diff --git a/api/config.py b/api/config.py
index 0889c613..dc6bc0d9 100644
--- a/api/config.py
+++ b/api/config.py
@@ -31,16 +31,63 @@ HOME = Path.home()
 REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).parent.parent.resolve()
 
 
+def _hermes_home_has_webui_state(base: Path) -> bool:
+    """Return True when *base* looks like a populated Hermes home with WebUI state.
+
+    Used only on Windows to detect a pre-v0.51.134 install at the legacy
+    ``%USERPROFILE%\\.hermes`` location so we don't strand the user's existing
+    sessions/pins/settings when the default moved to ``%LOCALAPPDATA%\\hermes``
+    (#2905).  We treat the home as "real" if any of the durable WebUI/agent
+    artifacts exist under it.  Cheap stat-only checks; never raises.
+    """
+    try:
+        if not base.is_dir():
+            return False
+        markers = (
+            base / "webui" / "sessions",        # WebUI session store
+            base / "webui" / "settings.json",   # WebUI UI settings + pins
+            base / "webui",                     # WebUI state dir at all
+            base / "config.yaml",               # agent config
+            base / "auth.json",                 # agent credentials
+        )
+        return any(m.exists() for m in markers)
+    except OSError:
+        return False
+
+
 def _platform_default_hermes_home() -> Path:
     """Return the platform-aware default Hermes home when HERMES_HOME is unset.
 
     Native Windows Hermes Agent installs default to %LOCALAPPDATA%\\hermes,
     while POSIX installs use ~/.hermes.
+
+    Windows migration safety (#2905): v0.51.134 moved the Windows default from
+    ``%USERPROFILE%\\.hermes`` to ``%LOCALAPPDATA%\\hermes`` to match the agent.
+    Upgrading users whose WebUI state still lives at the old location saw an
+    empty app (sessions/pins/settings "lost" — actually just at an address the
+    new build no longer reads).  To avoid stranding that data, prefer the
+    legacy ``%USERPROFILE%\\.hermes`` ONLY when it is populated AND the new
+    ``%LOCALAPPDATA%\\hermes`` location is not yet established.  This is a
+    non-destructive, self-healing fallback: no files are moved, and once the
+    new location has state (fresh installs, or users who set HERMES_HOME) the
+    legacy path is never preferred.  Explicit HERMES_HOME / HERMES_WEBUI_STATE_DIR
+    overrides take precedence upstream and are unaffected.
     """
     if os.name == "nt":
         local_app_data = os.getenv("LOCALAPPDATA", "").strip()
         if local_app_data:
-            return Path(local_app_data) / "hermes"
+            new_home = Path(local_app_data) / "hermes"
+            legacy_home = HOME / ".hermes"
+            # Only fall back to the legacy home if it actually holds state and
+            # the new location has not been established yet — the exact
+            # post-upgrade fingerprint from #2905.
+            if (
+                legacy_home != new_home
+                and not _hermes_home_has_webui_state(new_home)
+                and _hermes_home_has_webui_state(legacy_home)
+            ):
+                return legacy_home
+            return new_home
     return HOME / ".hermes"
 
 # ── Network config (env-overridable) ─────────────────────────────────────────
diff --git a/api/profiles.py b/api/profiles.py
index 66356ce3..ca18fc0f 100644
--- a/api/profiles.py
+++ b/api/profiles.py
@@ -150,11 +150,21 @@ def _resolve_base_hermes_home() -> Path:
         # If HERMES_HOME points to a profiles/ subdir, walk up two levels to the base
         return _unwrap_profile_home_to_base(p)
 
-    if os.name == 'nt':
-        local_app_data = os.getenv('LOCALAPPDATA', '').strip()
-        if local_app_data:
-            return Path(local_app_data) / 'hermes'
-    return Path.home() / '.hermes'
+    # Platform default. On Windows this includes the #2905 migration-safety
+    # fallback (prefer the populated legacy %USERPROFILE%\.hermes over an
+    # empty %LOCALAPPDATA%\hermes). Delegate to config so the base-home
+    # resolution used for the active-profile pointer can never drift from the
+    # one config.STATE_DIR is derived from.
