diff --git a/src/routes/(pages)/wave/(flows)/login/callback/+page.svelte b/src/routes/(pages)/wave/(flows)/login/callback/+page.svelte
index 0cddf1131..2672ba3fb 100644
--- a/src/routes/(pages)/wave/(flows)/login/callback/+page.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/(pages)/wave/(flows)/login/callback/+page.svelte
@@ -1,17 +1,21 @@
 <script lang="ts">
   import { onMount } from 'svelte';
-  import performLogin from './perform-login';
+  import performLogin, { LoginRestartRequiredError } from './perform-login';
   import { page } from '$app/state';
   import { goto, invalidateAll } from '$app/navigation';
   import Spinner from '$lib/components/spinner/spinner.svelte';
   import Button from '$lib/components/button/button.svelte';
   import { AccountSuspendedError } from '$lib/utils/wave/call';
   import { getKycStatus } from '$lib/utils/wave/kyc';
+  import { isHttpError } from '@sveltejs/kit';
 
   let { data } = $props();
   let { backTo, skipWelcome } = $derived(data);
 
   let error = $state<boolean>(false);
+  let errorMessage = $state<string | null>(null);
+
+  let loginHref = $derived(`/wave/login${backTo ? `?backTo=${encodeURIComponent(backTo)}` : ''}`);
 
   // If backTo already points at /wave/kyc-required (e.g. the user was bounced
   // through login from that page), unwrap the inner backTo so we don't nest
@@ -73,8 +77,17 @@
         return goto('/wave/suspended');
       }
 
+      // This code was already redeemed by an earlier load of this page (e.g.
+      // a reload mid-exchange). If that attempt actually established a
+      // session, the login page bounces straight to backTo; otherwise it's a
+      // single tap to restart, which GitHub re-authorizes instantly.
+      if (err instanceof LoginRestartRequiredError) {
+        return goto(loginHref);
+      }
+
       // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
-      console.error('Login callback error:', err);
+      console.error('Login callback error:', isHttpError(err) ? err.body : err);
+      errorMessage = isHttpError(err) ? err.body.message : null;
       error = true;
     }
   });
@@ -89,11 +102,15 @@
 >
   {#if error}
     <div class="typo-heading-3" style:text-align="center" style:color="var(--color-error)">
-      Something went wrong. Please try again, and if this problem persists, contact us at
-      support@drips.network.
+      {#if errorMessage}
+        {errorMessage} If this problem persists, contact us at support@drips.network.
+      {:else}
+        Something went wrong. Please try again, and if this problem persists, contact us at
+        support@drips.network.
+      {/if}
     </div>
 
-    <Button href="/wave/login">Try again</Button>
+    <Button href={loginHref}>Try again</Button>
   {:else}
     <Spinner />
     One moment please, you're being logged in...
diff --git a/src/routes/(pages)/wave/(flows)/login/callback/perform-login.ts b/src/routes/(pages)/wave/(flows)/login/callback/perform-login.ts
index f8947f21a..0b3e023a0 100644
--- a/src/routes/(pages)/wave/(flows)/login/callback/perform-login.ts
+++ b/src/routes/(pages)/wave/(flows)/login/callback/perform-login.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,67 @@
 import { redeemGitHubOAuthCode } from '$lib/utils/wave/auth';
 import { AccountSuspendedError } from '$lib/utils/wave/call';
-import { error } from '@sveltejs/kit';
+import { error, isHttpError } from '@sveltejs/kit';
+import { browser } from '$app/environment';
+
+/**
+ * Thrown when this callback's code was already submitted by an earlier load of
+ * the page, so redeeming it again is pointless — the login flow needs to be
+ * restarted from the login page instead.
+ */
+export class LoginRestartRequiredError extends Error {
+  constructor() {
+    super('OAuth code was already redeemed by a previous attempt');
+    this.name = 'LoginRestartRequiredError';
+  }
+}
+
+const ATTEMPTED_CODE_KEY = 'wave-oauth-attempted-code';
+
+/**
+ * sessionStorage access throws when storage is blocked entirely (e.g. Safari's
+ * "block all cookies", some embedded webviews). The reload guard is
+ * best-effort — without storage we just lose reload protection, which must
+ * never prevent the login attempt itself.
+ */
+function getAttemptedCode(): string | null {
+  try {
+    return sessionStorage.getItem(ATTEMPTED_CODE_KEY);
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+function markCodeAttempted(code: string): void {
+  try {
+    sessionStorage.setItem(ATTEMPTED_CODE_KEY, code);
+  } catch {
+    // See getAttemptedCode.
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * The backend responds with `{"error": "..."}` bodies that `call()` embeds in
+ * its thrown Error message. Surface that message instead of a generic one —
+ * "OAuth session expired. Please try again." is a lot more actionable than
+ * blaming GitHub.
+ */
+function extractApiErrorMessage(err: unknown): string | null {
+  if (!(err instanceof Error)) return null;
+
+  const jsonPart = err.message.match(/\{.*\}$/s)?.[0];
+  if (!jsonPart) return null;
+
+  try {
+    const body: unknown = JSON.parse(jsonPart);
+    if (body && typeof body === 'object' && 'error' in body && typeof body.error === 'string') {
+      return body.error;
+    }
+  } catch {
+    // Not a JSON body — fall through to the generic message.
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
 
 export default async function performLogin(url: URL) {
   // extract gh oauth code and state from url
@@ -11,6 +72,17 @@ export default async function performLogin(url: URL) {
     throw error(400, 'Missing code or state in callback URL');
   }
 
+  // The code (and the nonce behind it) is single-use, but a reload of the
+  // callback page re-runs this with the same code — guaranteed to fail with
+  // "already used", even though the first attempt may have succeeded
+  // server-side with its response lost (e.g. reload while the ~1.5s exchange
+  // was in flight). Mark the code as attempted *before* redeeming so any
+  // later load can tell, and restart the login instead of burning a request.
+  if (browser && getAttemptedCode() === code) {
+    throw new LoginRestartRequiredError();
+  }
+  if (browser) markCodeAttempted(code);
+
   try {
     // exchange for wave login
     // this sets wave_refresh_token and wave_access_token cookies via the API response
@@ -23,6 +95,12 @@ export default async function performLogin(url: URL) {
     return { accessToken, newUser };
   } catch (e) {
     if (e instanceof AccountSuspendedError) throw e;
-    throw error(500, 'GitHub OAuth exchange failed. GitHub may be experiencing issues.');
+    if (isHttpError(e)) throw e;
+
+    throw error(
+      500,
+      extractApiErrorMessage(e) ??
+        'GitHub OAuth exchange failed. GitHub may be experiencing issues.',
+    );
   }
 }