diff --git a/docs/research/companion_contact_cache.md b/docs/research/companion_contact_cache.md
index 627f7993b..945d7c37b 100644
--- a/docs/research/companion_contact_cache.md
+++ b/docs/research/companion_contact_cache.md
@@ -37,7 +37,10 @@ Changing a copied contact preserves the old path for a pending app response
 or rollback. Dirty entries are saved before eviction. If storage cannot be
 read, written, or represented completely, the operation fails instead of
 sending along a different route. Contact I/O failures request bounded recovery
-between callbacks: reload a readable live image, otherwise a readable backup,
+between callbacks. A raw cached-path read fault first rechecks the current
+immutable paths without resetting accepted RAM changes or their save deadline.
+Persistent faults or uncertain file publication reload a readable live image,
+otherwise a readable backup,
 and discard only unrecoverable contact data if neither works. nRF52 preserves
 healthy pages when another page is damaged. No archival `.bad` files are kept.
 If damaged contacts cannot be removed, the node remains usable with volatile
diff --git a/examples/companion_radio/DataStore.cpp b/examples/companion_radio/DataStore.cpp
index 1e24cfe28..98e622e9a 100644
--- a/examples/companion_radio/DataStore.cpp
+++ b/examples/companion_radio/DataStore.cpp
@@ -2194,7 +2194,35 @@ bool DataStore::prepareContactSave() {
 #endif
 
 void DataStore::recoverContacts(DataStoreHost* host) {
-  if (!contactRecoveryPending() || !host->resetContactsForRecovery()) return;
+  if (!contactRecoveryPending()) return;
+#if MESH_CONTACT_CACHE
+  if (_contact_recovery & ContactRecoveryRawOnly) {
+    // A failed cold read did not change names/generations. Retry immutable
+    // current paths before retiring accepted, not-yet-persisted RAM changes.
+    const uint8_t previous = _contact_recovery;
+    _contact_recovery &= ~(ContactRecoveryPending | ContactRecoveryRawOnly
+        | ContactRecoveryLegacy);
+#if defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
+    const auto unread = _unread_contact_pages;
+    _unread_contact_pages.clearAll();
+#endif
+    uint8_t path[64];
+    bool readable = true;
+    for (uint32_t i = 0;; ++i) {
+      const ContactInfo* contact = host->getContactForStore(i);
+      if (contact == nullptr) break;
+      // copyPathTo uses checksum-checked read(), not allocating/evicting view().
+      if (!contact->copyPathTo(path)) { readable = false; break; }
+    }
+    if (readable && !contactRecoveryPending()) return;
+#if defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
+    for (uint8_t page = 0; page < mesh::storage::CONTACT_PAGE_COUNT; ++page)
+      if (unread.bits() & (1UL << page)) _unread_contact_pages.mark(page);
+#endif
+    queueContactRecovery((previous & ContactRecoveryLegacy) != 0);
+  }
+#endif
+  if (!host->resetContactsForRecovery()) return;
 #if defined(ESP32_PLATFORM)
   cancelContactWrite();
   _contact_write_requested = false;
@@ -4590,7 +4618,7 @@ bool DataStore::readStoredPath(uint16_t source, uint8_t path[64]) {
         && file.seek(offset + 76) && file.read(path, 64) == 64;
     if (!ok) {
       file.close();
-      queueContactRecovery(true);
+      queueContactReadRecovery(true);
     }
     return ok;
   }
@@ -4615,9 +4643,9 @@ bool DataStore::readStoredPath(uint16_t source, uint8_t path[64]) {
     if (source & mesh::ContactPathStorage::PAGED)
       _unread_contact_pages.mark((source & ~mesh::ContactPathStorage::PAGED)
           / mesh::storage::CONTACTS_PER_PAGE);
-    queueContactRecovery((source & mesh::ContactPathStorage::PAGED) == 0);
+    queueContactReadRecovery((source & mesh::ContactPathStorage::PAGED) == 0);
 #else
-    queueContactRecovery(true);
+    queueContactReadRecovery(true);
 #endif
   }
   // The pool checks the CRC captured when this immutable path value was bound.
