diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 264011630..9a6f1f69e 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "world-monitor",
-  "version": "2.5.8",
+  "version": "2.5.12",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "world-monitor",
-      "version": "2.5.8",
+      "version": "2.5.12",
       "license": "AGPL-3.0-only",
       "dependencies": {
         "@deck.gl/aggregation-layers": "^9.2.6",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 9fb29e273..a705fc2a9 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "world-monitor",
   "private": true,
-  "version": "2.5.11",
+  "version": "2.5.12",
   "license": "AGPL-3.0-only",
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {
diff --git a/src-tauri/Cargo.lock b/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
index 3a5066a70..5ae257899 100644
--- a/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
+++ b/src-tauri/Cargo.lock
@@ -5423,7 +5423,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "world-monitor"
-version = "2.5.11"
+version = "2.5.12"
 dependencies = [
  "getrandom 0.2.17",
  "keyring",
diff --git a/src-tauri/Cargo.toml b/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
index 0c651698f..fb053901e 100644
--- a/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
+++ b/src-tauri/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "world-monitor"
-version = "2.5.11"
+version = "2.5.12"
 description = "World Monitor desktop application"
 authors = ["World Monitor"]
 edition = "2021"
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/main.rs b/src-tauri/src/main.rs
index 6d51fcd23..15b804ba9 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/main.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/main.rs
@@ -1178,6 +1178,37 @@ fn main() {
             if env::var_os("GTK_IM_MODULE").is_none() {
                 unsafe { env::set_var("GTK_IM_MODULE", "gtk-im-context-simple") };
             }
+
+            // The linuxdeploy GStreamer hook force-overrides GST_PLUGIN_SYSTEM_PATH_1_0
+            // and GST_PLUGIN_PATH_1_0 to only contain bundled plugins.  The AppImage
+            // bundles GStreamer from the CI build system (Ubuntu 24.04, GStreamer 1.24)
+            // but does NOT bundle codec plugins (gst-libav, fakevideosink from
+            // gst-plugins-bad).  On hosts with newer GStreamer (e.g. Arch with 1.28),
+            // the bundled-only path means host plugins are invisible → WebKit can't
+            // play video.  Append host plugin directories as fallback so the system's
+            // codec plugins are discoverable.
+            let host_gst_dirs = [
+                "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gstreamer-1.0",
+                "/usr/lib/gstreamer-1.0",
+                "/usr/lib64/gstreamer-1.0",
+                "/usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu/gstreamer-1.0",
+            ];
+            let existing: Vec<String> = host_gst_dirs
+                .iter()
+                .filter(|d| std::path::Path::new(d).is_dir())
+                .map(|d| d.to_string())
+                .collect();
+            if !existing.is_empty() {
+                let suffix = existing.join(":");
+                for var in ["GST_PLUGIN_PATH_1_0", "GST_PLUGIN_SYSTEM_PATH_1_0"] {
+                    let current = env::var(var).unwrap_or_default();
+                    if !current.is_empty() {
+                        unsafe { env::set_var(var, format!("{current}:{suffix}")) };
+                    } else {
+                        unsafe { env::set_var(var, &suffix) };
+                    }
+                }
+            }
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json b/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
index 1f161e7b5..a7ccb38bf 100644
--- a/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
+++ b/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
@@ -2,13 +2,13 @@
   "$schema": "https://schema.tauri.app/config/2",
   "productName": "World Monitor",
   "mainBinaryName": "world-monitor",
-  "version": "2.5.11",
+  "version": "2.5.12",
   "identifier": "app.worldmonitor.desktop",
   "build": {
     "beforeDevCommand": "npm run build:sidecar-sebuf && npm run dev",
     "beforeBuildCommand": "npm run build:desktop",
     "frontendDist": "../dist",
-    "devUrl": "http://localhost:5173"
+    "devUrl": "http://localhost:3000"
   },
   "app": {
     "windows": [
diff --git a/src/live-channels-window.ts b/src/live-channels-window.ts
index dfc940fc7..a16b9b207 100644
--- a/src/live-channels-window.ts
+++ b/src/live-channels-window.ts
@@ -403,16 +403,19 @@ export function initLiveChannelsWindow(containerEl?: HTMLElement): void {
     try {
       const baseUrl = isDesktopRuntime() ? getRemoteApiBaseUrl() : '';
       const res = await fetch(`${baseUrl}/api/youtube/live?channel=${encodeURIComponent(handle)}`);
-      const data = await res.json();
-      if (!data.channelExists) {
-        if (handleInput) {
-          handleInput.classList.add('invalid');
-          handleInput.setAttribute('title', t('components.liveNews.channelNotFound') ?? 'YouTube channel not found');
+      if (res.ok) {
+        const data = await res.json();
+        if (data.channelExists === false && !data.error) {
+          if (handleInput) {
+            handleInput.classList.add('invalid');
+            handleInput.setAttribute('title', t('components.liveNews.channelNotFound') ?? 'YouTube channel not found');
+          }
+          return;
         }
-        return;
       }
+      // Non-OK status (429, 5xx) or ambiguous response — allow adding anyway
     } catch (e) {
-      // Network error — allow adding anyway (offline tolerance)
+      // Network/parse error — allow adding anyway (offline tolerance)
       console.warn('[LiveChannels] YouTube validation failed, allowing add:', e);
     } finally {
       if (addBtn) {