Gateway running but WebSocket connections fail with "device identity required"

[finite swan]

Issue: Gateway running but WebSocket connections fail with "device identity required"

Environment:

• OS: Windows 10.0.26200
• OpenClaw: 2026.4.27 (fe7865a)
• Node: v24.15.0
• Ollama: 0.21.2 (llama3.2:3b running on port 11434)

Problem:

• openclaw gateway status shows Runtime: running
• Port 18789 is listening
• openclaw browser status and openclaw status both show: "Error: gateway closed (1006 abnormal closure (no close frame)): device identity required"
• openclaw doctor shows no critical errors

What I've tried:

• openclaw devices list shows no devices
• openclaw gateway uninstall --force (didn't work, unknown option)
• Deleted scheduled task as Admin, reinstalled with openclaw gateway install
• Gateway now shows "running" but device identity error persists

My config (openclaw.json):

{
  "gateway": {
    "mode": "local",
    "bind": "loopback",
    "port": 18789,
    "auth": { "mode": "none" }
  }
}


Questions:

Does auth.mode: "none" still require device pairing in v2026.4.27? (Seems like a known issue: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues/43786)

How do I approve/pair my local browser/device when openclaw devices list shows nothing?

Is there a working workaround to disable device auth entirely for local loopback?