diff --git a/examples/companion_radio/DataStore.h b/examples/companion_radio/DataStore.h
index 849e9792f..e0904bf86 100644
--- a/examples/companion_radio/DataStore.h
+++ b/examples/companion_radio/DataStore.h
@@ -50,12 +50,28 @@ class DataStore
   // permission to discard contacts. No recovery files or boot counters needed.
   enum : uint8_t { ContactRecoveryPending = 1, ContactRecoveryLegacy = 2,
                    ContactRecoveryBackup = 4, ContactStorageUnavailable = 8,
-                   ContactMigrationDeferred = 16 };
+                   ContactMigrationDeferred = 16,
+#if MESH_CONTACT_CACHE
+                   ContactRecoveryRawOnly = 32,
+#endif
+  };
   uint8_t _contact_recovery = 0;
   void queueContactRecovery(bool legacy = false) {
+#if MESH_CONTACT_CACHE
+    // Source/publication uncertainty always supersedes a raw-read retry.
+    _contact_recovery &= ~ContactRecoveryRawOnly;
+#endif
     _contact_recovery |= ContactRecoveryPending
         | (legacy ? ContactRecoveryLegacy : 0);
   }
+#if MESH_CONTACT_CACHE
+  void queueContactReadRecovery(bool legacy = false) {
+    if (!(_contact_recovery & ContactRecoveryPending))
+      _contact_recovery |= ContactRecoveryRawOnly;
+    _contact_recovery |= ContactRecoveryPending
+        | (legacy ? ContactRecoveryLegacy : 0);
+  }
+#endif
   void clearContactLoadFailure();
 #if !defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
   const char* selectContactFile(bool& present);
diff --git a/examples/companion_radio/MyMesh.cpp b/examples/companion_radio/MyMesh.cpp
index 1578a92e4..8ea78316a 100644
--- a/examples/companion_radio/MyMesh.cpp
+++ b/examples/companion_radio/MyMesh.cpp
@@ -11352,7 +11352,7 @@ void MyMesh::loop() {
   if (_store->contactRecoveryPending() && !mesh::morseTimingActive(_radio)) {
     _store->recoverContacts(this);
     updateGpsTelemetryPolicy();
-    if (_store->hasPendingContactWrites()) {
+    if (!dirty_contacts_expiry && _store->hasPendingContactWrites()) {
       dirty_contacts_expiry = mesh::nonzeroLazyPersistenceDeadline(
           futureMillis(LAZY_CONTACTS_WRITE_DELAY));
     }
diff --git a/test/fixtures/contact_cache/test_contact_cache.cpp b/test/fixtures/contact_cache/test_contact_cache.cpp
index 8fb4e2282..b54f87e1e 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/contact_cache/test_contact_cache.cpp
+++ b/test/fixtures/contact_cache/test_contact_cache.cpp
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ struct Host {
   unsigned cache_flushes = 0;
   unsigned recovery_resets = 0;
   bool recovery_reset_allowed = true;
+  unsigned long dirty_deadline = 0;
+  uint8_t dirty_failures = 0;
   size_t capacity = 350;
   std::vector<ContactInfo> contacts;
   bool onContactLoaded(const ContactInfo& c) {
@@ -36,6 +38,8 @@ struct Host {
     if (!recovery_reset_allowed) return false;
     ++recovery_resets;
     contacts.clear();
+    dirty_deadline = 0;
+    dirty_failures = 0;
     return true;
   }
   ContactInfo* getContactForStore(uint32_t index) {
@@ -113,6 +117,11 @@ public:
   void loadContacts(DataStoreHost*);
   void recoverContacts(DataStoreHost*);
 #include "contact_recovery_api_under_test.h"
+  bool rawRecoveryOnly() const {
+    return (_contact_recovery & ContactRecoveryRawOnly) != 0;
+  }
+  void requireStrongRecovery(bool legacy = false) { queueContactRecovery(legacy); }
+  void requireRawReadRecovery(bool legacy = false) { queueContactReadRecovery(legacy); }
   bool saveContacts(DataStoreHost*, bool (*filter)(const ContactInfo&));
   bool flushContactWrites(DataStoreHost*, bool (*filter)(const ContactInfo&));
   bool readStoredPath(uint16_t, uint8_t[64]) override;
@@ -135,6 +144,10 @@ public:
     return _contact_write != nullptr && !static_cast<bool>(*_contact_write);
   }