+    try:
+        from api.config import _platform_default_hermes_home
+        return _platform_default_hermes_home()
+    except Exception:
+        # Defensive: never let a config import problem break profile resolution.
+        if os.name == 'nt':
+            local_app_data = os.getenv('LOCALAPPDATA', '').strip()
+            if local_app_data:
+                return Path(local_app_data) / 'hermes'
+        return Path.home() / '.hermes'
 
 _DEFAULT_HERMES_HOME = _resolve_base_hermes_home()
 
diff --git a/api/routes.py b/api/routes.py
index 86edbfef..ca68517a 100644
--- a/api/routes.py
+++ b/api/routes.py
@@ -5247,9 +5247,24 @@ def handle_get(handler, parsed) -> bool:
         elif alive is False:
             running = False
             configured = True
-        else:  # alive is None → gateway not configured / unavailable
+        else:  # alive is None
+            # `alive is None` conflates two very different states:
+            #   (a) no gateway metadata at all → genuinely not configured
+            #   (b) gateway metadata EXISTS but is stale/inconclusive (e.g. a
+            #       freshly-started gateway that hasn't ticked yet, or a
+            #       cross-container gateway whose running-state went stale).
+            # Case (b) still proves a gateway is *configured* — the banner
+            # must not report "Gateway not configured" just because no
+            # conversation has happened yet and identity_map is empty (#3194).
+            details = health.get("details") or {}
+            has_gateway_metadata = bool(details.get("gateway_state")) or (
+                details.get("reason") in {
+                    "gateway_stale_running_state",
+                    "gateway_stale_stopped_state",
+                }
+            )
+            configured = True if has_gateway_metadata else bool(identity_map)
             running = bool(identity_map)
-            configured = bool(identity_map)
 
         platforms_set: set[str] = set()
         for meta in identity_map.values():
diff --git a/tests/test_issue2905_windows_home_migration_safety.py b/tests/test_issue2905_windows_home_migration_safety.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..012234df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_issue2905_windows_home_migration_safety.py
@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+"""Regression coverage for #2905 — Windows upgrade stranding WebUI state.
+
+v0.51.134 (PR #2897) moved the Windows default Hermes home from
+``%USERPROFILE%\\.hermes`` to ``%LOCALAPPDATA%\\hermes`` to match the agent.
+Upgrading users whose WebUI sessions/pins/settings still lived at the old
+location opened the app to an empty state — the data was intact on disk but at
+an address the new build no longer read.
+
+The fix makes ``_platform_default_hermes_home()`` prefer the populated legacy
+``%USERPROFILE%\\.hermes`` ONLY when the new ``%LOCALAPPDATA%\\hermes`` location
+is not yet established. It is:
+  * non-destructive — no files are moved (a move would be its own data-loss risk)
+  * self-healing — affected users find their data on next launch, no action needed
+  * surgical — fresh installs / already-migrated users / explicit overrides are
+    completely unaffected.
+
+These tests fake Windows semantics on a POSIX CI host by swapping ``config.os``
+for a shim whose ``name`` is ``'nt'`` and pointing HOME / LOCALAPPDATA at temp
+dirs. They assert the full truth table plus the no-regression guards.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+import api.config as config
+
+
+class _WindowsOSShim:
+    """Stand-in for the ``os`` module that reports ``name == 'nt'``."""
+
+    name = "nt"
+    environ = os.environ
+
+    def __getattr__(self, key):  # delegate everything else to the real os
+        return getattr(os, key)
+
+    def getenv(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        return os.getenv(*args, **kwargs)
+
+
+def _populate_webui_state(base: Path) -> None:
+    (base / "webui" / "sessions").mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    (base / "webui" / "settings.json").write_text('{"pinned":["a"]}', encoding="utf-8")
+    (base / "config.yaml").write_text("model: x\n", encoding="utf-8")
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def windows_env(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    """Yield (legacy_home, new_home) with Windows path semantics faked.
