diff --git a/hermes_cli/setup.py b/hermes_cli/setup.py
index 450e9ee970..712b298bc4 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/setup.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/setup.py
@@ -649,17 +649,19 @@ def _run_setup_wizard_impl(args):
         managed_error("run setup wizard")
         return
     ensure_hermes_home()
+    # Back up BEFORE --reset: save_config below overwrites the very file we copy (#3522, #77299).
+    config_path = get_config_path()
+    from hermes_cli.config_backups import backup_config
+    _backup_path = backup_config(config_path, "pre-setup")
     if getattr(args, "reset", False):
         save_config(copy.deepcopy(DEFAULT_CONFIG))
         print_success("Configuration reset to defaults.")
+        if _backup_path:  # --reset may exit before the end-of-wizard notice
+            _info(f"Previous config backed up to: {_backup_path}")
     reconfigure_requested = bool(getattr(args, "reconfigure", False))
     quick_requested = bool(getattr(args, "quick", False))
     config = load_config()
     hermes_home = get_hermes_home()
-    # Back up existing config before setup modifies it (#3522)
-    config_path = get_config_path()
-    from hermes_cli.config_backups import backup_config
-    _backup_path = backup_config(config_path, "pre-setup")
 
     # Non-interactive environments (headless SSH, Docker, CI/CD)
     if getattr(args, 'non_interactive', False) or not is_interactive_stdin():
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_setup_reset_backup.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_setup_reset_backup.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..919ce1c8b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_setup_reset_backup.py
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+"""Ordering guarantees for the setup wizard's config.yaml backup (#3522).
+
+The wizard copies ``config.yaml`` into ``backups/config/`` so a user
+can recover values setup overwrote. ``hermes setup --reset`` replaces that same
+file with ``DEFAULT_CONFIG``, so the copy is only useful if it is taken *before*
+the reset runs — and the user has to be told where it landed even when --reset
+exits the wizard early.
+"""
+
+from argparse import Namespace
+
+from hermes_cli.config import (
+    DEFAULT_CONFIG,
+    get_config_path,
+    load_config,
+    save_config,
+)
+
+SENTINEL_MODEL = "hand-tuned-local-model-xyz"
+
+
+def _make_setup_args(**overrides):
+    return Namespace(
+        non_interactive=overrides.get("non_interactive", True),
+        section=overrides.get("section", None),
+        reset=overrides.get("reset", False),
+    )
+
+
+def _write_user_config(tmp_path):
+    """Persist a config.yaml holding a distinctive, non-default user value."""
+    config_path = get_config_path()
+    cfg = load_config()
+    cfg["model"] = {
+        "provider": "custom",
+        "base_url": "http://localhost:8080/v1",
+        "default": SENTINEL_MODEL,
+    }
+    cfg["agent"]["max_turns"] = 47
+    save_config(cfg)
+
+    assert config_path.parent == tmp_path
+    text = config_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    assert SENTINEL_MODEL in text, "fixture failed to persist the user value"
+    return config_path
+
+
+def _backups(tmp_path):
+    return sorted((tmp_path / "backups" / "config").glob("config.yaml.pre-setup.*"))
+
+
+class TestResetBackupOrdering:
+    def test_reset_backs_up_user_config_not_the_reset_defaults(
+        self, tmp_path, monkeypatch
+    ):
+        """The --reset backup must hold the user's config, not DEFAULT_CONFIG.
+
+        Regression for the ordering bug: the backup block used to run after the
+        --reset branch had already overwritten config.yaml, so the ``.bak`` file
+        advertised as the recovery path captured the defaults that had just been
+        written and the user's real config was unrecoverable.
+        """
+        from hermes_cli.setup import run_setup_wizard
+
+        monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(tmp_path))
+        config_path = _write_user_config(tmp_path)
+
+        run_setup_wizard(_make_setup_args(non_interactive=True, reset=True))
+
+        backups = _backups(tmp_path)
+        assert len(backups) == 1, f"expected exactly one backup, got {backups}"
+        backup_text = backups[0].read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        assert SENTINEL_MODEL in backup_text, (
+            "backup captured the post-reset defaults instead of the user's config"
+        )
+        assert "47" in backup_text
+
+        # The reset itself must still take effect on config.yaml.
+        assert SENTINEL_MODEL not in config_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        assert load_config()["model"] == DEFAULT_CONFIG["model"]
+
+    def test_reset_reports_where_the_backup_landed(
+        self, tmp_path, monkeypatch, capsys
+    ):
+        """--reset can exit early, so it must surface the backup path itself."""
+        from hermes_cli.setup import run_setup_wizard
+
+        monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(tmp_path))
+        _write_user_config(tmp_path)
+
+        run_setup_wizard(_make_setup_args(non_interactive=True, reset=True))
+
+        out = capsys.readouterr().out
+        backups = _backups(tmp_path)
+        assert len(backups) == 1
+        assert "Configuration reset to defaults." in out
+        assert "Previous config backed up to:" in out
+        assert backups[0].name in out