diff --git a/app/database.py b/app/database.py
index 08414cc..fcc8b01 100644
--- a/app/database.py
+++ b/app/database.py
@@ -248,14 +248,15 @@ class Database:
             cursor = conn.execute(
                 """INSERT INTO direct_messages
                    (contact_pubkey, direction, content, timestamp, sender_timestamp,
-                    txt_type, snr, path_len, expected_ack, signature, raw_json)
-                   VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)""",
+                    txt_type, snr, path_len, expected_ack, pkt_payload, signature, raw_json)
+                   VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)""",
                 (contact_pubkey, direction, content, timestamp,
                  kwargs.get('sender_timestamp'),
                  kwargs.get('txt_type', 0),
                  kwargs.get('snr'),
                  kwargs.get('path_len'),
                  kwargs.get('expected_ack'),
+                 kwargs.get('pkt_payload'),
                  kwargs.get('signature'),
                  kwargs.get('raw_json'))
             )
diff --git a/app/device_manager.py b/app/device_manager.py
index 498d558..f4be437 100644
--- a/app/device_manager.py
+++ b/app/device_manager.py
@@ -262,6 +262,7 @@ class DeviceManager:
                 sender_timestamp=data.get('sender_timestamp'),
                 snr=data.get('snr'),
                 path_len=data.get('path_len'),
+                pkt_payload=data.get('pkt_payload'),
                 raw_json=json.dumps(data, default=str),
             )
 
@@ -454,6 +455,7 @@ class DeviceManager:
                 content=text,
                 timestamp=ts,
                 expected_ack=event_data.get('expected_ack'),
+                pkt_payload=event_data.get('pkt_payload'),
             )
 
             return {
diff --git a/app/schema.sql b/app/schema.sql
index 7587142..422d6a4 100644
--- a/app/schema.sql
+++ b/app/schema.sql
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS direct_messages (
     snr                 REAL,
     path_len            INTEGER,
     expected_ack        TEXT,                               -- ACK code for delivery tracking
+    pkt_payload         TEXT,                               -- raw packet payload for hash/analyzer
     signature           TEXT,                               -- dedup signature
     raw_json            TEXT,
     created_at          TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT (datetime('now')),
diff --git a/scripts/watchdog/watchdog.py b/scripts/watchdog/watchdog.py
index 6b61290..6bea456 100755
--- a/scripts/watchdog/watchdog.py
+++ b/scripts/watchdog/watchdog.py
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@ LOG_FILE = os.environ.get('LOG_FILE', '/var/log/mc-webui-watchdog.log')
 HTTP_PORT = int(os.environ.get('HTTP_PORT', '5051'))
 AUTO_START = os.environ.get('AUTO_START', 'true').lower() != 'false'
 
-# Containers to monitor
-CONTAINERS = ['meshcore-bridge', 'mc-webui']
+# Containers to monitor (v2: single container, no meshcore-bridge)
+CONTAINERS = ['mc-webui']
 
 # Global state
 last_check_time = None
@@ -318,8 +318,8 @@ def handle_unhealthy_container(container_name: str, status: dict):
     except Exception as e:
         log(f"Failed to save diagnostic info: {e}", 'ERROR')
 
-    # Check if we should do a USB reset for meshcore-bridge
-    if container_name == 'meshcore-bridge':
+    # v2: mc-webui owns the device connection directly — USB reset if repeated failures
+    if container_name == 'mc-webui':
         recent_restarts = count_recent_restarts(container_name, minutes=8)
         if recent_restarts >= 3:
             log(f"{container_name} has been restarted {recent_restarts} times in the last 8 minutes. Attempting hardware USB reset.", "WARN")
diff --git a/tests/test_database.py b/tests/test_database.py
index ad25885..e25c809 100644
--- a/tests/test_database.py
+++ b/tests/test_database.py
@@ -250,6 +250,16 @@ class TestDirectMessages:
         assert ack is not None
         assert ack['snr'] == -3.0
 
+    def test_dm_with_pkt_payload(self, db):
+        db.upsert_contact('cc', name='Charlie')
+        ts = int(time.time())
+        dm_id = db.insert_direct_message(
+            'cc', 'in', 'Hello', ts, pkt_payload='deadbeef01020304'
+        )
+        messages = db.get_dm_messages('cc')
+        assert len(messages) == 1
+        assert messages[0]['pkt_payload'] == 'deadbeef01020304'
+
 
 # ================================================================
 # Echoes