diff --git a/pkg/rtc/participant.go b/pkg/rtc/participant.go
index a1a01f5ba..badc6b954 100644
--- a/pkg/rtc/participant.go
+++ b/pkg/rtc/participant.go
@@ -1824,7 +1824,10 @@ func (p *ParticipantImpl) mediaTrackReceived(track *webrtc.TrackRemote, rtpRecei
 		}
 
 		ti.MimeType = track.Codec().MimeType
-		ti.Version = p.params.VersionGenerator.New().ToProto()
+		if utils.NewTimedVersionFromProto(ti.Version).IsZero() {
+			// only assign version on a fresh publish, i. e. avoid updating version in scenarios like migration
+			ti.Version = p.params.VersionGenerator.New().ToProto()
+		}
 		mt = p.addMediaTrack(signalCid, track.ID(), ti)
 		newTrack = true
 		p.dirty.Store(true)