diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/context/CallContext.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/context/CallContext.tsx
index fcce19a..ef3a434 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/context/CallContext.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/context/CallContext.tsx
@@ -2263,10 +2263,21 @@ export function CallProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
   // a call we route through `playSoundboard` so peers hear; outside a call
   // we fall back to `playSoundboardLocal` which plays through the system
   // default output only.
+  //
+  // We deliberately do NOT depend on `state.kind` in the effect dep array:
+  // every call state transition (idle → connecting → connected → reconnecting
+  // → ...) would trigger a full unregister+re-register cycle through IPC, and
+  // during the 1–50 ms gap the hotkeys are silently dead. Instead we read the
+  // current call state through a ref that's always kept in sync.
+  const callStateKindRef = useRef(state.kind);
+  callStateKindRef.current = state.kind;
+  const playSoundboardRef = useRef(playSoundboard);
+  playSoundboardRef.current = playSoundboard;
+
   useEffect(() => {
     const teardown = startSoundboardHotkeys((id) => {
-      if (state.kind === 'connected') {
-        void playSoundboard(id);
+      if (callStateKindRef.current === 'connected') {
+        void playSoundboardRef.current(id);
       } else {
         void (async () => {
           const entries = await listSoundboard();
@@ -2276,7 +2287,7 @@ export function CallProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
       }
     });
     return teardown;
-  }, [state.kind, playSoundboard]);
+  }, []); // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
 
   const setAudioInputDevice = useCallback(async (deviceId: string | null) => {
     updateAudioSettings({ inputDeviceId: deviceId });