diff --git a/.clang-tidy.hash b/.clang-tidy.hash
index 767da3f33ec..adcebadeb46 100644
--- a/.clang-tidy.hash
+++ b/.clang-tidy.hash
@@ -1 +1 @@
-b97e16a84153b2a4cfc51137cd6121db3c32374504b2bea55144413b3e573052
+b6f8c16c1ddd222134bf4a71910b4c832e764e23caf49f9bce3280b079955fcf
diff --git a/esphome/components/rp2040/__init__.py b/esphome/components/rp2040/__init__.py
index ea269a47c58..1442a0a7f74 100644
--- a/esphome/components/rp2040/__init__.py
+++ b/esphome/components/rp2040/__init__.py
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ def _parse_platform_version(value):
 # The default/recommended arduino framework version
 #  - https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico/releases
 #  - https://api.registry.platformio.org/v3/packages/earlephilhower/tool/framework-arduinopico
-RECOMMENDED_ARDUINO_FRAMEWORK_VERSION = cv.Version(5, 5, 0)
+RECOMMENDED_ARDUINO_FRAMEWORK_VERSION = cv.Version(5, 5, 1)
 
 # The raspberrypi platform version to use for arduino frameworks
 #  - https://github.com/maxgerhardt/platform-raspberrypi/tags
@@ -101,8 +101,8 @@ RECOMMENDED_ARDUINO_PLATFORM_VERSION = "v1.4.0-gcc14-arduinopico460"
 def _arduino_check_versions(value):
     value = value.copy()
     lookups = {
-        "dev": (cv.Version(5, 5, 0), "https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico"),
-        "latest": (cv.Version(5, 5, 0), None),
+        "dev": (cv.Version(5, 5, 1), "https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico"),
+        "latest": (cv.Version(5, 5, 1), None),
         "recommended": (RECOMMENDED_ARDUINO_FRAMEWORK_VERSION, None),
     }
 
diff --git a/esphome/components/wifi/__init__.py b/esphome/components/wifi/__init__.py
index 2aa63b87cc4..0f86ec059ee 100644
--- a/esphome/components/wifi/__init__.py
+++ b/esphome/components/wifi/__init__.py
@@ -210,7 +210,13 @@ WIFI_NETWORK_AP = WIFI_NETWORK_BASE.extend(
 def wifi_network_ap(value):
     if value is None:
         value = {}
-    return WIFI_NETWORK_AP(value)
+    config = WIFI_NETWORK_AP(value)
+    if CONF_MANUAL_IP in config and CORE.is_rp2040:
+        raise cv.Invalid(
+            "Manual AP IP configuration is not supported on RP2040. "
+            "The AP uses the default IP 192.168.4.1"
+        )
+    return config
 
 
 WIFI_NETWORK_STA = WIFI_NETWORK_BASE.extend(
diff --git a/esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component_pico_w.cpp b/esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component_pico_w.cpp
index 270425d8c21..5140fb285e3 100644
--- a/esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component_pico_w.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/wifi/wifi_component_pico_w.cpp
@@ -18,6 +18,25 @@ namespace esphome::wifi {
 
 static const char *const TAG = "wifi_pico_w";
 
