diff --git a/docs/ipv6.md b/docs/ipv6.md
index 1c0d12a..412760c 100644
--- a/docs/ipv6.md
+++ b/docs/ipv6.md
@@ -81,6 +81,15 @@ that the host can see is already taken:
 The conflicting prefix route Incus auto-creates on the bridge is deleted (eth0
 keeps the authoritative route), and IPv6 forwarding is enabled.
 
+`SetupIPv6Bridge` also **pins the bridge's MAC** (`bridge.hwaddr`) to the value
+already in use. Incus assigns a managed bridge a random MAC and does not persist
+it, so a host reboot recreates the bridge with a new one. That matters because
+every container pins the bridge MAC as its static gateway neighbor (see below),
+and a container that boots with the old MAC keeps its address but loses all
+IPv6. Pinning makes the guest pins valid for the life of the host; the write is
+idempotent, and because it stores the MAC already in use the bridge is never
+re-created by the change.
+
 ## Per-container wiring
 
 For each container:
@@ -95,6 +104,13 @@ For each container:
   DHCPv6 would hand the recreated container a *dynamic* address instead, which
   falls outside the routed /112 and is dropped by `ipv6_filtering`. Binding the
   /128 directly makes IPv6 survive reinstalls.
+- The gateway (`fe80::1`, the bridge) is **pinned as a static neighbor** in the
+  guest. The guest cannot resolve it by NDP: `security.ipv6_filtering` drops a
+  neighbor solicitation whose source is outside the routed /112, and that
+  solicitation is sourced from the guest's link-local. The pinned MAC is the
+  bridge's own, which is exactly why the bridge MAC is pinned (see the bridge
+  setup above) — a stale pin leaves the container with its address but no
+  working IPv6, which is the symptom to look for first.
 - DHCPv6 is turned off on Debian (`DHCP=ipv4` plus `[IPv6AcceptRA] DHCPv6Client=no`
   — the RA's Managed flag would otherwise start the DHCPv6 client regardless of
   `DHCP=`), and the RA is told to generate no SLAAC address, so the container
diff --git a/src/internal/lx/lx.go b/src/internal/lx/lx.go
index d723a5e..9cbf0b4 100644
--- a/src/internal/lx/lx.go
+++ b/src/internal/lx/lx.go
@@ -462,6 +462,18 @@ func (c *Client) State(name string) (string, error) {
 
