diff --git a/libs/scrap/src/wayland/display.rs b/libs/scrap/src/wayland/display.rs
index bed90fd76..1a9f29f25 100644
--- a/libs/scrap/src/wayland/display.rs
+++ b/libs/scrap/src/wayland/display.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,18 @@ static MISSING_LOGICAL_SIZE_WARNED: std::sync::atomic::AtomicBool =
 
 const COMMAND_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_millis(1000);
 
+// drm builds only: an unnamed-endpoint failure there forks the probe child, and the pollers
+// turn every few hundred milliseconds. Every other failure is one cheap in-process error.
+#[cfg(any(test, feature = "drm"))]
+const FAILED_LOOKUP_BACKOFF: Duration = Duration::from_secs(5);
+
+#[cfg(any(test, feature = "drm"))]
+static LAST_FAILED_LOOKUP: Mutex<Option<Instant>> = Mutex::new(None);
+
+#[cfg(feature = "drm")]
+static LOOKUP_FAILURE_WARNED: std::sync::atomic::AtomicBool =
+    std::sync::atomic::AtomicBool::new(false);
+
 pub struct Displays {
     pub primary: usize,
     pub displays: Vec<WaylandDisplayInfo>,
@@ -171,11 +183,76 @@ fn get_primary_monitor() -> Option<String> {
         .or_else(try_gdbus_primary)
 }
 
+// Pure, so the backoff policy is testable without a compositor.
+#[cfg(any(test, feature = "drm"))]
+fn lookup_allowed(failed_at: Option<Instant>, now: Instant) -> bool {
+    failed_at.map_or(true, |at| {
+        now.saturating_duration_since(at) >= FAILED_LOOKUP_BACKOFF
+    })
+}
+
+#[cfg(feature = "drm")]
+fn backed_off() -> bool {
+    let failed_at = *LAST_FAILED_LOOKUP.lock().unwrap();
+    !lookup_allowed(failed_at, Instant::now())
+}
+
+// Mirrors the probe module's gate, latch included: connecting consumes WAYLAND_SOCKET, so a
+// once-named endpoint must stay named for the life of the process.
+#[cfg(feature = "drm")]
+fn endpoint_named() -> bool {
+    use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
+    static WAS_NAMED: AtomicBool = AtomicBool::new(false);
+    let named = ["WAYLAND_DISPLAY", "WAYLAND_SOCKET"]
+        .iter()
+        .any(|key| std::env::var_os(key).is_some_and(|value| !value.is_empty()));
+    if named {
+        WAS_NAMED.store(true, Ordering::Release);
+    }
+    WAS_NAMED.load(Ordering::Acquire)
+}
+
+// Enumerates and keeps the failure stamp current. Suppresses nothing itself: one-shot callers
+// (session init, pipewire) must always get a fresh read, or a transient failure latches.
+fn enumerate_displays() -> hbb_common::ResultType<Vec<WaylandDisplayInfo>> {
+    // Read before connecting, which consumes WAYLAND_SOCKET.
+    #[cfg(feature = "drm")]
+    let named = endpoint_named();
+    let probed = get_wayland_displays();
+    // Only the failure that would fork stamps; a named endpoint fails cheaply in-process.
+    #[cfg(feature = "drm")]
+    {
+        *LAST_FAILED_LOOKUP.lock().unwrap() = (probed.is_err() && !named).then(Instant::now);
+        if let Err(err) = &probed {
+            if !LOOKUP_FAILURE_WARNED.swap(true, std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed) {
+                warn!("Failed to get wayland displays: {}", err);
+            }
+        } else {
+            LOOKUP_FAILURE_WARNED.store(false, std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed);
+        }
+    }
+    probed
+}
+
+// True when a lookup now could neither hit the cache nor probe. Pollers skip their turn on
+// it and keep their last published state; one-shot callers must not consult it.
+#[cfg(feature = "drm")]
+pub fn wayland_lookup_suppressed() -> bool {
+    DISPLAYS.lock().unwrap().is_none() && backed_off()
+}
+
+// Whether any failure stamp exists, expired or not: pollers use it to tell a first failure
+// from one that has already persisted across a backoff.
+#[cfg(feature = "drm")]
+pub fn wayland_failure_stamped() -> bool {
+    LAST_FAILED_LOOKUP.lock().unwrap().is_some()
+}
+
 pub fn get_displays() -> Arc<Displays> {
     let mut lock = DISPLAYS.lock().unwrap();
     match lock.as_ref() {
         Some(displays) => displays.clone(),
-        None => match get_wayland_displays() {
+        None => match enumerate_displays() {
             Ok(displays) => {
                 let mut primary_index = None;
                 if let Some(name) = get_primary_monitor() {
@@ -201,8 +278,9 @@ pub fn get_displays() -> Arc<Displays> {
                 *lock = Some(displays.clone());
                 displays
             }
-            Err(err) => {
-                warn!("Failed to get wayland displays: {}", err);
+            Err(_err) => {
+                #[cfg(not(feature = "drm"))]
+                warn!("Failed to get wayland displays: {}", _err);
                 Arc::new(Displays {
                     primary: 0,
                     displays: Vec::new(),
@@ -215,6 +293,8 @@ pub fn get_displays() -> Arc<Displays> {
 #[inline]
 pub fn clear_wayland_displays_cache() {
     let _ = DISPLAYS.lock().unwrap().take();
+    // The failure stamp survives on purpose: it describes the seat, not the cache, and the
+    // capturer rebuild loop clears about once a second.
 }
 
