diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/handoff-result.test.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/handoff-result.test.ts
index 4d6f7b1cfe..1bc08f0ea8 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/handoff-result.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/handoff-result.test.ts
@@ -67,3 +67,24 @@ test('malformed JSON is consumed silently', () => {
 test('absent file returns null', () => {
   assert.equal(readAndConsumeHandoffResult(tempHome()), null)
 })
+
+test('manual flag survives the round trip and defaults false', () => {
+  const home = tempHome()
+  write(home, {
+    ok: true,
+    exit_code: 0,
+    manual: true,
+    message: 'Update complete. Reopen Hermes to finish (it could not restart itself).',
+    branch: 'main',
+    finished_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
+  })
+
+  const result = readAndConsumeHandoffResult(home)
+
+  assert.ok(result)
+  assert.equal(result.ok, true)
+  assert.equal(result.manual, true)
+
+  write(home, { ok: true, exit_code: 0, message: 'done', branch: 'main', finished_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) })
+  assert.equal(readAndConsumeHandoffResult(home)?.manual, false, 'older writers without the field parse as manual:false')
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/handoff-result.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/handoff-result.ts
index 1cfbfac55c..8e473ea086 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/handoff-result.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/handoff-result.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,11 @@ export const HANDOFF_RESULT_MAX_AGE_MS = 30 * 60 * 1000
 export interface HandoffResult {
   ok: boolean
   exitCode: number
+  /** Update succeeded but the user must act (reopen the app, reinstall the
+   * GUI package, fix the sandbox helper). The consumer must SURFACE these —
+   * an ok:true manual result that only gets logged never reaches the user
+   * on exactly the machines where no shim/notifier could show it live. */
+  manual: boolean
   message: string
   branch: string
 }
@@ -65,6 +70,7 @@ export function readAndConsumeHandoffResult(
   return {
     ok: Boolean(parsed?.ok),
     exitCode: Number.isFinite(Number(parsed?.exit_code)) ? Number(parsed.exit_code) : 1,
+    manual: Boolean(parsed?.manual),
     message: typeof parsed?.message === 'string' ? parsed.message : '',
     branch: typeof parsed?.branch === 'string' ? parsed.branch : ''
   }
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/main.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/main.ts
index 5fa1fac0cf..e0a5cc25e3 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/main.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/main.ts
@@ -1815,7 +1815,18 @@ async function waitForUpdateToFinish() {
   try {
     const result = readAndConsumeHandoffResult(HERMES_HOME)
 
-    if (result && result.ok) {
+    if (result && result.ok && result.manual) {
+      // Update landed but the user must act (reopen/reinstall/sandbox). On
+      // machines with no shim browser and no notifier this dialog is the
+      // FIRST time the message is visible — it must not be a log line.
+      rememberLog(`[updates] detached update finished with manual action (branch ${result.branch}): ${result.message}`)
+      dialog.showMessageBox({
+        type: 'warning',
+        title: 'Hermes update',
+        message: 'The update finished, but needs one more step',
+        detail: result.message
+      })
+    } else if (result && result.ok) {
       rememberLog(`[updates] detached update finished OK (branch ${result.branch})`)
     } else if (result) {
       rememberLog(`[updates] detached update FAILED (exit ${result.exitCode}): ${result.message}`)
diff --git a/scripts/desktop-update/posix.sh b/scripts/desktop-update/posix.sh
index 18d22c123e..80d2715dd8 100755
--- a/scripts/desktop-update/posix.sh
+++ b/scripts/desktop-update/posix.sh
@@ -80,11 +80,13 @@ json_escape() { # minimal JSON string escape: \ " and control whitespace
 }
 
