diff --git a/deploy_nvr.sh b/deploy_nvr.sh
index e5119e2..c7acc21 100755
--- a/deploy_nvr.sh
+++ b/deploy_nvr.sh
@@ -39,18 +39,29 @@ if ! command -v sudo &>/dev/null; then
     fi
 fi
 
-# ── 1. Kill all existing instances ──
+# ── 1. Stop all existing instances ──
 log "Stopping any running NextNVR instances..."
-sudo systemctl stop "${SERVICE_NAME}" 2>/dev/null || true
-sudo pkill -9 -f "/opt/nextnvr/nextnvr" 2>/dev/null || true
-sudo pkill -9 -f "go2rtc -config" 2>/dev/null || true
-sudo pkill -9 -f "ffmpeg.*-i rtsp" 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# Graceful stop via systemd first.
+if systemctl is-active --quiet "${SERVICE_NAME}" 2>/dev/null; then
+    sudo systemctl stop "${SERVICE_NAME}" 2>/dev/null || true
+    sleep 2
+fi
+
+# Kill any remaining processes by PID (targeted, no wildcard pkill).
+for proc in "/opt/nextnvr/nextnvr" "go2rtc"; do
+    for pid in $(pgrep -f "${proc}" 2>/dev/null || true); do
+        sudo kill "${pid}" 2>/dev/null || true
+    done
+done
 sleep 2
 
-if pgrep -f "/opt/nextnvr/nextnvr" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-    err "Cannot kill existing NextNVR processes. Please stop them manually and retry."
-    exit 1
-fi
+# Final check — force kill stragglers.
+for pid in $(pgrep -f "/opt/nextnvr/nextnvr" 2>/dev/null || true); do
+    sudo kill -9 "${pid}" 2>/dev/null || true
+done
+
+sleep 1
 log "All instances stopped."
 
 # ── 2. Detect greenfield vs update ──
diff --git a/remove.sh b/remove.sh
index 5724851..2d47fd8 100755
--- a/remove.sh
+++ b/remove.sh
@@ -11,17 +11,21 @@ echo ""
 
 # Stop service.
 echo "Stopping service..."
-sudo systemctl stop "${SERVICE_NAME}" 2>/dev/null || true
-sudo systemctl disable "${SERVICE_NAME}" 2>/dev/null || true
+if systemctl is-active --quiet "${SERVICE_NAME}" 2>/dev/null; then
+    sudo systemctl stop "${SERVICE_NAME}" 2>/dev/null || true
+    sleep 2
+fi
 
-# Kill any lingering processes (target only NextNVR binaries, not the script).
-echo "Killing processes..."
-sudo pkill -9 -f "/opt/nextnvr/nextnvr" 2>/dev/null || true
-sudo pkill -9 -f "go2rtc -config" 2>/dev/null || true
-sudo pkill -9 -f "ffmpeg.*-i rtsp" 2>/dev/null || true
+# Kill remaining processes by PID (targeted).
+for proc in "/opt/nextnvr/nextnvr" "go2rtc"; do
+    for pid in $(pgrep -f "${proc}" 2>/dev/null || true); do
+        sudo kill "${pid}" 2>/dev/null || true
+    done
+done
 sleep 1
 
-# Remove systemd service file.
+# Remove systemd service.
+sudo systemctl disable "${SERVICE_NAME}" 2>/dev/null || true
 if [ -f "/etc/systemd/system/${SERVICE_NAME}.service" ]; then
     sudo rm -f "/etc/systemd/system/${SERVICE_NAME}.service"
     sudo systemctl daemon-reload