diff --git a/neode-ui/src/views/Mesh.vue b/neode-ui/src/views/Mesh.vue
index ab2094d1..3d896a8b 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/views/Mesh.vue
+++ b/neode-ui/src/views/Mesh.vue
@@ -667,7 +667,8 @@ const mergedPeers = computed<MergedPeer[]>(() => {
 function federationContactId(pubkeyHex: string): number {
   const bytes = pubkeyHex.match(/../g)?.map(h => parseInt(h, 16)) ?? []
   if (bytes.length < 4) return 0x80000001
-  const low = ((bytes[0]) | (bytes[1] << 8) | (bytes[2] << 16) | (bytes[3] << 24)) >>> 0
+  const [b0, b1, b2, b3] = bytes as [number, number, number, number]
+  const low = (b0 | (b1 << 8) | (b2 << 16) | (b3 << 24)) >>> 0
   return ((0x80000000 | (low & 0x7fffffff)) >>> 0)
 }