diff --git a/src/components/User/withAuth.component.tsx b/src/components/User/withAuth.component.tsx
index e049e92d1..17f50f657 100644
--- a/src/components/User/withAuth.component.tsx
+++ b/src/components/User/withAuth.component.tsx
@@ -1,19 +1,42 @@
 import { useRouter } from 'next/router';
-import { useEffect, ComponentType } from 'react';
-import { hasCredentials } from '../../utils/auth';
+import { useEffect, ComponentType, useState } from 'react';
+import { useQuery } from '@apollo/client';
+import { GET_CURRENT_USER } from '../../utils/gql/GQL_QUERIES';
+import LoadingSpinner from '../LoadingSpinner/LoadingSpinner.component';
 
 const withAuth = <P extends object>(WrappedComponent: ComponentType<P>) => {
   const Wrapper = (props: P) => {
     const router = useRouter();
+    const [isChecking, setIsChecking] = useState(true);
+    
+    const { data, loading, error } = useQuery(GET_CURRENT_USER, {
+      errorPolicy: 'all',
+      fetchPolicy: 'cache-and-network',
+    });
 
     useEffect(() => {
-      if (!hasCredentials()) {
-        router.push('/logg-inn');
+      if (!loading) {
+        setIsChecking(false);
+        
+        // If there's an error or no customer data, user is not authenticated
+        if (error || !data?.customer) {
+          router.push('/logg-inn');
+        }
       }
-    }, [router]);
+    }, [data, loading, error, router]);
 
-    if (!hasCredentials()) {
-      return null; // or a loading spinner
+    // Show loading while checking authentication
+    if (loading || isChecking) {
+      return (
+        <div className="flex justify-center items-center min-h-screen">
+          <LoadingSpinner />
+        </div>
+      );
+    }
+
+    // If no customer data, don't render the component
+    if (!data?.customer) {
+      return null;
     }
 
     return <WrappedComponent {...props} />;
diff --git a/src/utils/apollo/ApolloClient.js b/src/utils/apollo/ApolloClient.js
index f0e4458fd..d0710e0ea 100644
--- a/src/utils/apollo/ApolloClient.js
+++ b/src/utils/apollo/ApolloClient.js
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ import {
   createHttpLink,
   ApolloLink,
 } from '@apollo/client';
-import { getAuthToken } from '../auth';
 
 const SEVEN_DAYS = 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000; // 7 days in milliseconds
 
@@ -39,12 +38,8 @@ export const middleware = new ApolloLink(async (operation, forward) => {
     }
   }
 
-  if (process.browser) {
-    const authToken = await getAuthToken();
-    if (authToken) {
-      headers.Authorization = `Bearer ${authToken}`;
-    }
-  }
+  // Cookie-based authentication - no JWT tokens needed
+  // Cookies are automatically included with credentials: 'include'
 
   operation.setContext({
     headers,
@@ -97,6 +92,7 @@ const client = new ApolloClient({
       createHttpLink({
         uri: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_GRAPHQL_URL,
         fetch,
+        credentials: 'include', // Include cookies for authentication
       }),
     ),
   ),
diff --git a/src/utils/auth.ts b/src/utils/auth.ts
index bd22a6dea..44af4e44a 100644
--- a/src/utils/auth.ts
+++ b/src/utils/auth.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,44 @@ export async function getAuthToken() {
   return null;
 }
 
+function getErrorMessage(error: any): string {
+  // Check for GraphQL errors
+  if (error.graphQLErrors && error.graphQLErrors.length > 0) {
+    const graphQLError = error.graphQLErrors[0];
+    const message = graphQLError.message;
+    
+    // Map GraphQL error messages to user-friendly messages
+    switch (message) {
+      case 'invalid_username':
+        return 'Ugyldig brukernavn eller e-postadresse. Vennligst sjekk og prøv igjen.';
+      case 'incorrect_password':
+        return 'Feil passord. Vennligst sjekk passordet ditt og prøv igjen.';
+      case 'invalid_email':
+        return 'Ugyldig e-postadresse. Vennligst skriv inn en gyldig e-postadresse.';
+      case 'empty_username':
+        return 'Vennligst skriv inn brukernavn eller e-postadresse.';
+      case 'empty_password':
+        return 'Vennligst skriv inn passord.';
+      case 'too_many_retries':
+        return 'For mange mislykkede forsøk. Vennligst vent litt før du prøver igjen.';
+      default:
+        return 'Innlogging mislyktes. Vennligst sjekk dine opplysninger og prøv igjen.';
+    }
+  }
+  
+  // Check for network errors
+  if (error.networkError) {
+    return 'Nettverksfeil. Vennligst sjekk internetttilkoblingen din og prøv igjen.';
+  }
+  
+  // Fallback for other errors
+  if (error.message) {
+    return 'Det oppstod en feil under innlogging. Vennligst prøv igjen.';
+  }
+  
+  return 'En ukjent feil oppstod. Vennligst prøv igjen senere.';
+}
+
 export async function login(username: string, password: string) {
   try {
     const client = new ApolloClient({
@@ -33,16 +71,14 @@ export async function login(username: string, password: string) {
     const loginResult = data.loginWithCookies;
 
     if (loginResult.status !== 'SUCCESS') {
-      throw new Error('Login failed');
+      throw new Error('Innlogging mislyktes. Vennligst sjekk dine opplysninger og prøv igjen.');
     }
 
     // On successful login, cookies are automatically set by the server
     return { success: true, status: loginResult.status };
   } catch (error: unknown) {
-    if (error instanceof Error) {
-      throw new Error(error.message);
-    }
-    throw new Error('An unknown error occurred during login.');
+    const userFriendlyMessage = getErrorMessage(error);
+    throw new Error(userFriendlyMessage);
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/utils/gql/GQL_QUERIES.ts b/src/utils/gql/GQL_QUERIES.ts
index eb6d6b116..7ef686a5d 100644
--- a/src/utils/gql/GQL_QUERIES.ts
+++ b/src/utils/gql/GQL_QUERIES.ts
@@ -325,6 +325,17 @@ export const GET_CART = gql`
   }
 `;
 
+export const GET_CURRENT_USER = gql`
+  query GET_CURRENT_USER {
+    customer {
+      id
+      firstName
+      lastName
+      email
+    }
+  }
+`;
+
 export const GET_CUSTOMER_ORDERS = gql`
   query GET_CUSTOMER_ORDERS {
     customer {