 // ---- mutations ----
 
+// NetworkGet returns one config option of a managed Incus network, or "" when
+// the option is unset. Used to read back bridge.hwaddr before pinning it.
+func (c *Client) NetworkGet(network, key string) (string, error) {
+	var net struct {
+		Config map[string]string `json:"config"`
+	}
+	if err := c.get("/1.0/networks/"+url.PathEscape(network), &net); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return net.Config[key], nil
+}
+
 // NetworkSet sets one key=value config option on a managed Incus network
 // (e.g. incusbr0). Used for IPv6 pass-through bridge configuration.
 func (c *Client) NetworkSet(network, kv string) error {
diff --git a/src/internal/mgr/ipv6.go b/src/internal/mgr/ipv6.go
index 0e0a83f..a4c44eb 100644
--- a/src/internal/mgr/ipv6.go
+++ b/src/internal/mgr/ipv6.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"slices"
 	"sort"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
@@ -178,6 +179,12 @@ func (m *Manager) SetupIPv6Bridge() error {
 		return err
 	}
 	bridge := m.cfg.Incus.Bridge
+	// Pin the bridge MAC before touching anything else. Every container's guest
+	// config pins this MAC as its static fe80::1 gateway neighbor, and a changed
+	// MAC strands its IPv6 until the config is rewritten (see pinBridgeMAC).
+	if err := m.pinBridgeMAC(bridge); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("pin bridge MAC on %s: %w", bridge, err)
+	}
 	for _, kv := range []string{
 		"ipv6.address=" + gw + "/" + strconv.Itoa(bridgeOnes),
 		"ipv6.nat=false",
@@ -413,6 +420,11 @@ func (m *Manager) ndppdConf(fresh, drop string) (string, error) {
 		return "", nil
 	}
 	sort.Strings(blocks)
+	// A block can land here twice: the loop above already added every existing
+	// account's block, and `fresh` adds the same block again for a container
+	// whose account row already exists (a reinstall). Harmless for matching, but
+	// a duplicated rule is wrong to render.
+	blocks = slices.Compact(blocks)
 	var b strings.Builder
 	b.WriteString(cfg.GeneratedBanner)
 	fmt.Fprintf(&b, "proxy %s {\n", ext)
diff --git a/src/internal/mgr/ipv6_test.go b/src/internal/mgr/ipv6_test.go
index 91b8e57..09eaad4 100644
--- a/src/internal/mgr/ipv6_test.go
+++ b/src/internal/mgr/ipv6_test.go
@@ -351,3 +351,37 @@ func TestPickIPv6IndexSkipsGatewayBlock(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// ndppdConf must render exactly one rule per block. A reinstall passes the
+// container's block explicitly as `fresh` while its account row already exists,
+// so the block is seen twice and would otherwise be emitted twice.
+func TestNDPPDConfDeduplicatesRules(t *testing.T) {
+	m := ipv6TestManager(t, "2001:db8::/64", map[string]int64{"alice": legacyAlice})
+	m.cfg.Net.ExtIF = "eth0"
+	block, err := m.IPv6Block("alice")
+	if err != nil || block == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("IPv6Block = %v, %v", block, err)
+	}
+	conf, err := m.ndppdConf(block.String(), "")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got := strings.Count(conf, "rule "+block.String()+" {"); got != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("want exactly 1 rule for %s, got %d:\n%s", block, got, conf)
+	}
+}
+
+// A container created before its account row exists is passed as `fresh`; its
+// rule must still be rendered.
+func TestNDPPDConfEmitsFreshBlock(t *testing.T) {
+	m := ipv6TestManager(t, "2001:db8::/64", nil)
+	m.cfg.Net.ExtIF = "eth0"
+	const block = "2001:db8::2bd8:6c9:0/112"
+	conf, err := m.ndppdConf(block, "")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(conf, "rule "+block+" {") {
+		t.Errorf("fresh block missing from:\n%s", conf)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/internal/mgr/routed_ipv6.go b/src/internal/mgr/routed_ipv6.go
index d5ef1fc..650c946 100644
--- a/src/internal/mgr/routed_ipv6.go
+++ b/src/internal/mgr/routed_ipv6.go
@@ -283,6 +283,37 @@ func (m *Manager) bridgeMAC() string {
 	return mac.String()
 }
 
+// pinBridgeMAC records the bridge's current MAC in bridge.hwaddr so it stays
+// stable for the life of the host.
+//
+// Incus assigns a random MAC to a managed bridge and does not persist it, so a
+// host reboot recreates the bridge with a new one. Every container's guest
+// config pins that MAC as its static fe80::1 gateway neighbor — the guest
+// cannot resolve the gateway by NDP, because security.ipv6_filtering drops its
+// neighbor solicitation (the NS is sourced from the guest's link-local, which
+// is outside the routed /112 that the per-NIC source filter allows). A
+// container that boots with a stale pinned MAC therefore keeps its address but
+// loses all IPv6, and the boot-time reapply only heals it once the container is
+// running — a container that starts after the reapply pass comes up broken.
+// Pinning the MAC removes the failure: the guest pins never go stale.
+//
+// Idempotent: it writes only when bridge.hwaddr is unset, and it writes the MAC
+// already in use, so the bridge is never re-created by the change.
+func (m *Manager) pinBridgeMAC(bridge string) error {
+	mac := m.bridgeMAC()
+	if mac == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	cur, err := m.lx.NetworkGet(bridge, "bridge.hwaddr")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if strings.TrimSpace(cur) != "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return m.lx.NetworkSet(bridge, "bridge.hwaddr="+mac)
+}
+
 // poolContainerScript renders the guest-side network config for a pool
 // container, on whichever stack the image ships:
 //