diff --git a/docs/CHANGELOG.md b/docs/CHANGELOG.md
index d2d2ff8..9c6bd73 100644
--- a/docs/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/docs/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,19 @@ All notable changes to the KoalaSync browser extension and relay server.
 
 ---
 
+## [v2.5.3] — 2026-07-02
+
+### Fixed
+- **Extension: Disney+ force sync and seek reliability** — The v2.5.2 Disney+ page-API integration leaked blob-relative `<video>` time into force sync, seeks, and heartbeats when the page-API bridge had no fresh data, which presented as "force sync does nothing on Disney+". Time/duration accessors now refuse to return native values on Disney+ (returning null/0) so stale bridge data degrades to a clean no-op instead of broadcasting garbage. `FORCE_SYNC_PREPARE` and `SEEK` payloads are now validated as finite before being relayed, and the popup's force-sync flow fails cleanly with a clear error rather than sending NaN through.
+- **Extension: Force-sync no longer routed twice** — A popup-initiated `FORCE_SYNC_PREPARE` was being delivered to the content script twice (once by the generic popup route and once by the force-sync-specific route), causing a double seek. The generic route is now scoped to play/pause/seek only.
+- **Extension: Disney+ Host Control Mode classification** — `hcmIsLive` previously read the native `<video>` duration to detect live streams, which on Disney+ is blob-relative garbage and falsely classified every stream as live (disabling snap-back and the desync dialog). The native-duration live signal is now skipped on Disney+ while YouTube/Twitch live detection via `Infinity` duration is preserved.
+- **Extension: Disney+ episode auto-sync and lobby readiness** — Episode-transition detection and the episode-lobby "ready" poll now read the playhead through the gated time accessor, so they no longer rely on blob-relative `currentTime` on Disney+.
+- **Extension: Force-sync median no longer skewed by peers without a known time** — A peer broadcasting `currentTime: null` (e.g. a Disney+ peer whose page-API bridge was not yet ready, or a freshly joined peer) was coerced to `0` by the jump-to-others median calculation, dragging the sync target toward the start of the video. Null and empty peer times are now excluded before the median.
+- **Extension: Force-sync `jump-to-me` retry on Disney+** — When the content script responds but the page-API bridge has not yet delivered a finite time (typical during the first ~250 ms after a Disney+ player loads), the popup now retries once without redundantly re-injecting the content script.
+- **Extension: Empty-string seek payload rejection** — The internal seek-time coercion no longer treats `''` as `0`; an empty-string `targetTime`/`currentTime` is rejected as invalid.
+
+---
+
 ## [v2.5.2] — 2026-07-02
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/extension/background.js b/extension/background.js
index 96972a2..c2f595d 100644
--- a/extension/background.js
+++ b/extension/background.js
@@ -2227,12 +2227,40 @@ async function handleAsyncMessage(message, sender, sendResponse) {
                 return;
             }
 
+            const payload = message.payload && typeof message.payload === 'object' ? message.payload : {};
+            const payloadNumber = (value) => value !== undefined && value !== null && value !== '' ? Number(value) : NaN;
+            if (message.action === EVENTS.FORCE_SYNC_PREPARE) {
+                const targetTime = payloadNumber(payload.targetTime);
+                if (!Number.isFinite(targetTime)) {
+                    sendResponse({ status: 'invalid_params' });
+                    return;
+                }
+                payload.targetTime = targetTime;
+            } else if (message.action === EVENTS.SEEK) {
+                const targetTime = payloadNumber(payload.targetTime !== undefined ? payload.targetTime : payload.currentTime);
+                if (!Number.isFinite(targetTime)) {
+                    sendResponse({ status: 'invalid_params' });
+                    return;
+                }
+                payload.currentTime = targetTime;
+                payload.targetTime = targetTime;
+            }
+
             const timestamp = Date.now();
             localSeq++;
             chrome.storage.session.set({ localSeq });
             updateLastAction(message.action, 'You', timestamp);
             
