diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 75b61be..4afd084 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1317,7 +1317,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "mhrv-rs"
-version = "0.8.3"
+version = "0.8.4"
 dependencies = [
  "base64 0.22.1",
  "bytes",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index e3ffda6..8839303 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "mhrv-rs"
-version = "0.8.3"
+version = "0.8.4"
 edition = "2021"
 description = "Rust port of MasterHttpRelayVPN -- DPI bypass via Google Apps Script relay with domain fronting"
 license = "MIT"
diff --git a/src/bin/ui.rs b/src/bin/ui.rs
index 5305996..2b23baa 100644
--- a/src/bin/ui.rs
+++ b/src/bin/ui.rs
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ fn main() -> eframe::Result<()> {
         .spawn(move || background_thread(shared_bg, cmd_rx))
         .expect("failed to spawn background thread");
 
-    let form = load_form();
+    let (form, load_err) = load_form();
+    let initial_toast = load_err.map(|e| (e, Instant::now()));
 
     let options = eframe::NativeOptions {
         viewport: egui::ViewportBuilder::default()
@@ -66,7 +67,7 @@ fn main() -> eframe::Result<()> {
                 cmd_tx,
                 form,
                 last_poll: Instant::now(),
-                toast: None,
+                toast: initial_toast,
             }))
         }),
     )
@@ -161,17 +162,42 @@ struct SniRow {
     enabled: bool,
 }
 
-fn load_form() -> FormState {
+fn load_form() -> (FormState, Option<String>) {
+    // Try the user-data config first, then the cwd fallback. Report WHY load
+    // fails so the user isn't silently shown a blank form (issue: user reports
+    // 'settings saved to file but not loaded back'). Without this signal the
+    // failure is invisible — `.ok()` swallows it and the form looks fresh.
     let path = data_dir::config_path();
     let cwd = PathBuf::from("config.json");
-    let existing = if path.exists() {
-        Config::load(&path).ok()
+
+    let (existing, load_err): (Option<Config>, Option<String>) = if path.exists() {
+        tracing::info!("config: attempting load from {}", path.display());
+        match Config::load(&path) {
+            Ok(c) => {
+                tracing::info!("config: loaded OK from {}", path.display());
+                (Some(c), None)
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                let msg = format!("Config at {} failed to load: {}", path.display(), e);
+                tracing::warn!("{}", msg);
+                (None, Some(msg))
+            }
+        }
     } else if cwd.exists() {
-        Config::load(&cwd).ok()
+        tracing::info!("config: attempting fallback load from {}", cwd.display());
+        match Config::load(&cwd) {
+            Ok(c) => (Some(c), None),
+            Err(e) => {
+                let msg = format!("Config at {} failed to load: {}", cwd.display(), e);
+                tracing::warn!("{}", msg);
+                (None, Some(msg))
+            }
+        }
     } else {
-        None
+        tracing::info!("config: no config found at {} — starting with defaults", path.display());
+        (None, None)
     };
-    if let Some(c) = existing {
+    let form = if let Some(c) = existing {
         let sid = match &c.script_id {
             Some(ScriptId::One(s)) => s.clone(),
             Some(ScriptId::Many(v)) => v.join("\n"),
@@ -225,7 +251,8 @@ fn load_form() -> FormState {
             google_ip_validation:true,
             scan_batch_size:500
         }
-    }
+    };
+    (form, load_err)
 }
 
 /// Build the initial `sni_pool` list shown in the editor.
@@ -762,9 +789,15 @@ impl eframe::App for App {
                     }
                 });
 
-            // Transient toast at the bottom.
+            // Transient toast at the bottom. Config-load failures stick for
+            // 30s instead of 5 because they explain why the form looks empty.
             if let Some((msg, t)) = &self.toast {
-                if t.elapsed() < Duration::from_secs(5) {
+                let ttl = if msg.contains("failed to load") {
+                    Duration::from_secs(30)
+                } else {
+                    Duration::from_secs(5)
+                };
+                if t.elapsed() < ttl {
                     ui.add_space(4.0);
                     ui.colored_label(egui::Color32::from_rgb(200, 170, 80), msg);
                 } else {
diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index bf8ed4c..4d528ea 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -214,3 +214,69 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(cfg.validate().is_err());
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod rt_tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn round_trip_all_current_fields() {
+        // Regression guard: make sure a config written by the UI (all current
+        // optional fields present and populated) loads back cleanly.
+        let json = r#"{
+  "mode": "apps_script",
+  "google_ip": "216.239.38.120",
+  "front_domain": "www.google.com",
+  "script_id": "AKfyc_TEST",
+  "auth_key": "testtesttest",
+  "listen_host": "127.0.0.1",
+  "listen_port": 8085,
+  "socks5_port": 8086,
+  "log_level": "info",
+  "verify_ssl": true,
+  "upstream_socks5": "127.0.0.1:50529",
+  "parallel_relay": 2,
+  "sni_hosts": ["www.google.com", "drive.google.com"],
+  "fetch_ips_from_api": true,
+  "max_ips_to_scan": 50,
+  "scan_batch_size": 100,
+  "google_ip_validation": true
+}"#;
+        let tmp = std::env::temp_dir().join("mhrv-rt-test.json");
+        std::fs::write(&tmp, json).unwrap();
+        let cfg = Config::load(&tmp).expect("config should load");
+        assert_eq!(cfg.mode, "apps_script");
+        assert_eq!(cfg.auth_key, "testtesttest");
+        assert_eq!(cfg.listen_port, 8085);
+        assert_eq!(cfg.upstream_socks5.as_deref(), Some("127.0.0.1:50529"));
+        assert_eq!(cfg.parallel_relay, 2);
+        assert_eq!(
+            cfg.sni_hosts.as_ref().unwrap(),
+            &vec!["www.google.com".to_string(), "drive.google.com".to_string()]
+        );
+        assert_eq!(cfg.fetch_ips_from_api, true);
+        let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&tmp);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn round_trip_minimal_fields_only() {
+        // User saves with defaults for everything optional. This is what the
+        // UI's save button actually writes for a first-run user.
+        let json = r#"{
+  "mode": "apps_script",
+  "google_ip": "216.239.38.120",
+  "front_domain": "www.google.com",
+  "script_id": "A",
+  "auth_key": "secretkey123",
+  "listen_host": "127.0.0.1",
+  "listen_port": 8085,
+  "log_level": "info",
+  "verify_ssl": true
+}"#;
+        let tmp = std::env::temp_dir().join("mhrv-rt-min.json");
+        std::fs::write(&tmp, json).unwrap();
+        let cfg = Config::load(&tmp).expect("minimal config should load");
+        assert_eq!(cfg.mode, "apps_script");
+        let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&tmp);
+    }
+}