diff --git a/core/archipelago/src/vpn.rs b/core/archipelago/src/vpn.rs
index f5fdc5eb..89be9a7f 100644
--- a/core/archipelago/src/vpn.rs
+++ b/core/archipelago/src/vpn.rs
@@ -202,47 +202,34 @@ pub async fn get_status() -> VpnStatus {
 
 /// Check if NostrVPN system service is running and get its status.
 async fn get_nostr_vpn_status() -> Result<VpnStatus> {
-    // Check if nostr-vpn service is active or activating
-    let output = tokio::process::Command::new("systemctl")
+    // Fast check: is the service unit enabled/active?
+    let svc_state = tokio::process::Command::new("systemctl")
         .args(["is-active", "nostr-vpn"])
         .output()
         .await
         .map(|o| String::from_utf8_lossy(&o.stdout).trim().to_string())
         .unwrap_or_default();
 
-    let active = output == "active" || output == "activating";
-    if !active {
-        anyhow::bail!("nostr-vpn service not active");
+    if svc_state != "active" && svc_state != "activating" {
+        anyhow::bail!("nostr-vpn service not running");
     }
 
-    // Try to get status from nvpn CLI
-    let output = tokio::process::Command::new("nvpn")
-        .arg("status")
-        .output()
-        .await;
-
-    let (peers, ip) = match output {
-        Ok(o) if o.status.success() => {
-            let stdout = String::from_utf8_lossy(&o.stdout);
-            let peers = stdout.lines()
-                .filter(|l| l.contains("peer") || l.contains("connected"))
-                .count() as u32;
-            let ip = stdout.lines()
-                .find(|l| l.contains("address") || l.contains("ip"))
-                .and_then(|l| l.split_whitespace().last())
-                .map(|s| s.to_string());
-            (peers, ip)
-        }
-        _ => (0, None),
-    };
+    // Quick IP check: read from config file (fast, no subprocess)
+    let ip = tokio::fs::read_to_string("/var/lib/archipelago/nostr-vpn/.config/nvpn/config.json")
+        .await
+        .ok()
+        .and_then(|s| {
+            serde_json::from_str::<serde_json::Value>(&s).ok()
+        })
+        .and_then(|v| v.get("tunnel_ip").and_then(|t| t.as_str()).map(|s| s.to_string()));
 
     Ok(VpnStatus {
-        connected: true,
+        connected: svc_state == "active",
         provider: Some("nostr-vpn".to_string()),
         interface: Some("nvpn0".to_string()),
         ip_address: ip,
         hostname: None,
-        peers_connected: peers,
+        peers_connected: 0,
         bytes_in: 0,
         bytes_out: 0,
     })