+// Check if STA is fully connected (WiFi joined + has IP address).
+// Do NOT use WiFi.status() or WiFi.connected() for this — in AP-only mode they
+// unconditionally return true regardless of STA state, causing false positives
+// when the fallback AP is active.
+static bool wifi_sta_connected() {
+  int link = cyw43_wifi_link_status(&cyw43_state, CYW43_ITF_STA);
+  IPAddress local = WiFi.localIP();
+  if (link == CYW43_LINK_JOIN && local.isSet()) {
+    // Verify the IP is a real STA IP, not the AP's IP leaking through
+    IPAddress ap_ip = WiFi.softAPIP();
+    if (local == ap_ip) {
+      ESP_LOGV(TAG, "wifi_sta_connected: localIP %s matches AP IP, ignoring", local.toString().c_str());
+      return false;
+    }
+    return true;
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
 // Track previous state for detecting changes
 static bool s_sta_was_connected = false;  // NOLINT(cppcoreguidelines-avoid-non-const-global-variables)
 static bool s_sta_had_ip = false;         // NOLINT(cppcoreguidelines-avoid-non-const-global-variables)
@@ -27,17 +46,21 @@ bool WiFiComponent::wifi_mode_(optional<bool> sta, optional<bool> ap) {
   if (sta.has_value()) {
     if (sta.value()) {
       cyw43_wifi_set_up(&cyw43_state, CYW43_ITF_STA, true, CYW43_COUNTRY_WORLDWIDE);
+    } else {
+      // Leave the STA network so the radio is free for scanning.
+      // Use cyw43_wifi_leave directly to avoid corrupting Arduino framework state.
+      cyw43_wifi_leave(&cyw43_state, CYW43_ITF_STA);
     }
   }
 
-  bool ap_state = false;
   if (ap.has_value()) {
     if (ap.value()) {
       cyw43_wifi_set_up(&cyw43_state, CYW43_ITF_AP, true, CYW43_COUNTRY_WORLDWIDE);
-      ap_state = true;
+    } else {
+      cyw43_wifi_set_up(&cyw43_state, CYW43_ITF_AP, false, CYW43_COUNTRY_WORLDWIDE);
     }
+    this->ap_started_ = ap.value();
   }
-  this->ap_started_ = ap_state;
   return true;
 }
 
@@ -129,8 +152,8 @@ WiFiSTAConnectStatus WiFiComponent::wifi_sta_connect_status_() const {
   int status = cyw43_wifi_link_status(&cyw43_state, CYW43_ITF_STA);
   switch (status) {
     case CYW43_LINK_JOIN:
-      // WiFi joined, check if we have an IP address via the Arduino framework's WiFi class
-      if (WiFi.status() == WL_CONNECTED) {
+      // WiFi joined, check if STA has an IP address via wifi_sta_connected()
+      if (wifi_sta_connected()) {
         return WiFiSTAConnectStatus::CONNECTED;
       }
       return WiFiSTAConnectStatus::CONNECTING;
@@ -188,19 +211,9 @@ bool WiFiComponent::wifi_scan_start_(bool passive) {
 
 #ifdef USE_WIFI_AP
 bool WiFiComponent::wifi_ap_ip_config_(const optional<ManualIP> &manual_ip) {
-  esphome::network::IPAddress ip_address, gateway, subnet, dns;
-  if (manual_ip.has_value()) {
-    ip_address = manual_ip->static_ip;
-    gateway = manual_ip->gateway;
-    subnet = manual_ip->subnet;
-    dns = manual_ip->static_ip;
-  } else {
-    ip_address = network::IPAddress(192, 168, 4, 1);
-    gateway = network::IPAddress(192, 168, 4, 1);
-    subnet = network::IPAddress(255, 255, 255, 0);
-    dns = network::IPAddress(192, 168, 4, 1);
-  }
-  WiFi.config(ip_address, dns, gateway, subnet);
+  // AP IP is configured by WiFi.beginAP() internally using defaults (192.168.4.1).
+  // Manual AP IP has never worked on RP2040 — WiFi.config() configures the STA
+  // interface, not the AP. This is now rejected at config validation time.
   return true;
 }
 
@@ -219,18 +232,25 @@ bool WiFiComponent::wifi_start_ap_(const WiFiAP &ap) {
   }
 #endif
 
