diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/fabledsword/minstrel/player/MinstrelForwardingPlayer.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/fabledsword/minstrel/player/MinstrelForwardingPlayer.kt
index 6099fb51..34cec946 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/fabledsword/minstrel/player/MinstrelForwardingPlayer.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/fabledsword/minstrel/player/MinstrelForwardingPlayer.kt
@@ -206,6 +206,13 @@ class MinstrelForwardingPlayer(
         pollJob?.cancel()
         if (active != null) {
             Timber.w("UPnP active: %s -- pollLoop starting", active.routeName)
+            // Pause the wrapped ExoPlayer so we are not playing local audio
+            // simultaneously with the remote renderer. handler.post targets the
+            // application looper, so this runs on the same thread that processes
+            // our override calls -- no race with the pause() override branching
+            // to SOAP (holder.active is already non-null by the time this post
+            // fires, but delegate.pause() bypasses the override entirely).
+            handler.post { delegate.pause() }
             pollJob = scope.launch { pollLoop(active) }
             // Do NOT pre-queue here: selectUpnp's SetAV+Play SOAP may not have
             // landed yet. Initial pre-queue fires from pollLoop once the first
@@ -225,6 +232,14 @@ class MinstrelForwardingPlayer(
                 // SetAV+Play from selectUpnp (trackUri lands in the first
                 // successful poll). Firing from onActiveChanged would race
                 // with selectUpnp's SOAP calls.
+                if (!initialPreQueueDone) {
+                    Timber.w(
+                        "UPnP poll OK: route=%s trackUri=%s posMs=%d",
+                        active.routeName,
+                        remoteState.currentTrackUri,
+                        remoteState.positionMs,
+                    )
+                }
                 if (!initialPreQueueDone && remoteState.currentTrackUri.isNotBlank()) {
                     Timber.w("UPnP initial pre-queue for %s", active.routeName)
                     preQueueNext(active)
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/fabledsword/minstrel/player/output/OutputPickerController.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/fabledsword/minstrel/player/output/OutputPickerController.kt
index 096a3ef5..e72973fc 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/fabledsword/minstrel/player/output/OutputPickerController.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/fabledsword/minstrel/player/output/OutputPickerController.kt
@@ -258,12 +258,13 @@ class OutputPickerController @Inject constructor(
             return@withLock
         }
         val rendering = renderingClientFor(effectiveRoute.id)
-        // Pause local FIRST while holder.active is still null so the pause()
-        // call routes to ExoPlayer, not SOAP. After holder.set() below,
-        // ForwardingPlayer.pause() would translate this into AVTransport.Pause()
-        // -- the opposite of what we want, since we are about to tell Sonos
-        // to start playing.
-        playerController.pause()
+        // Local pause is handled by MinstrelForwardingPlayer.onActiveChanged
+        // via handler.post { delegate.pause() } -- called immediately after
+        // holder.set() fires. That path bypasses the SOAP-routing override, so
+        // there is no race between pausing ExoPlayer and starting the remote
+        // renderer. Do NOT call playerController.pause() here: it dispatches
+        // through Handler.post on the application looper, meaning it runs after
+        // holder.active is non-null and the override would route it to SOAP.
         selectedUpnpRouteIdInternal.value = effectiveRoute.id
         activeUpnpHolder.set(
             ActiveUpnp(