diff --git a/app/src/components/ErrorFallbackScreen.tsx b/app/src/components/ErrorFallbackScreen.tsx
index fdd42596c..1397f56c3 100644
--- a/app/src/components/ErrorFallbackScreen.tsx
+++ b/app/src/components/ErrorFallbackScreen.tsx
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+import { LATEST_APP_DOWNLOAD_URL } from '../utils/config';
+import { openUrl } from '../utils/openUrl';
+
 /**
  * ErrorFallbackScreen
  *
@@ -55,6 +58,9 @@ export default function ErrorFallbackScreen({
           <p className="text-sm text-stone-400 text-center mb-6">
             The application encountered an unexpected error and could not recover.
           </p>
+          <p className="text-xs text-stone-500 text-center mb-6">
+            If this keeps happening after restart, install the latest version.
+          </p>
 
           {/* Error details */}
           <div className="bg-stone-800/50 border border-stone-700/50 rounded-xl p-4 mb-6">
@@ -73,10 +79,10 @@ export default function ErrorFallbackScreen({
           </div>
 
           {/* Actions */}
-          <div className="flex gap-3">
+          <div className="grid grid-cols-1 sm:grid-cols-3 gap-3">
             <button
               onClick={onReset}
-              className="flex-1 bg-stone-700 hover:bg-stone-600 text-white text-sm font-medium rounded-xl px-4 py-3 transition-colors">
+              className="bg-stone-700 hover:bg-stone-600 text-white text-sm font-medium rounded-xl px-4 py-3 transition-colors">
               Try to Recover
             </button>
             <button
@@ -84,9 +90,14 @@ export default function ErrorFallbackScreen({
                 window.location.hash = '#/home';
                 window.location.reload();
               }}
-              className="flex-1 bg-coral-500 hover:bg-coral-600 text-white text-sm font-medium rounded-xl px-4 py-3 transition-colors">
+              className="bg-coral-500 hover:bg-coral-600 text-white text-sm font-medium rounded-xl px-4 py-3 transition-colors">
               Reload App
             </button>
+            <button
+              onClick={() => openUrl(LATEST_APP_DOWNLOAD_URL)}
+              className="bg-stone-800 hover:bg-stone-700 text-white text-sm font-medium rounded-xl px-4 py-3 transition-colors border border-stone-600">
+              Download Latest
+            </button>
           </div>
         </div>
       </div>
diff --git a/app/src/components/daemon/ServiceBlockingGate.tsx b/app/src/components/daemon/ServiceBlockingGate.tsx
index 795696f4a..8714b24c5 100644
--- a/app/src/components/daemon/ServiceBlockingGate.tsx
+++ b/app/src/components/daemon/ServiceBlockingGate.tsx
@@ -1,9 +1,83 @@
+import { useState } from 'react';
+
+import { useDaemonHealth } from '../../hooks/useDaemonHealth';
+import { useDaemonLifecycle } from '../../hooks/useDaemonLifecycle';
+import { useCoreState } from '../../providers/CoreStateProvider';
+import { LATEST_APP_DOWNLOAD_URL } from '../../utils/config';
+import { openUrl } from '../../utils/openUrl';
+
 interface ServiceBlockingGateProps {
   children: React.ReactNode;
 }
 
