diff --git a/Jellyfin.Api/Middleware/ExceptionMiddleware.cs b/Jellyfin.Api/Middleware/ExceptionMiddleware.cs
index 30c2b5f2..41906582 100644
--- a/Jellyfin.Api/Middleware/ExceptionMiddleware.cs
+++ b/Jellyfin.Api/Middleware/ExceptionMiddleware.cs
@@ -83,11 +83,22 @@ public class ExceptionMiddleware
             {
                 if (isAuthenticationError)
                 {
-                    // Log authentication errors as warnings with user-friendly message
-                    _logger.LogWarning(
-                        "Access denied: Unable to process request. Authentication token missing or invalid. URL {Method} {Url}.",
-                        context.Request.Method,
-                        context.Request.Path);
+                    // WebSocket authentication failures are expected when clients connect without tokens
+                    // Log at Debug level to reduce noise, unless it's not a WebSocket endpoint
+                    if (context.Request.Path.StartsWithSegments("/socket", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                    {
+                        _logger.LogDebug(
+                            "WebSocket connection rejected: Authentication token missing or invalid. IP: {IP}",
+                            context.Connection.RemoteIpAddress);
+                    }
+                    else
+                    {
+                        // Log authentication errors for non-WebSocket endpoints as warnings
+                        _logger.LogWarning(
+                            "Access denied: Unable to process request. Authentication token missing or invalid. URL {Method} {Url}.",
+                            context.Request.Method,
+                            context.Request.Path);
+                    }
                 }
                 else
                 {