diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index eb52f0697..adb9fd1f8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -27,6 +27,13 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
   saturation, hyperfine spectroscopy, or pulsed protocols become required.
 
 ### Fixed
+- **WebSocket broadcast handler now handles Lagged events gracefully and sends periodic ping keepalives to prevent dashboard disconnects** —
+  `handle_ws_client` and `handle_ws_pose_client` in `wifi-densepose-sensing-server`
+  were treating `RecvError::Lagged` as a fatal error, causing instant disconnect
+  when clients fell behind the 256-frame broadcast buffer at 10 Hz ingest.
+  Clients would reconnect, immediately lag again, and rapid-cycle every 2–4 s.
+  `Lagged` now continues (drops missed frames, logs debug) rather than breaking.
+  Added 30 s ping keepalive on the sensing handler to prevent proxy idle timeouts.
 - **Ghost skeletons in live UI with multi-node ESP32 setups** (#420, ADR-082) —
   `tracker_bridge::tracker_to_person_detections` documented itself as filtering
   to `is_alive()` tracks but in fact passed every non-Terminated track to the
diff --git a/v2/crates/wifi-densepose-sensing-server/src/main.rs b/v2/crates/wifi-densepose-sensing-server/src/main.rs
index a8b207e47..d6bef9a4b 100644
--- a/v2/crates/wifi-densepose-sensing-server/src/main.rs
+++ b/v2/crates/wifi-densepose-sensing-server/src/main.rs
@@ -2003,6 +2003,10 @@ async fn handle_ws_client(mut socket: WebSocket, state: SharedState) {
 
     info!("WebSocket client connected (sensing)");
 
+    // ADR-044/045: ping/pong keepalive to prevent proxy idle timeouts.
+    let mut ping_interval = tokio::time::interval(std::time::Duration::from_secs(30));
+    ping_interval.set_missed_tick_behavior(tokio::time::MissedTickBehavior::Skip);
+
     loop {
         tokio::select! {
             msg = rx.recv() => {
@@ -2012,13 +2016,24 @@ async fn handle_ws_client(mut socket: WebSocket, state: SharedState) {
                             break;
                         }
                     }
-                    Err(_) => break,
+                    // Lagged: client fell behind — skip missed frames, don't disconnect.
+                    Err(tokio::sync::broadcast::error::RecvError::Lagged(n)) => {
+                        tracing::debug!("WS client lagged by {n} frames, skipping");
+                        continue;
+                    }
+                    Err(_) => break, // channel closed
+                }
+            }
+            _ = ping_interval.tick() => {
+                if socket.send(Message::Ping(vec![].into())).await.is_err() {
+                    break;
                 }
             }
             msg = socket.recv() => {
                 match msg {
                     Some(Ok(Message::Close(_))) | None => break,
-                    _ => {} // ignore client messages
+                    Some(Ok(Message::Pong(_))) => {} // keepalive response
+                    _ => {} // ignore other client messages
                 }
             }
         }
@@ -2134,7 +2149,12 @@ async fn handle_ws_pose_client(mut socket: WebSocket, state: SharedState) {
                             }
                         }
                     }
-                    Err(_) => break,
+                    // Lagged: skip missed frames, don't disconnect.
+                    Err(tokio::sync::broadcast::error::RecvError::Lagged(n)) => {
+                        tracing::debug!("WS pose client lagged by {n} frames, skipping");
+                        continue;
+                    }
+                    Err(_) => break, // channel closed
                 }
             }
             msg = socket.recv() => {
@@ -2149,6 +2169,7 @@ async fn handle_ws_pose_client(mut socket: WebSocket, state: SharedState) {
                         }
                     }
                     Some(Ok(Message::Close(_))) | None => break,
+                    Some(Ok(Message::Pong(_))) => {} // keepalive response
                     _ => {}
                 }
             }