 notify_fallback() { # status message — renderer-free recovery surface.
-  # Fires only when there is no shim window: a gated/failed outcome must
-  # never be a silent disappearance (gille rounds 2-3). Each rung FALLS
-  # THROUGH on execution failure (notify-send existing but unable to reach
-  # D-Bus must not eat the message), ending at osascript on mac — present
-  # on every macOS — and at a logged last resort everywhere.
+  # Fires only when there is no shim window. BEST-EFFORT immediate channel:
+  # each rung requires EXECUTION acceptance, not existence — notify-send's
+  # exit code is its acceptance (fire-and-forget), zenity/kdialog must
+  # survive their first second (a dialog that dies instantly had no display
+  # and must not eat the message). The GUARANTEED channel is the result
+  # file: a manual/error outcome is durably marked and the next Desktop
+  # boot surfaces it in a dialog (handoff-result.ts + main.ts).
   case "$1" in manual|error) ;; *) return 0 ;; esac
   if [ "$(uname)" = "Darwin" ]; then
     /usr/bin/osascript -e "display notification \"$(printf '%s' "$2" | sed 's/"/\\"/g')\" with title \"Hermes update\"" 2>/dev/null && return 0
@@ -92,16 +94,23 @@ notify_fallback() { # status message — renderer-free recovery surface.
     if command -v notify-send >/dev/null 2>&1; then
       notify-send -u critical "Hermes update" "$2" 2>/dev/null && return 0
     fi
+    local p
     if command -v zenity >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-      (zenity --warning --title="Hermes update" --text="$2" 2>/dev/null &) && return 0
+      zenity --warning --title="Hermes update" --text="$2" 2>/dev/null &
+      p=$!; sleep 1
+      kill -0 "$p" 2>/dev/null && return 0
+      wait "$p" 2>/dev/null
     fi
     if command -v kdialog >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-      (kdialog --title "Hermes update" --sorry "$2" 2>/dev/null &) && return 0
+      kdialog --title "Hermes update" --sorry "$2" 2>/dev/null &
+      p=$!; sleep 1
+      kill -0 "$p" 2>/dev/null && return 0
+      wait "$p" 2>/dev/null
     fi
   fi
-  # Explicit contract for the no-surface case: the result file already
-  # tells the next boot the truth; log that this was the only channel.
-  log "NOTICE: no notification surface available; outcome reaches the user via the result file on next launch: $2"
+  # No immediate surface landed. The durable channel takes over: the result
+  # is marked manual/failed and the next boot shows it in a real dialog.
+  log "NOTICE: no notification surface accepted; outcome reaches the user via the result dialog on next launch: $2"
 }
 
 publish() { # status message -- atomic replace; the server reads per poll
@@ -274,9 +283,12 @@ launch_app() { # attempted BEFORE the terminal event (launch acceptance is
   fi
 }
 
+MANUAL=0  # 1 = update landed but the user must act (result protocol field)
+
 write_result() {
-  printf '{"ok":%s,"exit_code":%s,"message":"%s","branch":"%s","finished_at":%s}' \
+  printf '{"ok":%s,"exit_code":%s,"manual":%s,"message":"%s","branch":"%s","finished_at":%s}' \
     "$([ "$FINAL_CODE" -eq 0 ] && echo true || echo false)" "$FINAL_CODE" \
+    "$([ "$MANUAL" -eq 1 ] && echo true || echo false)" \
     "$(json_escape "$FINAL_MSG")" "$(json_escape "$BRANCH")" "$(date +%s)" \
     > "$RESULT.tmp" 2>/dev/null && mv -f "$RESULT.tmp" "$RESULT" 2>/dev/null || true
 }
@@ -293,7 +305,7 @@ finish() {
   # A rejected launch rewrites the result (nothing consumed it — the app
   # never started) so the next boot tells the truth too.
   deliver_outcome
-  [ "$FINAL_CODE" -eq 0 ] && [ -n "$DONE_NOTE" ] && FINAL_MSG="$DONE_NOTE"
+  [ "$FINAL_CODE" -eq 0 ] && [ -n "$DONE_NOTE" ] && { FINAL_MSG="$DONE_NOTE"; MANUAL=1; }
   write_result
 
