diff --git a/mobile/app/(tabs)/import.tsx b/mobile/app/(tabs)/import.tsx
index 0c6458e..beb99dc 100644
--- a/mobile/app/(tabs)/import.tsx
+++ b/mobile/app/(tabs)/import.tsx
@@ -91,14 +91,17 @@ export default function ImportScreen() {
       encoding: FileSystem.EncodingType.Base64,
     });
 
-    // Wheel URL: prefer the configured instance; fall back to bincio.org.
+    // Fetch the bincio wheel here (React Native networking), not inside the
+    // WebView. WKWebView blocks HTTP requests via ATS; RN native networking
+    // allows local-network HTTP (NSAllowsLocalNetworking=true in Info.plist).
     const instanceUrl = await getInstanceUrl(dbCtx);
-    const wheelUrl    = await resolveWheelUrl(instanceUrl);
+    setState({ status: 'loading', msg: 'Fetching Bincio engine…' });
+    const wheelBase64 = await fetchWheelBase64(instanceUrl);
 
     const result = await extractFile(
       name,
       base64,
-      wheelUrl,
+      wheelBase64,
       (msg) => setState({ status: 'loading', msg }),
     );
 
@@ -146,11 +149,9 @@ export default function ImportScreen() {
       {state.status === 'loading' && (
         <View style={styles.statusBox}>
           <Text style={styles.statusMsg}>{state.msg}</Text>
-          {state.msg.startsWith('Load') && (
-            <Text style={styles.statusHint}>
-              First run downloads ~35 MB of the Python runtime. Subsequent runs are instant.
-            </Text>
-          )}
+          <Text style={styles.statusHint}>
+            First run downloads ~35 MB (Python runtime + packages). Subsequent runs are instant.
+          </Text>
         </View>
       )}
 
@@ -204,17 +205,31 @@ async function getInstanceUrl(db: ReturnType<typeof useSQLiteContext>): Promise<
   return (row?.value ?? '').replace(/\/$/, '');
 }
 
-async function resolveWheelUrl(instanceUrl: string): Promise<string> {
+// In-memory cache so repeated imports in one session don't re-download the wheel.
+let _cachedWheelBase64: string | null = null;
+
+async function fetchWheelBase64(instanceUrl: string): Promise<string> {
+  if (_cachedWheelBase64) return _cachedWheelBase64;
+
   const base = instanceUrl || 'https://bincio.org';
+
+  // Ask the instance for the canonical wheel URL (handles both dev and prod layouts).
+  let wheelUrl = `${base}/api/wheel/download`;
   try {
-    const resp = await fetch(`${base}/api/wheel/version`, { signal: AbortSignal.timeout(5000) });
-    if (resp.ok) {
-      const d = await resp.json() as { api_url?: string; url?: string };
+    const vr = await fetch(`${base}/api/wheel/version`, { signal: AbortSignal.timeout(5000) });
+    if (vr.ok) {
+      const d = await vr.json() as { api_url?: string; url?: string };
       const path = d.api_url ?? d.url ?? '/api/wheel/download';
-      return path.startsWith('http') ? path : `${base}${path}`;
+      wheelUrl = path.startsWith('http') ? path : `${base}${path}`;
     }
   } catch {}
-  return `${base}/api/wheel/download`;
+
+  // Fetch via React Native networking (supports local HTTP; WKWebView would block it).
+  const resp = await fetch(wheelUrl);
+  if (!resp.ok) throw new Error(`Could not download Bincio engine (${resp.status}). Is the instance running?`);
+  const buf = await resp.arrayBuffer();
+  _cachedWheelBase64 = Buffer.from(buf).toString('base64');
+  return _cachedWheelBase64;
 }
 
 // ── Styles ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/mobile/extraction/PyodideWebView.tsx b/mobile/extraction/PyodideWebView.tsx
index f430e06..222ef8b 100644
--- a/mobile/extraction/PyodideWebView.tsx
+++ b/mobile/extraction/PyodideWebView.tsx
@@ -87,10 +87,10 @@ var initError     = null;
 })();
 
 window._bincioExtract = async function(params) {
-  var reqId    = params.reqId;
-  var filename = params.filename;
-  var base64   = params.base64;
-  var wheelUrl = params.wheelUrl;
+  var reqId       = params.reqId;
+  var filename    = params.filename;
+  var base64      = params.base64;
+  var wheelBase64 = params.wheelBase64;  // pre-fetched by React Native (avoids ATS/HTTP issues)
 
   function post(m) { _post(Object.assign({}, m, { reqId: reqId })); }
 
@@ -108,13 +108,14 @@ window._bincioExtract = async function(params) {
     }
     if (initError) throw new Error(initError);
 
-    // Install bincio wheel on first extraction (lazy: keeps startup fast)
+    // Install bincio wheel on first extraction.
+    // Wheel bytes arrive pre-fetched from the React Native side as base64,
+    // so the WebView never needs to make an HTTP request (avoids ATS blocks).
     if (!wheelReady) {
       post({ type: 'progress', msg: 'Loading Bincio…' });
-      var resp = await fetch(wheelUrl);
-      if (!resp.ok) throw new Error('Failed to fetch Bincio wheel (' + resp.status + ')');
-      var wheelBlob = new Blob([await resp.arrayBuffer()]);
-      var blobUrl   = URL.createObjectURL(wheelBlob);
+      var wheelBytes = Uint8Array.from(atob(wheelBase64), function(c) { return c.charCodeAt(0); });
+      var wheelBlob  = new Blob([wheelBytes]);
+      var blobUrl    = URL.createObjectURL(wheelBlob);
       pyodide.globals.set('_blobUrl', blobUrl);
       await pyodide.runPythonAsync(_PY_INSTALL_WHEEL);
       URL.revokeObjectURL(blobUrl);
@@ -158,7 +159,7 @@ export function PyodideWebView() {
   return (
     <WebView
       ref={pyodideRef}
-      source={{ html: PYODIDE_HTML, baseUrl: '' }}
+      source={{ html: PYODIDE_HTML, baseUrl: 'https://localhost' }}
       style={styles.hidden}
       onMessage={handleWebViewMessage}
       javaScriptEnabled
diff --git a/mobile/extraction/extractActivity.ts b/mobile/extraction/extractActivity.ts
index 5207f4d..e21bc89 100644
--- a/mobile/extraction/extractActivity.ts
+++ b/mobile/extraction/extractActivity.ts
@@ -54,10 +54,12 @@ export function handleWebViewMessage(e: WebViewMessageEvent): void {
   }
 }
 
+// wheelBase64 is the bincio .whl file pre-fetched by the React Native side
+// (native networking supports HTTP on local network; WKWebView does not).
 export function extractFile(
   filename: string,
   base64: string,
-  wheelUrl: string,
+  wheelBase64: string,
   onStatus: (msg: string) => void = () => {},
 ): Promise<ExtractionResult> {
   if (isExtracting) return Promise.reject(new Error('Another extraction is already in progress'));
@@ -67,7 +69,7 @@ export function extractFile(
 
   isExtracting = true;
   const reqId = String(++reqCounter);
-  const args = JSON.stringify({ reqId, filename, base64, wheelUrl });
+  const args = JSON.stringify({ reqId, filename, base64, wheelBase64 });
 
   return new Promise<ExtractionResult>((resolve, reject) => {
     pending.set(reqId, {