diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/data.bot-meta.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/data.bot-meta.test.ts
index 1ea0f82091..5f24a8fd6f 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/data.bot-meta.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/data.bot-meta.test.ts
@@ -445,6 +445,26 @@ describe("a bot is named by its own backend, never by another bot's cached recor
     expect(groupSpeakerLabel('vps::default')).not.toBe('Agent B')
   })
 
+  it('the row shows the name its @handle uses when the backend title and display_name differ', () => {
+    $botMeta.set({})
+    const thin = {
+      ...vps,
+      connectionLabel: 'VPS',
+      display_name: 'Remote Human Name',
+      title: 'Remote Bot Title'
+    } as RosterRow
+
+    mergeServerMeta([thin])
+
+    expect(displayName(thin, botRosterMeta(thin, $botMeta.get()))).toBe('Remote Bot Title')
+    expect(botMentionTag(thin)).toBe('remote-bot-title')
+
+    // No display_name: the backend's title, never the Desktop-side connection label.
+    const titleOnly = { ...thin, display_name: '' } as RosterRow
+
+    expect(displayName(titleOnly, botRosterMeta(titleOnly, $botMeta.get()))).toBe('Remote Bot Title')
+  })
+
   it("only a fresh answer from the bot's backend corrects its record, and a title alone never mints one", () => {
     $botMeta.set({ 'vps::default': { color: '#00ff00', title: 'New title' } })
     // The VPS stops answering; the pane keeps its last-painted row, which predates the rename.
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/data.roster.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/data.roster.test.tsx
index 40d4bbe262..2592db9253 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/data.roster.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/data.roster.test.tsx
@@ -20,12 +20,13 @@
  *    Mode until previously-painted rows were carried forward.
  */
 
+import { queryClient } from '@hermes/plugin-sdk'
 import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from '@tanstack/react-query'
 import { renderHook, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react'
 import type { ReactNode } from 'react'
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 
-import { $lastRoster, ROSTER_KEY, useRoster } from './data'
+import { $botMeta, $lastRoster, botMentionTag, cachedUnionRoster, primeRoster, ROSTER_KEY, useRoster } from './data'
 import type { RosterRow } from './types'
 
 const { hostMock } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
@@ -40,12 +41,12 @@ const { hostMock } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
 
 vi.mock('@hermes/plugin-sdk', async () => {
   const { atom } = await import('nanostores')
-  const { useQuery } = await import('@tanstack/react-query')
+  const { QueryClient: Client, useQuery } = await import('@tanstack/react-query')
 
   return {
     atom,
     host: hostMock,
-    queryClient: { getQueryData: vi.fn(), invalidateQueries: vi.fn() },
+    queryClient: new Client({ defaultOptions: { queries: { retry: false } } }),
     useQuery,
     useValue: (store: { get: () => unknown }) => store.get()
   }
@@ -698,3 +699,35 @@ describe('the roster only caches rows from the connection it is keyed under', ()
     expect(hostMock.requestProfile.mock.calls.every(([route]) => route.connectionId === 'vps')).toBe(true)
   })
 })
+
+describe('a launch that never opens the Bots pane', () => {
+  it('names a remote bot by what its backend reports, not a stale cached title', async () => {
+    queryClient.clear()
+    $botMeta.set({ 'vps::default': { title: 'Agent B' } })
+    hostMock.state.connectionId.get.mockReturnValue('local')
+    hostMock.request.mockResolvedValue({ profiles: [{ display_name: 'Agent B', name: 'default' }] })
+    hostMock.agents.mockResolvedValue({
+      agents: [
+        { connectionId: 'local', connectionKind: 'local', handle: 'default', profile: 'default' },
+        {
+          connectionId: 'vps',
+          connectionKind: 'remote',
+          connectionLabel: 'VPS',
+          handle: 'default',
+          profile: 'default',
+          profileMetadata: { display_name: 'Agent A', title: 'Agent A' }
+        }
+      ],
+      primaryConnectionId: 'local'
+    })
+
+    await primeRoster()
+
+    const vps = cachedUnionRoster()?.profiles?.find(row => row.connectionId === 'vps')
+
+    expect(vps).toBeTruthy()
+    // The composer's @handle and group prompts read these; the pane never ran.
+    expect(botMentionTag(vps!)).toBe('agent-a')
+    expect($botMeta.get()['vps::default']?.title).toBe('Agent A')
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/data.ts b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/data.ts
index 24b91ecfdb..0ec9c63f8f 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/data.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/data.ts
@@ -830,10 +830,12 @@ async function fetchRosterSnapshot(activeConnectionId: null | string | undefined
       const merged = mergeMultiSourceRoster(local, union, activeConnectionId, previous)
       const sources = Array.isArray(union?.sources) ? union.sources : []
       traceRosterSnapshot(local, sources, activeConnectionId, merged?.profiles || [])
+      const profiles = (merged?.profiles || []).map(row => annotateBotSource(row, sources))
+      await reconcileBotMeta(profiles, issuedAt)
 
