Desktop app freezes on "Use verification code to continue" screen when signing in on a second device — requires full reboot to recover
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?
When I sign into the Claude desktop app on a second machine, the first machine's desktop app is thrown onto the "Use verification code to continue / Enter this verification code where you first tried to sign in" screen and freezes completely. The only available action is to close the app, and the only way to recover is a full machine reboot.
Actual: App is frozen;
<img width="1329" height="811" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c9cee160-a2e1-4b61-a23c-dba86a5acac5" />
only "close" works; a full OS reboot is required to use Claude again on Machine A.
What Should Happen?
The verification challenge should be dismissible, or the app should recover gracefully — no freeze.
Error Messages/Logs
Steps to Reproduce
- Be signed into the desktop app on Machine A (laptop), app open.
- Sign into the desktop app on Machine B (VM) with the same account.
- Machine A jumps to the verification-code screen and becomes unresponsive.
Claude Model
Not sure / Multiple models
Is this a regression?
I don't know
Last Working Version
_No response_
Claude Code Version
2.1.218 (Claude Code)
Platform
Anthropic API
Operating System
Windows
Terminal/Shell
PowerShell
Additional Information
Environment:
Both machines: Claude desktop app, on the latest version (auto-updated).
Machine A (freezes): Windows Server 2022 Standard laptop — desktop app only.
Machine B (triggers it): Windows VM — desktop app + Claude Code CLI v2.1.218.
Notes: Credentials are local and not synced between machines (.claude is local, not on OneDrive). Both machines confirmed on the latest version, so this is not a stale-install issue.
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3 Comments
Please fix. I do not want to spin up a remote control setup.
Reproduced on macOS 27.0 (beta). Same trigger: signing in to the desktop app on a second device throws the first machine's app onto the "Use verification code to continue" screen, which then freezes completely.
I saw the exact same behavior on macOS 26 as well, so this is not specific to the macOS 27 beta.
One difference from the original report: a full OS reboot was not required in my case, on either OS version. However, simply closing the window is not enough — the app keeps running in the background and reopening it returns to the same frozen screen. Recovery requires fully quitting the app including the background process (Cmd+Q → "Quit Anyway") and relaunching it.
I experienced the same issue on a Windows 10 desktop (Claude app is frozen on verification code screen) after attempting to sign in to Claude desktop on a Win 11 virtual machine.
Per heznpc's experience, I was able to recover Claude desktop on the Windows 10 machine by closing the app and then using Task Manager's "End Task" button to stop all of the Claude background processes.