diff --git a/docs/dev/findings-index.csv b/docs/dev/findings-index.csv
index 4e1c35b0..14b4a4f3 100644
--- a/docs/dev/findings-index.csv
+++ b/docs/dev/findings-index.csv
@@ -285,3 +285,4 @@ D405,CLOSED,"fast3d/OpenGL: MSAA above the driver max black-screens; two glBindF
 D406,RESOLVED,front-end PC Options screen:,"RESOLVED (2026-09-28, port-layer only, Steam Deck-validated):"
 D407,PARTIAL,Tanks cannot be boarded/exited on PC —,"PARTIAL (fix landed in v0.4.0, port-only):"
 D408,OPEN,Game.SkipIntro skips the post-mission failure dossier:,"OPEN (cosmetic, not root-caused past the handoff site)."
+D435,FIXED,"Unplugging and replugging a controller was not picked up (user, GameSir-G7 Pro; 2026-09-29).","FIXED — port-only: the render thread's gfx_sdl_handle_events drains the same SDL queue as video.c's host pump but had no case for SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEADDED/REMOVED, so it usually swallowed them and i…"
diff --git a/docs/dev/findings.md b/docs/dev/findings.md
index f23ee5ee..91ca947c 100644
--- a/docs/dev/findings.md
+++ b/docs/dev/findings.md
@@ -693,6 +693,7 @@ covers D24–D69; the log continues in §H (D32 procedure, D70–D121).
 | D406 | **front-end PC Options screen: long sections (INPUT, 17 visible rows) run off the bottom of the 440x330 paper, and rows past the silent 14-row page cap (Crouch mode, Reset to defaults, Bindings…) are unreachable from the front screen** (user report 2026-09-28, v0.4.0 pre-push review) — full `## D406` entry at file tail | RESOLVED (2026-09-28, port-layer only, Steam Deck-validated): in-section pagination in `frontoptions.c` (11 rows/page; the vertical stepper crosses page boundaries both ways; dim 'Page p/N' marker + bottom hint on every page; slider bars start past long labels; F10 overlay untouched). D406b/c/d same-cycle refinements (label/track overlap, hint visibility/wording, hint position). |
 | D407 | **Tanks cannot be boarded/exited on PC — the v0.4.0 use/reload split (D378/D393) removed the B-button tap the engine's tank handlers in `bondview2.c` consume (user report 2026-09-28, Runway/Streets)** — full `## D407` entry at file tail | PARTIAL (fix landed in v0.4.0, port-only): present `GE_CONT_B` on the use (E / pad A) rising edge only while `g_PlayerIsInTank == 1` or `g_BondCanEnterTank != 0`; E keeps its D378 no-reload-fallback semantics elsewhere, N64 layout unaffected. D407(b) same cycle: front PC Options page-edge highlight clamp + mouse-wheel / W-S paging (wheel queue consumed on the menu, D223); its wheel mapping shipped inverted and was fixed to match W/S (wheel up = step up). D407(c): board-animation lockout, menu-accept B gate in tank states, in-tank aim routed through the legacy velocity stick + `Input.TankAimScale` knob. RESOLVED 2026-09-28: all port-only (src/game zero-diff), 10 TANKDBG probes stripped, release binary verified clean, user live tank drive signed off (board + exit OK, aim feel good). |
 | D408 | **`Game.SkipIntro` skips the post-mission failure dossier: with it on, entering a level then aborting (watch Z+A) or dying (KIA) returns straight to the menus — no REPORT / "Mission status: KILLED IN ACTION / ABORTED" screen** (user report 2026-09-28; save/AllUnlocked ruled out) — full `## D408` entry at file tail | OPEN (cosmetic, not root-caused past the handoff site). v0.4.0 decision: SkipIntro stays EXPERIMENTAL / not recommended for regular users — F10 row relabelled "Skip intro (EXPERIMENTAL)". |
+| D435 | **Unplugging and replugging a controller was not picked up (user, GameSir-G7 Pro; 2026-09-29).** — full `## D435` entry at file tail | FIXED — port-only: the render thread's `gfx_sdl_handle_events` drains the same SDL queue as video.c's host pump but had no case for `SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEADDED/REMOVED`, so it usually swallowed them and `inputRescanPads` never ran. Both pumps now post a request; the rescan runs at the top of `inputUpdate`, on the thread that reads the pads. |
 
 
 Phase 2 replaced the Phase-1 demo loop with the real `mainproc()` on real OS
@@ -15524,3 +15525,22 @@ included; D281 keeps the shipped mitigation + disclosure, zero-saves root cause
 **v0.4.0 decision (user, 09-28):** `Game.SkipIntro` stays **EXPERIMENTAL — not recommended for regular users yet**, alongside its older unrooted audio-break report (D216 status note). The F10 row is relabelled "Skip intro (EXPERIMENTAL)" (`port/src/optionsoverlay.c`, mirroring the D387 AllUnlocked labelling precedent); the config var, default (off), and `lv.c` hook are unchanged.
 
