Windows desktop 26.908.70816: image conversation stuck in WebSocket idle-timeout reconnect loop, persists after Stop and resend

Environment

• Codex Desktop for Windows, client version 26.908.70816 (confirmed by local app-server logs)
• Model: gpt-6-astra; reasoning effort: high
• Occurred on 2026-09-16 (UTC+08:00)

Problem

An existing conversation containing image-based analysis becomes stuck before producing any assistant message or tool call for the current turn. The UI repeatedly reconnects. Earlier turns completed, although some also logged a connection reset. Another conversation in the same app remains able to respond and use tools, so this is not evidence of a complete connectivity outage.

Reproduction observed

1. Continue an existing conversation that has previously processed multiple images and tool results.
2. Send a follow-up with two local PNG images and request analysis.
3. The turn remains in progress without an assistant response; repeated WebSocket idle timeouts appear.
4. Stop the turn and resend the request.
5. The replacement turn shows the same failure. A follow-up recovery instruction did not unblock it.

Sanitized log excerpts

stream disconnected - retrying sampling request (1/5 ...)
sampling_error=stream disconnected before completion: idle timeout sending websocket request
stream disconnected - retrying sampling request (2/5 ...)
sampling_error=stream disconnected before completion: idle timeout sending websocket request

The same first and second retries occur in the replacement turn. Earlier completed turns also contained:

stream disconnected before completion: WebSocket protocol error: Connection reset without closing handshake

Expected

The conversation should resume and return output, or fail promptly with an actionable error rather than remaining in a prolonged reconnect loop. Stop and resend should not immediately reproduce an unrecoverable state.

Impact and investigation requested

Work is blocked and repeated recovery attempts consume time. Please investigate the request/stream lifecycle for image-heavy conversations and confirm whether disconnected or retried attempts can count toward usage when no output is delivered. I cannot quantify or prove incorrectly counted usage from local logs; account-specific usage review will be requested privately.

Potentially related: #38212, though that report describes a different platform/error detail. This report specifically concerns Windows, WebSocket send idle timeouts and Stop/resend failing to recover.

No credentials, account identifiers, private repository names, local paths, session contents, images, or full diagnostic logs are attached. Session/turn identifiers can be supplied privately to Support if required.

Start with the Windows desktop reproduction and the app-server log excerpts showing repeated WebSocket idle-timeout retries, then trace the request and stream lifecycle for image-heavy conversations. Done means identifying why Stop/resend remains stuck, ensuring unrecoverable failures surface promptly, and determining whether disconnected attempts can count toward usage; no source files or tests are named.