diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build-windows.yml b/.gitea/workflows/build-windows.yml
index b4a3df4..47d6b8a 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build-windows.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build-windows.yml
@@ -87,9 +87,21 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
           [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12
+          # Native command failures do NOT trip $ErrorActionPreference, so check
+          # $LASTEXITCODE explicitly — otherwise a broken install ships silently.
           & $env:PYTHON -m pip install --upgrade pip
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw "pip upgrade failed ($LASTEXITCODE)" }
           & $env:PYTHON -m pip install -e .
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw "pip install -e . failed ($LASTEXITCODE)" }
           & $env:PYTHON -m pip install pyinstaller
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw "pip install pyinstaller failed ($LASTEXITCODE)" }
+
+      - name: Verify runtime imports
+        shell: powershell
+        run: |
+          # Fail fast if any runtime dependency is missing before we bundle.
+          & $env:PYTHON -c "import PySide6.QtWidgets, fastapi, uvicorn, aiohttp, PIL, pystray, qrcode, pyautogui, pyperclip, websockets, multipart; print('deps OK')"
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw "dependency import smoke test failed ($LASTEXITCODE)" }
 
       - name: Build Windows executable
         shell: powershell
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f25fe59..cbfcb30 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ A cross-platform macro management application with desktop and web interfaces. C
 - PyAutoGUI (Keyboard automation)
 - Pillow (Image processing)
 - pystray (System tray)
-- netifaces (Network detection)
 - qrcode (QR code generation)
 - aiohttp (Relay server client)
 
diff --git a/gui/main_window.py b/gui/main_window.py
index 68eb75e..0b000ba 100644
--- a/gui/main_window.py
+++ b/gui/main_window.py
@@ -469,19 +469,39 @@ class MainWindow(QMainWindow):
         # QR/copied URL lets a LAN device authenticate against the API.
         token = self.settings_manager.get_web_auth_token()
         token_qs = f"?token={token}" if token else ""
+        ip = self._detect_lan_ip()
+        if ip:
+            self.ip_label.setText(f"http://{ip}:{DEFAULT_PORT}{token_qs}")
+            return
+        self.ip_label.setText(f"http://localhost:{DEFAULT_PORT}{token_qs}")
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _detect_lan_ip():
+        """Best-effort primary LAN IPv4, with no third-party dependency.
+
+        Uses a UDP socket to discover which local interface would be used to
+        reach the internet (no packets are actually sent), then falls back to
+        resolving the hostname. Returns None if only loopback is available.
+        """
+        import socket
         try:
-            import netifaces
-            for iface in netifaces.interfaces():
-                addrs = netifaces.ifaddresses(iface)
-                if netifaces.AF_INET in addrs:
-                    for addr in addrs[netifaces.AF_INET]:
-                        ip = addr.get('addr', '')
-                        if ip and not ip.startswith('127.'):
-                            self.ip_label.setText(f"http://{ip}:{DEFAULT_PORT}{token_qs}")
-                            return
+            s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
+            try:
+                s.connect(("8.8.8.8", 80))
+                ip = s.getsockname()[0]
+            finally:
+                s.close()
+            if ip and not ip.startswith("127."):
+                return ip
         except Exception:
             pass
-        self.ip_label.setText(f"http://localhost:{DEFAULT_PORT}{token_qs}")
+        try:
+            for ip in socket.gethostbyname_ex(socket.gethostname())[2]:
+                if not ip.startswith("127."):
+                    return ip
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+        return None
 
     def copy_url_to_clipboard(self):
         """Copy the web interface URL to clipboard."""
diff --git a/macropad.spec b/macropad.spec
index 2e9a08b..bf1e87e 100644
--- a/macropad.spec
+++ b/macropad.spec
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ a = Analysis(
         'pyautogui',
         'pyperclip',
         'pystray',
-        'netifaces',
         'websockets',
         'multipart',
         # Relay client (imported lazily in the GUI, so declare explicitly)
diff --git a/macropad_linux.spec b/macropad_linux.spec
index b524543..4f79a04 100644
--- a/macropad_linux.spec
+++ b/macropad_linux.spec
@@ -49,7 +49,6 @@ a = Analysis(
         'pyperclip',
         'pystray',
         'pystray._base',
-        'netifaces',
         'websockets',
         'multipart',
         # Linux system tray
diff --git a/macropad_macos.spec b/macropad_macos.spec
index 930e1df..b43e6f8 100644
--- a/macropad_macos.spec
+++ b/macropad_macos.spec
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ a = Analysis(
         'pyautogui',
         'pyperclip',
         'pystray',
-        'netifaces',
         'websockets',
         'multipart',
     ],
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 620222d..ac3e678 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -23,8 +23,6 @@ dependencies = [
     "uvicorn>=0.24.0",
     "websockets>=12.0",
     "python-multipart>=0.0.6",  # For file uploads
-    # Network utilities
-    "netifaces>=0.11.0",
     # QR code generation
     "qrcode>=7.4.2",
     # Desktop GUI