 **Status:** OPEN — cosmetic (no crash, no data loss; the mission still records as failed/aborted and the menus are fully functional). Root-causing needs a side-by-side of front-end state (`current_menu`, `g_CurrentStageToLoad`, `mission_failed_or_aborted`, `g_isBondKIA`) on the fail return with SkipIntro off vs on — candidate for v0.5.0 alongside the D216 audio half.
+
+## D435 — a replugged controller is never reopened: the render thread's event pump swallows the hot-plug events (2026-09-29)
+
+**Status:** FIXED, port-only. User report (GameSir-G7 Pro): "disconnecting the controller, then reconnecting it did not seem to be picked up". The play log had only the startup `input: rescanned pads` line.
+
+**Root cause.** Two threads drain the one SDL event queue:
+- `port/src/video.c` `videoPumpEvents`: `case SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEADDED / REMOVED: inputRescanPads();`.
+- `port/fast3d/gfx_sdl2.cpp` `gfx_sdl_handle_events` (called from `gfx_run` on the render / scheduler thread every frame): **no case for them**. Whatever it dequeues is dropped.
+
+Whichever loop runs `SDL_PollEvent` first gets the event, and the render loop usually wins (the same race WI-1 documented for ESC). So the pads were never rescanned and `pads[]` kept the closed controller's handle. Headless repro with a virtual pad (attach, detach, re-attach): one rescan at startup, none at the detach, and at the re-attach the process aborted with `malloc(): unaligned tcache chunk detected` (stale handle). A second latent problem: `inputRescanPads` ran on the host thread while the scheduler thread reads `pads[]` in `inputComputePad`; closing pads under a reader is a race.
+
+**Fix.**
+- `gfx_sdl2.cpp`: new `case SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEADDED / REMOVED: inputRequestRescan();`.
+- `video.c`: the case now calls `inputRequestRescan()` instead of `inputRescanPads()`.
+- `input.c`: `inputRequestRescan()` sets an atomic; `inputUpdate()` consumes it first thing and runs `inputRescanPads()` there, i.e. on the thread that is about to read the pads (the scheduler thread, or the game thread under tick input).
+
+**Verified** (on the netplay line, headless, virtual pads through a test seam): attach -> detach -> attach -> detach -> attach with no tick input: 5 rescans (startup + one per event), no crash, against 1 rescan then a heap-corruption abort before the fix; with tick input the pad's buttons are seen before, after the first and after the second re-attach; solo `-level_09` frame 1800 byte-identical to the base. Real-pad retest by the user (GameSir-G7 Pro, 2026-09-29): passed.
+
+**Residual (pre-existing):** `inputRumble` can run on the game thread while a rescan runs on the scheduler thread in non-tick mode: one poll of exposure instead of an arbitrary host-thread moment.
diff --git a/port/fast3d/gfx_sdl2.cpp b/port/fast3d/gfx_sdl2.cpp
index e32611e5..02d96436 100644
--- a/port/fast3d/gfx_sdl2.cpp
+++ b/port/fast3d/gfx_sdl2.cpp
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 #include "input.h"
 
 extern "C" void videoRequestQuit(const char *why);   // port/src/video.c (D344)
+extern "C" void inputRequestRescan(void);   // port/src/input.c (D435)
 
 static SDL_Window* wnd;
 static SDL_GLContext ctx;
@@ -339,6 +340,10 @@ static void gfx_sdl_handle_events(void) {
             case SDL_MOUSEWHEEL:
                 inputPostWheel(event.wheel.y);   // weapon cycle
                 break;
+            case SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEADDED:     // D435: this pump and video.c's drain the same
+            case SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEREMOVED:   // SDL queue; request a rescan, never rescan here
+                inputRequestRescan();
+                break;
             case SDL_WINDOWEVENT:
                 if (event.window.event == SDL_WINDOWEVENT_SIZE_CHANGED) {
                     SDL_GL_GetDrawableSize(wnd, &window_width, &window_height);
diff --git a/port/include/input.h b/port/include/input.h
index 8d454224..324df76b 100644
--- a/port/include/input.h
+++ b/port/include/input.h
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ int  inputMenuPointerLive(void);
 
 /* Re-enumerate gamepads after a hotplug (SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEADDED/REMOVED). */
 void inputRescanPads(void);
+void inputRequestRescan(void);   /* D435: from either SDL event pump; consumed by inputUpdate() */
 
 /* D401: Rumble Pak -> real gamepad haptics. The osMotor* shims in
  * libultra.c (game's src/joy.c rumble state machine) route here.
diff --git a/port/src/input.c b/port/src/input.c
index 08ecc0d0..6981b5e3 100644
--- a/port/src/input.c
+++ b/port/src/input.c
@@ -926,8 +926,23 @@ void inputDestroy(void)
 
 /* Poll once per controller-read: refresh SDL device state and integrate the
  * mouse-aim delta into the accumulator. */
+/* D435: controller hot-plug. SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEADDED / REMOVED land on
+ * whichever of the two event pumps dequeues them first: video.c's host loop
+ * or fast3d's gfx_sdl_handle_events (render thread, every frame), and the
+ * latter used to drop them, so a replugged pad was never reopened. Both pumps
+ * now only post a request; the rescan runs here, at the top of inputUpdate(),
+ * on the thread that is about to read pads[], so a pad is never closed under
+ * a reader. */
+static SDL_atomic_t s_rescanReq;
+
+void inputRequestRescan(void)
+{
+    SDL_AtomicSet(&s_rescanReq, 1);
+}
+
 void inputUpdate(void)
 {
+    if (SDL_AtomicSet(&s_rescanReq, 0)) inputRescanPads();   /* D435 */
     SDL_GameControllerUpdate();
 
     /* D287: skip until the host thread has actually enabled relative mode
diff --git a/port/src/video.c b/port/src/video.c
index 1739110c..a002d565 100644
--- a/port/src/video.c
+++ b/port/src/video.c
@@ -865,7 +865,7 @@ void videoPumpEvents(void)
             break;
         case SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEADDED:
         case SDL_CONTROLLERDEVICEREMOVED:
-            inputRescanPads();
+            inputRequestRescan();   /* D435: the rescan runs on the pad-reading thread */
             break;
         case SDL_WINDOWEVENT:
             if (ev.window.event == SDL_WINDOWEVENT_CLOSE) {