diff --git a/failover/van-modem-usb-kick b/failover/van-modem-usb-kick
deleted file mode 100755
index 00aa67e..0000000
--- a/failover/van-modem-usb-kick
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,119 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python3
-"""van-modem-usb-kick — recover the EC25 modem when it's missing after boot.
-
-Seen on 2026-08-04, right after moving the modem onto the new powered UGreen
-hub: the 5GHz AP (rtw89, on the hub's outer USB chip) and the hub's built-in
-Ethernet (AX88179, on its inner cascaded USB2.1 hub chip) both enumerate
-cleanly at boot, but the EC25 modem — plugged into a port on that same inner
-hub chip — sometimes never does, even though it has power (LED on). dmesg
-shows no connect attempt at all for the modem's port during boot (contrast
-the Ethernet's clean enumeration, or the AP's one-shot retry after a
-descriptor-read error) — the port just never signalled a connect in time, and
-a hub only rescans a port on an actual connect/disconnect edge, so it stays
-invisible until something produces one. Physically unplugging/replugging
-either the whole hub or just the modem fixes it immediately, because both
-produce that edge. This script produces the same edge in software: unbind
-then rebind the inner hub chip's kernel driver, which forces it to redo
-enumeration of everything on it (the modem, and briefly the Starlink
-Ethernet — the AP is on the outer chip and is undisturbed).
-
-The inner hub is found by walking up from STARLINK_IFACE's sysfs device (it's
-the Ethernet's parent hub) rather than hardcoding a bus/port path, since that
-identifies "the hub carrying the modem" without assuming a specific topology.
-
-Bounded to a few minutes after boot, then exits — this is a boot-race
-backstop, not a permanent watcher (a modem physically removed later should
-just stay gone, not get fought).
-
-Usage: van-modem-usb-kick [modem-usb-vendor] [starlink-iface]
-Defaults to 2c7c (Quectel) and enx6c1ff7d210a5 — see deploy.conf.
-"""
-
-import sys
-import time
-from pathlib import Path
-
-MODEM_VENDOR = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "2c7c"
-STARLINK_IFACE = sys.argv[2] if len(sys.argv) > 2 else "enx6c1ff7d210a5"
-INTERVAL = 20            # seconds between checks
-BUDGET_S = 6 * INTERVAL  # ~2 minutes of retries after boot, then give up quietly
-USB_DEVICES = Path("/sys/bus/usb/devices")
-HUB_DRIVER = Path("/sys/bus/usb/drivers/hub")
-
-
-def log(msg, level="info"):
-    # systemd journal severity prefixes (sd-daemon), same convention as van-ap-watchdog.
-    pri = {"info": "<6>", "warn": "<4>", "crit": "<2>"}.get(level, "<6>")
-    print(pri + msg, flush=True)
-
-
-def modem_present(vendor):
-    for f in USB_DEVICES.glob("*/idVendor"):
-        try:
-            if f.read_text().strip() == vendor:
-                return True
-        except OSError:
-            continue
-    return False
-
-
-def inner_hub_name(starlink_iface):
-    """sysfs driver-name (e.g. '2-1.4') of the USB hub carrying starlink_iface —
-    that's the same hub chip the modem's port is on. None if the Ethernet
-    itself hasn't enumerated (nothing to walk up from)."""
-    dev = Path(f"/sys/class/net/{starlink_iface}/device")
-    if not dev.exists():
-        return None
-    # dev resolves to .../<hub>/<hub>.<port>/<hub>.<port>:<config>.<iface>
-    # (e.g. .../2-1.4/2-1.4.2/2-1.4.2:2.0) — two levels up is the hub itself.
-    hub = dev.resolve().parent.parent
-    if not (hub / "bDeviceClass").exists():
-        return None
-    try:
-        if hub.joinpath("bDeviceClass").read_text().strip() != "09":  # 09 = hub
-            return None
-    except OSError:
-        return None
-    return hub.name
-
-
-def kick(hub_name):
-    log(f"modem (vendor {MODEM_VENDOR}) absent — rebinding hub {hub_name} to force "
-        f"re-enumeration (same effect as unplug/replug; briefly bounces {STARLINK_IFACE})",
-        "warn")
-    try:
-        (HUB_DRIVER / "unbind").write_text(hub_name)
-        time.sleep(2)
-        (HUB_DRIVER / "bind").write_text(hub_name)
-    except OSError as e:
-        log(f"hub rebind failed: {e}", "warn")
-
-
-def main():
-    log(f"van-modem-usb-kick up: watching for USB vendor {MODEM_VENDOR} for up to "
-        f"{BUDGET_S}s after boot")
-    elapsed = 0
-    kicked = False
-    while elapsed < BUDGET_S:
-        if modem_present(MODEM_VENDOR):
-            log("modem present — exiting" + (" (recovered)" if kicked else ""))
-            return
-        if not kicked:
-            hub_name = inner_hub_name(STARLINK_IFACE)
-            if hub_name:
-                kick(hub_name)
-                kicked = True
-            # else: Ethernet itself isn't up yet — give the system more time
-            # before assuming anything is wrong.
-        time.sleep(INTERVAL)
-        elapsed += INTERVAL
-    if not modem_present(MODEM_VENDOR):
-        log(f"modem still absent after {BUDGET_S}s — giving up "
-            f"(leaving it for manual unplug/replug from here on)", "warn")
-
-
-if __name__ == "__main__":
-    try:
-        main()
-    except KeyboardInterrupt:
-        sys.exit(0)
diff --git a/failover/van-modem-usb-kick.service b/failover/van-modem-usb-kick.service
deleted file mode 100644
index 3cf894f..0000000
--- a/failover/van-modem-usb-kick.service
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-[Unit]
-Description=EC25 modem boot-recovery backstop (kicks its USB hub if the modem never enumerated)
-After=systemd-udev-settle.service
-Wants=systemd-udev-settle.service
-
-[Service]
-Type=simple
-ExecStart=/usr/local/sbin/van-modem-usb-kick @MODEM_USB_VENDOR@ @STARLINK_IFACE@
-
-[Install]
-WantedBy=multi-user.target