   bool activeJob() const { return _contact_write != nullptr; }
+  const void* jobAddress() const { return _contact_write; }
+  uint32_t jobIndex() const { return _contact_write_index; }
+  uint32_t writeRevision() const { return _contact_write_revision; }
+  bool writeRequested() const { return _contact_write_requested; }
   bool verifying() const { return _contact_write_verifying; }
   bool readyToPublish() const {
     return _contact_write && _contact_write->readyToPublish();
@@ -142,6 +155,9 @@ public:
 #endif
 #if defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
   uint32_t pageGeneration(uint8_t page) const { return _contact_page_generations[page]; }
+  uint32_t unreadPages() const { return _unread_contact_pages.bits(); }
+  uint32_t dirtyPages() const { return _dirty_contact_pages.bits(); }
+  void markDirtyPage(uint8_t page) { assert(_dirty_contact_pages.mark(page)); }
   bool loadContactPages(DataStoreHost*, uint16_t, uint32_t);
   bool writeContactPage(DataStoreHost*, uint8_t, bool (*filter)(const ContactInfo&));
   bool markContactDirty(const ContactInfo& c) {
@@ -288,6 +304,200 @@ struct Fixture {
   }
 };
 
+static void raw_read_recovery_preserves_accepted_ram_state() {
+  for (bool paged : {false, true}) {
+#if !defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
+    if (paged) continue;
+#endif
+    Fixture f(30);
+    const char* source = "/contacts3";
+#if defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
+    if (paged) {
+      assert(f.store.writeContactPage(&f.host, 0, cachedContactFilter));
+      assert(f.store.writeContactPage(&f.host, 1, cachedContactFilter));
+      assert(SPIFFS.remove("/contacts3"));
+      source = "/contacts4_00";
+    }
+#endif
+    // These app-accepted changes are newer than disk, including a new peer.
+    snprintf(f.host.contacts[0].name, sizeof(f.host.contacts[0].name), "accepted rename");
+    f.host.contacts[0].lastmod = 0x12345678;
+    assert(f.host.contacts[1].setRawPath(route(2401).data()));
+    assert(f.store.markContactDirty(f.host.contacts[0]));
+    assert(f.store.markContactDirty(f.host.contacts[1]));
+    {
+      ContactInfo added = f.host.contacts.back();
+      added.id.pub_key[30] = 0xAA;
+      added.id.pub_key[31] = 0xBB;
+      snprintf(added.name, sizeof(added.name), "accepted new peer");
+      assert(added.setRawPath(route(2430).data()));
+#if defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
+      added.storage_slot = 30;
+#endif
+      f.host.contacts.push_back(added);
+    }
+    assert(f.store.markContactDirty(f.host.contacts.back()));
+    f.host.dirty_deadline = 0x76543210;
+    f.host.dirty_failures = 3;
+#if defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
+    f.store.markDirtyPage(0);
+    f.store.markDirtyPage(1);
+    const uint32_t dirty_pages = f.store.dirtyPages();
+    const uint32_t generation = f.store.pageGeneration(0);
+#else
+    for (unsigned step = 0; step < 12; ++step)
+      assert(f.store.serviceContactWrites(&f.host, cachedContactFilter));
+    assert(f.store.activeJob() && !f.store.verifying());
+    const void* job = f.store.jobAddress();
+    const uint32_t job_index = f.store.jobIndex();
+    const uint32_t revision = f.store.writeRevision();
+    const bool requested = f.store.writeRequested();
+#endif
+    std::vector<std::array<uint8_t, 152>> accepted(f.host.contacts.size());
+    std::vector<uint16_t> handles;
+    for (unsigned i = 0; i < f.host.contacts.size(); ++i) {
+      assert(serializeContactRecord(f.host.contacts[i], accepted[i].data()));
+      handles.push_back(f.host.contacts[i].path_ref.handle());
+    }
+    // Exhaust the remaining handle budget: the retry must use nonallocating,
+    // checksum-checked path reads, not a replacement/reload of ContactInfo.
