codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix Codex mobile shows running desktop as offline and Reconnect silently does nothing

Summary

The Codex desktop app is open and running on my Mac, but the Codex entry inside the ChatGPT iOS app shows the machine as offline. Tapping Reconnect in the iOS app does not appear to do anything: there is no loading state, no retry indication, no error message, and no diagnostic hint. The mobile app remains stuck on the offline state, so I cannot connect to Codex from my phone.

Environment

• Codex desktop app: 26.513.20950 (2816)
• macOS: Tahoe 26.4.1
• Mac hardware: MacBook Pro 16-inch, Apple M5 Max, 128 GB memory
• Desktop name shown in mobile app: Mac.attlocal.net
• ChatGPT iOS app: 1.2026.125 (25565698938)
• Plan: ChatGPT Pro
• Approximate time observed: 2026-05-15 around 13:42–13:43 PDT
• Request ID / correlation ID: not available because the UI shows no error banner or failure details

Steps to reproduce

1. Open and keep the Codex desktop app running on macOS.
2. Open the ChatGPT app on iOS.
3. Go to the Codex section/device connection page.
4. Observe that the Mac entry appears as offline, e.g. Mac.attlocal.net — Offline · Last seen 18 hours ago, even though the desktop Codex app is currently open.
5. Tap Reconnect.

Actual behavior

• The mobile app still shows the Mac as offline.
• The Reconnect button appears to be non-functional from the user's perspective.
• There is no visible loading spinner, state change, retry progress, permission prompt, sign-in prompt, network diagnostic, or error message.
• The UI gives no actionable explanation for why the desktop app cannot be reached.

Expected behavior

• If the desktop Codex app is currently running and signed in, the mobile app should refresh the device heartbeat/status and reconnect successfully.
• If reconnection fails, tapping Reconnect should surface a clear error state or diagnostic message, such as auth/session mismatch, relay/device discovery failure, local network issue, stale device registration, or server-side connectivity problem.
• The button should provide visible feedback while the reconnect attempt is happening, and should not fail silently.

Impact

This makes the mobile Codex integration unusable because the phone cannot connect to a desktop Codex instance that is actually open. The lack of any visible error or request/correlation ID also makes it hard for users to provide useful diagnostics.

Suggested investigation / fix

• Verify that the iOS Reconnect action is actually dispatching a reconnect request and not being swallowed by a stale UI/device record.
• Add a visible loading, timeout, and failure state for the reconnect flow.
• Refresh the desktop heartbeat/device presence when the mobile page is opened or when Reconnect is tapped.
• Surface a diagnostic error code/request ID when reconnect fails.
• Check whether recent Codex desktop/iOS app versions have a stale pairing, relay discovery, or device-registration issue between desktop Codex and ChatGPT iOS.

Screenshot

A single screenshot is attached showing the relevant iOS Codex state: Mac.attlocal.net is shown as Offline · Last seen 18 hours ago, with a Reconnect button that does not visibly respond when tapped.

The remaining environment details are described in text above instead of attaching additional screenshots.

<img width="1206" height="2622" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/18a3f6c1-d30b-4463-9419-85504ccd82c0" />