diff --git a/app/(auth)/casting-player.tsx b/app/(auth)/casting-player.tsx
index 32ad99590..8c35a867b 100644
--- a/app/(auth)/casting-player.tsx
+++ b/app/(auth)/casting-player.tsx
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 
 import { router, Stack } from "expo-router";
 import { useAtomValue } from "jotai";
-import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from "react";
+import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { ActivityIndicator, ScrollView, View } from "react-native";
 import { GestureDetector } from "react-native-gesture-handler";
@@ -189,23 +189,37 @@ export default function CastingPlayerScreen() {
     loadingEpisodeId != null && loadingEpisodeId !== currentItem?.Id;
 
   // Expose this player to the app-wide remote-control surface while a cast
-  // session is connected. `castingControls` is the live useCasting result.
+  // session is connected. The individual useCasting methods are each
+  // useCallback-wrapped and stable, so depend on them directly rather than on
+  // the whole `castingControls` object literal (rebuilt every render).
+  const {
+    togglePlayPause: castTogglePlayPause,
+    pause: castPause,
+    play: castPlay,
+    stop: castStop,
+    seek: castSeek,
+    setVolume: castSetVolume,
+  } = castingControls;
+  // toggleMute reads the latest volume without making `volume` a useMemo dep.
+  const volumeRef = useRef(volume);
+  volumeRef.current = volume;
+
   const castController = useMemo<PlaybackController>(
     () => ({
       playPause: () => {
-        castingControls.togglePlayPause();
+        castTogglePlayPause();
       },
       pause: () => {
-        castingControls.pause();
+        castPause();
       },
       unpause: () => {
-        castingControls.play();
+        castPlay();
       },
       stop: () => {
-        castingControls.stop();
+        castStop();
       },
       seek: (positionMs) => {
-        castingControls.seek(positionMs);
+        castSeek(positionMs);
       },
       next: () => {
         if (nextEpisode) loadEpisode(nextEpisode);
@@ -215,13 +229,24 @@ export default function CastingPlayerScreen() {
         if (idx > 0) loadEpisode(episodes[idx - 1]);
       },
       setVolume: (level) => {
-        castingControls.setVolume(level);
+        castSetVolume(level);
       },
       toggleMute: () => {
-        castingControls.setVolume(castingControls.volume > 0 ? 0 : 1);
+        castSetVolume(volumeRef.current > 0 ? 0 : 1);
       },
     }),
-    [castingControls, episodes, nextEpisode, loadEpisode, currentItem?.Id],
+    [
+      castTogglePlayPause,
+      castPause,
+      castPlay,
+      castStop,
+      castSeek,
+      castSetVolume,
+      episodes,
+      nextEpisode,
+      loadEpisode,
+      currentItem?.Id,
+    ],
   );
 
   useRegisterPlaybackController(
diff --git a/app/(auth)/player/direct-player.tsx b/app/(auth)/player/direct-player.tsx
index 1683a2d9c..26c996aaa 100644
--- a/app/(auth)/player/direct-player.tsx
+++ b/app/(auth)/player/direct-player.tsx
@@ -343,26 +343,6 @@ export default function page() {
     reportPlaybackStart();
   }, [stream, api, offline]);
 
-  const togglePlay = async () => {
-    lightHapticFeedback();
-    setIsPlaying(!isPlaying);
-    if (isPlaying) {
-      await videoRef.current?.pause();
-      const progressInfo = currentPlayStateInfo();
-      if (progressInfo) {
-        playbackManager.reportPlaybackProgress(progressInfo);
-      }
-    } else {
-      videoRef.current?.play();
-      const progressInfo = currentPlayStateInfo();
-      if (!offline && api) {
-        await getPlaystateApi(api).reportPlaybackStart({
-          playbackStartInfo: progressInfo,
-        });
-      }
-    }
-  };
-
   const reportPlaybackStopped = useCallback(async () => {
     if (!item?.Id || !stream?.sessionId || offline || !api) return;
 
@@ -431,6 +411,35 @@ export default function page() {
     isMuted,
   ]);
 
+  // Declared after currentPlayStateInfo so the dependency array can reference
+  // it without hitting the temporal dead zone.
+  const togglePlay = useCallback(async () => {
+    lightHapticFeedback();
+    setIsPlaying(!isPlaying);
+    if (isPlaying) {
+      await videoRef.current?.pause();
+      const progressInfo = currentPlayStateInfo();
+      if (progressInfo) {
+        playbackManager.reportPlaybackProgress(progressInfo);
+      }
+    } else {
+      videoRef.current?.play();
+      const progressInfo = currentPlayStateInfo();
+      if (!offline && api) {
+        await getPlaystateApi(api).reportPlaybackStart({
+          playbackStartInfo: progressInfo,
+        });
+      }
+    }
+  }, [
+    lightHapticFeedback,
+    isPlaying,
+    currentPlayStateInfo,
+    playbackManager,
+    offline,
+    api,
+  ]);
+
   const lastUrlUpdateTime = useSharedValue(0);
   const wasJustSeeking = useSharedValue(false);
   const URL_UPDATE_INTERVAL = 30000; // Update URL every 30 seconds instead of every second
diff --git a/hooks/useRemoteControl.ts b/hooks/useRemoteControl.ts
index ff1598f5e..1eb29bcd5 100644
--- a/hooks/useRemoteControl.ts
+++ b/hooks/useRemoteControl.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  */
 
 import { useAtomValue } from "jotai";
-import { useEffect } from "react";
+import { useEffect, useRef } from "react";
 import { toast } from "sonner-native";
 import { activePlaybackControllerAtom } from "@/utils/playback/playbackController";
 import {
@@ -16,9 +16,11 @@ import {
 /** Handle one remote-control message (call it whenever a new WS message arrives). */
 export const useRemoteControl = (lastMessage: RemoteWsMessage | null): void => {
   const controller = useAtomValue(activePlaybackControllerAtom);
+  const handledRef = useRef<RemoteWsMessage | null>(null);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (!lastMessage) return;
+    if (!lastMessage || lastMessage === handledRef.current) return;
+    handledRef.current = lastMessage;
     const action = mapRemoteCommand(lastMessage);
     if (!action) return;