+    std::vector<mesh::ContactPathRef> pressure(359);
+    for (auto& path : pressure) assert(path.bind(0, route(0).data()));
+    mesh::ContactPathRef no_room;
+    assert(!no_room.bind(0, route(0).data()));
+    const auto durable = SPIFFS.files;
+    const unsigned writes = SPIFFS.writes, removes = SPIFFS.removes;
+    const unsigned renames = SPIFFS.renames, flushes = f.host.cache_flushes;
+    Path path;
+    SPIFFS.fail_read = source;
+    assert(!f.host.contacts[20].copyPathTo(path.data()));
+    assert(f.store.contactRecoveryPending() && f.store.rawRecoveryOnly());
+#if defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
+    assert(f.store.unreadPages() == (paged ? 1u : 0u));
+#endif
+    SPIFFS.fail_read.clear();
+    f.store.recoverContacts(&f.host);
+    assert(!f.store.contactRecoveryPending() && !f.store.hasIncompleteContactLoad());
+    assert(f.host.recovery_resets == 0);
+    assert(!f.store.rawRecoveryOnly() && !f.store.contactsAreVolatile());
+    assert(f.host.contacts.size() == accepted.size());
+    assert(f.host.dirty_deadline == 0x76543210 && f.host.dirty_failures == 3);
+    assert(f.host.cache_flushes == flushes && SPIFFS.files == durable);
+    assert(SPIFFS.writes == writes && SPIFFS.removes == removes && SPIFFS.renames == renames);
+    for (unsigned i = 0; i < f.host.contacts.size(); ++i) {
+      std::array<uint8_t, 152> current;
+      assert(serializeContactRecord(f.host.contacts[i], current.data()));
+      assert(current == accepted[i] && f.host.contacts[i].path_ref.handle() == handles[i]);
+    }
+#if defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
+    assert(f.store.unreadPages() == 0 && f.store.dirtyPages() == dirty_pages);
+    assert(f.store.pageGeneration(0) == generation);
+#else
+    assert(f.store.jobAddress() == job && f.store.jobIndex() == job_index);
+    assert(f.store.writeRevision() == revision && f.store.writeRequested() == requested);
+    assert(f.store.hasPendingContactWrites());
+#endif
+    pressure.clear();
+#if defined(ESP32_PLATFORM)
+    unsigned passes = 0;
+    while (f.store.hasPendingContactWrites()) {
+      assert(++passes < 1000);
+      assert(f.store.serviceContactWrites(&f.host, cachedContactFilter));
+    }
+#else
+    assert(f.store.saveContacts(&f.host, cachedContactFilter));
+    // This fixture's migration lifecycle seam omits legacy truncation. Finish
+    // that step only after every actual page write succeeded, then reboot.
+    if (!paged) assert(SPIFFS.remove("/contacts3"));
+#endif
+    f.host.contacts.clear();
+    DataStore rebooted(f.host);
+    rebooted.loadContacts(&f.host);
+    assert(!rebooted.hasIncompleteContactLoad() && f.host.contacts.size() == accepted.size());
+    for (unsigned i = 0; i < f.host.contacts.size(); ++i) {
+      std::array<uint8_t, 152> current;
+      assert(serializeContactRecord(f.host.contacts[i], current.data()));
+      assert(current == accepted[i]);
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+static void raw_read_recovery_falls_back_on_persistent_io_or_checksum_failure() {
+  for (bool checksum_failure : {false, true}) {
+    Fixture f(30);
+    const char* failed = "/contacts3";
+#if defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
+    assert(f.store.writeContactPage(&f.host, 0, cachedContactFilter));
+    assert(f.store.writeContactPage(&f.host, 1, cachedContactFilter));
+    assert(SPIFFS.remove("/contacts3"));
+    failed = "/contacts4_00";
+#endif
+    Path path;
+    SPIFFS.fail_read = failed;
+    assert(!f.host.contacts[20].copyPathTo(path.data()));
+    assert(f.store.contactRecoveryPending() && f.store.rawRecoveryOnly());
+    if (checksum_failure) {
+      SPIFFS.fail_read.clear();
+#if defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