+
+    Returns the two candidate base homes; the caller populates whichever it
+    needs before calling ``config._platform_default_hermes_home()``.
+    """
+    home = tmp_path / "userprofile"          # %USERPROFILE%
+    localappdata = tmp_path / "localappdata" # %LOCALAPPDATA%
+    home.mkdir()
+    localappdata.mkdir()
+
+    legacy_home = home / ".hermes"
+    new_home = localappdata / "hermes"
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(config, "HOME", home)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(config, "os", _WindowsOSShim())
+    monkeypatch.setenv("LOCALAPPDATA", str(localappdata))
+    monkeypatch.delenv("HERMES_HOME", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.delenv("HERMES_BASE_HOME", raising=False)
+
+    return legacy_home, new_home
+
+
+def test_upgrade_fingerprint_prefers_populated_legacy_home(windows_env):
+    """The #2905 bug case: legacy populated, new empty → resolve to legacy."""
+    legacy_home, new_home = windows_env
+    _populate_webui_state(legacy_home)
+    # new_home intentionally left empty
+
+    result = config._platform_default_hermes_home()
+
+    assert result == legacy_home, (
+        "Windows upgrade must not strand WebUI state: when %LOCALAPPDATA%/hermes "
+        "is empty but %USERPROFILE%/.hermes holds the user's sessions/pins, the "
+        "default home must resolve to the legacy location (#2905)."
+    )
+
+
+def test_fresh_install_uses_new_localappdata_home(windows_env):
+    """Neither location populated → use the new %LOCALAPPDATA% default (no regression on #2840)."""
+    legacy_home, new_home = windows_env
+    # both empty
+
+    result = config._platform_default_hermes_home()
+
+    assert result == new_home
+
+
+def test_already_migrated_uses_new_home(windows_env):
+    """New location populated → never reach back to legacy."""
+    legacy_home, new_home = windows_env
+    _populate_webui_state(new_home)
+
+    result = config._platform_default_hermes_home()
+
+    assert result == new_home
+
+
+def test_both_populated_trusts_new_home(windows_env):
+    """If both exist, the new location wins — we never silently divert an
+    established %LOCALAPPDATA% install back to a stale legacy dir."""
+    legacy_home, new_home = windows_env
+    _populate_webui_state(legacy_home)
+    _populate_webui_state(new_home)
+
+    result = config._platform_default_hermes_home()
+
+    assert result == new_home
+
+
+def test_legacy_dir_present_but_empty_does_not_divert(windows_env):
+    """An empty/initialized-but-stateless legacy dir must NOT trigger the
+    fallback — otherwise a stray empty %USERPROFILE%/.hermes would shadow a
+    fresh install."""
+    legacy_home, new_home = windows_env
+    legacy_home.mkdir(parents=True)  # exists but no webui/config/auth markers
+
+    result = config._platform_default_hermes_home()
+
+    assert result == new_home
+
+
+def test_does_nothing_on_posix(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    """On POSIX (os.name != 'nt') the resolver always returns ~/.hermes,
+    regardless of any LOCALAPPDATA value — the fix is Windows-only."""
+    home = tmp_path / "home"
+    home.mkdir()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(config, "HOME", home)
+    # real os.name is 'posix' on CI; do NOT swap in the Windows shim
+    monkeypatch.setenv("LOCALAPPDATA", str(tmp_path / "lad"))
+    monkeypatch.delenv("HERMES_HOME", raising=False)
+
+    result = config._platform_default_hermes_home()
+
+    assert result == home / ".hermes"
+
+
+def test_no_files_are_moved_by_resolution(windows_env):
+    """The fix is non-destructive: resolving the home must not create, move,
+    or delete anything at either location."""