       return {
         ...merged,
-        profiles: (merged?.profiles || []).map(row => annotateBotSource(row, sources)),
+        profiles,
         sources,
         fetchedAt: issuedAt
       }
@@ -845,21 +847,41 @@ async function fetchRosterSnapshot(activeConnectionId: null | string | undefined
        * snapshot rather than clearing it. */
       const previous: RosterRow[] = $lastRoster.get().filter(row => !row?.ghost)
       const merged = mergeMultiSourceRoster(local, null, activeConnectionId, previous)
+      const profiles = (merged?.profiles || []).map(row =>
+        row?.remoteSource ? { ...row, sourceReachable: false } : row
+      )
+      await reconcileBotMeta(profiles, issuedAt)
 
       return {
         ...merged,
-        profiles: (merged?.profiles || []).map(row => (row?.remoteSource ? { ...row, sourceReachable: false } : row)),
+        profiles,
         fetchedAt: issuedAt
       }
     }
   }
 
+  await reconcileBotMeta(Array.isArray(local?.profiles) ? local.profiles : [], issuedAt)
+
   return {
     ...(local && typeof local === 'object' ? local : {}),
     fetchedAt: issuedAt
   }
 }
 
+/** Every fresh snapshot corrects the cached names before anyone reads them —
+ *  the Bots pane's query and the composer's cold `primeRoster` alike. Run only
+ *  from the pane's effect, a launch that never opened Bots kept a stale cached
+ *  title ahead of the backend's own in mentions and group prompts. Late import:
+ *  profile-ops imports this module. */
+async function reconcileBotMeta(rows: RosterRow[], fetchedAt: number): Promise<void> {
+  const { mergeServerMeta } = await import('./profile-ops')
+
+  mergeServerMeta(
+    rows.filter(row => !row?.ghost),
+    fetchedAt
+  )
+}
+
 export function useRoster() {
   const activeConnectionId = useValue(host.state.connectionId)
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/labels.ts b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/labels.ts
index 433a60c0ca..b8aab26119 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/labels.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/labels.ts
@@ -17,18 +17,26 @@ export function displayName(bot: Partial<RosterRow>, meta?: BotMeta | null): str
   // activation and Cloud-only rosters (#89131).
   const alias = aliasIdentityFor(bot)
 
+  // The Bot Mode title the row's own backend reports: rich rows carry it in
+  // ui_meta, thin rows from another connection as `title` (bot_title). Same
+  // rung as botFriendlyNames, so the row and its @handle name the same bot.
+  const backendTitle = alias
+    ? ''
+    : String(bot?.ui_meta?.['hermes-bots']?.title || (typeof bot?.title === 'string' ? bot.title : '')).trim()
+
   // Only THIN rows from another source trade the friendly name for their
   // connection label — the active gateway's own default must keep reading
   // "Hermes". Annotated active rows carry sourceScoped too, and keying this
   // off sourceScoped renamed the user's main agent to an IP-derived label
-  // (community report, Aug 17 2026). A display_name its own backend reports
-  // is a real name, never traded for a Desktop-side label.
+  // (community report, Aug 17 2026). A name its own backend reports is a real
+  // name, never traded for a Desktop-side label.
   if (
     bot?.remoteSource &&
     (bot.name || '').trim().toLowerCase() === 'default' &&
     bot.connectionLabel &&
     !alias &&
     !meta?.title?.trim() &&
+    !backendTitle &&
     !bot.display_name?.trim()
   ) {
     return bot.connectionLabel
@@ -38,6 +46,10 @@ export function displayName(bot: Partial<RosterRow>, meta?: BotMeta | null): str
     return meta.title.trim()
   }
 
