Claude in Chrome extension fails to connect to Cowork session ("Browser extension is not connected")

Environment: Windows desktop (Claude desktop app / Cowork mode)
Device: connected via remote-devices bridge

Issue:
The Claude in Chrome browser extension will not connect to my active Cowork/Claude Code session. Every call to tabs_context_mcp returns:
"Browser extension is not connected. Please ensure the Claude browser extension is installed and running..."

Troubleshooting already attempted (all unsuccessful):

1. Confirmed the extension is installed and enabled in chrome://extensions
2. Confirmed I'm logged into claude.ai in Chrome with the same account used in this session
3. Updated Chrome to the latest version
4. Fully restarted the computer
5. Retried the connection multiple times over the course of a session (6+ attempts across ~30 minutes)

This same setup previously worked successfully for browser-automation tasks in WordPress and Kajabi, so this appears to be a regression rather than a first-time setup issue.

Expected: tabs_context_mcp should successfully connect to the extension and return tab info.
Actual: connection fails every time with the same "not connected" error.