 const ServiceBlockingGate = ({ children }: ServiceBlockingGateProps) => {
-  return <>{children}</>;
+  const { snapshot } = useCoreState();
+  const daemonHealth = useDaemonHealth();
+  const daemonLifecycle = useDaemonLifecycle();
+  const [isRestarting, setIsRestarting] = useState(false);
+  const [restartError, setRestartError] = useState<string | null>(null);
+  const hasSession = Boolean(snapshot.sessionToken);
+  const shouldShowRecoveryPrompt =
+    hasSession && daemonLifecycle.maxAttemptsReached && daemonHealth.status !== 'running';
+
+  const handleRetry = async () => {
+    setIsRestarting(true);
+    setRestartError(null);
+    try {
+      const restarted = await daemonHealth.restartDaemon();
+      if (restarted) {
+        daemonLifecycle.resetRetries();
+        return;
+      }
+      setRestartError('Retry failed. Download the latest app build and try again.');
+    } catch {
+      setRestartError('Retry failed. Download the latest app build and try again.');
+    } finally {
+      setIsRestarting(false);
+    }
+  };
+
+  const handleDownloadLatest = async () => {
+    await openUrl(LATEST_APP_DOWNLOAD_URL);
+  };
+
+  if (!shouldShowRecoveryPrompt) {
+    return <>{children}</>;
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <>
+      {children}
+      <div className="fixed inset-0 z-[10000] bg-stone-950/80 backdrop-blur-sm flex items-center justify-center p-4">
+        <div className="w-full max-w-xl rounded-2xl border border-coral-500/30 bg-stone-900 p-6 shadow-2xl">
+          <h2 className="text-xl font-semibold text-white">OpenHuman core is unavailable</h2>
+          <p className="mt-2 text-sm text-stone-300">
+            We could not recover the local core service after multiple attempts. This can happen
+            after a critical crash or binary mismatch.
+          </p>
+          <p className="mt-2 text-sm text-stone-400">
+            Download the latest app build to restore a healthy core runtime.
+          </p>
+          {restartError && <p className="mt-3 text-sm text-coral-300">{restartError}</p>}
+          <div className="mt-5 flex gap-3">
+            <button
+              type="button"
+              onClick={handleRetry}
+              disabled={isRestarting}
+              className="rounded-lg border border-stone-600 px-4 py-2 text-sm text-stone-100 hover:bg-stone-800 disabled:opacity-60">
+              {isRestarting ? 'Retrying...' : 'Retry Core'}
+            </button>
+            <button
+              type="button"
+              onClick={handleDownloadLatest}
+              className="rounded-lg bg-coral-500 px-4 py-2 text-sm font-medium text-white hover:bg-coral-600">
+              Download Latest Version
+            </button>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </>
+  );
 };
 
 export default ServiceBlockingGate;
diff --git a/app/src/components/daemon/__tests__/ServiceBlockingGate.test.tsx b/app/src/components/daemon/__tests__/ServiceBlockingGate.test.tsx
index 9962b5dec..091e2c045 100644
--- a/app/src/components/daemon/__tests__/ServiceBlockingGate.test.tsx
+++ b/app/src/components/daemon/__tests__/ServiceBlockingGate.test.tsx
@@ -1,33 +1,38 @@
-import { render, screen, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react';
-import { describe, expect, it, type Mock } from 'vitest';
+import { fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
 
-import * as tauriCommands from '../../../utils/tauriCommands';
 import ServiceBlockingGate from '../ServiceBlockingGate';
 
+const mockOpenUrl = vi.fn();
+const mockUseCoreState = vi.fn();
+const mockUseDaemonHealth = vi.fn();
+const mockUseDaemonLifecycle = vi.fn();
+
+vi.mock('../../../utils/openUrl', () => ({
+  openUrl: (...args: unknown[]) => mockOpenUrl(...args),
+}));
+
+vi.mock('../../../utils/config', () => ({
+  LATEST_APP_DOWNLOAD_URL: 'https://github.com/tinyhumansai/openhuman/releases/latest',
+}));
+
+vi.mock('../../../providers/CoreStateProvider', () => ({ useCoreState: () => mockUseCoreState() }));
+
+vi.mock('../../../hooks/useDaemonHealth', () => ({ useDaemonHealth: () => mockUseDaemonHealth() }));
+
+vi.mock('../../../hooks/useDaemonLifecycle', () => ({
+  useDaemonLifecycle: () => mockUseDaemonLifecycle(),
+}));
+
 describe('ServiceBlockingGate', () => {
-  const mockIsTauri = tauriCommands.isTauri as Mock;
-  const mockServiceStatus = tauriCommands.openhumanServiceStatus as Mock;
-  const mockAgentStatus = tauriCommands.openhumanAgentServerStatus as Mock;
-  const mockInstall = tauriCommands.openhumanServiceInstall as Mock;
-  const mockStart = tauriCommands.openhumanServiceStart as Mock;
-
-  it('renders children directly outside Tauri', async () => {
-    mockIsTauri.mockReturnValue(false);
-
-    render(
-      <ServiceBlockingGate>
-        <div>App Content</div>
-      </ServiceBlockingGate>
-    );
-
-    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText('App Content')).toBeInTheDocument());
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    mockOpenUrl.mockReset();
+    mockUseCoreState.mockReturnValue({ snapshot: { sessionToken: 'token' } });
+    mockUseDaemonHealth.mockReturnValue({ status: 'running', restartDaemon: vi.fn() });
+    mockUseDaemonLifecycle.mockReturnValue({ maxAttemptsReached: false, resetRetries: vi.fn() });
   });
 
