diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/connection-registry.test.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/connection-registry.test.ts
index 705ce0a0aa..beb1ce7016 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/connection-registry.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/connection-registry.test.ts
@@ -745,18 +745,21 @@ test('registry local route: per-profile override wins when global remote is also
   assert.deepEqual(route, { delegate: true, poolKey: 'research' })
 })
 
-test('registry local route: a concrete remote-only profile is refused on the forced-local branch, including default', () => {
+test('registry local route: a concrete remote-only profile is refused on the forced-local branch', () => {
   // globalRemote still force-locals a profile that exists on this machine
-  // (This device must not dial the remote). A profile that exists only on the
-  // remote must not spawn a local child — including default, which the
-  // ordinary existence guard exempts and would otherwise start silently.
+  // (This device must not dial the remote). A named profile that exists only
+  // on the remote must not spawn a local child.
   const named = resolveRegistryLocalRoute('inbox', { globalRemote: true, localProfileExists: false })
-  const fallback = resolveRegistryLocalRoute('default', { globalRemote: true, localProfileExists: false })
 
   assert.match(String(named.refuse ?? ''), /Profile "inbox" no longer exists/)
   assert.equal(named.delegate, false)
-  assert.match(String(fallback.refuse ?? ''), /Profile "default" no longer exists/)
-  assert.equal(fallback.delegate, false)
+
+  // default is $HERMES_HOME, not profiles/default: a profiles/default probe
+  // reports absent, but This device -> default must still open locally.
+  assert.deepEqual(resolveRegistryLocalRoute('default', { globalRemote: true, localProfileExists: false }), {
+    delegate: false,
+    poolKey: 'conn:local::default'
+  })
 
   const present = resolveRegistryLocalRoute('research', { globalRemote: true, localProfileExists: true })
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/connection-registry.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/connection-registry.ts
index f3713570f0..c161cc265e 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/connection-registry.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/connection-registry.ts
@@ -220,9 +220,7 @@ export interface RegistryLocalRoute {
   delegate: boolean
   /** Pool key for the forced-local child when not delegating. */
   poolKey: string
-  /** Set when a concrete remote-only profile must not spawn a local child.
-   * Includes `default`: the ordinary existence guard exempts it, so a
-   * forced-local default spawn would otherwise succeed with no error. */
+  /** Set when a concrete remote-only profile must not spawn a local child. */
   refuse?: string
 }
 
@@ -526,8 +524,9 @@ function normalizedSshTarget(route: { host?: unknown; port?: unknown; user?: unk
  * the BARE profile key by design, and that slot may already hold the v1
  * route's REMOTE descriptor — so the forced-local child pools under the
  * `conn:local::<profile>` form instead (colons are invalid in profile names,
- * so it cannot collide). A concrete profile that does not exist on this
- * machine, including default, is refused instead of spawned. A per-profile
+ * so it cannot collide). A concrete named profile that does not exist on
+ * this machine is refused instead of spawned. `default` is `$HERMES_HOME`
+ * itself, so it always exists here and is never refused. A per-profile
  * remote override still delegates to the legacy profile route.
  */
 export function resolveRegistryLocalRoute(
@@ -551,12 +550,13 @@ export function resolveRegistryLocalRoute(
   if (opts.globalRemote) {
     const poolKey = `${backendScopePrefix(LOCAL_CONNECTION_ID)}${profileKey}`
 
-    // A concrete profile that does not exist on this machine is remote-only.
-    // Spawning it locally is the #90477 loop (and, for default, a silent
-    // success — the ordinary guard exempts default). Refuse instead. An
-    // unprofiled call is enumeration, not a dial, and a profile that exists
-    // locally still force-locals so "This device" does not dial the remote.
-    if (concrete && opts.localProfileExists === false) {
+    // A concrete named profile that does not exist on this machine is
+    // remote-only. Spawning it locally is the #90477 loop, so refuse. An
+    // unprofiled call is enumeration, not a dial. `default` lives at
+    // $HERMES_HOME, not profiles/default, so This device -> default always
+    // force-locals. A profile that exists locally still force-locals so
+    // "This device" does not dial the remote.
+    if (concrete && profileKey !== 'default' && opts.localProfileExists === false) {
       return { delegate: false, poolKey, refuse: `Profile "${profileKey}" no longer exists.` }
     }
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/main.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/main.ts
index 7804fabd89..bf4bbc6739 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/main.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/main.ts
@@ -11676,11 +11676,8 @@ async function spawnPoolBackend(
   // here, and logging "Starting" first left an orphaned line with no READY
   // and no exit — the exact undiagnosable burst signature in remote-gateway
   // user bundles (Aug 2026, Dash's report).
-  assertLocalProfileCanStart(
-    profile,
-    profileDeletionGate,
-    key => directoryExists(path.join(HERMES_HOME, 'profiles', key)),
-    { allowImplicitDefault: !opts.forceLocal }
+  assertLocalProfileCanStart(profile, profileDeletionGate, key =>
+    directoryExists(path.join(HERMES_HOME, 'profiles', key))
   )
   rememberLog(`Starting Hermes backend for profile "${profile}" via ${backend.label}`)
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/profile-delete-routing.test.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/profile-delete-routing.test.ts
index 1b756788f3..2ef4720e31 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/profile-delete-routing.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/profile-delete-routing.test.ts
@@ -140,16 +140,6 @@ test('assertLocalProfileCanStart rejects a delayed retry after the profile direc
   assert.doesNotThrow(() => assertLocalProfileCanStart('selena', gate, profile => profile === 'selena'))
 })
 
-test('assertLocalProfileCanStart does not exempt default when a forced-local spawn asks', () => {
-  const gate = new ProfileDeletionGate()
-
-  assert.throws(
-    () => assertLocalProfileCanStart('default', gate, () => false, { allowImplicitDefault: false }),
-    /Profile "default" no longer exists/
-  )
-  assert.doesNotThrow(() => assertLocalProfileCanStart('default', gate, () => true, { allowImplicitDefault: false }))
-})
-
 test('localProfilePoolKeys returns every local process scope for one profile', () => {
   assert.deepEqual(localProfilePoolKeys('Selena'), ['selena', 'conn:local::selena'])
   assert.deepEqual(localProfilePoolKeys(''), [])
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/profile-delete-routing.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/profile-delete-routing.ts
index 9b37e110ac..39bada976a 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/profile-delete-routing.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/profile-delete-routing.ts
@@ -184,8 +184,7 @@ export class ProfileDeletionGate {
 export function assertLocalProfileCanStart(
   profile: unknown,
   gate: ProfileDeletionGate,
-  profileDirectoryExists: (profile: string) => boolean,
-  opts: { allowImplicitDefault?: boolean } = {}
+  profileDirectoryExists: (profile: string) => boolean
 ): void {
   const key = String(profile ?? '')
     .trim()
@@ -193,12 +192,7 @@ export function assertLocalProfileCanStart(
 
   gate.assertCanStart(key)
 
-  // `default` is `$HERMES_HOME`, not `profiles/default`, so the ordinary local
-  // start exempts it. A forced-local spawn must not: that exemption is how a
-  // remote-only default starts a local agent with no error (#90477).
-  const implicitDefault = opts.allowImplicitDefault !== false && key === 'default'
-
-  if (key && !implicitDefault && !profileDirectoryExists(key)) {
+  if (key && key !== 'default' && !profileDirectoryExists(key)) {
     throw new Error(`Profile "${key}" no longer exists.`)
   }
 }