[BUG] Dispatch agent registration never completes server-side — reproduced on second machine with fresh install, all local state eliminated (Windows)

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Claude Desktop / Cowork Dispatch issue (area:cowork, area:desktop), filed here because this is where Dispatch engineering triages. Not a Claude Code CLI issue.

Dispatch has been non-functional on my account for over a month. Mobile shows "Can't reach your desktop. Check that your computer is online and desktop app is open," status "Asleep." On the desktop itself, messages typed into the main Dispatch thread show "Read" and queue with "Desktop appears offline. Will run when it reconnects." Ordinary Cowork sessions sync normally between phone and desktop throughout, so account auth, network, and app connectivity are all fine. Only Dispatch agent registration fails.

What separates this report from the existing ones in this class: I completed a full forensic elimination of local state, then reproduced the identical failure on a second machine with a factory-fresh install of the current desktop app. The fault is server-side, on the account.

Sequence performed, in order, each step verified:

1. Standard checklist (app restarts, mobile force-close, sign-out/in both devices desktop first, Keep Awake on, VPN/firewall ruled out, status page clear). No effect.
2. Deleted bridge-state.json at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude with the app fully quit (packaged install; the commonly cited %APPDATA%\Claude path does not exist for this install type). App correctly returned to the Get Started pairing screen, confirming the right file was cleared.
3. Re-pairing then failed with "Another device is connected. A Cowork agent is already running on DELL-Desktop. Quit the Claude app on that device, then restart this one to take over," even after cold reboots. "Disconnect all and retry" did not clear it.
4. Root-caused the persistence: the Claude background service (process cowork-svc, Windows service "Claude", startup type Automatic (trigger start)) survives app quits and reboots and was re-asserting the stale session. With the service stopped via services.msc, "Disconnect all and retry" progressed past the "another device" wall for the first time. Pairing then failed with "service failed to start."
5. Ran the app's built-in Repair (Settings > Apps > Claude > Advanced options) and rebooted. The service now starts cleanly on boot and writes a fresh bridge-state.json (verified by timestamp). Registration still never completes; test messages queue offline indefinitely.
6. Decisive cross-machine test: installed the current desktop app fresh on a second Windows laptop. Fully quit the app AND stopped the Claude service on the primary desktop, verified zero Claude processes in Task Manager. Completed the takeover pairing flow on the laptop. Result identical: message accepted into the thread, "Desktop appears offline" shown immediately.

Two different machines, one with a clean install and no prior pairing history, both complete the pairing handshake but the server never brings the agent online. No client-side action can reach the stuck state.

Same class as #45937, #67303, #51389, #44225, #58097, #70471. This report adds the cross-machine reproduction and the identification of the background service as the mechanism that makes "Disconnect all and retry" ineffective while any prior install is alive, which may be useful for a client-side fix.

Support status: contacted via the in-app messenger twice over the past month. Fin acknowledged and stated it was transitioning to a human agent; no email response has ever arrived. Requesting either (a) a server-side purge of the Dispatch agent session / desktop registration for my account, or (b) documentation of the client action that forces re-registration. Happy to provide account ID, logs, and timestamps privately.

What Should Happen?

After "Disconnect all and retry" with no other agent alive anywhere on the account, pairing should complete, the desktop should register as Online, and queued Dispatch messages should execute. A fresh install on a new machine should register cleanly.

Error Messages/Logs

Phone: "Can't reach your desktop. Check that your computer is online and desktop app is open." Status: "Asleep"
Desktop/laptop Dispatch thread: "Desktop appears offline. Will run when it reconnects."
Pairing flow: "Another device is connected. A Cowork agent is already running on DELL-Desktop. Quit the Claude app on that device, then restart this one to take over."
Pairing flow after service stopped: "Service failed to start" (with Retry)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Account in the stuck-relay state (Dispatch broken since ~mid-June 2026)
2. Delete bridge-state.json (correct packaged-install path), relaunch, reach Get Started screen
3. Attempt pairing, hit "another device is connected" wall, Disconnect all and retry fails while Claude service is running
4. Stop Claude service, Disconnect all and retry now progresses, pairing completes
5. Type any message in Dispatch thread: queues with "Desktop appears offline"
6. Repeat pairing from a second machine with fresh install, primary machine fully dark: identical result

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

unknown, broke on or before mid-June 2026

Claude Code Version

N/A — Claude Desktop (Cowork/Dispatch), not Claude Code CLI

Platform

Other

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

Primary desktop: Windows 11 Home Version 10.0.26200 Build 26200, Claude Desktop 1.22209.3.0 (packaged install), machine name DELL-Desktop
Second machine: Windows laptop, current Claude Desktop, fresh install, no prior Dispatch history
Mobile: iOS 26.5.2, Claude app 1.260716.0
Plan: Max
Cowork session sync between devices works normally throughout; only Dispatch agent registration is affected.
Screenshots of each error state available on request. Account details available privately.