diff --git a/docs/Repeater_CLI_commands.md b/docs/Repeater_CLI_commands.md
index c391105..8dcdb80 100644
--- a/docs/Repeater_CLI_commands.md
+++ b/docs/Repeater_CLI_commands.md
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ Regions control which flood packets the repeater forwards. The region tree is hi
 | Command | Description |
 |---------|-------------|
 | `region` | Export the current region map (indented text tree) |
-| `region load` | Enter interactive region load mode. Paste indented region lines; send a blank line to commit |
+| `region load` | Enter interactive region load mode. Paste indented region lines; send a blank line to commit. Any unindented command (e.g. `reboot`) aborts the load without committing, and then runs |
 | `region save` | Save the current region map to persistent storage |
 | `region def <token> [...]` | Cursor-walk bulk region builder — define a hierarchy in one line (see below) |
 | `region put <name> [<parent>]` | Create a region; default parent is the wildcard root. Flood is **allowed** by default (use `region denyf` to deny) |
@@ -346,5 +346,5 @@ Changes are persisted immediately unless noted. Some require a reboot.
 
 - **USB-only commands** — `get acl`, `get prv.key`, `set freq`, `log` (dump), `stats-packets`, `stats-radio`, `stats-core`, `erase` — are blocked when the command arrives over the mesh (remote admin). These are the only ones gated on `sender_timestamp == 0`; `get public.key` and `set prv.key` are **not** among them.
 - **Adaptive contention window** — `txdelay`, `rxdelay`, and `direct.txdelay` are accepted and stored for Arduino prefs compatibility but have no effect. Use `get txdelay` to inspect the current adaptive state and `set backoff.multiplier` to tune reactive backoff.
-- **Region load mode** — after `region load`, every line received is parsed as a region entry until a blank line is sent. The loaded map is only committed to the live region tree at that point; use `region save` to persist it.
+- **Region load mode** — after `region load`, every line received is parsed as a region entry until a blank line is sent. The loaded map is only committed to the live region tree at that point; use `region save` to persist it. Region rows must be indented by at least one space, so an **unindented line that starts with a name character aborts the mode and is executed as a normal command** — the escape hatch if a `region load` is started by accident or a client dies mid-transfer. An abort discards the partial map, leaving the live region tree untouched. The exported wildcard header line `*` stays unindented and is ignored as before, so pasting the output of `region` still loads cleanly.
 - **Reboot delay** — `start dfu`, `start ota` (nRF52 BLE-DFU path only), `reboot`, `clkreboot` and `erase` defer the reset by **2 seconds** so the reply can be transmitted over LoRa first. On a companion the handler then keeps deferring in 20 ms steps until the BLE/USB transport has drained, up to a further 3 s grace. On ESP32 `start ota` starts a WiFi AP + HTTP server and does **not** reboot.
diff --git a/zephcore/app/RepeaterMesh.cpp b/zephcore/app/RepeaterMesh.cpp
index 9be20bc..906ee6f 100644
--- a/zephcore/app/RepeaterMesh.cpp
+++ b/zephcore/app/RepeaterMesh.cpp
@@ -1351,7 +1351,7 @@ void RepeaterMesh::resetDutyCycleTimeoutRestarts() {
 
 void RepeaterMesh::handleCommand(uint32_t sender_timestamp, char* command, char* reply) {
     if (region_load_active) {
-        handleRegionLoadLine(command, reply);
+        handleRegionLoadLine(sender_timestamp, command, reply);
         return;
     }
 
diff --git a/zephcore/app/RepeaterMesh.h b/zephcore/app/RepeaterMesh.h
index 567c8d8..4dcb7b9 100644
--- a/zephcore/app/RepeaterMesh.h
+++ b/zephcore/app/RepeaterMesh.h
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ class RepeaterMesh : public mesh::Mesh, public CommonCLICallbacks {
     /* Region-definition CLI (defined in app/RepeaterRegionCLI.cpp).
      * handleRegionLoadLine: a continuation line during `region load`.
      * handleRegionCommand:  a `region ...` command. */
-    void handleRegionLoadLine(char* command, char* reply);
+    void handleRegionLoadLine(uint32_t sender_timestamp, char* command, char* reply);
     void handleRegionCommand(char* command, char* reply);
 
 protected:
diff --git a/zephcore/app/RepeaterRegionCLI.cpp b/zephcore/app/RepeaterRegionCLI.cpp
index c7e511e..2ce60ed 100644
--- a/zephcore/app/RepeaterRegionCLI.cpp
+++ b/zephcore/app/RepeaterRegionCLI.cpp
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ static bool processRegionDefSegment(RegionMap* map, char* tok, RegionEntry** cur
 }
 /* ---------------------------------------- */
 
-void RepeaterMesh::handleRegionLoadLine(char* command, char* reply) {
+void RepeaterMesh::handleRegionLoadLine(uint32_t sender_timestamp, char* command, char* reply) {
     if (StrHelper::isBlank(command)) {
         region_map = temp_map;
         region_load_active = false;
@@ -67,6 +67,22 @@ void RepeaterMesh::handleRegionLoadLine(char* command, char* reply) {
         while (*np == ' ') np++;
         int indent = np - command;
 