+      SPIFFS.files.at("/contacts4_01")[mesh::storage::CONTACT_PAGE_HEADER_SIZE + 4 * 152 + 76] ^= 1;
+#else
+      SPIFFS.files.at("/contacts3")[29 * 152 + 76] ^= 1;
+#endif
+    }
+    f.host.dirty_deadline = 42;
+    f.store.recoverContacts(&f.host);
+    assert(!f.store.contactRecoveryPending() && !f.store.hasIncompleteContactLoad());
+    assert(f.host.recovery_resets > 0 && f.host.dirty_deadline == 0);
+    assert(!f.store.rawRecoveryOnly());
+    SPIFFS.fail_read.clear();
+  }
+}
+
+static void strong_recovery_faults_cannot_be_downgraded_by_raw_reads() {
+  for (bool strong_first : {false, true}) {
+    Fixture f(30);
+    snprintf(f.host.contacts[0].name, sizeof(f.host.contacts[0].name), "unsaved rename");
+    if (strong_first) f.store.requireStrongRecovery(true);
+    f.store.requireRawReadRecovery(true);
+    if (!strong_first) {
+      assert(f.store.rawRecoveryOnly());
+      f.store.requireStrongRecovery(true);
+    }
+    assert(f.store.contactRecoveryPending() && !f.store.rawRecoveryOnly());
+    f.store.recoverContacts(&f.host);
+    assert(!f.store.contactRecoveryPending() && f.host.recovery_resets > 0);
+    assert(f.host.contacts.size() == 30 && !strcmp(f.host.contacts[0].name, "Contact 0"));
+  }
+}
+
+#if defined(NRF52_PLATFORM)
+static void raw_read_recheck_preserves_old_and_new_unread_page_scopes() {
+  Fixture f(30);
+  assert(f.store.writeContactPage(&f.host, 0, cachedContactFilter));
+  assert(f.store.writeContactPage(&f.host, 1, cachedContactFilter));
+  assert(SPIFFS.remove("/contacts3"));
+  const auto durable = SPIFFS.files;
+  Path path;
+  SPIFFS.fail_read = "/contacts4_00";
+  assert(!f.host.contacts[20].copyPathTo(path.data()));
+  assert(f.store.unreadPages() == 1 && f.store.rawRecoveryOnly());
+  // A different page fails during recheck. A refused boundary must preserve
+  // both scopes for the later strong recovery, not just its freshest fault.
+  SPIFFS.fail_read = "/contacts4_01";
+  f.host.recovery_reset_allowed = false;
+  f.store.recoverContacts(&f.host);
+  assert(f.store.contactRecoveryPending() && !f.store.rawRecoveryOnly());
+  assert(f.store.unreadPages() == 3 && f.host.recovery_resets == 0);
+  assert(f.host.contacts.size() == 30 && SPIFFS.files == durable);
+  SPIFFS.fail_read.clear();
+  f.host.recovery_reset_allowed = true;
+  f.store.recoverContacts(&f.host);
+  assert(!f.store.contactRecoveryPending() && !f.store.hasIncompleteContactLoad());
+  assert(f.host.recovery_resets > 0 && f.host.contacts.size() == 30);
+  assert(SPIFFS.files == durable);
+}
+#endif
+
 static void routes_survive_eviction_and_full_sync() {
   Fixture f;
   assert(sizeof(ContactInfo) <= 100); // all 350 records retain compact handles
@@ -635,6 +845,33 @@ static void contact_recovery_retries_and_discards_only_unread_contacts() {
 }
 
 #if defined(ESP32_PLATFORM)
+static void uncertain_publication_is_not_a_raw_read_retry() {
+  Fixture f(30);
+  assert(f.host.contacts[0].setRawPath(route(2470).data()));
+  assert(f.store.markContactDirty(f.host.contacts[0]));
+  unsigned passes = 0;
+  while (!f.store.readyToPublish()) {
+    assert(++passes < 1000);
+    assert(f.store.serviceContactWrites(&f.host, cachedContactFilter));
+  }
+  SPIFFS.after_rename = [](FakeFilesystem& fs, const char* path) {
+    if (!strcmp(path, "/contacts3")) fs.metadata_error = true;
+  };
+  assert(!f.store.serviceContactWrites(&f.host, cachedContactFilter));
+  assert(f.store.contactRecoveryPending() && !f.store.rawRecoveryOnly());
+  assert(!f.store.activeJob() && f.store.hasIncompleteContactLoad());
+  SPIFFS.after_rename = {};
+  SPIFFS.metadata_error = false;
+  // Ordinary publication uncertainty must still reload even though every
+  // current path would read correctly from the now-published file.
