Android Remote pairing fails on two Windows PCs after removing the phone from Linked Devices

Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

• #37897

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I’m seeing what appears to be the same Android Remote pairing issue, and I’ve done some additional cross-device testing that may help narrow it down.

Current behavior:

• Android ChatGPT app → Mac A: ❌ pairing fails
• Android ChatGPT app → Mac B: ❌ pairing fails
• Android ChatGPT app → Windows PC: ❌ pairing fails
• iPhone ChatGPT app → the same Mac A: ✅ Remote works normally
• Desktop → desktop Remote between the Macs/Windows PC: ✅ works normally

The Android device had previously been paired successfully. After removing the old pairing, I have not been able to pair it again.

I’ve already tried:

• Updating the Android ChatGPT app
• Completely uninstalling and reinstalling the Android app
• Logging out and back in
• Removing the old Remote pairing
• Generating fresh QR codes
• Pairing against multiple independent hosts (2 Macs + 1 Windows PC)
• Using the manual pairing code generated by codex remote-control pair instead of QR pairing

Both Android pairing methods fail:

QR code → pairing fails
Manual pairing code → pairing fails

The particularly interesting control test is that an iPhone can currently connect successfully to the exact same Mac host and account that Android fails to pair with.

I also verified that the Mac Remote host itself is functional: after cleaning up the host state and creating a fresh Remote enrollment/identity, the iPhone can connect and use Remote normally, while Android still cannot pair.

This makes it look less like a host-side connectivity problem and more like an Android-specific pairing / device enrollment issue, possibly involving re-pairing a previously registered Android device.

Has anyone found a reliable way to reset the Android-side Remote device identity/enrollment, or does this require a server-side reset/fix?

I’m experiencing what appears to be the same issue.

Remote Control previously worked successfully between my Android phone and the Windows desktop app. However, after I removed the paired device and tried to pair it again, it stopped working.

The Windows desktop app can generate a new QR code normally. My Android phone can scan the QR code, but immediately after scanning, the ChatGPT app shows:

“Pairing failed. Something went wrong while pairing. Please scan the QR code again.”

I have already tried:

• Restarting both devices
• Generating a new QR code
• Switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data
• Logging out and back in
• Completely uninstalling and reinstalling the ChatGPT Android app

The issue still persists.

Interestingly, another Android phone can successfully pair with the same Windows computer and the same ChatGPT account. This suggests that the Windows host and account are working correctly, and the problem may be related to stale/revoked Remote Control device registration associated with the original Android device.

Since this Android phone was able to pair successfully before the device was removed, it seems very similar to the stale device registration/re-pairing issue described here.

Update as of 2026-08-25:

• Current Windows desktop package observed in logs: OpenAI.Codex_26.818.8289.0_x64 (updated from 26.803.5235.0).
• Android app version reported when this issue was filed: 1.2026.209.
• The Windows host is on an enterprise network using an HTTP proxy. Launching the desktop app with process-scoped proxy variables can restore the host-side Remote startup path.
• However, the Android pairing failure remains a separate problem: fresh QR pairing sessions are generated, but Android still reports the generic pairing failure and no mobile client claim/registration appears on the Windows host.
• The desktop continues to show zero registered/connected mobile clients (connectionCount=0, nextConnectionCount=0).

This still reproduces after upgrading the Windows desktop app, so the original failure is not fixed by the desktop update or by restoring the host network path.

Potentially related reports:

• #38031 — same re-pair failure after removing an Android device
• #38128 — Android enrollment rejected at client/enroll/start before the host receives a pairing claim
• #36268 — Android authorization/enrollment does not complete after reinstall
• #39959 — mobile clients cannot re-enroll after revocation; evidence suggests account-side enrollment state

Could maintainers please check whether the Android client/enroll/start request is being rejected and whether this account has stale/revoked mobile-controller enrollment state? A server-side reset of the mobile controller enrollment (without resetting chats or host environments) would also help confirm the cause.

I’m also affected by this exact regression.

My Android phone had previously paired successfully with Codex Remote on Windows. After I removed the phone from Linked Devices, I have not been able to pair it again. Fresh QR codes are recognized by the Android ChatGPT app, but pairing immediately fails with the same generic “Pairing failed / Something went wrong while pairing. Please scan the QR code again” message.

This is another confirmed case of: successful pairing → remove linked Android device → unable to re-pair.

I also reported the same behavior in #38031. Please count this as another affected user/device when assessing the issue.

Additional confirmed reproduction on Windows + Android (2026-08-26).

Environment:

• Windows Codex Desktop: 26.818.8289.0
• ChatGPT Android: 1.2026.230
• Android 15
• Same personal ChatGPT account and workspace on both devices

Observed behavior:

• The Windows host Remote Control WebSocket is online and the desktop can generate fresh QR/manual pairing sessions successfully.
• Android accepts the QR/manual-code flow but ends with the generic Pairing failed screen.
• The desktop-side client list remains empty; no successful mobile claim/registration appears.
• Fresh manual codes were submitted before expiry and were verified character-for-character as ASCII, including the hyphen.

Recovery steps already tested:

• Updated both apps.
• Revoked the previous Android client relationship.
• Verified the backend client list became empty.
• Cleared the ChatGPT Android app data, signed in again, and retried.
• Confirmed the phone and desktop use the same account/workspace.
• Retried with fresh QR and manual codes after the cleanup.

The failure still reproduces. The host-side 409 Remote app server already online seen from a separate diagnostic app-server only confirmed that the real Desktop host was already online; the primary Desktop host itself remained healthy. The diagnostic app-server was stopped and its extra local enrollment row was removed afterward.

This now matches the boundary reported here and in #38031 / #37897: pairing-session creation succeeds, but Android never completes the controller claim and the host remains at zero clients. #38128 is also relevant because it captured an HTTP 403 from Android client/enroll/start before pairing-code claim or host contact, including on an unrooted device.

Could maintainers please inspect the Android client/enroll/start / secure-claim telemetry and check whether this account/device has a stale revoked-controller registration or tombstone? A supported account-side reset of only the Remote mobile-controller registration would help confirm the cause.