+        /* An unindented, name-like line is a typed command, not a region row:
+         * real rows are indent >= 1 (load_stack[0] is the wildcard), and the
+         * one unindented line a client legitimately sends is the exported
+         * wildcard header "*", whose '*' is not a name char.  Without this,
+         * `region load` is only escapable by a blank line -- which the USB
+         * reader discards (main_repeater.cpp) and a dead remote-admin client
+         * never sends, stranding the CLI until a reboot.  Abort without
+         * committing temp_map and run the command.  Must come BEFORE the
+         * name-terminator write below, which would truncate `set foo 1` to
+         * `set`. */
+        if (indent == 0 && RegionMap::is_name_char((uint8_t)*np)) {
+            region_load_active = false;
+            handleCommand(sender_timestamp, command, reply);
+            return;
+        }
+
         char* ep = np;
         while (RegionMap::is_name_char(*ep)) ep++;
         if (*ep) { *ep++ = 0; }
diff --git a/zephcore/app/RoomServerMesh.cpp b/zephcore/app/RoomServerMesh.cpp
index fd7d940..bd800e8 100644
--- a/zephcore/app/RoomServerMesh.cpp
+++ b/zephcore/app/RoomServerMesh.cpp
@@ -1008,11 +1008,11 @@ void RoomServerMesh::resetDutyCycleTimeoutRestarts() {
 }
 
 /* Region-def CLI (handleRegionLoadLine / handleRegionCommand) and its static
- * parser helpers live in app/RepeaterRegionCLI.cpp. */
+ * parser helpers live in app/RoomServerRegionCLI.cpp. */
 
 void RoomServerMesh::handleCommand(uint32_t sender_timestamp, char* command, char* reply) {
     if (region_load_active) {
-        handleRegionLoadLine(command, reply);
+        handleRegionLoadLine(sender_timestamp, command, reply);
         return;
     }
 
diff --git a/zephcore/app/RoomServerMesh.h b/zephcore/app/RoomServerMesh.h
index a4d9594..20ed14b 100644
--- a/zephcore/app/RoomServerMesh.h
+++ b/zephcore/app/RoomServerMesh.h
@@ -120,10 +120,10 @@ class RoomServerMesh : public mesh::Mesh, public CommonCLICallbacks {
     void sendFloodScoped(const TransportKey& scope, mesh::Packet* pkt, uint32_t delay_millis, uint8_t path_hash_size);
     void sendFloodReply(mesh::Packet* packet, unsigned long delay_millis, uint8_t path_hash_size);
 
-    /* Region-definition CLI (defined in app/RepeaterRegionCLI.cpp).
+    /* Region-definition CLI (defined in app/RoomServerRegionCLI.cpp).
      * handleRegionLoadLine: a continuation line during `region load`.
      * handleRegionCommand:  a `region ...` command. */
-    void handleRegionLoadLine(char* command, char* reply);
+    void handleRegionLoadLine(uint32_t sender_timestamp, char* command, char* reply);
     void handleRegionCommand(char* command, char* reply);
 
 protected:
diff --git a/zephcore/app/RoomServerRegionCLI.cpp b/zephcore/app/RoomServerRegionCLI.cpp
index 6909eef..77bdbf4 100644
--- a/zephcore/app/RoomServerRegionCLI.cpp
+++ b/zephcore/app/RoomServerRegionCLI.cpp
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ static bool processRegionDefSegment(RegionMap* map, char* tok, RegionEntry** cur
 }
 /* ---------------------------------------- */
 
-void RoomServerMesh::handleRegionLoadLine(char* command, char* reply) {
+void RoomServerMesh::handleRegionLoadLine(uint32_t sender_timestamp, char* command, char* reply) {
     if (StrHelper::isBlank(command)) {
         region_map = temp_map;
         region_load_active = false;
@@ -67,6 +67,22 @@ void RoomServerMesh::handleRegionLoadLine(char* command, char* reply) {
         while (*np == ' ') np++;
         int indent = np - command;
 
+        /* An unindented, name-like line is a typed command, not a region row:
+         * real rows are indent >= 1 (load_stack[0] is the wildcard), and the
+         * one unindented line a client legitimately sends is the exported
+         * wildcard header "*", whose '*' is not a name char.  Without this,
+         * `region load` is only escapable by a blank line -- which the USB
+         * reader discards (main_repeater.cpp) and a dead remote-admin client
+         * never sends, stranding the CLI until a reboot.  Abort without
+         * committing temp_map and run the command.  Must come BEFORE the
+         * name-terminator write below, which would truncate `set foo 1` to
+         * `set`. */
+        if (indent == 0 && RegionMap::is_name_char((uint8_t)*np)) {
+            region_load_active = false;
+            handleCommand(sender_timestamp, command, reply);
+            return;
+        }
+
         char* ep = np;
         while (RegionMap::is_name_char(*ep)) ep++;
         if (*ep) { *ep++ = 0; }