-  it('renders children even when service is not installed', async () => {
-    mockIsTauri.mockReturnValue(true);
-    mockServiceStatus.mockResolvedValue({ result: { state: 'NotInstalled' }, logs: [] });
-    mockAgentStatus.mockResolvedValue({ result: { running: false }, logs: [] });
-
+  it('renders children and does not show recovery prompt when daemon is healthy', async () => {
     render(
       <ServiceBlockingGate>
         <div>App Content</div>
@@ -35,15 +40,12 @@ describe('ServiceBlockingGate', () => {
     );
 
     await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText('App Content')).toBeInTheDocument());
-    expect(screen.queryByText('OpenHuman Service Required')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByText('OpenHuman core is unavailable')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  it('does not expose forced install actions from the app shell', async () => {
-    mockIsTauri.mockReturnValue(true);
-    mockServiceStatus.mockResolvedValue({ result: { state: 'NotInstalled' }, logs: [] });
-    mockAgentStatus.mockResolvedValue({ result: { running: false }, logs: [] });
-    mockInstall.mockResolvedValue({ result: { state: 'Stopped' }, logs: [] });
-    mockStart.mockResolvedValue({ result: { state: 'Running' }, logs: [] });
+  it('shows recovery prompt when daemon retries are exhausted', async () => {
+    mockUseDaemonHealth.mockReturnValue({ status: 'error', restartDaemon: vi.fn() });
+    mockUseDaemonLifecycle.mockReturnValue({ maxAttemptsReached: true, resetRetries: vi.fn() });
 
     render(
       <ServiceBlockingGate>
@@ -51,16 +53,13 @@ describe('ServiceBlockingGate', () => {
       </ServiceBlockingGate>
     );
 
-    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText('App Content')).toBeInTheDocument());
-    expect(screen.queryByRole('button', { name: 'Install Service' })).not.toBeInTheDocument();
-    expect(mockInstall).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
-    expect(mockStart).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(screen.getByText('OpenHuman core is unavailable')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Download Latest Version' })).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  it('renders children when service is running even if agent is not running', async () => {
-    mockIsTauri.mockReturnValue(true);
-    mockServiceStatus.mockResolvedValue({ result: { state: 'Running' }, logs: [] });
-    mockAgentStatus.mockResolvedValue({ result: { running: false }, logs: [] });
+  it('opens latest release page from recovery prompt', async () => {
+    mockUseDaemonHealth.mockReturnValue({ status: 'error', restartDaemon: vi.fn() });
+    mockUseDaemonLifecycle.mockReturnValue({ maxAttemptsReached: true, resetRetries: vi.fn() });
 
     render(
       <ServiceBlockingGate>
@@ -68,14 +67,23 @@ describe('ServiceBlockingGate', () => {
       </ServiceBlockingGate>
     );
 
-    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText('App Content')).toBeInTheDocument());
-    expect(screen.queryByText('OpenHuman Service Required')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Download Latest Version' }));
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(mockOpenUrl).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'https://github.com/tinyhumansai/openhuman/releases/latest'
+      );
+    });
   });
 
-  it('renders children when service is running and agent probe fails', async () => {
-    mockIsTauri.mockReturnValue(true);
-    mockServiceStatus.mockResolvedValue({ result: { state: 'Running' }, logs: [] });
-    mockAgentStatus.mockRejectedValue(new Error('agent status unavailable'));
+  it('calls restartDaemon and resetRetries on successful retry', async () => {
+    const mockRestartDaemon = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(true);
+    const mockResetRetries = vi.fn();
+    mockUseDaemonHealth.mockReturnValue({ status: 'error', restartDaemon: mockRestartDaemon });
+    mockUseDaemonLifecycle.mockReturnValue({
+      maxAttemptsReached: true,
+      resetRetries: mockResetRetries,
+    });
 
     render(
       <ServiceBlockingGate>
@@ -83,14 +91,18 @@ describe('ServiceBlockingGate', () => {
       </ServiceBlockingGate>
     );
 
-    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText('App Content')).toBeInTheDocument());
-    expect(screen.queryByText('OpenHuman Service Required')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Retry Core' }));
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(mockRestartDaemon).toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(mockResetRetries).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
   });
 
