diff --git a/tests/mobile/cdp.mjs b/tests/mobile/cdp.mjs
index df448af..c9cb0ec 100644
--- a/tests/mobile/cdp.mjs
+++ b/tests/mobile/cdp.mjs
@@ -94,12 +94,30 @@ export async function attachPhone(port) {
             throw new Error("the phone is in use (" + who + " is on screen); not touching it");
         }
     }
-    const pid = adb("shell", "pidof", "com.soulstream.app").toString().trim();
+    /* The devtools socket is registered by the WebView, not by the process, so
+       there is a window after a launch where the app is up, focused and has a
+       pid, and the socket does not exist yet. On a loaded machine that window
+       has been as long as ten seconds — a walk that attached once and gave up
+       read it as "is SoulStream on screen?" when it plainly was. Try for a
+       while, re-reading the pid each time in case the app restarted under us. */
+    let pid = "";
+    let last = null;
+    for (let attempt = 0; attempt < 6; attempt++) {
+        pid = adb("shell", "pidof", "com.soulstream.app").toString().trim();
+        if (pid) {
+            adb("forward", "--remove-all");
+            adb("forward", `tcp:${port}`, `localabstract:webview_devtools_remote_${pid}`);
+            try {
+                const cdp = await CDP.attach(port, { phone: true });
+                return { cdp, pid };
+            } catch (e) {
+                last = e;
+            }
+        }
+        await sleep(2500);
+    }
     if (!pid) throw new Error("SoulStream is not running on the phone (adb shell pidof found nothing)");
-    adb("forward", "--remove-all");
-    adb("forward", `tcp:${port}`, `localabstract:webview_devtools_remote_${pid}`);
-    const cdp = await CDP.attach(port, { phone: true });
-    return { cdp, pid };
+    throw last ?? new Error("could not attach to the phone's WebView on port " + port);
 }
 
 /** The phone's own frame, status bar included. */