diff --git a/src/__tests__/pages/auth/signin.test.jsx b/src/__tests__/pages/auth/signin.test.jsx
index 7d016e8a0..2f699b5f9 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/pages/auth/signin.test.jsx
+++ b/src/__tests__/pages/auth/signin.test.jsx
@@ -3,10 +3,11 @@
 import { render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 
-const { getSettingsMock, authOptionsMock, signInMock, routerQuery } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+const { getSettingsMock, authOptionsMock, signInMock, replaceMock, routerQuery } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   getSettingsMock: vi.fn(),
   authOptionsMock: vi.fn(),
   signInMock: vi.fn(),
+  replaceMock: vi.fn(),
   routerQuery: {},
 }));
 
@@ -23,6 +24,7 @@ vi.mock("pages/api/auth/[...nextauth]", () => ({
 vi.mock("next/router", () => ({
   useRouter: () => ({
     query: routerQuery,
+    replace: replaceMock,
   }),
 }));
 
@@ -37,6 +39,7 @@ describe("pages/auth/signin", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     vi.clearAllMocks();
     Object.keys(routerQuery).forEach((key) => delete routerQuery[key]);
+    window.sessionStorage.clear();
   });
 
   it("renders an error state when no providers are configured", async () => {
@@ -106,11 +109,14 @@ describe("pages/auth/signin", () => {
     expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /login via homepage oidc/i })).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  it("renders the button when the server disabled auto-login", () => {
-    render(<SignInPage providers={OIDC_PROVIDERS} settings={SETTINGS} autoLogin={false} />);
+  it("stops auto-login and hands back the page when the session never sticks", () => {
+    routerQuery.callbackUrl = "/some/page";
 
-    expect(signInMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
-    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /login via homepage oidc/i })).toBeInTheDocument();
+    render(<SignInPage providers={OIDC_PROVIDERS} settings={SETTINGS} autoLogin />);
+    render(<SignInPage providers={OIDC_PROVIDERS} settings={SETTINGS} autoLogin />);
+
+    expect(signInMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(replaceMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith("/auth/signin?autologin=0&callbackUrl=%2Fsome%2Fpage");
   });
 
   it("does not auto-login the password provider", () => {
@@ -173,17 +179,6 @@ describe("pages/auth/signin", () => {
     vi.unstubAllEnvs();
   });
 
-  it("getServerSideProps disables auto-login while an attempt is pending", async () => {
-    authOptionsMock.mockReturnValueOnce({ providers: [] });
-    getSettingsMock.mockReturnValueOnce({ theme: "dark" });
-    vi.stubEnv("HOMEPAGE_OIDC_AUTO_LOGIN", "true");
-
-    const res = await getServerSideProps({ req: { cookies: { "homepage-autologin-attempt": "1" } } });
-
-    expect(res.props.autoLogin).toBe(false);
-    vi.unstubAllEnvs();
-  });
-
   it("getServerSideProps falls back to no providers when auth options fail to load", async () => {
     const consoleError = vi.spyOn(console, "error").mockImplementation(() => {});
     authOptionsMock.mockImplementationOnce(() => {
diff --git a/src/pages/auth/signin.jsx b/src/pages/auth/signin.jsx
index d3125e38d..0fd4afcbd 100644
--- a/src/pages/auth/signin.jsx
+++ b/src/pages/auth/signin.jsx
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ import { BiShieldQuarter } from "react-icons/bi";
 import { getSettings } from "utils/config/config";
 
 const PUBLIC_SIGN_IN_SETTINGS = ["theme", "color", "title", "background", "backgroundOpacity"];
-const AUTO_LOGIN_COOKIE = "homepage-autologin-attempt";
-const AUTO_LOGIN_RETRY_SECONDS = 10;
+const AUTO_LOGIN_KEY = "homepage-autologin-attempt";
+const AUTO_LOGIN_RETRY_MS = 10000;
 
 export default function SignIn({ providers, settings, autoLogin }) {
   const router = useRouter();
@@ -33,12 +33,21 @@ export default function SignIn({ providers, settings, autoLogin }) {
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!redirecting) return;
 
-    // getServerSideProps drops autoLogin while this is set, so a bounce loop falls back to the button
-    const secure = window.location.protocol === "https:" ? "; secure" : "";
-    document.cookie = `${AUTO_LOGIN_COOKIE}=1; path=/auth; max-age=${AUTO_LOGIN_RETRY_SECONDS}; samesite=lax${secure}`;
+    let lastAttempt = 0;
+    try {
+      lastAttempt = Number(window.sessionStorage.getItem(AUTO_LOGIN_KEY)) || 0;
+      window.sessionStorage.setItem(AUTO_LOGIN_KEY, String(Date.now()));
+    } catch {
+      // sessionStorage throws when site data is blocked, fall through and redirect anyway
+    }
+    // Getting here quickly means the session never stuck, hand it back to the user
+    if (Date.now() - lastAttempt < AUTO_LOGIN_RETRY_MS) {
+      router.replace(`/auth/signin?autologin=0&callbackUrl=${encodeURIComponent(callbackUrl)}`);
+      return;
+    }
 
     signIn(oidcProvider.id, { callbackUrl });
-  }, [redirecting, oidcProvider, callbackUrl]);
+  }, [redirecting, oidcProvider, callbackUrl, router]);
 
   let backgroundImage = "";
   let opacity = settings?.backgroundOpacity ?? 0;
@@ -243,14 +252,7 @@ export async function getServerSideProps(context) {
       homepageSettings[key],
     ]),
   );
-  // A pending attempt means the previous redirect never established a session
-  const autoLoginAttempted = context.req?.cookies?.[AUTO_LOGIN_COOKIE] === "1";
-
   return {
-    props: {
-      providers,
-      settings,
-      autoLogin: process.env.HOMEPAGE_OIDC_AUTO_LOGIN === "true" && !autoLoginAttempted,
-    },
+    props: { providers, settings, autoLogin: process.env.HOMEPAGE_OIDC_AUTO_LOGIN === "true" },
   };
 }