HERO11 Black switches to Webcam Mode over USB / Linux and stops responding to HTTP commands

[TomBiton]

Hi everyone,
I am developing an automated embedded Linux application (written in C++ using ⁠libcurl⁠) to control a HERO11 Black over a direct USB connection via the Open GoPro HTTP specification.
Setup & Workflow
Environment: Linux
Connection: Direct USB-C cable
Startup Sequence:

1. Detect the camera's virtual network interface and resolve its IP address.
2. Enable wired control:
   ⁠GET /gopro/camera/control/wired_usb?p=1⁠
3. Load the photo preset:
   ⁠GET /gopro/camera/presets/load?id=65536⁠
   Runtime Loop:
   Periodically send a capture command:
   ⁠GET /gopro/camera/shutter/start⁠
   Download the captured image via HTTP.
   The Issue
   Intermittently and without a consistent pattern, the camera enters Webcam Mode:
   Sometimes it happens after the camera hasn't received any commands from the system for a while (idle period), at which point it suddenly transitions into Webcam Mode.
   In other cases, the camera boots up and immediately enters Webcam Mode.
   Once the camera enters Webcam Mode, it completely stops responding to HTTP commands from my software, and I can no longer control it over the USB connection.
   Questions
4. Trigger Mechanism: What specifically causes the HERO11 to enter Webcam Mode—especially when sitting idle without incoming commands, or right upon boot? Could this be triggered by an operating system probe/enumeration, or a hardware/power issue (such as a temporary voltage drop on the USB bus)?
5. Prevention: Is there any setting, HTTP endpoint, or host configuration that can prevent the camera from automatically switching to Webcam Mode?
6. Recovery: Once the camera has entered Webcam Mode, is there any way to exit it and return to the controllable Open GoPro state programmatically without physical user intervention?

Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated!