diff --git a/src/bot/chatProcedure.ts b/src/bot/chatProcedure.ts
index dc3ea54..4be8097 100644
--- a/src/bot/chatProcedure.ts
+++ b/src/bot/chatProcedure.ts
@@ -58,33 +58,64 @@ export class ChatProcedure {
     this._logger.info('Chat panel opened');
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Check if the chat panel is currently visible by probing for known
+   * UI elements (chat input, message list, or aria-pressed toggle).
+   */
+  private async _isChatPanelOpen(): Promise<boolean> {
+    return this._page.evaluate(() => {
+      // 1. Chat button toggle state
+      const chatBtn = document.querySelector('button[id="chat-button"], button[data-tid="chat-button"]') as HTMLElement | null;
+      if (chatBtn?.getAttribute('aria-pressed') === 'true') return true;
+
+      // 2. Chat input visible (multiple Teams UI variants)
+      const inputSelectors = [
+        '[data-tid="ckeditor-replyConversation"]',
+        'div[role="textbox"][data-tid*="chat"]',
+        'div[role="textbox"][aria-label*="message" i]',
+        'div[role="textbox"][aria-label*="Nachricht" i]',
+        '[contenteditable="true"][aria-label*="message" i]',
+        '[contenteditable="true"][aria-label*="Nachricht" i]',
+        '[placeholder*="message" i]',
+        '[placeholder*="Nachricht" i]',
+        'div[aria-label="Type a message"]',
+      ];
+      for (const sel of inputSelectors) {
+        const el = document.querySelector(sel) as HTMLElement | null;
+        if (el && el.offsetHeight > 0) return true;
+      }
+
+      // 3. Message list container visible
+      const listSelectors = [
+        '[data-tid="message-pane-list"]',
+        '[data-tid="chat-pane-list"]',
+        '[data-tid="chat-pane"]',
+        '.ts-message-list-container',
+        '[role="log"]',
+      ];
+      for (const sel of listSelectors) {
+        const el = document.querySelector(sel) as HTMLElement | null;
+        if (el && el.offsetHeight > 50) return true;
+      }
+
+      // 4. "Meeting chat" heading visible
+      const headings = document.querySelectorAll('h2, h3, [role="heading"]');
+      for (const h of Array.from(headings)) {
+        const txt = (h as HTMLElement).innerText?.toLowerCase() || '';
+        if (txt.includes('meeting chat') || txt.includes('besprechungschat')) return true;
+      }
+
+      return false;
+    });
+  }
+
   /**
    * Open the chat panel by clicking the chat button.
    * In authenticated Teams, the chat panel may already be open (meeting loads
    * from a chat thread). Clicking again would TOGGLE it closed.
    */
   private async _openChatPanel(): Promise<void> {
-    // Check if chat panel is already open before clicking (avoid toggle-off)
-    const alreadyOpen = await this._page.evaluate(() => {
-      const chatBtn = document.querySelector('button[id="chat-button"], button[data-tid="chat-button"]') as HTMLElement | null;
-      if (chatBtn) {
-        // Teams toggle buttons use aria-pressed="true" when active
-        if (chatBtn.getAttribute('aria-pressed') === 'true') return true;
-      }
-      // Also check if chat input or message list is visible (panel is open)
-      const chatInput = document.querySelector(
-        '[data-tid="ckeditor-replyConversation"], div[role="textbox"][data-tid*="chat"], div[role="textbox"][aria-label*="message" i]'
-      ) as HTMLElement | null;
-      if (chatInput && chatInput.offsetHeight > 0) return true;
-      // Check if message list container is visible
-      const messageList = document.querySelector(
-        '[data-tid="message-pane-list"], [data-tid="chat-pane-list"], [data-tid="chat-pane"]'
-      ) as HTMLElement | null;
-      if (messageList && messageList.offsetHeight > 50) return true;
-      return false;
-    });
-
-    if (alreadyOpen) {
+    if (await this._isChatPanelOpen()) {
       this._logger.info('Chat panel already open - skipping toggle');
       return;
     }
@@ -369,27 +400,23 @@ export class ChatProcedure {
    */
   private _startPeriodicChatScan(): void {
     if (this._scanIntervalId) return;
-    const intervalMs = 2500;
+    const intervalMs = 5000;
     this._scanIntervalId = setInterval(async () => {
       if (!this._isSubscribed || !this._page) return;
       try {
-        const chatPanelOpen = await this._page.evaluate(() => {
-          const chatBtn = document.querySelector('button[id="chat-button"], button[data-tid="chat-button"]') as HTMLElement | null;
-          if (chatBtn?.getAttribute('aria-pressed') === 'true') return true;
-          const messageList = document.querySelector('[data-tid="message-pane-list"], [data-tid="chat-pane-list"], [data-tid="chat-pane"]') as HTMLElement | null;
-          return !!(messageList && messageList.offsetHeight > 50);
-        });
-        if (!chatPanelOpen) {
+        if (!(await this._isChatPanelOpen())) {
           this._logger.info('Chat panel closed, reopening');
           await this._openChatPanel();
+          await this._page.waitForTimeout(1000);
         }
 
