diff --git a/lib/build.gradle b/lib/build.gradle
index 834388e9..fc51fcd2 100644
--- a/lib/build.gradle
+++ b/lib/build.gradle
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ android {
     }
     testOptions {
         targetSdk 36
+        unitTests.returnDefaultValues = true
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/lib/src/main/java/com/nextcloud/android/sso/api/AidlNetworkRequest.java b/lib/src/main/java/com/nextcloud/android/sso/api/AidlNetworkRequest.java
index bc79b59a..3f80f789 100644
--- a/lib/src/main/java/com/nextcloud/android/sso/api/AidlNetworkRequest.java
+++ b/lib/src/main/java/com/nextcloud/android/sso/api/AidlNetworkRequest.java
@@ -48,7 +48,8 @@ public class AidlNetworkRequest extends NetworkRequest {
     private static final String TAG = AidlNetworkRequest.class.getCanonicalName();
 
     private IInputStreamService mService = null;
-    private final AtomicBoolean mBound = new AtomicBoolean(false); // Flag indicating whether we have called bind on the service
+    private final AtomicBoolean mBound = new AtomicBoolean(false); // Flag indicating whether the service connection has been established
+    private final AtomicBoolean mBindingRequested = new AtomicBoolean(false); // Flag indicating whether we have called bind on the service
 
     AidlNetworkRequest(@NonNull Context context, @NonNull SingleSignOnAccount account, @NonNull NextcloudAPI.ApiConnectedListener callback) {
         super(context, account, callback);
@@ -61,12 +62,19 @@ public class AidlNetworkRequest extends NetworkRequest {
         public void onServiceConnected(ComponentName className, IBinder service) {
             Log.d(TAG, "[onServiceConnected] called from Thread: [" + Thread.currentThread().getName() + "] with IBinder [" + className.toString() + "]: " + service);
 
+            final NextcloudAPI.ApiConnectedListener callback = mCallback;
+            if (mDestroyed || callback == null) {
+                // API has been closed while the connection was still being established
+                Log.w(TAG, "[onServiceConnected] API already closed - ignoring connection to [" + className + "]");
+                return;
+            }
+
             mService = IInputStreamService.Stub.asInterface(service);
             mBound.set(true);
             synchronized (mBound) {
                 mBound.notifyAll();
             }
-            mCallback.onConnected();
+            callback.onConnected();
         }
 
         public void onServiceDisconnected(ComponentName className) {
@@ -105,6 +113,7 @@ public void connect(String type) {
                 throw new IllegalStateException("Binding to AccountManagerService returned false");
             } else {
                 Log.d(TAG, "[connect] Bound to AccountManagerService successfully");
+                mBindingRequested.set(true);
             }
         } catch (SecurityException e) {
             Log.e(TAG, "[connect] can't bind to AccountManagerService, check permission in Manifest");
@@ -127,17 +136,19 @@ public void close() {
     }
 
     private void unbindService() {
-        // Unbind from the service
-        if (mBound.get()) {
+        // Unbind whenever a binding has been requested: the ServiceConnection stays registered
+        // even if the connection has not been established yet and would otherwise still receive
+        // onServiceConnected() after this API has been closed
+        if (mBindingRequested.getAndSet(false)) {
             if (mContext != null) {
                 Log.d(TAG, "[unbindService] Unbinding AccountManagerService");
                 mContext.unbindService(mConnection);
             } else {
                 Log.e(TAG, "[unbindService] Context was null, cannot unbind nextcloud single sign-on service connection!");
             }
-            mBound.set(false);
-            mService = null;
         }
+        mBound.set(false);
+        mService = null;
     }
 
     private void waitForApi() throws NextcloudApiNotRespondingException {
diff --git a/lib/src/test/java/com/nextcloud/android/sso/api/AidlNetworkRequestTest.java b/lib/src/test/java/com/nextcloud/android/sso/api/AidlNetworkRequestTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a1c20c62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/src/test/java/com/nextcloud/android/sso/api/AidlNetworkRequestTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+/*
+ * Nextcloud Android SingleSignOn Library
+ *
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 Nextcloud GmbH and Nextcloud contributors
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
+ */
+package com.nextcloud.android.sso.api;
+
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.anyInt;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
+
+import android.content.ComponentName;
+import android.content.Context;
+import android.content.Intent;
+import android.content.ServiceConnection;
+import android.os.IBinder;
+
+import com.nextcloud.android.sso.model.SingleSignOnAccount;
+
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.mockito.ArgumentCaptor;
+
+public class AidlNetworkRequestTest {
+
+    private static final String ACCOUNT_TYPE = "nextcloud";
+
+    private Context context;
+    private NextcloudAPI.ApiConnectedListener callback;
+    private AidlNetworkRequest request;
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() {
+        context = mock(Context.class);
+        callback = mock(NextcloudAPI.ApiConnectedListener.class);
+        final var account = new SingleSignOnAccount("name", "userId", "token", "https://example.com", ACCOUNT_TYPE);
+        request = new AidlNetworkRequest(context, account, callback);
+    }
+
+    private ServiceConnection connectAndCaptureServiceConnection() {
+        when(context.bindService(any(Intent.class), any(ServiceConnection.class), anyInt())).thenReturn(true);
+        request.connect(ACCOUNT_TYPE);
+
+        final var connectionCaptor = ArgumentCaptor.forClass(ServiceConnection.class);
+        verify(context).bindService(any(Intent.class), connectionCaptor.capture(), anyInt());
+        return connectionCaptor.getValue();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void onServiceConnectedBeforeCloseInvokesCallback() {
+        final var connection = connectAndCaptureServiceConnection();
+
+        connection.onServiceConnected(new ComponentName("com.nextcloud.client", "AccountManagerService"), mock(IBinder.class));
+
+        verify(callback).onConnected();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void onServiceConnectedAfterCloseDoesNotThrowAndDoesNotInvokeCallback() {
+        final var connection = connectAndCaptureServiceConnection();
+
+        request.close();
+        connection.onServiceConnected(new ComponentName("com.nextcloud.client", "AccountManagerService"), mock(IBinder.class));
+
+        verify(callback, never()).onConnected();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void closeBeforeServiceConnectedUnbindsServiceConnection() {
+        final var connection = connectAndCaptureServiceConnection();
+
+        request.close();
+
+        verify(context).unbindService(connection);
+    }
+}