diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f501696e1ef..9895e404b2f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -301,6 +301,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Outbound delivery replay safety: use two-phase delivery ACK markers (`.json` -> `.delivered` -> unlink) and startup marker cleanup so crash windows between send and cleanup do not replay already-delivered messages. (#38668) Thanks @Gundam98.
 - Nodes/system.run approval binding: carry prepared approval plans through gateway forwarding and bind interpreter-style script operands across approval to execution, so post-approval script rewrites are denied while unchanged approved script runs keep working. Thanks @tdjackey for reporting.
 - Nodes/system.run PowerShell wrapper parsing: treat `pwsh`/`powershell` `-EncodedCommand` forms as shell-wrapper payloads so allowlist mode still requires approval instead of falling back to plain argv analysis. Thanks @tdjackey for reporting.
+- Control UI/auth error reporting: map generic browser `Fetch failed` websocket close errors back to actionable gateway auth messages (`gateway token mismatch`, `authentication failed`, `retry later`) so dashboard disconnects stop hiding credential problems. Landed from contributor PR #28608 by @KimGLee. Thanks @KimGLee.
 
 ## 2026.3.2
 
diff --git a/ui/src/ui/app-gateway.node.test.ts b/ui/src/ui/app-gateway.node.test.ts
index f5ce210906c..c8ea860b72e 100644
--- a/ui/src/ui/app-gateway.node.test.ts
+++ b/ui/src/ui/app-gateway.node.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { GATEWAY_EVENT_UPDATE_AVAILABLE } from "../../../src/gateway/events.js";
+import { ConnectErrorDetailCodes } from "../../../src/gateway/protocol/connect-error-details.js";
 import { connectGateway, resolveControlUiClientVersion } from "./app-gateway.ts";
 
 type GatewayClientMock = {
@@ -209,6 +210,69 @@ describe("connectGateway", () => {
     expect(host.lastErrorCode).toBeNull();
   });
 
+  it("maps generic fetch-failed auth errors to actionable token mismatch message", () => {
+    const host = createHost();
+
+    connectGateway(host);
+    const client = gatewayClientInstances[0];
+    expect(client).toBeDefined();
+
+    client.emitClose({
+      code: 4008,
+      reason: "connect failed",
+      error: {
+        code: "INVALID_REQUEST",
+        message: "Fetch failed",
+        details: { code: ConnectErrorDetailCodes.AUTH_TOKEN_MISMATCH },
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(host.lastErrorCode).toBe(ConnectErrorDetailCodes.AUTH_TOKEN_MISMATCH);
+    expect(host.lastError).toContain("gateway token mismatch");
+  });
+
+  it("maps TypeError fetch failures to actionable auth rate-limit guidance", () => {
+    const host = createHost();
+
+    connectGateway(host);
+    const client = gatewayClientInstances[0];
+    expect(client).toBeDefined();
+
+    client.emitClose({
+      code: 4008,
+      reason: "connect failed",
+      error: {
+        code: "INVALID_REQUEST",
+        message: "TypeError: Failed to fetch",
+        details: { code: ConnectErrorDetailCodes.AUTH_RATE_LIMITED },
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(host.lastErrorCode).toBe(ConnectErrorDetailCodes.AUTH_RATE_LIMITED);
+    expect(host.lastError).toContain("too many failed authentication attempts");
+  });
+
+  it("preserves specific close errors even when auth detail codes are present", () => {
+    const host = createHost();
+
+    connectGateway(host);
+    const client = gatewayClientInstances[0];
+    expect(client).toBeDefined();
+
+    client.emitClose({
+      code: 4008,
+      reason: "connect failed",
+      error: {
+        code: "INVALID_REQUEST",
+        message: "Failed to fetch gateway metadata from ws://127.0.0.1:18789",
+        details: { code: ConnectErrorDetailCodes.AUTH_TOKEN_MISMATCH },
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(host.lastErrorCode).toBe(ConnectErrorDetailCodes.AUTH_TOKEN_MISMATCH);
+    expect(host.lastError).toBe("Failed to fetch gateway metadata from ws://127.0.0.1:18789");
+  });
+
   it("prefers structured connect errors over close reason", () => {
     const host = createHost();
 
diff --git a/ui/src/ui/app-gateway.ts b/ui/src/ui/app-gateway.ts
index 8fd596637b7..e5285bab93b 100644
--- a/ui/src/ui/app-gateway.ts
+++ b/ui/src/ui/app-gateway.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import {
   GATEWAY_EVENT_UPDATE_AVAILABLE,
   type GatewayUpdateAvailableEventPayload,
 } from "../../../src/gateway/events.js";
+import { ConnectErrorDetailCodes } from "../../../src/gateway/protocol/connect-error-details.js";
 import { CHAT_SESSIONS_ACTIVE_MINUTES, flushChatQueueForEvent } from "./app-chat.ts";
 import type { EventLogEntry } from "./app-events.ts";
 import {
@@ -43,6 +44,24 @@ import type {
   UpdateAvailable,
 } from "./types.ts";
 
+function isGenericBrowserFetchFailure(message: string): boolean {
+  return /^(?:typeerror:\s*)?(?:fetch failed|failed to fetch)$/i.test(message.trim());
+}
+
+function formatAuthCloseErrorMessage(code: string | null, fallback: string): string {
+  const resolvedCode = code ?? "";
+  if (resolvedCode === ConnectErrorDetailCodes.AUTH_TOKEN_MISMATCH) {
+    return "unauthorized: gateway token mismatch (open dashboard URL with current token)";
+  }
+  if (resolvedCode === ConnectErrorDetailCodes.AUTH_RATE_LIMITED) {
+    return "unauthorized: too many failed authentication attempts (retry later)";
+  }
+  if (resolvedCode === ConnectErrorDetailCodes.AUTH_UNAUTHORIZED) {
+    return "unauthorized: authentication failed";
+  }
+  return fallback;
+}
+
 type GatewayHost = {
   settings: UiSettings;
   password: string;
@@ -218,7 +237,10 @@ export function connectGateway(host: GatewayHost) {
         (typeof error?.code === "string" ? error.code : null);
       if (code !== 1012) {
         if (error?.message) {
-          host.lastError = error.message;
+          host.lastError =
+            host.lastErrorCode && isGenericBrowserFetchFailure(error.message)
+              ? formatAuthCloseErrorMessage(host.lastErrorCode, error.message)
+              : error.message;
           return;
         }
         host.lastError = `disconnected (${code}): ${reason || "no reason"}`;