diff --git a/src/helpers/MQTTMessageBuilder.cpp b/src/helpers/MQTTMessageBuilder.cpp
index 062f52edd..afb53ef0d 100644
--- a/src/helpers/MQTTMessageBuilder.cpp
+++ b/src/helpers/MQTTMessageBuilder.cpp
@@ -209,8 +209,8 @@ int MQTTMessageBuilder::buildPacketJSON(
     packet_type, route_str,
     packet->payload_len,
     raw_hex,
-    12.5f, // SNR - using reasonable default
-    -65,   // RSSI - using reasonable default
+    NAN,   // SNR - unknown on this reconstruction-less fallback path
+    MQTT_RSSI_UNKNOWN, // RSSI - unknown on this reconstruction-less fallback path
     NAN,   // score - unknown on this reconstruction-less fallback path
     hash_str,
     has_path ? packet->path : nullptr,
diff --git a/src/helpers/MQTTPayloadBuilder.cpp b/src/helpers/MQTTPayloadBuilder.cpp
index 265969ae1..47a7b2e8b 100644
--- a/src/helpers/MQTTPayloadBuilder.cpp
+++ b/src/helpers/MQTTPayloadBuilder.cpp
@@ -120,8 +120,6 @@ int MQTTPayloadBuilder::buildPacketMessage(
   snprintf(len_str, sizeof(len_str), "%d", len);
   snprintf(packet_type_str, sizeof(packet_type_str), "%d", packet_type);
   snprintf(payload_len_str, sizeof(payload_len_str), "%d", payload_len);
-  snprintf(snr_str, sizeof(snr_str), "%.1f", snr);
-  snprintf(rssi_str, sizeof(rssi_str), "%d", rssi);
 
   root["timestamp"] = timestamp;
   root["hash"] = hash;
@@ -138,8 +136,16 @@ int MQTTPayloadBuilder::buildPacketMessage(
   root["origin_id"] = origin_id;
 
   if (direction && strcmp(direction, "rx") == 0) {
-    root["SNR"] = snr_str;
-    root["RSSI"] = rssi_str;
+    // Omit SNR/RSSI entirely when no measurement exists rather than publish
+    // a placeholder a consumer could mistake for a real reading.
+    if (!isnan(snr)) {
+      snprintf(snr_str, sizeof(snr_str), "%.1f", snr);
+      root["SNR"] = snr_str;
+    }
+    if (rssi != MQTT_RSSI_UNKNOWN) {
+      snprintf(rssi_str, sizeof(rssi_str), "%d", rssi);
+      root["RSSI"] = rssi_str;
+    }
     if (!isnan(score)) {
       snprintf(score_str, sizeof(score_str), "%d", static_cast<int>(score * 1000));
       root["score"] = score_str;
diff --git a/src/helpers/MQTTPayloadBuilder.h b/src/helpers/MQTTPayloadBuilder.h
index 7bca170db..ee2a7cc99 100644
--- a/src/helpers/MQTTPayloadBuilder.h
+++ b/src/helpers/MQTTPayloadBuilder.h
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@
 // Mesh-independent JSON serialization core for MQTT publication payloads.
 // MQTTMessageBuilder keeps the firmware-facing API and delegates these three
 // deterministic contracts here so they can be exercised by native tests.
+
+// RSSI sentinel for "no radio measurement": far outside the small negative ints
+// a radio actually reports, so a real reading can never collide with it.
+static const int MQTT_RSSI_UNKNOWN = INT16_MIN;
+
 class MQTTPayloadBuilder {
 public:
   static int buildStatusMessage(
diff --git a/test/test_mqtt_payload_builder/test_mqtt_payload_builder.cpp b/test/test_mqtt_payload_builder/test_mqtt_payload_builder.cpp
index 37486fd27..181f0a86c 100644
--- a/test/test_mqtt_payload_builder/test_mqtt_payload_builder.cpp
+++ b/test/test_mqtt_payload_builder/test_mqtt_payload_builder.cpp
@@ -36,6 +36,16 @@ static int buildRepresentativePacket(JsonDocument& scratch, const char* directio
       path_hash_size, 64, buffer, buffer_size);
 }
 