+    legacy_home, new_home = windows_env
+    _populate_webui_state(legacy_home)
+    legacy_sessions = legacy_home / "webui" / "sessions"
+    before_new_exists = new_home.exists()
+
+    config._platform_default_hermes_home()
+
+    # Legacy data untouched, new location not fabricated.
+    assert legacy_sessions.is_dir()
+    assert (legacy_home / "webui" / "settings.json").exists()
+    assert new_home.exists() == before_new_exists
+
+
+class TestHermesHomeHasWebuiState:
+    """Unit coverage for the marker-detection helper."""
+
+    def test_empty_or_missing_dir_is_not_state(self, tmp_path):
+        assert config._hermes_home_has_webui_state(tmp_path / "nope") is False
+        empty = tmp_path / "empty"
+        empty.mkdir()
+        assert config._hermes_home_has_webui_state(empty) is False
+
+    def test_webui_sessions_marker_counts(self, tmp_path):
+        (tmp_path / "webui" / "sessions").mkdir(parents=True)
+        assert config._hermes_home_has_webui_state(tmp_path) is True
+
+    def test_config_yaml_marker_counts(self, tmp_path):
+        (tmp_path / "config.yaml").write_text("x: 1\n", encoding="utf-8")
+        assert config._hermes_home_has_webui_state(tmp_path) is True
+
+    def test_auth_json_marker_counts(self, tmp_path):
+        (tmp_path / "auth.json").write_text("{}", encoding="utf-8")
+        assert config._hermes_home_has_webui_state(tmp_path) is True
+
+
+def test_profiles_base_home_delegates_to_config(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    """profiles._resolve_base_hermes_home() must share config's resolution so
+    the active-profile pointer never diverges from config.STATE_DIR (#2905)."""
+    import api.profiles as profiles
+
+    sentinel = tmp_path / "sentinel-home"
+    monkeypatch.delenv("HERMES_HOME", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.delenv("HERMES_BASE_HOME", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(config, "_platform_default_hermes_home", lambda: sentinel)
+
+    assert profiles._resolve_base_hermes_home() == sentinel
diff --git a/tests/test_issue3194_gateway_configured_banner.py b/tests/test_issue3194_gateway_configured_banner.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8c75dc20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_issue3194_gateway_configured_banner.py
@@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
+"""Regression coverage for #3194 — two-container Docker first-deploy shows
+"Gateway not configured" even though the gateway is running.
+
+Reported by @chenghaopeng: after a fresh ``docker-compose.two-container.yml``
+deploy, the WebUI banner says "Gateway not configured" while
+``hermes gateway status`` reports the gateway is running. The trigger is an
+empty ``identity_map`` (no conversation has happened yet, so no session
+metadata exists) combined with an ``alive is None`` health payload whose
+``details.reason`` is ``gateway_stale_running_state`` (the gateway is up but
+hasn't ticked ``updated_at`` recently enough for the freshness check).
+
+Before the fix, ``/api/gateway/status`` set ``configured = bool(identity_map)``
+on the ``alive is None`` branch, so an empty identity_map → ``configured=False``
+→ the misleading banner. The fix recognizes that an ``alive is None`` payload
+which still carries gateway metadata (a ``gateway_state`` detail, or a stale-
+running / stale-stopped reason) proves the gateway IS configured.
+
+Mirrors the FakeHandler isolation pattern in
+``tests/test_gateway_status_agent_health.py``.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+
+
+class _FakeHandler:
+    """Minimal BaseHTTPRequestHandler stand-in for routes.handle_get."""
