diff --git a/src/app/api/servers/[id]/admins/[userId]/route.ts b/src/app/api/servers/[id]/admins/[userId]/route.ts
index 550366b..7134666 100644
--- a/src/app/api/servers/[id]/admins/[userId]/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/servers/[id]/admins/[userId]/route.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import connectToDatabase from '@/lib/mongodb'
 import { Server, User } from '@/lib/models'
 import { isValidObjectId } from '@/lib/input-validation'
 import { createAuditLog, getClientIP } from '@/lib/audit'
+import mongoose from 'mongoose'
 
 // DELETE /api/servers/[id]/admins/[userId] — Remove a server admin
 export async function DELETE(
@@ -42,11 +43,13 @@ export async function DELETE(
       return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Cannot remove the last admin from a server' }, { status: 400 })
     }
 
-    server.admins = server.admins.filter((a) => a.toString() !== userId)
-    await server.save()
-
     const removedUser = await User.findById(userId, { username: 1 }).lean()
 
+    await Server.updateOne(
+      { _id: id },
+      { $pull: { admins: new mongoose.Types.ObjectId(userId) } }
+    )
+
     await createAuditLog({
       action: 'server_admin_removed',
       entityType: 'server',