-  it('renders children when service is stopped but agent server is running (soft pass)', async () => {
-    mockIsTauri.mockReturnValue(true);
-    mockServiceStatus.mockResolvedValue({ result: { state: 'Stopped' }, logs: [] });
-    mockAgentStatus.mockResolvedValue({ result: { running: true }, logs: [] });
+  it('shows error message when restartDaemon returns false', async () => {
+    const mockRestartDaemon = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(false);
+    mockUseDaemonHealth.mockReturnValue({ status: 'error', restartDaemon: mockRestartDaemon });
+    mockUseDaemonLifecycle.mockReturnValue({ maxAttemptsReached: true, resetRetries: vi.fn() });
 
     render(
       <ServiceBlockingGate>
@@ -98,14 +110,17 @@ describe('ServiceBlockingGate', () => {
       </ServiceBlockingGate>
     );
 
-    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText('App Content')).toBeInTheDocument());
-    expect(screen.queryByText('OpenHuman Service Required')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Retry Core' }));
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(screen.getByText(/Retry failed/)).toBeInTheDocument();
+    });
   });
 
-  it('renders children when service probe fails but agent server is running (soft pass)', async () => {
-    mockIsTauri.mockReturnValue(true);
-    mockServiceStatus.mockRejectedValue(new Error('service status unavailable'));
-    mockAgentStatus.mockResolvedValue({ result: { running: true }, logs: [] });
+  it('shows error message when restartDaemon throws', async () => {
+    const mockRestartDaemon = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('daemon error'));
+    mockUseDaemonHealth.mockReturnValue({ status: 'error', restartDaemon: mockRestartDaemon });
+    mockUseDaemonLifecycle.mockReturnValue({ maxAttemptsReached: true, resetRetries: vi.fn() });
 
     render(
       <ServiceBlockingGate>
@@ -113,7 +128,10 @@ describe('ServiceBlockingGate', () => {
       </ServiceBlockingGate>
     );
 
-    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getByText('App Content')).toBeInTheDocument());
-    expect(screen.queryByText('OpenHuman Service Required')).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Retry Core' }));
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(screen.getByText(/Retry failed/)).toBeInTheDocument();
+    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/app/src/utils/config.ts b/app/src/utils/config.ts
index d817daa44..2e0fe007d 100644
--- a/app/src/utils/config.ts
+++ b/app/src/utils/config.ts
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ export const SENTRY_RELEASE = BUILD_SHA
 export const MINIMUM_SUPPORTED_APP_VERSION =
   (import.meta.env.VITE_MINIMUM_SUPPORTED_APP_VERSION as string | undefined)?.trim() ?? '';
 
-/** Recovery link opened when OAuth is blocked due to an outdated app build (build-time default; override via CI). */
+/** URL for the latest app release download page. Used for OAuth version-gate recovery and crash-recovery prompts. Override via VITE_LATEST_APP_DOWNLOAD_URL for deployment-specific download pages. */
 export const LATEST_APP_DOWNLOAD_URL =
   (import.meta.env.VITE_LATEST_APP_DOWNLOAD_URL as string | undefined)?.trim() ||
   'https://github.com/tinyhumansai/openhuman/releases/latest';
diff --git a/scripts/install.sh b/scripts/install.sh
index b50e4642f..4af42c455 100644
--- a/scripts/install.sh
+++ b/scripts/install.sh
@@ -255,7 +255,12 @@ PY
   ASSET_URL="$(echo "${parsed}" | sed -n '3p')"
   ASSET_SHA256="$(echo "${parsed}" | sed -n '4p')"
 
-  [ -n "${ASSET_URL}" ]
+  # Exit 0 on success, 2 when API responded but no compatible asset was found.
+  # Callers can distinguish "no asset" (2) from network/parse errors (1).
+  if [ -n "${ASSET_URL}" ]; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+  return 2
 }
 
 resolve_release_digest() {
@@ -292,8 +297,10 @@ if resolve_from_latest_json; then
   log_ok "Resolved latest release via latest.json (${LATEST_VERSION})"
 else
   log_warn "latest.json lookup failed. Falling back to releases API."
-  if ! resolve_from_release_api; then
-    if [ "${DRY_RUN}" = true ]; then
+  resolve_from_release_api
+  resolve_rc=$?
+  if [ "${resolve_rc}" -ne 0 ]; then
+    if [ "${DRY_RUN}" = true ] && [ "${resolve_rc}" -eq 2 ]; then
       if [ "${OS}" = "linux" ]; then
         log_warn "No Linux release asset is currently published. Dry-run will skip install steps."
         echo "DRY RUN: no compatible asset available for ${OS}/${ARCH}"