diff --git a/src/main.js b/src/main.js
index 81a1efd..28c8180 100644
--- a/src/main.js
+++ b/src/main.js
@@ -166,7 +166,8 @@ window.addEventListener('load', () => {
     const s = S.queue[S.qIdx];
     if(!s) return;
     updateMediaSession(s);
-    if(navigator.mediaSession)
+    // Don't stomp playbackState during a src-swap — _trackChanging guards the transition
+    if(navigator.mediaSession && !S._trackChanging)
       navigator.mediaSession.playbackState = S.audio.paused ? 'paused' : 'playing';
     // If audio was playing before backgrounding but is now paused (OS kill), try to resume
     if(!S.audio.paused) return;
diff --git a/src/player.js b/src/player.js
index d7aef7d..fefa697 100644
--- a/src/player.js
+++ b/src/player.js
@@ -61,7 +61,16 @@ export function playCurrent() {
   const src = (_preId === s.id && _preUrl) ? _preUrl : streamUrl(s.id);
   _clearPreload();
   S.audio.src = src;
+  // canplay is fired by the audio element's internal state machine — not throttled like
+  // setTimeout in background. Use it as a reliable retry trigger when play() is rejected.
+  S.audio.addEventListener('canplay', () => {
+    if (S.queue[S.qIdx]?.id === s.id && S.audio.paused) {
+      S._trackChanging = true;
+      S.audio.play().catch(() => { S._trackChanging = false; });
+    }
+  }, { once: true });
   const _tryPlay = (attempt) => {
+    try { if(navigator.audioSession) navigator.audioSession.type = 'playback'; } catch {}
     S.audio.play().catch(err => {
       S._trackChanging = false;
       if (err?.name === 'AbortError') return; // src changed mid-flight, stop
@@ -345,6 +354,16 @@ export function setVolume(v) {
 }
 
 // ─── MEDIA SESSION ───
+// Cache cover art URLs — same auth token is reused so the OS can cache the artwork image.
+// Without this, every metadata update regenerates a new token URL and Samsung re-fetches
+// the artwork on each skip, causing the notification to visually "restart".
+const _coverCache = new Map();
+function _cachedCoverUrl(id, size) {
+  const key = `${id}:${size}`;
+  if (!_coverCache.has(key)) _coverCache.set(key, coverUrl(id, size));
+  return _coverCache.get(key);
+}
+
 export function updateMediaSession(s) {
   // Android native MediaSession bridge — use 512px art for high-DPI screens
   if (window.Android) {
@@ -360,9 +379,9 @@ export function updateMediaSession(s) {
 
   if(!navigator.mediaSession) return;
   const artwork = s.coverArt ? [
-    { src: coverUrl(s.coverArt,96),  sizes:'96x96',  type:'image/jpeg' },
-    { src: coverUrl(s.coverArt,300), sizes:'300x300', type:'image/jpeg' },
-    { src: coverUrl(s.coverArt,512), sizes:'512x512', type:'image/jpeg' },
+    { src: _cachedCoverUrl(s.coverArt, 96),  sizes:'96x96',  type:'image/jpeg' },
+    { src: _cachedCoverUrl(s.coverArt, 300), sizes:'300x300', type:'image/jpeg' },
+    { src: _cachedCoverUrl(s.coverArt, 512), sizes:'512x512', type:'image/jpeg' },
   ] : [];
   navigator.mediaSession.metadata = new MediaMetadata({ title:s.title, artist:s.artist||'', album:s.album||'', artwork });
   navigator.mediaSession.setActionHandler('play', togglePlay);