diff --git a/main.lua b/main.lua
index 7e12438..ab4eacd 100644
--- a/main.lua
+++ b/main.lua
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ local lfs = require("libs/libkoreader-lfs")
 local IrcChatView = TextViewer:extend{
     title = _("IRC Chat"),
     text = "",
-    add_default_buttons = true,
+    add_default_buttons = false,
     monospace_font = true,
     text_type = "code",
     keep_running = true, -- keep connection alive when UI is closed
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ local IrcChatView = TextViewer:extend{
     _history_dir = nil,
     _history_server_dir = nil,
     _history_preload_lines = 500,
+    _ui_open = false,
 }
 
 function IrcChatView:init()
@@ -253,7 +254,7 @@ function IrcChatView:appendLine(line, target)
     -- Persist to history
     self:writeHistory(target, prefix .. line)
     if target == (self._current_target or "*") then
-        if self.scroll_text_w and self.scroll_text_w.text_widget then
+        if self._ui_open and self.scroll_text_w and self.scroll_text_w.text_widget then
             self.scroll_text_w.text_widget:setText(buf)
             self.scroll_text_w:scrollToBottom()
         end
@@ -600,6 +601,7 @@ end
 function IrcChatView:onClose()
     -- If keep_running, only close the UI; keep socket and receive loop alive in background
     if self.keep_running then
+        self._ui_open = false
         TextViewer.onClose(self)
         return
     end
@@ -622,6 +624,24 @@ function IrcChatView:onClose()
     TextViewer.onClose(self)
 end
 
+function IrcChatView:disconnect()
+    -- Terminate receive loop and close socket
+    if self._receive_task then
+        UIManager:unschedule(self._receive_task)
+        self._receive_task = nil
+    end
+    if self._sock then
+        pcall(function()
+            self:sendRaw("QUIT :bye\r\n")
+            self._sock:close()
+        end)
+        self._sock = nil
+    end
+    self._connected = false
+    self._closing = true
+    self:appendLine(_("Disconnected."))
+end
+
 -- Extend the hamburger menu to add a list of joined channels/targets.
 function IrcChatView:showChannelSwitcher()
     local Menu = require("ui/widget/menu")
@@ -674,6 +694,17 @@ function IrcChatView:onShowMenu()
         }
     })
 
+    -- Disconnect action
+    table.insert(buttons, {
+        {
+            text = _("Disconnect"),
+            enabled_func = function() return self._sock ~= nil end,
+            callback = function()
+                self:disconnect()
+            end,
+        }
+    })
+
     -- Font size
     table.insert(buttons, {
         {
@@ -1006,6 +1037,8 @@ function IRC:connectToServer(server)
             local nick = server.nick or self.username or "koreader"
             -- Reuse background session if already running for this host/port
             if self._bg_view and self._bg_view._sock then
+                if self._bg_view.reinit then self._bg_view:reinit() end
+                self._bg_view._ui_open = true
                 UIManager:show(self._bg_view)
                 return
             end
@@ -1024,6 +1057,8 @@ function IRC:connectToServer(server)
             self._bg_view = view
             UIManager:show(view)
         end
+    -- Mark UI open
+    self._ui_open = true
         -- Ensure wifi/network is up before proceeding
         if NetworkMgr:willRerunWhenConnected(function() open_chat(channel) end) then
             return