+  f.store.requireRawReadRecovery(true);
+  assert(!f.store.rawRecoveryOnly());
+  f.store.recoverContacts(&f.host);
+  assert(!f.store.contactRecoveryPending() && !f.store.hasIncompleteContactLoad());
+  assert(f.host.recovery_resets > 0 && f.host.contacts.size() == 30);
+  f.check(0, route(2470));
+}
+
 static unsigned drain_cooperative_save(Fixture& f) {
   unsigned serviced_commands = 0;
   while (f.store.hasPendingContactWrites()) {
@@ -1303,9 +1540,13 @@ static void deferred_cleanup_publishes_actual_cached_handles() {
 #endif
 
 int main() {
+  raw_read_recovery_preserves_accepted_ram_state();
+  raw_read_recovery_falls_back_on_persistent_io_or_checksum_failure();
+  strong_recovery_faults_cannot_be_downgraded_by_raw_reads();
   contact_tx_policy_round_trips_without_growing_records();
   shared_request_tail_keeps_payload_routes_and_timeouts();
 #if defined(ESP32_PLATFORM)
+  uncertain_publication_is_not_a_raw_read_retry();
   deferred_cleanup_publishes_actual_cached_handles();
   cooperative_save_services_commands_and_preserves_snapshots();
   background_crc_verification_uses_bounded_batches();
@@ -1330,6 +1571,7 @@ int main() {
   persisted_secret_matches_the_real_peer_key_exchange();
   secret_corruption_reordering_and_full_storage();
 #else
+  raw_read_recheck_preserves_old_and_new_unread_page_scopes();
   nrf52_secret_cache_leaves_contact_storage_reserve();
   nrf52_migration_snapshots_and_failed_page_replacement();
   nrf52_resource_refusals_never_discard_contact_pages();
diff --git a/test/test_companion_contact_sleep_contract.py b/test/test_companion_contact_sleep_contract.py
index 9c09e7061..fdc698610 100644
--- a/test/test_companion_contact_sleep_contract.py
+++ b/test/test_companion_contact_sleep_contract.py
@@ -54,24 +54,32 @@ class CompanionContactSleepContractTest(unittest.TestCase):
         )
         methods = "\n".join(signature + " {" + function_body(mesh, signature) + "}"
                             for signature in signatures)
+        recovery_guard = "if (_store->contactRecoveryPending() && !mesh::morseTimingActive(_radio))"
+        methods += "\nvoid MyMesh::serviceRecovery() {" + recovery_guard + " {"
+        methods += function_body(loop, recovery_guard) + "}}\n"
         fixture = r'''
 #include <cassert>
 #include <cstdint>
+#include <initializer_list>
 #define MESH_DEBUG_PRINTLN(...) do {} while (0)
 namespace mesh {
 void resetLazyPersistenceAfterSuccess(uint32_t& deadline, uint8_t& failures) {
   deadline = 0; failures = 0;
 }
 uint32_t nonzeroLazyPersistenceDeadline(uint32_t value) { return value ? value : 1; }
+bool morseTimingActive(int) { return false; }
 }
 constexpr unsigned CONTACT_PAGE_WRITE_GAP = 10;
+constexpr unsigned LAZY_CONTACTS_WRITE_DELAY = 50;
 bool save_filter(int) { return true; }
 struct Board { unsigned resets = 0; void reboot() { ++resets; } } board;
 struct Store {
-  bool vol = false, saved = true, pending = true;
+  bool vol = false, saved = true, pending = true, recovery = false;
   unsigned writes = 0;
   bool contactsAreVolatile() const { return vol; }
   bool hasPendingContactWrites() const { return pending; }
+  bool contactRecoveryPending() const { return recovery; }
+  void recoverContacts(void*) { recovery = false; }
   bool flushContactWrites(void*, bool (*)(int)) { ++writes; return saved; }
   bool saveContacts(void*, bool (*)(int)) { ++writes; return saved; }
 };
@@ -80,6 +88,9 @@ struct MyMesh {
   uint32_t dirty_contacts_expiry = 1;
   uint8_t dirty_contacts_failures = 1;
   unsigned retries = 0;
+  int _radio = 0;
+  void updateGpsTelemetryPolicy() {}
+  void serviceRecovery();
   uint32_t futureMillis(unsigned value) { return 100 + value; }
   void scheduleContactWriteRetry() { ++retries; }
   bool flushContactsBeforeReboot(); bool prepareForUiShutdown();
@@ -114,6 +125,19 @@ int main() {
   derived.saveContacts();
   assert(derived.overrides == 0 && derived.dirty_contacts_expiry == 0);
   assert(derived.dirty_contacts_failures == 0 && derived.store.writes == 0);
+  // Execute the actual outer-loop recovery preamble. Fast raw-read recovery
+  // must not postpone even an already-overdue accepted mutation deadline.
