diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/theveloper/pixelplay/data/service/player/DualPlayerEngine.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/theveloper/pixelplay/data/service/player/DualPlayerEngine.kt
index 9ee5fce9d..aa282d2ac 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/theveloper/pixelplay/data/service/player/DualPlayerEngine.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/theveloper/pixelplay/data/service/player/DualPlayerEngine.kt
@@ -132,6 +132,12 @@ class DualPlayerEngine @Inject constructor(
     private var isFocusLossPause = false
     private var lastPlayWhenReadyAtMs: Long = 0L
     private var lastPlayingAtMs: Long = 0L
+    // Used to distinguish a STATE_BUFFERING caused by a user seek from a real HAL offload
+    // reset (where audio underflows mid-playback). Without this, seeking shortly after
+    // playback starts re-enters BUFFERING within the HAL-reset window and triggers a full
+    // player rebuild, which leaves the MediaSession briefly pointing at the released player
+    // and silently drops any subsequent seeks.
+    private var lastSeekAtMs: Long = 0L
 
     /**
      * Set by MusicService once ReplayGain for the incoming track is known.
@@ -272,9 +278,14 @@ class DualPlayerEngine @Inject constructor(
         override fun onPlaybackStateChanged(playbackState: Int) {
             when (playbackState) {
                 Player.STATE_BUFFERING -> {
-                    val timeSincePlayingMs = SystemClock.elapsedRealtime() - lastPlayingAtMs
+                    val now = SystemClock.elapsedRealtime()
+                    val timeSincePlayingMs = now - lastPlayingAtMs
+                    val timeSinceSeekMs = now - lastSeekAtMs
+                    val isPostSeekBuffering = lastSeekAtMs > 0L && timeSinceSeekMs < 1_500L
                     if (audioOffloadEnabled && !transitionRunning &&
-                        lastPlayingAtMs > 0L && timeSincePlayingMs < 500L) {
+                        lastPlayingAtMs > 0L && timeSincePlayingMs < 500L &&
+                        !isPostSeekBuffering
+                    ) {
                         disableAudioOffloadForSession(
                             reason = "HAL offload reset detected: STATE_BUFFERING after ${timeSincePlayingMs}ms of playback"
                         )
@@ -285,6 +296,18 @@ class DualPlayerEngine @Inject constructor(
                 Player.STATE_READY, Player.STATE_IDLE, Player.STATE_ENDED -> cancelAudioOffloadFallback()
             }
         }
+
+        override fun onPositionDiscontinuity(
+            oldPosition: Player.PositionInfo,
+            newPosition: Player.PositionInfo,
+            reason: Int
+        ) {
+            if (reason == Player.DISCONTINUITY_REASON_SEEK ||
+                reason == Player.DISCONTINUITY_REASON_SEEK_ADJUSTMENT
+            ) {
+                lastSeekAtMs = SystemClock.elapsedRealtime()
+            }
+        }
     }
 
     fun addPlayerSwapListener(listener: (Player) -> Unit) {
@@ -307,6 +330,20 @@ class DualPlayerEngine @Inject constructor(
         onTransitionFinishedListeners.add(listener)
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Notifies the engine that an external caller (UI seek, etc.) is about to issue a
+     * seek through the MediaController. Used to mark the upcoming STATE_BUFFERING as
+     * seek-driven so the HAL-reset heuristic does not trigger a player rebuild that
+     * would race with the in-flight seek command.
+     *
+     * Setting this here (synchronously, before the seek dispatches) is more reliable
+     * than waiting for onPositionDiscontinuity, which is delivered on the next event
+     * batch and can race with onPlaybackStateChanged on some Media3 versions.
+     */
+    fun notifyExternalSeekInitiated() {
+        lastSeekAtMs = SystemClock.elapsedRealtime()
+    }
+
     fun removeTransitionFinishedListener(listener: () -> Unit) {
         onTransitionFinishedListeners.remove(listener)
     }
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/theveloper/pixelplay/presentation/viewmodel/PlaybackStateHolder.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/theveloper/pixelplay/presentation/viewmodel/PlaybackStateHolder.kt
index fdb0e0a62..7df212488 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/theveloper/pixelplay/presentation/viewmodel/PlaybackStateHolder.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/theveloper/pixelplay/presentation/viewmodel/PlaybackStateHolder.kt
@@ -384,6 +384,10 @@ class PlaybackStateHolder @Inject constructor(
             val targetPosition = position.coerceAtLeast(0L)
             val currentMediaId = mediaController?.currentMediaItem?.mediaId
             rememberPausedPositionOverride(currentMediaId, targetPosition)
+            // Mark the seek before dispatching so the engine's HAL-reset heuristic does
+            // not misinterpret the resulting STATE_BUFFERING as an audio HAL underflow and
+            // rebuild the players (which would race with the in-flight seek command).
+            dualPlayerEngine.notifyExternalSeekInitiated()
             mediaController?.seekTo(targetPosition)
         }
     }