-            const payload = message.payload || {};
+            const hasPlaybackTime = Number.isFinite(payload.currentTime) || Number.isFinite(payload.targetTime);
+            if (!sender?.tab && (message.action === EVENTS.PLAY || message.action === EVENTS.PAUSE) && !hasPlaybackTime) {
+                const tabId = currentTabId ? parseInt(currentTabId) : NaN;
+                if (!isNaN(tabId)) {
+                    const state = await getReadyTabVideoState(tabId);
+                    if (state && !state.error && state.found && Number.isFinite(state.currentTime)) {
+                        payload.currentTime = state.currentTime;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
             lastActionState.targetTime = payload.targetTime !== undefined ? payload.targetTime : payload.currentTime;
             if (storageInitialized) chrome.storage.session.set({ lastActionState });
             
@@ -2246,6 +2274,10 @@ async function handleAsyncMessage(message, sender, sendResponse) {
                 currentTime: payload.currentTime !== undefined ? payload.currentTime : (payload.targetTime !== undefined ? payload.targetTime : undefined)
             });
 
+            if (!sender?.tab && (message.action === EVENTS.PLAY || message.action === EVENTS.PAUSE || message.action === EVENTS.SEEK)) {
+                routeToContent(message.action, message.payload);
+            }
+
             if (message.action === EVENTS.FORCE_SYNC_PREPARE) {
                 isForceSyncInitiator = true;
                 forceSyncAcks.clear();
@@ -2299,7 +2331,6 @@ async function handleAsyncMessage(message, sender, sendResponse) {
                 sendResponse({ status: 'error' });
             });
         } else {
-            routeToContent(message.action, message.payload);
             processEvent().catch(err => {
                 addLog('Content event privacy error: ' + err.message, 'error');
                 sendResponse({ status: 'error' });
diff --git a/extension/content.js b/extension/content.js
index adc3e52..b9e7eab 100644
--- a/extension/content.js
+++ b/extension/content.js
@@ -134,18 +134,20 @@
         return adapter ? adapter.getDebug(video) : null;
     }
 
-    function getSyncCurrentTime(video) {
-        const current = video.currentTime;
-        if (!Number.isFinite(current)) return null;
-        const siteTimeline = getSiteQuirkTimeline(video);
-        return siteTimeline ? siteTimeline.current : current;
-    }
-
-    function getSyncDuration(video) {
-        const siteTimeline = getSiteQuirkTimeline(video);
-        if (siteTimeline) return siteTimeline.duration;
-        return Number.isFinite(video.duration) && video.duration > 0 ? video.duration : 0;
-    }
+    function getSyncCurrentTime(video) {
+        const siteTimeline = getSiteQuirkTimeline(video);
+        if (siteTimeline) return siteTimeline.current;
+        if (isDisneyPlusHost()) return null;
+        const current = video.currentTime;
+        return Number.isFinite(current) ? current : null;
+    }
+
+    function getSyncDuration(video) {
+        const siteTimeline = getSiteQuirkTimeline(video);
+        if (siteTimeline) return siteTimeline.duration;
+        if (isDisneyPlusHost()) return 0;
+        return Number.isFinite(video.duration) && video.duration > 0 ? video.duration : 0;
+    }
 
     function toNativeSeekTime(video, targetTime) {
         if (!Number.isFinite(targetTime)) return targetTime;
@@ -283,7 +285,7 @@
         // otherwise pre-loaded videos report NaN and get misclassified as live,

         // which suppresses the desync dialog (L-2).

         if (video.readyState < 1) return false;

-        if (!Number.isFinite(video.duration)) return true;

+        if (!isDisneyPlusHost() && !Number.isFinite(video.duration)) return true;

         try {

             const s = video.seekable;

             if (s && s.length > 0 && s.start(0) > 1) return true; // sliding DVR window

@@ -746,17 +748,19 @@
         if (!idA || !idB) return false; // At least one unparseable → allow

         return idA !== idB;             // Both parseable → only block if different

     }

-

-    function checkEpisodeTransition() {

-        const currentTitle = getMediaTitle();