-  WiFi.beginAP(ap.ssid_.c_str(), ap.password_.c_str(), ap.has_channel() ? ap.get_channel() : 1);
+  // Pass nullptr for empty password — CYW43 uses the password pointer (not length)
+  // to choose between OPEN and WPA2 auth mode.
+  const char *ap_password = ap.password_.empty() ? nullptr : ap.password_.c_str();
+  WiFi.beginAP(ap.ssid_.c_str(), ap_password, ap.has_channel() ? ap.get_channel() : 1);
 
   return true;
 }
 
-network::IPAddress WiFiComponent::wifi_soft_ap_ip() { return {(const ip_addr_t *) WiFi.localIP()}; }
+network::IPAddress WiFiComponent::wifi_soft_ap_ip() { return {(const ip_addr_t *) WiFi.softAPIP()}; }
 #endif  // USE_WIFI_AP
 
 bool WiFiComponent::wifi_disconnect_() {
-  // Use Arduino WiFi.disconnect() instead of raw cyw43_wifi_leave() to properly
-  // clean up the lwIP netif, DHCP client, and internal Arduino state.
-  WiFi.disconnect();
+  // Use cyw43_wifi_leave() directly instead of WiFi.disconnect().
+  // WiFi.disconnect() sets _wifiHWInitted=false in the Arduino framework. beginAP()
+  // uses _wifiHWInitted to determine AP+STA vs AP-only mode — with it false,
+  // beginAP() enters AP-only mode (IP 192.168.42.1) instead of AP_STA mode
+  // (IP 192.168.4.1). In AP-only mode, _beginInternal() redirects all subsequent
+  // STA connect attempts to beginAP(), creating an infinite loop.
+  cyw43_wifi_leave(&cyw43_state, CYW43_ITF_STA);
   return true;
 }
 
@@ -251,14 +271,21 @@ const char *WiFiComponent::wifi_ssid_to(std::span<char, SSID_BUFFER_SIZE> buffer
   buffer[len] = '\0';
   return buffer.data();
 }
-int8_t WiFiComponent::wifi_rssi() { return WiFi.status() == WL_CONNECTED ? WiFi.RSSI() : WIFI_RSSI_DISCONNECTED; }
+int8_t WiFiComponent::wifi_rssi() { return this->is_connected_() ? WiFi.RSSI() : WIFI_RSSI_DISCONNECTED; }
 int32_t WiFiComponent::get_wifi_channel() { return WiFi.channel(); }
 
 network::IPAddresses WiFiComponent::wifi_sta_ip_addresses() {
   network::IPAddresses addresses;
   uint8_t index = 0;
+  // Filter out AP interface addresses — addrList includes all lwIP netifs.
+  // The AP netif IP lingers even after the AP radio is disabled.
+  IPAddress ap_ip = WiFi.softAPIP();
   for (auto addr : addrList) {
-    addresses[index++] = addr.ipFromNetifNum();
+    IPAddress ip(addr.ipFromNetifNum());
+    if (ip == ap_ip) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    addresses[index++] = ip;
   }
   return addresses;
 }
@@ -288,9 +315,7 @@ void WiFiComponent::wifi_loop_() {
   // Poll for connection state changes
   // The arduino-pico WiFi library doesn't have event callbacks like ESP8266/ESP32,
   // so we need to poll the link status to detect state changes.
-  // Use WiFi.connected() which checks both the WiFi link and IP address via the
-  // Arduino framework's own netif (not the SDK's uninitialized one).
-  bool is_connected = WiFi.connected();
+  bool is_connected = wifi_sta_connected();
 
   // Detect connection state change
   if (is_connected && !s_sta_was_connected) {
diff --git a/platformio.ini b/platformio.ini
index 16a1b18211c..87f992759c5 100644
--- a/platformio.ini
+++ b/platformio.ini
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ board_build.filesystem_size = 0.5m
 platform = https://github.com/maxgerhardt/platform-raspberrypi.git#v1.4.0-gcc14-arduinopico460
 platform_packages =
     ; earlephilhower/framework-arduinopico@~1.20602.0 ; Cannot use the platformio package until old releases stop getting deleted
-    earlephilhower/framework-arduinopico@https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico/releases/download/5.5.0/rp2040-5.5.0.zip
+    earlephilhower/framework-arduinopico@https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico/releases/download/5.5.1/rp2040-5.5.1.zip
 
 framework = arduino
 lib_deps =