 // Return (min_x, max_x, min_y, max_y)
@@ -223,17 +303,21 @@ pub fn get_desktop_rect_for_uinput() -> Option<(i32, i32, i32, i32)> {
     desktop_rect_of(&wayland_displays.displays)
 }
 
-// The desktop rect and per-display logical rects, always read live from the
-// compositor in a single roundtrip. Skips the displays cache and the primary-monitor
-// detection (which may spawn external commands), so it is cheap enough to poll for
-// layout changes. https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk/issues/15601
+// The desktop rect and per-display logical rects, read live from the compositor in a single
+// roundtrip (drm builds may skip a turn during the failure backoff). Skips the displays cache
+// and the primary-monitor detection, cheap enough to poll. rustdesk/rustdesk#15601
 pub fn get_layout_for_uinput_live() -> Option<((i32, i32, i32, i32), Vec<DisplayRect>)> {
-    match get_wayland_displays() {
+    #[cfg(feature = "drm")]
+    if backed_off() {
+        return None;
+    }
+    match enumerate_displays() {
         Ok(displays) => {
             desktop_rect_of(&displays).map(|rect| (rect, logical_rects_of(&displays)))
         }
-        Err(err) => {
-            warn!("Failed to get wayland displays: {}", err);
+        Err(_err) => {
+            #[cfg(not(feature = "drm"))]
+            warn!("Failed to get wayland displays: {}", _err);
             None
         }
     }
@@ -386,6 +470,40 @@ fn map_axis(v: i32, base_origin: i32, base_extent: i32, live_origin: i32, live_e
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_lookup_backoff_boundaries() {
+        // Future `now`s sidestep Instant subtraction, which can panic near boot.
+        let failed_at = Instant::now();
+        assert!(lookup_allowed(None, failed_at));
+        assert!(!lookup_allowed(
+            Some(failed_at),
+            failed_at + FAILED_LOOKUP_BACKOFF / 2
+        ));
+        assert!(lookup_allowed(
+            Some(failed_at),
+            failed_at + FAILED_LOOKUP_BACKOFF
+        ));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_lookup_stamp_from_the_future_only_waits() {
+        // saturating_duration_since answers zero rather than underflowing.
+        let now = Instant::now();
+        assert!(!lookup_allowed(Some(now + FAILED_LOOKUP_BACKOFF), now));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_clear_keeps_the_failure_stamp() {
+        // The stamp describes the seat, not the cache: the ~1/s capturer rebuild loop clears,
+        // and dropping the stamp with it would defeat the backoff. Sole test touching these
+        // statics; serialize before adding another.
+        *LAST_FAILED_LOOKUP.lock().unwrap() = Some(Instant::now());
+        clear_wayland_displays_cache();
+        let stamp = *LAST_FAILED_LOOKUP.lock().unwrap();
+        assert!(stamp.is_some());
+        *LAST_FAILED_LOOKUP.lock().unwrap() = None;
+    }
+
     fn display(
         x: i32,
         y: i32,
diff --git a/src/server/display_service.rs b/src/server/display_service.rs
index 7572caf10..235c7ca86 100644
--- a/src/server/display_service.rs
+++ b/src/server/display_service.rs
@@ -346,8 +346,21 @@ fn check_get_displays_changed_msg() -> Option<Message> {
             // list that overwrites the login peer-info displays and the client shows "No displays".
             #[cfg(feature = "drm")]
             if super::drm_capturer::is_available_cached() {
-                if let Some(displays) = super::drm_capturer::get_display_infos() {
-                    SYNC_DISPLAYS.lock().unwrap().check_changed(&displays);
+                let synced = !SYNC_DISPLAYS.lock().unwrap().displays.is_empty();
+                let stamped_before = scrap::wayland::display::wayland_failure_stamped();
+                // With nothing published yet, even the unaugmented DRM list beats the empty
+                // broadcast below; with a synced layout, a suppressed turn keeps it instead.
+                if !synced || !scrap::wayland::display::wayland_lookup_suppressed() {
+                    if let Some(displays) = super::drm_capturer::get_display_infos() {
+                        // A first failure keeps the synced layout for one backoff; only a
+                        // failure that persists across one replaces it with the DRM stack.
+                        if !synced
+                            || stamped_before
+                            || !scrap::wayland::display::wayland_lookup_suppressed()
+                        {
+                            SYNC_DISPLAYS.lock().unwrap().check_changed(&displays);
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
             }
             return get_displays_msg();