   if [ "$NO_MARKER_CLEANUP" -eq 0 ] && [ "$(head -1 "$MARKER" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '[:space:]')" = "$$" ]; then
@@ -312,15 +324,21 @@ finish() {
       # mac DONE_NOTE = swap failed but the PREVIOUS bundle was kept/rolled
       # back — bring it back up; the note still tells the user to re-run.
       # A gated linux outcome (skew/manual) skips the launch BY DESIGN.
-      launch_app || true
+      if ! launch_app; then
+        # Even the kept bundle didn't come back: the durable message must
+        # carry BOTH facts (update ok, previous app not reopened).
+        FINAL_MSG="$DONE_NOTE Hermes also could not reopen itself - open it manually."
+        write_result
+      fi
     fi
-    publish "manual" "$DONE_NOTE"; stop_ui leave-window
+    publish "manual" "$FINAL_MSG"; stop_ui leave-window
   elif launch_app; then
     publish "done" ""; stop_ui
   else
     # Launch was due and did not land. Downgrade: truthful result for the
     # next boot, manual state held on screen now.
     FINAL_MSG="Update complete. Reopen Hermes to finish (it could not restart itself)."
+    MANUAL=1
     write_result
     publish "manual" "$FINAL_MSG"; stop_ui leave-window
   fi
diff --git a/scripts/desktop-update/repro.sh b/scripts/desktop-update/repro.sh
index db7ff43b23..f2d39a3bf8 100755
--- a/scripts/desktop-update/repro.sh
+++ b/scripts/desktop-update/repro.sh
@@ -159,13 +159,13 @@ case "$MODE" in
     if [ "$(uname)" != "Darwin" ]; then
       bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/posix.sh" --no-ui --desktop-pid 0 --install-root "$L/hermes-agent" \
         --relaunch-target "$UNPACKED/hermes" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
-      expect_msg "instant-exit relaunch downgrades to manual" "d['ok']==True and 'Reopen Hermes' in d['message']"
+      expect_msg "instant-exit relaunch downgrades to manual" "d['ok']==True and d['manual']==True and 'Reopen Hermes' in d['message']"
     else
       # mac: a SUPPLIED target that is missing is a REJECTED launch and
       # must downgrade to manual — never a clean "Update complete."
       bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/posix.sh" --no-ui --desktop-pid 0 --install-root "$L/hermes-agent" \
         --relaunch-target "$L/NoSuch.app" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
-      expect_msg "missing bundle downgrades to manual" "d['ok']==True and 'Reopen Hermes' in d['message']"
+      expect_msg "missing bundle downgrades to manual" "d['ok']==True and d['manual']==True and 'Reopen Hermes' in d['message']"
     fi
 
     # 2. gated skew: success result carries the skew message (the manual
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ case "$MODE" in
     bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/posix.sh" --no-ui --desktop-pid 0 --install-root "$L/hermes-agent" \
       --relaunch-target /opt/Hermes/hermes >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
     if [ "$(uname)" != "Darwin" ]; then
-      expect_msg "skew outcome surfaces in result message" "d['ok']==True and 'was not changed' in d['message']"
+      expect_msg "skew outcome surfaces in result message" "d['ok']==True and d['manual']==True and 'was not changed' in d['message']"
     fi
 
     rm -rf "$L"
diff --git a/scripts/desktop-update/windows.ps1 b/scripts/desktop-update/windows.ps1
index 682ca50fb0..1c81bdf114 100644
--- a/scripts/desktop-update/windows.ps1
+++ b/scripts/desktop-update/windows.ps1
@@ -409,13 +409,16 @@ function Close-ProgressWindow {
     }
 }
 
-function Write-Result([bool]$Ok, [int]$Code, [string]$Message) {
+function Write-Result([bool]$Ok, [int]$Code, [string]$Message, [bool]$ManualAction = $false) {
     # Consumed (read + deleted) by the relaunched Desktop on boot so the
-    # user actually SEES how a detached update ended.
+    # user actually SEES how a detached update ended. $ManualAction marks an
+    # ok result the user still must act on -- the Desktop surfaces those in
+    # a dialog, not just the log (same protocol as posix.sh).
     try {
         $obj = @{
             ok         = $Ok
             exit_code  = $Code
+            manual     = $ManualAction
             message    = $Message
             branch     = $Branch
             finished_at = [int][double]::Parse((Get-Date -UFormat %s), [System.Globalization.CultureInfo]::InvariantCulture)
@@ -733,7 +736,7 @@ try {
             # Launch was due and did not verifiably land: truthful result
             # for the next boot, manual state held on screen now.
             $finalMsg = "Update complete. Reopen Hermes to finish (it could not restart itself)."
-            Write-Result $true 0 $finalMsg
+            Write-Result $true 0 $finalMsg $true
             Show-ManualFinale $finalMsg
         }
         Close-ProgressWindow