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.status = None
+        self.sent_headers = []
+        self.body = bytearray()
+        self.wfile = self
+
+    def send_response(self, code):
+        self.status = code
+
+    def send_header(self, key, value):
+        self.sent_headers.append((key, value))
+
+    def end_headers(self):
+        pass
+
+    def write(self, data):
+        self.body.extend(data if isinstance(data, (bytes, bytearray)) else data.encode("utf-8"))
+
+    def get_json(self):
+        return json.loads(self.body.decode("utf-8"))
+
+
+def _call_gateway_status(monkeypatch, *, health_payload, identity_map=None):
+    """Invoke handle_get for /api/gateway/status with a stubbed health payload."""
+    from urllib.parse import urlparse
+
+    from api import routes
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(routes, "build_agent_health_payload", lambda: health_payload)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        routes, "_load_gateway_session_identity_map", lambda: (identity_map or {})
+    )
+
+    handler = _FakeHandler()
+    parsed = urlparse("/api/gateway/status")
+    routes.handle_get(handler, parsed)
+    return handler.get_json()
+
+
+def test_stale_running_with_empty_identity_map_is_configured(monkeypatch):
+    """#3194 core case: gateway up but not yet ticked, no sessions yet.
+
+    alive=None + reason=gateway_stale_running_state + empty identity_map must
+    NOT report 'Gateway not configured'.
+    """
+    payload = {
+        "alive": None,
+        "details": {"state": "unknown", "reason": "gateway_stale_running_state",
+                    "gateway_state": "running"},
+    }
+    data = _call_gateway_status(monkeypatch, health_payload=payload, identity_map={})
+
+    assert data["configured"] is True, (
+        "A stale-running gateway with no conversations yet is still configured "
+        "— the banner must not say 'Gateway not configured' (#3194)."
+    )
+    # No live tick / no sessions → not 'running' for the activity indicator,
+    # but that's a separate signal from 'configured'.
+    assert data["running"] is False
+
+
+def test_gateway_state_detail_alone_marks_configured(monkeypatch):
+    """Any alive=None payload carrying a gateway_state detail is configured,
+    even if the reason string is something else."""
+    payload = {
+        "alive": None,
+        "details": {"state": "unknown", "reason": "gateway_stale_stopped_state",
+                    "gateway_state": "stopped"},
+    }
+    data = _call_gateway_status(monkeypatch, health_payload=payload, identity_map={})
+    assert data["configured"] is True
+
+
+def test_truly_unconfigured_stays_unconfigured(monkeypatch):
+    """No-regression guard: alive=None with reason=gateway_not_configured and
+    no metadata and no identity_map → genuinely not configured."""
+    payload = {
+        "alive": None,
+        "details": {"state": "unknown", "reason": "gateway_not_configured"},
+    }
+    data = _call_gateway_status(monkeypatch, health_payload=payload, identity_map={})
+    assert data["configured"] is False
+    assert data["running"] is False
+
+
+def test_unconfigured_but_with_sessions_still_configured(monkeypatch):
+    """Pre-existing behavior preserved: even with no gateway metadata, a
+    non-empty identity_map implies a configured gateway."""
+    payload = {
+        "alive": None,
+        "details": {"state": "unknown", "reason": "gateway_not_configured"},
+    }
+    idmap = {"sid-1": {"platform": "telegram", "raw_source": "telegram"}}
+    data = _call_gateway_status(monkeypatch, health_payload=payload, identity_map=idmap)
+    assert data["configured"] is True
+    assert data["running"] is True
+
+
+def test_alive_true_unaffected(monkeypatch):
+    """A live gateway is configured + running regardless of identity_map."""
+    payload = {"alive": True, "details": {"state": "alive"}}
+    data = _call_gateway_status(monkeypatch, health_payload=payload, identity_map={})
+    assert data["configured"] is True
+    assert data["running"] is True
+
+
+def test_alive_false_configured_not_running(monkeypatch):
+    """alive=False (metadata exists, process down) stays configured-but-down."""
+    payload = {"alive": False, "details": {"state": "down", "reason": "gateway_not_running"}}
+    data = _call_gateway_status(monkeypatch, health_payload=payload, identity_map={})
+    assert data["configured"] is True
+    assert data["running"] is False