diff --git a/embedded/web/package.json b/embedded/web/package.json
index c1b9caa8..8225d4d2 100644
--- a/embedded/web/package.json
+++ b/embedded/web/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@sorb/threadnet-call-embedded",
-  "version": "0.19.2-threadnet.3",
+  "version": "0.19.2-threadnet.4",
   "files": [
     "README.md",
     "LICENSE-AGPL-3.0",
diff --git a/vite-embedded.config.ts b/vite-embedded.config.ts
index 784ce83d..a8d671dc 100644
--- a/vite-embedded.config.ts
+++ b/vite-embedded.config.ts
@@ -31,12 +31,12 @@ export default defineConfig((env) =>
                 delayed_leave_event_delay_ms: 18000,
               },
               media_quality: {
-                // video_codec intentionally left unset (defaults to vp8) - setting it to
-                // "vp9" broke calls entirely in production (2026-07-28, no audio/video
-                // transmitted). Likely cause: LiveKit uses SVC for vp9/av1 instead of
-                // classic simulcast, but buildPublishOptions() in src/livekit/options.ts
-                // always sets simulcast-shaped videoSimulcastLayers regardless of codec -
-                // needs a code fix in that function before vp9 can be retried safely.
+                // h264 uses classic simulcast (like vp8), not SVC, so it's compatible
+                // with buildPublishOptions()'s simulcast-shaped layers without a code
+                // fix - unlike vp9/av1 (see 2026-07-28 incident: forcing vp9 broke calls
+                // entirely, likely due to that SVC/simulcast mismatch). h264 also tends
+                // to be hardware-accelerated on more devices (notably iOS/Safari).
+                video_codec: "h264",
                 video: {
                   max_resolution: 1440,
                   max_bitrate: 8_000_000,