shards (k=3)
-        let pkts = pk.packetize(&au, FrameType::Idr, 0);
+        let pkts = pk.packetize(&au, FrameType::Idr, 0, None);
         // m = ceil(3*20/100) = 1 parity shard → 4 packets; wire_pct = 100*1/3 = 33.
         assert_eq!(pkts.len(), 4);
         for p in &pkts {
@@ -313,7 +321,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn parity_recovers_full_datagram_incl_flags() {
         let mut pk = VideoPacketizer::new(1392, 50, 0); // high pct → plenty of parity
         let au = vec![0x5Au8; 4000]; // k = 3
-        let pkts = pk.packetize(&au, FrameType::Idr, 0);
+        let pkts = pk.packetize(&au, FrameType::Idr, 0, None);
         let k = 3usize;
         let m = pkts.len() - k;
         assert!(m >= 1);
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/punktfunk1.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/punktfunk1.rs
index 955f428d..c7e42932 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/punktfunk1.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/punktfunk1.rs
@@ -1540,6 +1540,10 @@ async fn serve_session(
                                     // and gets no extra datagrams.
     let timing_conn =
         (hello.video_caps & punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_HOST_TIMING != 0).then(|| conn.clone());
+    // Probe-sequence capability: the client reassembles speed-test filler in its own index window,
+    // so mid-session bursts don't consume video frame indexes. An older client (bit clear) gets
+    // mid-session probes declined instead — see `run_probe_burst`.
+    let probe_seq = hello.video_caps & punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ != 0;
     let stats_dp = stats; // data-plane handle to the shared stats recorder
                           // Short label for web-console stats captures: the client's cert-fingerprint prefix, else its
                           // peer IP (no fingerprint = anonymous TOFU/--open client).
@@ -1595,6 +1599,7 @@ async fn serve_session(
                     &probe_result_tx,
                     &fec_target_dp,
                     timing_conn.as_ref(),
+                    probe_seq,
                 ),
                 Punktfunk1Source::Virtual => {
                     let compositor = compositor
@@ -1620,6 +1625,7 @@ async fn serve_session(
                         fec_target: fec_target_dp,
                         conn: conn_stream,
                         timing_conn,
+                        probe_seq,
                         stats: stats_dp,
                         client_label,
                         launch: launch_for_dp,
@@ -2437,6 +2443,7 @@ fn mark_recovery_boundary(ir_wave_pos: &mut u32, is_keyframe: bool, period: u32)
     }
 }
 
+#[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
 fn synthetic_stream(
     session: &mut Session,
     frames: u32,
@@ -2445,6 +2452,7 @@ fn synthetic_stream(
     probe_result_tx: &tokio::sync::mpsc::UnboundedSender<ProbeResult>,
     fec_target: &AtomicU8,
     timing_conn: Option<&quinn::Connection>,
+    probe_seq: bool,
 ) -> Result<()> {
     let interval = std::time::Duration::from_millis(1000 / 60);
     for idx in 0..frames {
@@ -2453,7 +2461,7 @@ fn synthetic_stream(
         }
         apply_fec_target(session, fec_target);
         // Service speed-test probes between synthetic frames (loopback bandwidth tests).
-        service_probes(session, stop, probe_rx, probe_result_tx);
+        service_probes(session, stop, probe_rx, probe_result_tx, probe_seq);
         let data = test_frame(idx, 64 * 1024);
         let pts_ns = now_ns();
         session
@@ -2795,9 +2803,34 @@ const MAX_PROBE_MS: u32 = 5_000;
 /// was actually offered so the client can compute delivery ratio (`received / bytes_sent`) and
 /// throughput. Video is paused for the duration (the caller's loop is blocked here) — a speed test
 /// is a deliberate, short interruption the client initiates.
