diff --git a/android/src/androidTest/java/com/comapeo/core/NodeJSIPCTest.kt b/android/src/androidTest/java/com/comapeo/core/NodeJSIPCTest.kt
index 65ef8886..74f2f530 100644
--- a/android/src/androidTest/java/com/comapeo/core/NodeJSIPCTest.kt
+++ b/android/src/androidTest/java/com/comapeo/core/NodeJSIPCTest.kt
@@ -288,6 +288,45 @@ class NodeJSIPCTest {
         Thread.sleep(500)
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Pins the synchronous-close contract: after [NodeJSIPC.close] returns, the
+     * peer's blocking read has already observed EOF. A regression to the
+     * `disconnect()` teardown — which closes the socket behind
+     * `cancelAndJoin()` of a receive loop parked in a blocking `readFully` —
+     * would deadlock and leave the read blocked, leaking the FD across reloads.
+     */
+    @Test
+    fun closeReleasesSocketSynchronously() {
+        val connected = CountDownLatch(1)
+        val readResult = java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger(Int.MIN_VALUE)
+        val readReturned = CountDownLatch(1)
+
+        startMockServer { input, _ ->
+            connected.countDown()
+            try {
+                readResult.set(input.read())
+            } catch (e: IOException) {
+                // Some kernels surface peer-close as IOException; treat as EOF.
+                readResult.set(-1)
+            }
+            readReturned.countDown()
+        }
+
+        val ipc = NodeJSIPC(socketFile) { msg -> receivedMessages.add(msg) }
+        assertTrue("Should connect within 10s", connected.await(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS))
+        // Let the receive loop settle so we test steady-state close, not a
+        // connect-cancel race.
+        Thread.sleep(200)
+
+        ipc.close()
+
+        assertTrue(
+            "Server-side read must unblock with EOF within 1s of close() returning",
+            readReturned.await(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
+        )
+        assertEquals(-1, readResult.get())
+    }
+
     @Test
     fun handlesServerDisconnect() {
         val connected = CountDownLatch(1)
diff --git a/android/src/main/java/com/comapeo/core/ComapeoCoreModule.kt b/android/src/main/java/com/comapeo/core/ComapeoCoreModule.kt
index 502997b2..f38b2a58 100644
--- a/android/src/main/java/com/comapeo/core/ComapeoCoreModule.kt
+++ b/android/src/main/java/com/comapeo/core/ComapeoCoreModule.kt
@@ -139,8 +139,13 @@ class ComapeoCoreModule : Module() {
         }
 
         OnDestroy {
-            ipc.disconnect()
-            controlIpc.disconnect()
+            // OnCreate/OnDestroy bind to the Expo AppContext (JS-runtime
+            // lifetime), so they fire on every JS reload while this process
+            // stays alive. Close synchronously: the backend must see EOF on the
+            // old socket before the next OnCreate connects, otherwise the FD
+            // lingers and rpc-reflector listeners leak onto MapeoManager.
+            ipc.close()
+            controlIpc.close()
         }
 
         OnActivityEntersForeground {
diff --git a/android/src/main/java/com/comapeo/core/NodeJSIPC.kt b/android/src/main/java/com/comapeo/core/NodeJSIPC.kt
index 52efc197..aa06b5fc 100644
--- a/android/src/main/java/com/comapeo/core/NodeJSIPC.kt
+++ b/android/src/main/java/com/comapeo/core/NodeJSIPC.kt
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineScope
 import kotlinx.coroutines.Dispatchers
 import kotlinx.coroutines.Job
 import kotlinx.coroutines.SupervisorJob
+import kotlinx.coroutines.cancel
 import kotlinx.coroutines.cancelAndJoin
 import kotlinx.coroutines.channels.Channel
 import kotlinx.coroutines.delay
@@ -188,11 +189,15 @@ class NodeJSIPC(
                     }
                 }
             }
+            // `shutdown` before `cancelAndJoin`: the receive loop is parked in a
+            // blocking `readFully` that `cancelAndJoin` cannot interrupt, so without
+            // first waking it the join blocks until the node backend sends a message
+            // or closes the socket — a deadlock when node is connected but idle.
+            // Same fix as close().
+            shutdownSocket()
             connectJob?.cancelAndJoin()
             connectJob = null
-            try { dataOutputStream?.close() } catch (_: Exception) {}
-            try { dataInputStream?.close() } catch (_: Exception) {}
-            try { socket.close() } catch (_: Exception) {}
+            closeStreamsAndSocket()
         }
         disconnectJob.invokeOnCompletion { cause ->
             state.value = when (cause) {
@@ -217,6 +222,45 @@ class NodeJSIPC(
         connect()
         sendChannel.trySend(message)
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Synchronous, terminal teardown for JS reload (process stays alive, so the
+     * fd must be closed here or it leaks until process death). `shutdown` must
+     * precede `close`: the receive loop is parked in a blocking `readFully` that
+     * holds the socket open until it returns, so `close()` alone never reaches
+     * the node backend — `shutdownInput` wakes the read, `shutdownOutput` sends FIN.
+     * Not reusable after close; construct a new instance.
+     */
+    fun close() {
+        scope.cancel()
+        // Mark terminal before shutdownSocket() wakes the receive loop's blocking
+        // readFully: its IOException handler calls disconnect(), which then
+        // short-circuits on this state guard instead of relaunching teardown on
+        // the now-cancelled scope. Set after scope.cancel() so the (already
+        // cancelled) state collector still doesn't forward this transition,
+        // matching the prior terminal-close semantics.
+        state.value = State.Disconnected
+        sendChannel.close()
+        shutdownSocket()
+        closeStreamsAndSocket()
+    }
+
+    // `shutdown` (not `close`) wakes the receive loop parked in a blocking
+    // readFully and sends FIN; it must precede closeStreamsAndSocket().
+    private fun shutdownSocket() {
+        if (::socket.isInitialized) {
+            try { socket.shutdownInput() } catch (_: Exception) {}
+            try { socket.shutdownOutput() } catch (_: Exception) {}
+        }
+    }
+
+    private fun closeStreamsAndSocket() {
+        try { dataOutputStream?.close() } catch (_: Exception) {}
+        try { dataInputStream?.close() } catch (_: Exception) {}
+        if (::socket.isInitialized) {
+            try { socket.close() } catch (_: Exception) {}
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/ios/ComapeoCoreModule.swift b/ios/ComapeoCoreModule.swift
index c90db167..39d3f52d 100644
--- a/ios/ComapeoCoreModule.swift
+++ b/ios/ComapeoCoreModule.swift
@@ -50,6 +50,11 @@ public class ComapeoCoreModule: Module {
         }
 
         OnDestroy {
+            // Fires on every JS reload as of expo-modules-core SDK 53+ (weak
+            // MainValueConverter.appContext lets AppContext deinit; verified on
+            // 56). No iOS equivalent of the Android close() is needed: iOS
+            // disconnect() shutdown(2)s before joining the receive loop, so the
+            // backend sees EOF synchronously without the cancelAndJoin deadlock.
             self.ipc?.disconnect()
             self.ipc = nil
         }