         const knownKeys = Array.from(this._recentMessageKeyTimestamps.keys());
-        const messages = await this._page.evaluate((knownKeysArr: string[]) => {
+        const scanResult = await this._page.evaluate((knownKeysArr: string[]) => {
           const known = new Set(knownKeysArr);
           const noisePatterns = [
             'meeting ended', 'meeting started', 'was invited', 'left the chat',
             'joined the meeting', 'left the meeting', 'doesn\'t have a teams account',
+            'verify their identity',
           ];
           function isNoise(t: string) {
             const l = t.toLowerCase();
@@ -397,15 +424,45 @@ export class ChatProcedure {
           }
           const results: Array<{ speaker: string; text: string; timestamp: string; teamsTimestamp?: string; messageKey: string }> = [];
           const seenThisScan = new Set<string>();
-          const container = document.querySelector('[data-tid="message-pane-list"], [data-tid="chat-pane-list"], [data-tid="chat-pane"]') || document.body;
-          const candidates = container.querySelectorAll('[data-tid="chat-message"], .fui-ChatMessage, [data-tid*="chat-pane-message"]');
+
+          // Strategy 1: known selectors
+          const containerSelectors = [
+            '[data-tid="message-pane-list"]', '[data-tid="chat-pane-list"]',
+            '[data-tid="chat-pane"]', '[role="log"]', '.ts-message-list-container',
+          ];
+          let container: Element | null = null;
+          for (const sel of containerSelectors) {
+            container = document.querySelector(sel);
+            if (container) break;
+          }
+
+          const messageSelectors = [
+            '[data-tid="chat-message"]', '.fui-ChatMessage',
+            '[data-tid*="chat-pane-message"]', '[data-tid*="message-body"]',
+          ];
+          const target = container || document.body;
+          const candidates = target.querySelectorAll(messageSelectors.join(', '));
+
           for (const el of Array.from(candidates) as HTMLElement[]) {
             const messageEl = el.closest?.('[data-tid="chat-message"], .fui-ChatMessage') || el;
             let author = 'Unknown';
-            const authorEl = messageEl.querySelector('[data-tid="message-author"], [data-tid="message-author-name"], .fui-ChatMessage__author, [data-tid*="author"]');
-            if (authorEl?.textContent) author = authorEl.textContent.trim();
-            const bodyEl = messageEl.querySelector('[data-tid="message-body"], .fui-ChatMessage__body, [data-tid*="message-body"]');
-            const text = (bodyEl as HTMLElement)?.innerText?.trim() || '';
+            const authorSels = [
+              '[data-tid="message-author"]', '[data-tid="message-author-name"]',
+              '.fui-ChatMessage__author', '[data-tid*="author"]',
+            ];
+            for (const sel of authorSels) {
+              const authorEl = messageEl.querySelector(sel) || el.querySelector(sel);
+              if (authorEl?.textContent) { author = authorEl.textContent.trim(); break; }
+            }
+            const bodySels = [
+              '[data-tid="message-body"]', '.fui-ChatMessage__body',
+              '[data-tid="chat-message-text"]', '[data-tid*="message-body"]',
+            ];
+            let text = '';
+            for (const sel of bodySels) {
+              const bodyEl = messageEl.querySelector(sel) || el.querySelector(sel);
+              if (bodyEl) { text = (bodyEl as HTMLElement).innerText?.trim() || ''; break; }
+            }
             if (!text || text.length < 2 || isNoise(text)) continue;
             const key = `${author}::${text}`;
             if (known.has(key) || seenThisScan.has(key)) continue;
@@ -414,9 +471,35 @@ export class ChatProcedure {
             const ts = timeEl?.getAttribute?.('datetime') || new Date().toISOString();
             results.push({ speaker: author, text, timestamp: ts, teamsTimestamp: ts, messageKey: key });
           }
-          return results;
+
+          // Diagnostics (once per 20s, controlled by caller)
+          let diag: string | undefined;
+          if ((window as any).__chatScanDiagCounter === undefined) (window as any).__chatScanDiagCounter = 0;
+          (window as any).__chatScanDiagCounter++;
+          if ((window as any).__chatScanDiagCounter % 4 === 1) {
+            const info: string[] = [];
+            info.push(`container=${container?.tagName || 'body'}[${container?.getAttribute?.('data-tid') || ''}]`);
+            info.push(`candidates=${candidates.length}`);
+            // Dump all chat-ish elements for debugging
+            const allChat = document.querySelectorAll('[data-tid*="chat"], [data-tid*="message"], [role="log"], .fui-Chat');
+            const tags: string[] = [];
+            for (const c of Array.from(allChat).slice(0, 15)) {
+              const tid = c.getAttribute('data-tid') || '';
+              const cls = c.className?.toString?.()?.substring(0, 40) || '';
+              const h = (c as HTMLElement).offsetHeight || 0;
+              tags.push(`<${c.tagName} tid="${tid}" cls="${cls}" h=${h}>`);
+            }
+            info.push(`domElements=[${tags.join(', ')}]`);
+            diag = info.join(' | ');
+          }
+
+          return { messages: results, diag };
         }, knownKeys);
-        for (const msg of messages) {
+
+        if (scanResult.diag) {
+          this._logger.info(`[ChatScan] ${scanResult.diag}`);
+        }
+        for (const msg of scanResult.messages) {
           this._handleChatMessage(msg);
         }
       } catch {
@@ -490,7 +573,11 @@ export class ChatProcedure {
       'div[contenteditable="true"][data-tid*="chat"]',
       'div[contenteditable="true"][aria-label*="message" i]',
       '[aria-label*="Type a new message" i]',
+      '[aria-label="Type a message"]',
       '[aria-label*="Neue Nachricht eingeben" i]',
+      '[placeholder*="Type a message" i]',
+      '[placeholder*="Nachricht" i]',
+      'div[contenteditable="true"][role="textbox"]',
     ];
 