-fn run_probe_burst(session: &mut Session, req: ProbeRequest, stop: &AtomicBool) -> ProbeResult {
+fn run_probe_burst(
+    session: &mut Session,
+    req: ProbeRequest,
+    stop: &AtomicBool,
+    probe_seq: bool,
+) -> ProbeResult {
     let target_kbps = req.target_kbps.min(MAX_PROBE_KBPS);
     let duration_ms = req.duration_ms.min(MAX_PROBE_MS);
+    // Probe filler is sealed in the PROBE index space (its own frame counter — video indexes are
+    // owned by the encode loop and must stay 1:1 with the encoder's RFI bookkeeping). A client
+    // that didn't advertise VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ reassembles everything in one window and would
+    // drop probe-space frames as stale against the video stream — measuring garbage — so its
+    // mid-session probe is DECLINED (zeroed result) instead. Old sealing (probe filler consuming
+    // video indexes) is not an option anymore: those indexes are invisible to every client gap
+    // detector and read as a phantom multi-thousand-frame loss after the burst.
+    if !probe_seq {
+        tracing::info!(
+            "declining speed-test probe: client predates VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ (its reassembler \
+             cannot window probe-space frames)"
+        );
+        return ProbeResult {
+            bytes_sent: 0,
+            packets_sent: 0,
+            duration_ms: 0,
+            wire_packets_sent: 0,
+            send_dropped: 0,
+        };
+    }
     if target_kbps == 0 || duration_ms == 0 {
         return ProbeResult {
             bytes_sent: 0,
@@ -2831,8 +2864,9 @@ fn run_probe_burst(session: &mut Session, req: ProbeRequest, stop: &AtomicBool)
         let allowed = (start.elapsed().as_secs_f64() * bytes_per_sec as f64) as u64;
         if bytes_sent < allowed {
             // A full send buffer drops on WouldBlock/ENOBUFS (UdpTransport returns Ok) — that loss is
-            // part of what the probe measures (it surfaces as send_dropped), so keep going.
-            let _ = session.submit_frame(&filler, now_ns(), FLAG_PROBE as u32);
+            // part of what the probe measures (it surfaces as send_dropped), so keep going. Sealed
+            // in the probe index space (FLAG_PROBE + its own counter) — never a video frame_index.
+            let _ = session.submit_probe_frame(&filler, now_ns());
             bytes_sent += chunk as u64;
             packets_sent += 1;
         } else {
@@ -2863,15 +2897,17 @@ fn run_probe_burst(session: &mut Session, req: ProbeRequest, stop: &AtomicBool)
 }
 
 /// Drain any pending speed-test requests and run each burst, replying with its [`ProbeResult`].
-/// Called once per data-plane loop iteration so a probe runs between frames.
+/// Called once per data-plane loop iteration so a probe runs between frames. `probe_seq` = the
+/// client advertised [`punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ`] (see [`run_probe_burst`]).
 fn service_probes(
     session: &mut Session,
     stop: &AtomicBool,
     probe_rx: &std::sync::mpsc::Receiver<ProbeRequest>,
     probe_result_tx: &tokio::sync::mpsc::UnboundedSender<ProbeResult>,
+    probe_seq: bool,
 ) {
     while let Ok(req) = probe_rx.try_recv() {
-        let result = run_probe_burst(session, req, stop);
+        let result = run_probe_burst(session, req, stop, probe_seq);
         let _ = probe_result_tx.send(result);
     }
 }
@@ -2886,16 +2922,18 @@ fn service_probes(
 /// buffer → EAGAIN drop → under infinite GOP, a freeze until the next keyframe). With no slack
 /// (encode ≈ interval) the budget collapses to 0 and even the overflow goes out immediately, so
 /// this is never slower than unpaced.