-        const video = findVideo();

-

+    function checkEpisodeTransition() {
+
+        const currentTitle = getMediaTitle();
+
+        const video = findVideo();
+
+        const current = video ? getSyncCurrentTime(video) : null;
         // Only trigger if: we had a previous title, the title changed,

         // a video exists, and we're near the start of new content.

         if (lastKnownMediaTitle && currentTitle

             && !sameEpisode(currentTitle, lastKnownMediaTitle)

             && video

-            && video.currentTime < 5

+            && current !== null && current < 5

             && video.readyState >= 1) {

             onEpisodeTransition(currentTitle);

         }

@@ -786,13 +790,15 @@
             payload: { newTitle }

         }).catch(() => {});

     }

-

-    function checkAndReportLobbyReady(expectedTitle) {

-        const video = findVideo();

-        const currentTitle = getMediaTitle();

-

+    function checkAndReportLobbyReady(expectedTitle) {
+
+        const video = findVideo();
+
+        const currentTitle = getMediaTitle();
+
+        const current = video ? getSyncCurrentTime(video) : null;
         if (video && currentTitle && sameEpisode(currentTitle, expectedTitle)

-            && video.currentTime < 5 && video.readyState >= 1) {

+            && current !== null && current < 5 && video.readyState >= 1) {

             // Match! Pause at start and report ready.

             if (!video.paused) {

                 _setSuppress('paused');

@@ -941,12 +947,12 @@
 

     // Listen for commands from background.js

     chrome.runtime.onMessage.addListener((message, sender, sendResponse) => {

-        if (!message) return;

-        if (message.action === 'get_current_time') {

-            const video = findVideo();

-            sendResponse({ currentTime: video ? video.currentTime : null });

-            return true;

-        }

+        if (!message) return;
+        if (message.action === 'get_current_time') {
+            const video = findVideo();
+            sendResponse({ currentTime: video ? getSyncCurrentTime(video) : null });
+            return true;
+        }
 

         if (message.action === 'APPLY_AUDIO_SETTINGS') {

             _audioProcessingAllowed = true;

diff --git a/extension/popup.js b/extension/popup.js
index ce66f71..d0f1462 100644
--- a/extension/popup.js
+++ b/extension/popup.js
@@ -1588,8 +1588,9 @@ elements.forceSyncBtn.addEventListener('click', async () => {
         }
         const peers = status.peers || [];
         const otherTimes = peers
-            .filter(p => typeof p === 'object' && p.peerId !== localPeerId && p.currentTime != null && !isNaN(p.currentTime))
-            .map(p => p.currentTime);
+            .filter(p => typeof p === 'object' && p.peerId !== localPeerId && p.currentTime != null && p.currentTime !== '')
+            .map(p => Number(p.currentTime))
+            .filter(Number.isFinite);
 
         if (otherTimes.length === 0) {
             showError(getMessage('ERR_NO_PEERS_TIME'));
@@ -1618,37 +1619,57 @@ elements.forceSyncBtn.addEventListener('click', async () => {
     forceSyncResetTimer = setTimeout(forceSyncReset, syncTimeoutMs);
     const tabId = parseInt(status.targetTabId);
 