+  if (backendTitle) {
+    return backendTitle
+  }
+
   // Core-profile display name (profile.yaml, set via `hermes profile rename
   // default <name>` or the dashboard) — the CLI-level equivalent of a Bot
   // Mode title. Rides the profiles.list row; presentation-only.
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/relay.ts b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/relay.ts
index 369b44e163..c16771434c 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/relay.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/relay.ts
@@ -378,6 +378,16 @@ async function syncRelayRosters() {
       return
     }
 
+    // A connection removed and re-added under a new id answers from the same
+    // install; remembering the departed id flagged the replacement MISROUTED.
+    const live = new Set(connections.map(connection => connection.id))
+
+    for (const [install, connectionId] of answeringInstall) {
+      if (!live.has(connectionId)) {
+        answeringInstall.delete(install)
+      }
+    }
+
     const labels = await connectionLabels()
 
     if (!isCurrent()) {
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/roster-pane-lifecycle.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/roster-pane-lifecycle.test.tsx
index ff415d2f50..8a4bb08396 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/roster-pane-lifecycle.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/roster-pane-lifecycle.test.tsx
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ describe('usePublishRosterSnapshot', () => {
     const firstFetchedAt = result.current.data?.fetchedAt
     const published = $lastRoster.get()
     expect(published.map(row => row.name)).toEqual(['default', 'coder'])
-    expect(mergeServerMeta).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+    expect(trackInboundActivity).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
 
     // Second poll: same rows from the gateway, new issue stamp on the envelope.
     await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 5))
@@ -101,7 +101,6 @@ describe('usePublishRosterSnapshot', () => {
     expect(result.current.data?.profiles).toBe(firstProfiles)
     // ...so the publish does not fan out again.
     expect($lastRoster.get()).toBe(published)
-    expect(mergeServerMeta).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
     expect(trackInboundActivity).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
   })
 
@@ -118,7 +117,6 @@ describe('usePublishRosterSnapshot', () => {
 
     await waitFor(() => expect($lastRoster.get()).not.toBe(published))
     expect($lastRoster.get()[1]?.last_session?.preview).toBe('later')
-    expect(mergeServerMeta).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
     expect(trackInboundActivity).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
   })
 })
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/roster-pane-lifecycle.ts b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/roster-pane-lifecycle.ts
index 6fdfe69b49..884335b49d 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/roster-pane-lifecycle.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/plugins/hermes-bots/roster-pane-lifecycle.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { useEffect } from 'react'
 import { $lastRoster } from './data'
 import type { useRoster } from './data'
 import { displayName } from './labels'
-import { mergeServerMeta, pullServerAvatars } from './profile-ops'
+import { pullServerAvatars } from './profile-ops'
 import { trackInboundActivity } from './roster-actions'
 import { botRosterMeta, botWorkspaceOwnerKey } from './routing'
 import { backfillMessagingProtocol } from './soul'
@@ -43,13 +43,8 @@ export function usePublishRosterSnapshot({ data, live, roster, allMeta, activeSo
       $lastSources.set(data.sources)
     }
 
-    // Every live row, not just the active source's: a bot on another
-    // connection reports its own title too, and skipping it left that bot
-    // named by whatever this Desktop last cached for it.
-    mergeServerMeta(
-      roster.filter(row => !row?.ghost),
-      data?.fetchedAt || 0
-    )
+    // Names were already reconciled when the snapshot was fetched
+    // (data.ts::fetchRosterSnapshot), for every reader, pane open or not.
     pullServerAvatars(activeSourceRoster)
     trackInboundActivity(roster)
     backfillMessagingProtocol(activeSourceRoster)