+#[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
 fn paced_submit(
     session: &mut Session,
     data: &[u8],
     pts_ns: u64,
     flags: u32,
+    frame_index: u32,
     deadline: std::time::Instant,
     burst_cap: usize,
 ) -> Result<PaceStat> {
     let wires = session
-        .seal_frame(data, pts_ns, flags)
+        .seal_frame_at(data, pts_ns, flags, frame_index)
         .map_err(|e| anyhow!("seal_frame: {e:?}"))?;
     let mut refs: Vec<&[u8]> = wires.iter().map(|w| w.as_slice()).collect();
     // FEC/recovery test knob (PUNKTFUNK_VIDEO_DROP) — same knob the GameStream plane honors.
@@ -2925,6 +2963,12 @@ struct FrameMsg {
     data: Vec<u8>,
     capture_ns: u64,
     flags: u32,
+    /// The wire `frame_index` this AU is sealed with. Assigned by the encode loop's
+    /// session-lifetime counter (`au_seq`) — the loop owns the video numbering so the index it
+    /// PREDICTED at submit time (`au_seq + inflight`, handed to `Encoder::submit_indexed`) is
+    /// exactly what the packetizer stamps, keeping the encoder's RFI bookkeeping 1:1 with the
+    /// wire across encoder rebuilds/resets. Sealed via `Session::seal_frame_at`.
+    frame_index: u32,
     /// When this frame's packets should have fully left (the next frame's due time) = the pacing
     /// budget. In the past when the send thread is behind → immediate send (catch up).
     deadline: std::time::Instant,
@@ -3117,6 +3161,9 @@ fn send_loop(
     // `Some` = the client advertised VIDEO_CAP_HOST_TIMING: emit one 0xCF datagram per AU right
     // after its last packet left the socket (capture→sent, the whole host pipeline incl. pacing).
     timing_conn: Option<quinn::Connection>,
+    // The client advertised VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ — mid-session speed-test bursts may run in the
+    // probe index space (else they're declined; see `run_probe_burst`).
+    probe_seq: bool,
 ) {
     boost_thread_priority(false); // transmit thread: above-normal (Apollo's encoder-thread level)
     let mut last_perf = std::time::Instant::now();
@@ -3145,7 +3192,7 @@ fn send_loop(
         }
         // Probes run here (they need the Session); a burst pauses video — the encode thread blocks
         // on the full frame channel meanwhile, which is exactly the intended pause.
-        service_probes(&mut session, &stop, &probe_rx, &probe_result_tx);
+        service_probes(&mut session, &stop, &probe_rx, &probe_result_tx, probe_seq);
         // Adaptive FEC: pick up any new recovery target the control task set from client LossReports.
         apply_fec_target(&mut session, &fec_target);
         // Short timeout so we keep re-checking `stop` + probes when no frames are flowing.
@@ -3155,6 +3202,7 @@ fn send_loop(
                 &msg.data,
                 msg.capture_ns,
                 msg.flags,
+                msg.frame_index,
                 msg.deadline,
                 burst_cap,
             ) {
@@ -3472,6 +3520,12 @@ struct SessionContext {
     /// thread emits one 0xCF datagram per AU (capture→sent µs) on it, so the client can split its
     /// `host+network` latency stage. `None` = older client, no emission.
     timing_conn: Option<quinn::Connection>,
+    /// The client advertised [`punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ`]: speed-test bursts may
+    /// run mid-session in the probe index space (its reassembler keeps a separate probe window).
+    /// `false` = older client whose single-window reassembler would drop probe-space frames as
+    /// stale — mid-session probes are DECLINED for it (a zeroed [`ProbeResult`]) rather than
+    /// consuming video frame indexes its gap detectors can't see (the phantom-gap freeze).
+    probe_seq: bool,
     /// Shared streaming-stats recorder. The capture loop reads `is_armed()` per frame to decide
     /// whether to measure the per-stage split; the send thread builds + pushes the aggregated
     /// `StatsSample` at its 2 s boundary.
