diff --git a/gui/app.py b/gui/app.py
index e43d3fe..09d0c9a 100644
--- a/gui/app.py
+++ b/gui/app.py
@@ -347,8 +347,7 @@ class App(ctk.CTk):
 
         if event_type == "auto_apply":
             # Full-auto mode: apply immediately
-            if self.updater.apply_update(path):
-                self.destroy()
+            self._apply_update(path)
             return
 
         # Show banner
@@ -399,9 +398,19 @@ class App(ctk.CTk):
         )
 
     def _apply_update(self, path: str):
-        """Apply downloaded update."""
+        """Apply downloaded update — cleanup, launch updater script, force exit."""
+        import os, sys
         if self.updater.apply_update(path):
-            self.destroy()
+            # Full cleanup before exit
+            try:
+                self.session_pool.disconnect_all()
+                self.checker.stop()
+                self.updater.stop()
+                self.destroy()
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+            # Force terminate — daemon threads keep process alive otherwise
+            os._exit(0)
 
     def _skip_update(self, version: str):
         """Skip this version."""
diff --git a/releases/ServerManager-v1.8.81-win-x64.exe b/releases/ServerManager-v1.8.81-win-x64.exe
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..05570de
Binary files /dev/null and b/releases/ServerManager-v1.8.81-win-x64.exe differ
diff --git a/version.py b/version.py
index 65cfb57..a82dd6f 100755
--- a/version.py
+++ b/version.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 """Version info for ServerManager."""
 
-__version__ = "1.8.80"
+__version__ = "1.8.81"
 __app_name__ = "ServerManager"
 __author__ = "aibot777"
 __description__ = "Desktop GUI for managing remote servers"