diff --git a/extension/background.js b/extension/background.js
index d313830..4e533c5 100644
--- a/extension/background.js
+++ b/extension/background.js
@@ -409,10 +409,12 @@ function handleServerEvent(event, data) {
                 if (data.status === 'joined') {
                     if (!currentRoom.peers.find(p => (p.peerId || p) === data.peerId)) {
                         currentRoom.peers.push({ peerId: data.peerId, username: data.username, tabTitle: data.tabTitle });
+                        if (storageInitialized) chrome.storage.session.set({ currentRoom });
                         chrome.runtime.sendMessage({ type: 'PEER_UPDATE', peers: currentRoom.peers }).catch(() => {});
                     }
                 } else if (data.status === 'left') {
                     currentRoom.peers = currentRoom.peers.filter(p => (p.peerId || p) !== data.peerId);
+                    if (storageInitialized) chrome.storage.session.set({ currentRoom });
                     chrome.runtime.sendMessage({ type: 'PEER_UPDATE', peers: currentRoom.peers }).catch(() => {});
                 } else {
                     // Heartbeat/Update: Update tabTitle for matching
@@ -426,6 +428,7 @@ function handleServerEvent(event, data) {
                             const idx = currentRoom.peers.indexOf(peer);
                             currentRoom.peers[idx] = { peerId: data.peerId, username: data.username, tabTitle: data.tabTitle };
                         }
+                        if (storageInitialized) chrome.storage.session.set({ currentRoom });
                         chrome.runtime.sendMessage({ type: 'PEER_UPDATE', peers: currentRoom.peers }).catch(() => {});
                     }
                 }
@@ -556,9 +559,29 @@ chrome.runtime.onMessage.addListener((message, sender, sendResponse) => {
             useCustomServer: !!useCustomServer,
             serverUrl: serverUrl || ''
         }, () => {
-            connect();
-            // We wait for status update in handleServerEvent
+            if (socket && socket.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN && isNamespaceJoined) {
+                // FORCE TRANSITION: Emit Join Room directly if already connected
+                emit(EVENTS.JOIN_ROOM, { 
+                    roomId, 
+                    password,
+                    peerId,
+                    username: message.username || '', // Use username if provided by bridge
+                    protocolVersion: PROTOCOL_VERSION
+                });
+                addLog(`Joining room via link: ${roomId}`, 'info');
+            } else {
+                connect();
+            }
         });
+    } else if (message.type === 'REGENERATE_ID') {
+        const newId = self.crypto.randomUUID().substring(0, 8);
+        chrome.storage.local.set({ peerId: newId }, () => {
+            peerId = newId;
+            addLog(`Identity regenerated: ${newId}`, 'success');
+            if (socket) socket.close(); // Force reconnect with new ID
+            sendResponse({ peerId: newId });
+        });
+        return true;
     } else if (message.type === 'GET_VIDEO_STATE') {
         const { tabId } = message;
         if (!tabId) {
diff --git a/extension/popup.html b/extension/popup.html
index 1a95e1f..d110c89 100644
--- a/extension/popup.html
+++ b/extension/popup.html
@@ -315,6 +315,12 @@
             <p>• Username helps others identify you.</p>
             <p>• Noise filtering uses a blacklist to hide common non-video sites (e.g. Search, Social Media) from the Target Tab selector.</p>
         </div>
+
+        <div style="margin-top: 15px; padding: 8px; border-top: 1px solid var(--card);">
+            <label>Troubleshooting</label>
+            <button id="regenId" class="secondary" style="width: 100%; font-size: 11px;">Regenerate Peer ID</button>
+            <p style="font-size: 9px; color: var(--text-muted); margin-top: 5px; text-align: center;">Use this if you see "Duplicate Identity" errors.</p>
+        </div>
     </div>
 
     <!-- Dev Tab -->
diff --git a/extension/popup.js b/extension/popup.js
index 3b38951..78067d4 100644
--- a/extension/popup.js
+++ b/extension/popup.js
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ const elements = {
     roomInfo: document.getElementById('roomInfo'),
     inviteLink: document.getElementById('inviteLink'),
     filterNoise: document.getElementById('filterNoise'),
+    regenId: document.getElementById('regenId'),
     historyList: document.getElementById('historyList'),
     copyLogs: document.getElementById('copyLogs'),
     createRoomBtn: document.getElementById('createRoomBtn'),
@@ -42,7 +43,6 @@ const elements = {
     sectionActive: document.getElementById('section-active'),
     activeRoomId: document.getElementById('activeRoomId'),
     activeServer: document.getElementById('activeServer'),
-    peerList: document.getElementById('peerList'),
     peerListSync: document.getElementById('peerListSync'),
     videoDebug: document.getElementById('videoDebug'),
     playBtn: document.getElementById('playBtn'),
diff --git a/server/index.js b/server/index.js
index adf77b7..080935b 100644
--- a/server/index.js
+++ b/server/index.js
@@ -222,8 +222,10 @@ io.on('connection', (socket) => {
                     if (data.peerId === peerId && sid !== socket.id) {
                         const oldSocket = io.sockets.sockets.get(sid);
                         if (oldSocket) {
+                            oldSocket.emit(EVENTS.ERROR, { message: 'Deduplication: Another session with this ID joined. Disconnecting...' });
                             oldSocket.leave(roomId);
-                            socketToRoom.delete(sid);
+                            oldSocket.disconnect(true);
+                            log('DEDUPE', `Kicked old session for peer ${peerId}`);
                         }
                         room.peers.delete(sid);
                         room.peerIds.delete(sid);