diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/onboarding.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/onboarding.test.ts
index 4b85880d89..7e73f3ce94 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/onboarding.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/onboarding.test.ts
@@ -246,28 +246,31 @@ describe('refreshOnboarding', () => {
     expect(window.localStorage.getItem('hermes-desktop-onboarded-v1')).toBe('1')
   })
 
-  it('shows a non-blocking notification when preserving configured on fallback', async () => {
-    const notifySpy = vi.spyOn(notifications, 'notify')
-
+  it('keeps an unknown readiness notice temporary and clears it on recovery (#124545)', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    notifications.clearNotifications()
     installApiMock(vi.fn())
-    $desktopOnboarding.set(
-      baseState({
-        configured: true,
-        providers: [makeOAuthProvider('cached')],
-        reason: null,
-        requested: false
-      })
-    )
+    $desktopOnboarding.set(baseState({ configured: true }))
 
-    await refreshOnboarding(onboardingContext(fallbackTimeoutGateway()))
+    try {
+      await refreshOnboarding(onboardingContext(fallbackTimeoutGateway()))
+      expect(notifications.$notifications.get()).toEqual([
+        expect.objectContaining({ id: 'runtime-not-ready', kind: 'info' })
+      ])
+      expect($desktopOnboarding.get().configured).toBe(true)
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(5_000)
+      expect(notifications.$notifications.get()).toEqual([])
 
-    expect(notifySpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-      expect.objectContaining({
-        id: 'runtime-not-ready',
-        kind: 'error'
-      })
-    )
-    expect($desktopOnboarding.get().configured).toBe(true)
+      // A later outage can show a fresh notice; an authoritative ready clears it
+      // without waiting for its timer, and must not dismiss unrelated errors.
+      await refreshOnboarding(onboardingContext(fallbackTimeoutGateway()))
+      notifications.notify({ id: 'unrelated', kind: 'error', message: 'Keep me' })
+      await refreshOnboarding(onboardingContext(keylessCustomGateway()))
+      expect(notifications.$notifications.get().map(item => item.id)).toEqual(['unrelated'])
+    } finally {
+      notifications.clearNotifications()
+      vi.useRealTimers()
+    }
   })
 
   it('enters setup when the selected OpenRouter credential is genuinely empty', async () => {
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/onboarding.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/onboarding.ts
index 85aac808c0..3368a801a0 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/onboarding.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/onboarding.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import { isProviderSetupErrorMessage } from '@/lib/provider-setup-errors'
 import { evaluateRuntimeReadiness, type RuntimeReadinessResult } from '@/lib/runtime-readiness'
 import { ackFreeTierNotice, freeTierReadyPending, refreshFreeTierStatus, setFreeTierRoute } from '@/store/free-tier'
 import { setMainModelAssignment } from '@/store/model-assignment'
-import { notify, notifyError } from '@/store/notifications'
+import { dismissNotification, notify, notifyError } from '@/store/notifications'
 import { guidedOnboardingActive } from '@/store/onboarding-gate'
 import { captureOnboardingScope, type OnboardingScope } from '@/store/onboarding-scope'
 import type { OAuthProvider, OAuthStartResponse } from '@/types/hermes'
@@ -645,6 +645,7 @@ export function closeManualOnboarding() {
 
 export function completeDesktopOnboarding() {
   clearPoll()
+  dismissNotification('runtime-not-ready')
   writeCachedConfigured(true)
   // A real provider is now connected, so any earlier "choose later" skip is
   // moot — clear it so the flag never lingers in a configured install.
@@ -721,12 +722,11 @@ export async function refreshOnboarding(ctx: OnboardingContext, stillWanted?: ()
 
   if (shouldPreserveConfiguredOnFallback(runtime, state)) {
     // Gateway probes timed out but the user was already configured — don't
-    // downgrade to the blocking onboarding overlay. Surface a non-blocking
-    // notification with a stable id so repeated calls during an outage dedup
-    // instead of stacking toasts.
+    // downgrade to the blocking onboarding overlay or claim an error verdict.
+    // Use the temporary informational notice; recovery clears it early.
     notify({
       id: 'runtime-not-ready',
-      kind: 'error',
+      kind: 'info',
       title: 'Runtime not ready',
       message:
         'Hermes Desktop could not verify the running backend on startup. Some features may be unavailable until the gateway is reachable.'