diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/MainActivity.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/MainActivity.kt
index 0ba81c88..2496018f 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/MainActivity.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/MainActivity.kt
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ import com.bitchat.android.ui.ChatScreen
 import com.bitchat.android.ui.ChatViewModel
 import com.bitchat.android.ui.OrientationAwareActivity
 import com.bitchat.android.ui.theme.BitchatTheme
+import com.bitchat.android.wifiaware.WifiAwareController
+import com.bitchat.android.wifiaware.WifiAwareMeshDelegate
 import com.bitchat.android.nostr.PoWPreferenceManager
 import kotlinx.coroutines.delay
 import kotlinx.coroutines.launch
@@ -62,6 +64,37 @@ class MainActivity : OrientationAwareActivity() {
             }
         }
     }
+
+    private val wifiAwareDelegate by lazy {
+        object : WifiAwareMeshDelegate {
+            override fun didReceiveMessage(message: com.bitchat.android.model.BitchatMessage) {
+                chatViewModel.didReceiveMessage(message)
+            }
+            override fun didUpdatePeerList(peers: List<String>) {
+                chatViewModel.onWifiPeersUpdated(peers)
+            }
+            override fun didReceiveChannelLeave(channel: String, fromPeer: String) {
+                chatViewModel.didReceiveChannelLeave(channel, fromPeer)
+            }
+            override fun didReceiveDeliveryAck(messageID: String, recipientPeerID: String) {
+                chatViewModel.didReceiveDeliveryAck(messageID, recipientPeerID)
+            }
+            override fun didReceiveReadReceipt(messageID: String, recipientPeerID: String) {
+                chatViewModel.didReceiveReadReceipt(messageID, recipientPeerID)
+            }
+            override fun decryptChannelMessage(encryptedContent: ByteArray, channel: String): String? {
+                return chatViewModel.decryptChannelMessage(encryptedContent, channel)
+            }
+            override fun getNickname(): String? {
+                return chatViewModel.getNickname()
+            }
+            override fun isFavorite(peerID: String): Boolean {
+                return try {
+                    com.bitchat.android.favorites.FavoritesPersistenceService.shared.getFavoriteStatus(peerID)?.isMutual == true
+                } catch (_: Exception) { false }
+            }
+        }
+    }
     
     private val forceFinishReceiver = object : android.content.BroadcastReceiver() {
         override fun onReceive(context: android.content.Context, intent: android.content.Intent) {
@@ -166,44 +199,10 @@ class MainActivity : OrientationAwareActivity() {
         // Bridge Wi‑Fi Aware callbacks into ChatViewModel (reusing BLE delegate methods)
         lifecycleScope.launch {
             repeatOnLifecycle(Lifecycle.State.STARTED) {
-                com.bitchat.android.wifiaware.WifiAwareController.running.collect { running ->
-                    val svc = com.bitchat.android.wifiaware.WifiAwareController.getService()
-                    if (running && svc != null) {
-                        svc.delegate = object : com.bitchat.android.wifiaware.WifiAwareMeshDelegate {
-                            override fun didReceiveMessage(message: com.bitchat.android.model.BitchatMessage) {
-                                if (message.isPrivate) {
-                                    message.senderPeerID?.let { pid -> com.bitchat.android.services.AppStateStore.addPrivateMessage(pid, message) }
-                                } else if (message.channel != null) {
-                                    com.bitchat.android.services.AppStateStore.addChannelMessage(message.channel, message)
-                                } else {
-                                    com.bitchat.android.services.AppStateStore.addPublicMessage(message)
-                                }
-                                chatViewModel.didReceiveMessage(message)
-                            }
-                            override fun didUpdatePeerList(peers: List<String>) {
-                                chatViewModel.onWifiPeersUpdated(peers)
-                            }
-                            override fun didReceiveChannelLeave(channel: String, fromPeer: String) {
-                                chatViewModel.didReceiveChannelLeave(channel, fromPeer)
-                            }
-                            override fun didReceiveDeliveryAck(messageID: String, recipientPeerID: String) {
-                                chatViewModel.didReceiveDeliveryAck(messageID, recipientPeerID)
-                            }
-                            override fun didReceiveReadReceipt(messageID: String, recipientPeerID: String) {
-                                chatViewModel.didReceiveReadReceipt(messageID, recipientPeerID)
-                            }
-                            override fun decryptChannelMessage(encryptedContent: ByteArray, channel: String): String? {
-                                return chatViewModel.decryptChannelMessage(encryptedContent, channel)
-                            }
-                            override fun getNickname(): String? {
-                                return chatViewModel.getNickname()
-                            }
-                            override fun isFavorite(peerID: String): Boolean {
-                                return try {
-                                    com.bitchat.android.favorites.FavoritesPersistenceService.shared.getFavoriteStatus(peerID)?.isMutual == true
-                                } catch (_: Exception) { false }
-                            }
-                        }
+                WifiAwareController.running.collect { running ->
+                    val svc = WifiAwareController.getService()
+                    if (running && svc != null && lifecycle.currentState.isAtLeast(Lifecycle.State.RESUMED)) {
+                        svc.delegate = wifiAwareDelegate
                     }
                 }
             }
@@ -761,6 +760,7 @@ class MainActivity : OrientationAwareActivity() {
         if (mainViewModel.onboardingState.value == OnboardingState.COMPLETE) {
             // Reattach mesh delegate to new ChatViewModel instance after Activity recreation
             try { meshService.delegate = chatViewModel } catch (_: Exception) { }
+            try { WifiAwareController.getService()?.delegate = wifiAwareDelegate } catch (_: Exception) { }
             // Set app foreground state
             meshService.connectionManager.setAppBackgroundState(false)
             chatViewModel.setAppBackgroundState(false)
@@ -798,6 +798,7 @@ class MainActivity : OrientationAwareActivity() {
             chatViewModel.setAppBackgroundState(true)
             // Detach UI delegate so the foreground service can own DM notifications while UI is closed
             try { meshService.delegate = null } catch (_: Exception) { }
+            try { WifiAwareController.getService()?.delegate = null } catch (_: Exception) { }
         }
     }
     