+static int buildPacketWithMetrics(JsonDocument& scratch, const char* direction,
+                                 float snr, int rssi, float score,
+                                 char* buffer, size_t buffer_size) {
+  return MQTTPayloadBuilder::buildPacketMessage(
+      scratch, "DEN Repeater", "0123456789ABCDEF", kTimestamp, direction,
+      "12:34:56", "18/07/2026", 42, 4, "D", 20, "A0B1C2D3",
+      snr, rssi, score, "89ABCDEF01234567", nullptr, 0, 0, 64,
+      buffer, buffer_size);
+}
+
 TEST(MQTTPayloadBuilder, MinimalStatusHasExactRequiredContract) {
   JsonDocument scratch;
   char buffer[768];
@@ -169,6 +179,72 @@ TEST(MQTTPayloadBuilder, RxPacketOmitsUnknownNanScore) {
   EXPECT_FALSE(parsed["score"].is<JsonVariant>());
 }
 
+TEST(MQTTPayloadBuilder, RxPacketOmitsUnknownSnrAndRssi) {
+  JsonDocument scratch;
+  char buffer[2048];
+  int len = buildPacketWithMetrics(
+      scratch, "rx", NAN, MQTT_RSSI_UNKNOWN, NAN, buffer, sizeof(buffer));
+
+  ASSERT_GT(len, 0);
+  JsonDocument parsed;
+  ASSERT_FALSE(deserializeJson(parsed, buffer));
+  EXPECT_FALSE(parsed["SNR"].is<JsonVariant>());
+  EXPECT_FALSE(parsed["RSSI"].is<JsonVariant>());
+  EXPECT_FALSE(parsed["score"].is<JsonVariant>());
+}
+
+TEST(MQTTPayloadBuilder, RxPacketFormatsRealSnrAndRssi) {
+  JsonDocument scratch;
+  char buffer[2048];
+  int len = buildPacketWithMetrics(
+      scratch, "rx", 7.25f, -93, NAN, buffer, sizeof(buffer));
+
+  ASSERT_GT(len, 0);
+  JsonDocument parsed;
+  ASSERT_FALSE(deserializeJson(parsed, buffer));
+  EXPECT_STREQ("7.2", parsed["SNR"].as<const char*>());
+  EXPECT_STREQ("-93", parsed["RSSI"].as<const char*>());
+  EXPECT_FALSE(parsed["score"].is<JsonVariant>());
+}
+
+TEST(MQTTPayloadBuilder, RxPacketOmitsOnlyUnknownMetric) {
+  // SNR unknown, RSSI real: only the SNR key is omitted.
+  JsonDocument scratch;
+  char buffer[2048];
+  int len = buildPacketWithMetrics(
+      scratch, "rx", NAN, -93, NAN, buffer, sizeof(buffer));
+
+  ASSERT_GT(len, 0);
+  JsonDocument parsed;
+  ASSERT_FALSE(deserializeJson(parsed, buffer));
+  EXPECT_FALSE(parsed["SNR"].is<JsonVariant>());
+  EXPECT_STREQ("-93", parsed["RSSI"].as<const char*>());
+
+  // RSSI unknown, SNR real: only the RSSI key is omitted.
+  len = buildPacketWithMetrics(
+      scratch, "rx", 7.25f, MQTT_RSSI_UNKNOWN, NAN, buffer, sizeof(buffer));
+
+  ASSERT_GT(len, 0);
+  parsed.clear();
+  ASSERT_FALSE(deserializeJson(parsed, buffer));
+  EXPECT_STREQ("7.2", parsed["SNR"].as<const char*>());
+  EXPECT_FALSE(parsed["RSSI"].is<JsonVariant>());
+}
+
+TEST(MQTTPayloadBuilder, TxPacketOmitsSnrRssiAndScoreWithRealValues) {
+  JsonDocument scratch;
+  char buffer[2048];
+  int len = buildPacketWithMetrics(
+      scratch, "tx", 7.25f, -93, 0.5f, buffer, sizeof(buffer));
+
+  ASSERT_GT(len, 0);
+  JsonDocument parsed;
+  ASSERT_FALSE(deserializeJson(parsed, buffer));
+  EXPECT_FALSE(parsed["SNR"].is<JsonVariant>());
+  EXPECT_FALSE(parsed["RSSI"].is<JsonVariant>());
+  EXPECT_FALSE(parsed["score"].is<JsonVariant>());
+}
+
 TEST(MQTTPayloadBuilder, RawMessageHasExactContractAndEscapesData) {
   char buffer[512];
   JsonDocument doc;