@@ -3527,6 +3581,7 @@ fn virtual_stream(ctx: SessionContext) -> Result<()> {
         fec_target,
         conn,
         timing_conn,
+        probe_seq,
         stats,
         client_label,
         launch,
@@ -3664,6 +3719,7 @@ fn virtual_stream(ctx: SessionContext) -> Result<()> {
                     fec_target,
                     send_stats,
                     timing_conn,
+                    probe_seq,
                 )
             }
         })
@@ -3689,6 +3745,16 @@ fn virtual_stream(ctx: SessionContext) -> Result<()> {
     let deadline = std::time::Instant::now() + std::time::Duration::from_secs(seconds as u64);
     let mut next = std::time::Instant::now();
     let mut sent: u64 = 0;
+    // The session's video frame numbering, owned HERE (the wire `frame_index` of the next AU this
+    // loop hands to the send thread; the packetizer seals with exactly this via `seal_frame_at`).
+    // A submission's future index is predicted as `au_seq + inflight.len()` — exact because AUs
+    // are emitted FIFO, one per submission, and every event that forfeits in-flight frames
+    // (reset/rebuild/teardown) clears `inflight` AND the encoder's reference state, so the reused
+    // predictions can never meet stale bookkeeping. Passing it to `Encoder::submit_indexed` keeps
+    // the RFI backends' frame numbers 1:1 with the client's across encoder rebuilds — an
+    // encoder-internal counter desyncs on the first adaptive-bitrate rebuild (NVENC RFI then
+    // silently dies; AMF may anchor onto a post-loss LTR).
+    let mut au_seq: u32 = 0;
     // Rebuild-in-place on capture loss: track the live mode (a mode switch updates it) so a rebuild
     // targets the CURRENT mode, and cap consecutive rebuilds so a flapping source can't loop the
     // client through endless cold restarts.
@@ -3967,7 +4033,19 @@ fn virtual_stream(ctx: SessionContext) -> Result<()> {
         }
         if !want_kf {
             if let Some((first, last)) = rfi_range {
-                if enc.caps().supports_rfi && enc.invalidate_ref_frames(first as i64, last as i64) {
+                // Sanity-cap the range before consulting the encoder: RFI can only re-reference
+                // history the encoder still holds (NVENC: a 5-frame DPB; AMD LTR: ~1 s of marks).
+                // A range wider than RFI_MAX_RANGE is either a seconds-long outage (no valid
+                // reference anywhere) or a phantom jump from a desynced counter — both belong on
+                // the keyframe path, never a force-reference that could ship corruption as a
+                // recovery anchor. Wrapping width: frame indexes are u32 counters.
+                let width = last.wrapping_sub(first);
+                if width > punktfunk_core::packet::RFI_MAX_RANGE {
+                    tracing::debug!(first, last, width, "RFI range too wide — keyframe instead");
+                    want_kf = true;
+                } else if enc.caps().supports_rfi
+                    && enc.invalidate_ref_frames(first as i64, last as i64)
+                {
                     // The RFI recovered the loss with a clean re-anchor P-frame (no IDR). Anchor the
                     // keyframe cooldown so the client's echo of the SAME loss — its frames_dropped-
                     // driven keyframe request, arriving ~one loss-window later — is coalesced away
@@ -4234,7 +4312,11 @@ fn virtual_stream(ctx: SessionContext) -> Result<()> {
             st_queue.push(queue_us);
         }
         let t_submit = std::time::Instant::now();
-        if let Err(e) = enc.submit(&frame) {
+        // This submission's future wire frame index (see `au_seq`): AUs are emitted FIFO one per
+        // submission, so it lands `inflight.len()` AUs after the `au_seq` the loop is about to
+        // assign next. The RFI backends pin their frame numbering to it.