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/wifi-aware/WifiAwareMeshService.kt b/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/wifi-aware/WifiAwareMeshService.kt
index a8d4dda0..ae9724dd 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/wifi-aware/WifiAwareMeshService.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/bitchat/android/wifi-aware/WifiAwareMeshService.kt
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import com.bitchat.android.mesh.MeshService
 import com.bitchat.android.mesh.MeshTransport
 import com.bitchat.android.mesh.PeerInfo
 import com.bitchat.android.model.BitchatFilePacket
+import com.bitchat.android.model.BitchatMessage
 import com.bitchat.android.model.RoutedPacket
 import com.bitchat.android.protocol.BitchatPacket
 import com.bitchat.android.service.TransportBridgeService
@@ -67,6 +68,13 @@ class WifiAwareMeshService(private val context: Context) : MeshService, Transpor
     private val wifiTransport = WifiAwareTransport()
     private lateinit var meshCore: MeshCore
 
+    // Service-level notification manager for background (no-UI) DMs
+    private val serviceNotificationManager = com.bitchat.android.ui.NotificationManager(
+        context.applicationContext,
+        androidx.core.app.NotificationManagerCompat.from(context.applicationContext),
+        com.bitchat.android.util.NotificationIntervalManager()
+    )
+
     // Wi-Fi Aware transport
     private val awareManager = context.getSystemService(WifiAwareManager::class.java)
     private var wifiAwareSession: WifiAwareSession? = null
@@ -95,6 +103,9 @@ class WifiAwareMeshService(private val context: Context) : MeshService, Transpor
     private val lastTimestamps = ConcurrentHashMap<String, ULong>()
 
     init {
+        // Ensure BluetoothMeshService is initialized so we share its GossipSyncManager
+        // This avoids race conditions and ensures a single gossip source/delegate
+        com.bitchat.android.service.MeshServiceHolder.getOrCreate(context)
         val shared = com.bitchat.android.service.MeshServiceHolder.sharedGossipSyncManager
         meshCore = MeshCore(
             context = context.applicationContext,
@@ -110,6 +121,7 @@ class WifiAwareMeshService(private val context: Context) : MeshService, Transpor
                 override fun gcsTargetFpr(): Double = 0.01
             },
             hooks = MeshCore.Hooks(
+                onMessageReceived = { message -> handleMessageReceived(message) },
                 onAnnounceProcessed = { routed, _ ->
                     routed.peerID?.let { pid ->
                         try { meshCore.gossipSyncManager.scheduleInitialSyncToPeer(pid, 1_000) } catch (_: Exception) { }
@@ -125,6 +137,35 @@ class WifiAwareMeshService(private val context: Context) : MeshService, Transpor
         )
     }
 
+    private fun handleMessageReceived(message: BitchatMessage) {
+        try {
+            when {
+                message.isPrivate -> {
+                    val peer = message.senderPeerID ?: ""
+                    if (peer.isNotEmpty()) com.bitchat.android.services.AppStateStore.addPrivateMessage(peer, message)
+                }
+                message.channel != null -> {
+                    com.bitchat.android.services.AppStateStore.addChannelMessage(message.channel!!, message)
+                }
+                else -> {
+                    com.bitchat.android.services.AppStateStore.addPublicMessage(message)
+                }
+            }
+        } catch (_: Exception) { }
+
+        if (delegate == null && message.isPrivate) {
+            try {
+                val senderPeerID = message.senderPeerID
+                if (senderPeerID != null) {
+                    val nick = try { meshCore.getPeerNickname(senderPeerID) } catch (_: Exception) { null } ?: senderPeerID
+                    val preview = com.bitchat.android.ui.NotificationTextUtils.buildPrivateMessagePreview(message)
+                    serviceNotificationManager.setAppBackgroundState(true)
+                    serviceNotificationManager.showPrivateMessageNotification(senderPeerID, nick, preview)
+                }
+            } catch (_: Exception) { }
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * Broadcasts raw bytes to currently connected peer.
      */