diff --git a/meshchatx/src/frontend/js/WebSocketConnection.js b/meshchatx/src/frontend/js/WebSocketConnection.js
index 48bfc64..5455737 100644
--- a/meshchatx/src/frontend/js/WebSocketConnection.js
+++ b/meshchatx/src/frontend/js/WebSocketConnection.js
@@ -3,15 +3,34 @@ import mitt from "mitt";
 class WebSocketConnection {
     constructor() {
         this.emitter = mitt();
-        this.reconnect();
+        this.isDemoMode = false;
+        this.ws = null;
+        this.pingInterval = null;
+        this.initialized = false;
+        this.checkDemoModeAndConnect();
+    }
 
-        /**
-         * ping websocket server every 30 seconds
-         * this helps to prevent the underlying tcp connection from going stale when there's no traffic for a long time
-         */
-        setInterval(() => {
-            this.ping();
-        }, 30000);
+    async checkDemoModeAndConnect() {
+        if (typeof window === "undefined" || !window.axios) {
+            setTimeout(() => this.checkDemoModeAndConnect(), 100);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        try {
+            const response = await window.axios.get("/api/v1/app/info");
+            this.isDemoMode = response.data.app_info?.is_demo === true;
+        } catch (e) {
+            // If we can't check, assume not demo mode and try to connect
+        }
+
+        this.initialized = true;
+
+        if (!this.isDemoMode) {
+            this.reconnect();
+            this.pingInterval = setInterval(() => {
+                this.ping();
+            }, 30000);
+        }
     }
 
     // add event listener
@@ -30,15 +49,21 @@ class WebSocketConnection {
     }
 
     reconnect() {
+        if (!this.initialized || this.isDemoMode) {
+            return;
+        }
+
         // connect to websocket
         const wsUrl = location.origin.replace(/^https/, "wss").replace(/^http/, "ws") + "/ws";
         this.ws = new WebSocket(wsUrl);
 
         // auto reconnect when websocket closes
         this.ws.addEventListener("close", () => {
-            setTimeout(() => {
-                this.reconnect();
-            }, 1000);
+            if (!this.isDemoMode) {
+                setTimeout(() => {
+                    this.reconnect();
+                }, 1000);
+            }
         });
 
         // emit data received from websocket
@@ -54,6 +79,9 @@ class WebSocketConnection {
     }
 
     ping() {
+        if (this.isDemoMode) {
+            return;
+        }
         try {
             this.send(
                 JSON.stringify({
diff --git a/nginx.demo.conf b/nginx.demo.conf
index b6db270..ca18d92 100644
--- a/nginx.demo.conf
+++ b/nginx.demo.conf
@@ -234,23 +234,19 @@ server {
         add_header Content-Type application/json;
     }
 
-    # Improved WebSocket handler
+    # WebSocket handler for demo mode
     location /ws {
-        proxy_http_version 1.1;
-        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
-        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
-        proxy_set_header Host $host;
-        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
-        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
-        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
-
-        # In demo mode, returning 200 for non-WS requests provides better feedback
+        # For non-WebSocket requests, return a simple message
         if ($http_upgrade != "websocket") {
-            return 200 "WebSocket Mock Endpoint (Active)";
+            add_header Content-Type text/plain;
+            return 200 "WebSocket endpoint (Demo Mode - WebSocket not available)";
         }
 
-        # For actual WS connection attempts, we still return 503 as there is no backend server.
-        return 503;
+        # For WebSocket upgrade requests, return 426 Upgrade Required
+        # This is more appropriate than 503 and prevents constant reconnection attempts
+        add_header Upgrade websocket;
+        add_header Connection Upgrade;
+        return 426;
     }
 
     # Error pages