     const maxAttempts = 5;
diff --git a/src/bot/orchestrator.ts b/src/bot/orchestrator.ts
index d4dcc53..b44cdd5 100644
--- a/src/bot/orchestrator.ts
+++ b/src/bot/orchestrator.ts
@@ -589,12 +589,17 @@ export class BotOrchestrator {
    * a WebSocket ping. Prevents Teams from detecting the bot as idle
    * and kicking it from the meeting.
    */
+  private _keepAliveCounter: number = 0;
+
   private _startKeepAlive(): void {
     if (this._keepAliveInterval) return;
 
+    this._keepAliveCounter = 0;
     this._keepAliveInterval = setInterval(async () => {
       if (this._isShuttingDown || !this._page) return;
 
+      this._keepAliveCounter++;
+
       try {
         // Small random mouse movement to simulate user activity
         const x = 640 + Math.floor(Math.random() * 20 - 10);
@@ -612,6 +617,11 @@ export class BotOrchestrator {
           // Connection might be closing
         }
       }
+
+      // Periodic debug screenshot every ~45s (every 3rd keepalive cycle)
+      if (this._isDebugMode && this._keepAliveCounter % 3 === 0) {
+        await this._takeScreenshot(`debug-periodic-${this._keepAliveCounter}`);
+      }
     }, 15000);
 
     this._logger.info('Keepalive started (15s interval)');