+    const failForceSyncTime = () => {
+        if (forceSyncResetTimer) { clearTimeout(forceSyncResetTimer); forceSyncResetTimer = null; }
+        showError(getMessage('ERR_NO_VIDEO_TAB'));
+        forceSyncDone = true;
+        elements.forceSyncBtn.disabled = false;
+        elements.forceSyncBtn.textContent = originalText;
+    };
+
     const sendForceSync = (time) => {
+        if (time === null || time === undefined) {
+            failForceSyncTime();
+            return;
+        }
+        const target = Number(time);
+        if (!Number.isFinite(target)) {
+            failForceSyncTime();
+            return;
+        }
         chrome.runtime.sendMessage({
             type: 'CONTENT_EVENT',
             action: EVENTS.FORCE_SYNC_PREPARE,
-            payload: { targetTime: parseFloat(time) }
+            payload: { targetTime: target }
         });
     };
 
     if (mode === 'jump-to-me') {
+        const retryQueryTime = () => {
+            chrome.tabs.sendMessage(tabId, { action: 'get_current_time' }, (retryResponse) => {
+                if (chrome.runtime.lastError || !retryResponse || !Number.isFinite(retryResponse.currentTime)) {
+                    failForceSyncTime();
+                    return;
+                }
+                sendForceSync(retryResponse.currentTime);
+            });
+        };
         chrome.tabs.sendMessage(tabId, { action: 'get_current_time' }, (response) => {
-            if (chrome.runtime.lastError || !response || response.currentTime === undefined) {
+            if (Number.isFinite(response?.currentTime)) {
+                sendForceSync(response.currentTime);
+                return;
+            }
+            if (chrome.runtime.lastError || !response) {
                 chrome.runtime.sendMessage({ type: 'INJECT_CONTENT_SCRIPT', tabId }, (injectResponse) => {
                     if (chrome.runtime.lastError || !injectResponse || injectResponse.status !== 'ok') {
-                        showError(getMessage('ERR_NO_VIDEO_TAB'));
-                        forceSyncDone = true;
-                        elements.forceSyncBtn.disabled = false;
-                        elements.forceSyncBtn.textContent = originalText;
+                        failForceSyncTime();
                         return;
                     }
-                    setTimeout(() => {
-                        chrome.tabs.sendMessage(tabId, { action: 'get_current_time' }, (retryResponse) => {
-                            if (chrome.runtime.lastError) return;
-                            if (retryResponse && retryResponse.currentTime !== undefined) {
-                                sendForceSync(retryResponse.currentTime);
-                            }
-                        });
-                    }, 500);
+                    setTimeout(retryQueryTime, 500);
                 });
                 return;
             }
-            sendForceSync(response.currentTime);
+            setTimeout(retryQueryTime, 500);
         });
     } else {
         sendForceSync(targetTime);
diff --git a/scripts/test-content-video-finder.cjs b/scripts/test-content-video-finder.cjs
index 6c4a7db..70bff9a 100644
--- a/scripts/test-content-video-finder.cjs
+++ b/scripts/test-content-video-finder.cjs
@@ -122,6 +122,10 @@ const disneyVideo = makeVideo('disney-offset', 1920, 1080, {
 assert.equal(disneyFns.getSyncCurrentTime(disneyVideo), 9);
 assert.equal(disneyFns.getSyncDuration(disneyVideo), 10800);
 assert.equal(disneyFns.toNativeSeekTime(disneyVideo, 39), 39);
+assert.equal(disneyFns.getSyncCurrentTime(makeVideo('disney-native-broken', 1920, 1080, {
+  currentTime: Number.NaN,
+  duration: 0
+})), 9);
 
 const disneyNoPageApiFns = loadTimelineFns('www.disneyplus.com');
 const disneyOffsetVideo = makeVideo('disney-offset', 1920, 1080, {
@@ -129,7 +133,7 @@ const disneyOffsetVideo = makeVideo('disney-offset', 1920, 1080, {
   duration: 0,
   seekable: makeSeekable([[20, 10820]])
 });
-assert.equal(disneyNoPageApiFns.getSyncCurrentTime(disneyOffsetVideo), 29);
+assert.equal(disneyNoPageApiFns.getSyncCurrentTime(disneyOffsetVideo), null);
 assert.equal(disneyNoPageApiFns.getSyncDuration(disneyOffsetVideo), 0);
 assert.equal(disneyNoPageApiFns.toNativeSeekTime(disneyOffsetVideo, 39), 39);