+  for (uint32_t deadline : {1u, 321u}) {
+    node.dirty_contacts_expiry = deadline;
+    node.dirty_contacts_failures = 3;
+    node.store.pending = true; node.store.recovery = true;
+    node.serviceRecovery();
+    assert(node.dirty_contacts_expiry == deadline);
+    assert(node.dirty_contacts_failures == 3 && !node.store.recovery);
+  }
+  node.dirty_contacts_expiry = 0; node.store.recovery = true;
+  node.serviceRecovery();
+  assert(node.dirty_contacts_expiry == 100 + LAZY_CONTACTS_WRITE_DELAY);
 }
 '''.replace("@METHODS@", methods)
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="companion-contact-recovery-") as directory:
diff --git a/test/test_contact_cache.py b/test/test_contact_cache.py
index b4a48923b..cfaf8f930 100644
--- a/test/test_contact_cache.py
+++ b/test/test_contact_cache.py
@@ -50,6 +50,12 @@ class ContactCacheTest(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_esp32_disabled_contact_recovery_is_detected(self):
         self.run_cache_test("ESP32_PLATFORM", disable_recovery=True)
 
+    def test_esp32_unconditional_contact_reset_is_detected(self):
+        self.run_cache_test("ESP32_PLATFORM", disable_raw_recovery=True)
+
+    def test_nrf52_unconditional_contact_reset_is_detected(self):
+        self.run_cache_test("NRF52_PLATFORM", disable_raw_recovery=True)
+
     def test_nrf52_unsafe_legacy_discovery_recovery_is_detected(self):
         self.run_cache_test("NRF52_PLATFORM", unsafe_legacy_discovery=True)
 
@@ -57,6 +63,7 @@ class ContactCacheTest(unittest.TestCase):
         self.run_cache_test("NRF52_PLATFORM", unsafe_page_discovery=True)
 
     def run_cache_test(self, platform, disable_crc_batch=False, disable_recovery=False,
+                       disable_raw_recovery=False,
                        unsafe_legacy_discovery=False, unsafe_page_discovery=False):
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="mesh-contact-cache-") as temp:
             temp = Path(temp)
@@ -119,6 +126,12 @@ class ContactCacheTest(unittest.TestCase):
                 self.assertIn(recovery, implementation)
                 implementation = implementation.replace(
                     recovery, "void DataStore::recoverContacts(DataStoreHost*) {}")
+            if disable_raw_recovery:
+                # Restore the exact pre-fix unconditional host-reset path,
+                # leaving fault classification and bounded fallback unchanged.
+                raw_retry = method(store, "if (_contact_recovery & ContactRecoveryRawOnly) {")
+                self.assertEqual(implementation.count(raw_retry), 1)
+                implementation = implementation.replace(raw_retry, "")
             if unsafe_legacy_discovery:
                 discovery = method(store,
                     'if (!contactPathPresence(contacts_fs, "/contacts3", legacy_exists))')
@@ -182,7 +195,11 @@ class ContactCacheTest(unittest.TestCase):
             ], capture_output=True, text=True)
             self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stderr)
             result = subprocess.run([str(binary)], capture_output=True, text=True)
-            if unsafe_page_discovery:
+            if disable_raw_recovery:
+                self.assertNotEqual(result.returncode, 0)
+                self.assertIn("raw_read_recovery_preserves_accepted_ram_state", result.stderr)
+                self.assertIn("f.host.recovery_resets == 0", result.stderr)
+            elif unsafe_page_discovery:
                 self.assertNotEqual(result.returncode, 0)
                 self.assertIn("nrf52_unknown_page_stat_preserves_contact_authority", result.stderr)
                 self.assertIn("f.host.contacts.size()", result.stderr)