diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0d2d553..1e1d3b9 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,6 +13,19 @@ getaggte Releases (Kanal `stable`, optional `beta`) — niemals Entwicklungs-Bui
 
 _Keine offenen Änderungen — der nächste Stand wird hier gesammelt und als `vX.Y.Z` getaggt._
 
+## [0.9.39] - 2026-06-21
+
+### Geändert
+- **WireGuard-Einrichtung: SSH-Hinweis von der Seite entfernt.** Das `sudo clusev wg setup` steht
+  jetzt nur noch in der Hilfe — die Einrichtung läuft über das Dashboard-Formular.
+
+### Behoben
+- **Kein ewiges „Wird angewendet …" mehr.** Antwortet der Host-Dienst nicht (z. B. weil der Stack
+  noch nicht auf eine Version mit dem Host-Watcher aktualisiert wurde), bricht die Dashboard-Aktion
+  nach ~30 s mit einer klaren Meldung ab, statt unbegrenzt zu warten. (Hinweis: Peer-Verwaltung +
+  Einrichtung aus dem Dashboard benötigen den per `sudo clusev update` installierten Host-Watcher —
+  auf einem reinen Dev-Stack ohne diesen läuft die Brücke nicht.)
+
 ## [0.9.38] - 2026-06-21
 
 ### Hinzugefügt
diff --git a/app/Livewire/Wireguard/Index.php b/app/Livewire/Wireguard/Index.php
index cdac581..5826be2 100644
--- a/app/Livewire/Wireguard/Index.php
+++ b/app/Livewire/Wireguard/Index.php
@@ -47,6 +47,9 @@ class Index extends Component
 
     public ?string $pendingAction = null;
 
+    /** Unix time the current request started polling — used to time out a non-responding host. */
+    public ?int $pendingSince = null;
+
     /** Show-once add-peer result (config text + QR svg). Never persisted. */
     public ?string $resultConfig = null;
 
@@ -297,11 +300,22 @@ class Index extends Component
         if ($this->pendingId === null) {
             return;
         }
+        $this->pendingSince ??= time();   // first poll after a request — start the clock
         $res = $bridge->result($this->pendingId);
         if ($res === null) {
+            // No host response after a while → the host watcher (systemd) likely isn't running yet.
+            // Stop spinning forever and tell the operator instead of leaving "Wird angewendet …".
+            if (time() - $this->pendingSince > 30) {
+                $this->pendingId = null;
+                $this->pendingAction = null;
+                $this->pendingSince = null;
+                $this->dispatch('notify', message: __('wireguard.no_host_response'), level: 'error');
+            }
+
             return;
         }
         $this->pendingId = null;
+        $this->pendingSince = null;
         if ($res['ok'] && in_array($this->pendingAction, ['add-peer', 'setup'], true) && $res['config'] !== null) {
             $this->resultConfig = $res['config'];
             $this->resultQr = $res['qr'];
diff --git a/config/clusev.php b/config/clusev.php
index 6e75124..cb82ff1 100644
--- a/config/clusev.php
+++ b/config/clusev.php
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 return [
     // First tagged release is v0.1.0 (semantic, not -dev).
-    'version' => '0.9.38',
+    'version' => '0.9.39',
 
     // Deployed commit + branch. install.sh bakes these into .env from the host's .git (the prod
     // image ships no .git); the Versions page prefers them and falls back to a live .git read in
diff --git a/lang/de/wireguard.php b/lang/de/wireguard.php
index dad400b..24ecc90 100644
--- a/lang/de/wireguard.php
+++ b/lang/de/wireguard.php
@@ -76,5 +76,5 @@ return [
     'setup_endpoint_hint' => 'Leer = automatisch erkannte öffentliche IP. Hinter NAT/Cloud-LB manuell setzen.',
     'setup_peer' => 'Name des ersten Clients',
     'setup_submit' => 'Einrichten',
-    'setup_or_ssh' => 'Alternativ per SSH:',
+    'no_host_response' => 'Keine Antwort vom Host — der WireGuard-Host-Dienst läuft nicht. Stack aktualisieren (Version-Seite) und erneut versuchen.',
 ];
diff --git a/lang/en/wireguard.php b/lang/en/wireguard.php
index d27458b..0683568 100644
--- a/lang/en/wireguard.php
+++ b/lang/en/wireguard.php
@@ -76,5 +76,5 @@ return [
     'setup_endpoint_hint' => 'Empty = auto-detected public IP. Behind NAT/cloud LB set it manually.',
     'setup_peer' => 'First client name',
     'setup_submit' => 'Set up',
-    'setup_or_ssh' => 'Or over SSH:',
+    'no_host_response' => 'No response from the host — the WireGuard host service is not running. Update the stack (Versions page) and try again.',
 ];
diff --git a/resources/views/livewire/wireguard/index.blade.php b/resources/views/livewire/wireguard/index.blade.php
index 098ab80..73de003 100644
--- a/resources/views/livewire/wireguard/index.blade.php
+++ b/resources/views/livewire/wireguard/index.blade.php
@@ -59,8 +59,6 @@
                     @endif
                 </div>
             </form>
-            <p class="mt-4 font-mono text-[11px] text-ink-4">{{ __('wireguard.setup_or_ssh') }}</p>
-            <pre class="mt-1 overflow-x-auto rounded-md border border-line bg-void px-3 py-2.5 font-mono text-[11px] text-ink-2">sudo clusev wg setup</pre>
         </x-panel>
     @else
         @if ($status['stale'])
diff --git a/tests/Feature/WireguardPageTest.php b/tests/Feature/WireguardPageTest.php
index 92c580e..7e8c239 100644
--- a/tests/Feature/WireguardPageTest.php
+++ b/tests/Feature/WireguardPageTest.php
@@ -161,4 +161,15 @@ class WireguardPageTest extends TestCase
             ->call('setupWg')
             ->assertHasErrors('setupSubnet');
     }
+
+    public function test_poll_result_times_out_when_the_host_does_not_respond(): void
+    {
+        // A pending request with no host result for >30s must stop spinning, not poll forever.
+        Livewire::test(Index::class)
+            ->set('pendingId', 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAbbbbcccc')
+            ->set('pendingSince', time() - 31)
+            ->call('pollResult')
+            ->assertSet('pendingId', null)
+            ->assertSet('pendingSince', null);
+    }
 }