+        let wire_index = au_seq.wrapping_add(inflight.len() as u32);
+        if let Err(e) = enc.submit_indexed(&frame, wire_index) {
             // The input half of an encode stall: once the driver stops draining AUs, libavcodec's
             // one-frame buffer fills and avcodec_send_frame starts failing (EAGAIN) — the same
             // wedge the watchdog below catches, seen from submit. Rebuild the encoder in place
@@ -4339,6 +4421,7 @@ fn virtual_stream(ctx: SessionContext) -> Result<()> {
                 data: au.data,
                 capture_ns: cap_ns,
                 flags,
+                frame_index: au_seq,
                 deadline,
                 encode_us,
                 queue_us,
@@ -4354,6 +4437,7 @@ fn virtual_stream(ctx: SessionContext) -> Result<()> {
                 send_gone = true;
                 break;
             }
+            au_seq = au_seq.wrapping_add(1);
             sent += 1;
         }
         if send_gone {
@@ -4414,6 +4498,7 @@ fn virtual_stream(ctx: SessionContext) -> Result<()> {
             data: au.data,
             capture_ns: cap_ns,
             flags,
+            frame_index: au_seq,
             deadline,
             encode_us,
             queue_us: 0,
@@ -4426,6 +4511,7 @@ fn virtual_stream(ctx: SessionContext) -> Result<()> {
         if frame_tx.send(msg).is_err() {
             break;
         }
+        au_seq = au_seq.wrapping_add(1);
         sent += 1;
     }
     // Signal the send thread to drain + exit (drop the channel), then join it.
diff --git a/include/punktfunk_core.h b/include/punktfunk_core.h
index 9483b9e6..5956f52c 100644
--- a/include/punktfunk_core.h
+++ b/include/punktfunk_core.h
@@ -274,6 +274,15 @@
 // `AV_FRAME_FLAG_KEY` — this host flag is the only signal.
 #define USER_FLAG_RECOVERY_ANCHOR 32
 
+// Widest lost-frame range (frames, wrapping `last - first`) a reference-frame-invalidation
+// recovery may be asked to repair; anything wider goes straight to the keyframe path on BOTH
+// ends. RFI can only re-reference history the encoder still holds — NVENC keeps a 5-frame DPB,
+// AMD LTR ~1 s of marks — and a genuine loss this wide (>1 s even at 240 fps) has no valid
+// reference anywhere, so an RFI request for it is either hopeless or (worse) a phantom range
+// from a desynced counter. Shared by the host's RFI dispatch (range → keyframe fallback) and the
+// client-side gap detectors (huge gap → resync + keyframe request, no RFI).
+#define RFI_MAX_RANGE 256
+
 // Largest UDP datagram the core will send or accept. `Config::validate` bounds
 // `shard_payload` so `HEADER_LEN + shard_payload + CRYPTO_OVERHEAD ≤ MAX_DATAGRAM_BYTES`.
 #define MAX_DATAGRAM_BYTES 2048
@@ -382,6 +391,21 @@
 #define VIDEO_CAP_HOST_TIMING 8
 #endif
 
+#if defined(PUNKTFUNK_FEATURE_QUIC)
+// [`Hello::video_caps`] bit: the client's reassembler keeps **speed-test probe filler in its own
+// frame-index space** (a second reassembly window keyed on the [`crate::packet::FLAG_PROBE`]
+// user-flag), so probe bursts no longer consume video `frame_index`es. Without this, a mid-session
+// speed test burns thousands of video indexes that are invisible to every client-side gap detector
+// (probe frames are filtered before the pump sees them) — the first real AU afterwards reads as a
+// phantom multi-thousand-frame loss (spurious freeze + a nonsense RFI). It also lets the host's
+// encode loop own the video numbering outright (the wire-index contract
+// [`crate::packet::Packetizer::packetize_each`] documents), which reference-frame invalidation
+// depends on. The host runs mid-session probe bursts ONLY against clients that set this bit — an
+// older client gets a declined (zeroed) [`ProbeResult`] instead of a measurement its single-window
+// reassembler would silently drop as stale.
+#define VIDEO_CAP_PROBE_SEQ 16
+#endif
+
 #if defined(PUNKTFUNK_FEATURE_QUIC)
 // QUIC application error code a punktfunk/1 client closes the control connection with on a
 // **deliberate quit** (a user "stop", not a network drop). The host reads it off the connection's