diff --git a/tests/gateway/test_session_db_replaced_fallback.py b/tests/gateway/test_session_db_replaced_fallback.py
index 3f39e29824..21c9700666 100644
--- a/tests/gateway/test_session_db_replaced_fallback.py
+++ b/tests/gateway/test_session_db_replaced_fallback.py
@@ -55,7 +55,10 @@ def test_replaced_state_db_diverts_pending_without_fts_rebuild(tmp_path, monkeyp
     )
 
     assert store._db._db_replaced is True
-    assert store._db._fts_runtime_rebuild_attempted is False
+    # No FTS surgery ran on either layer: state-level fail-open never
+    # detached, and the gateway one-shot rebuild was not consumed.
+    assert store._db._fts_enabled is True
+    assert store._db._fts_stale is False
     assert store._fts_rebuild_attempted is False
     _assert_diverted(tmp_path, sid, "after-replace")
     store.close_all_db_handles()
@@ -91,7 +94,10 @@ def test_copyfile_replaced_state_db_diverts_pending_without_fts_rebuild(
     )
 
     assert store._db._db_replaced is True
-    assert store._db._fts_runtime_rebuild_attempted is False
+    # No FTS surgery ran on either layer: state-level fail-open never
+    # detached, and the gateway one-shot rebuild was not consumed.
+    assert store._db._fts_enabled is True
+    assert store._db._fts_stale is False
     assert store._fts_rebuild_attempted is False
     _assert_diverted(tmp_path, sid, "after-cp")
     store.close_all_db_handles()
diff --git a/tests/hermes_state/test_state_db_file_identity.py b/tests/hermes_state/test_state_db_file_identity.py
index 645306dc4d..1877cf857a 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_state/test_state_db_file_identity.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_state/test_state_db_file_identity.py
@@ -50,8 +50,9 @@ def test_replace_with_new_inode_fails_loudly_without_fts_repair(tmp_path):
         db.append_message("live-sess", role="user", content="after-replace")
 
     assert db._db_replaced is True
-    assert db._fts_runtime_rebuild_attempted is False
+    # No FTS surgery ran: fail-open never detached the indexes.
     assert db._fts_enabled is True
+    assert db._fts_stale is False
     db.close()
 
 
@@ -67,12 +68,18 @@ def test_second_write_after_halt_does_not_attempt_repair(tmp_path):
         db.append_message("s", role="user", content="first")
     with pytest.raises(StateDbReplacedError):
         db.append_message("s", role="user", content="second")
-    assert db._fts_runtime_rebuild_attempted is False
+    assert db._fts_enabled is True
+    assert db._fts_stale is False
     db.close()
 
 
-def test_same_file_fts_corruption_still_rebuilds(tmp_path):
-    """Identity guard must not disable genuine in-file FTS recovery."""
+def test_same_file_fts_corruption_still_fails_open(tmp_path):
+    """Identity guard must not disable genuine in-file FTS recovery.
+
+    Since 18ac3c4fb6 the live write path never rebuilds FTS in place; the
+    recovery contract is the fail-open detach (stale marker + triggers
+    dropped) followed by a successful canonical retry.
+    """
     db = _make_db(tmp_path / "state.db", "s1", "hello world")
     _require_identity(db)
     identity = db._db_file_identity
@@ -85,7 +92,9 @@ def test_same_file_fts_corruption_still_rebuilds(tmp_path):
     db.append_message("s1", role="user", content="healed append")
     assert db._db_file_identity == identity
     assert db._db_replaced is False
-    assert db._fts_runtime_rebuild_attempted is True
+    # Fail-open detach ran: canonical write landed, FTS marked stale.
+    assert db._fts_stale is True
+    assert db._fts_enabled is False
     db.close()
 
 
@@ -116,8 +125,10 @@ def test_new_sessiondb_on_replaced_path_records_new_identity(tmp_path):
         reopened.close()
 
 
-def test_malformed_error_on_replaced_file_skips_fts_rebuild(tmp_path):
-    """Even if SQLite surfaces malformed, identity mismatch blocks repair."""
+def test_fts_scoped_error_on_replaced_file_skips_fts_fail_open(tmp_path):
+    """Even FTS-provenance corruption must not authorize surgery on a
+    replaced file. (A generic malformed error never reaches fail-open at
+    all since the provenance classifier of #99652 rejects it earlier.)"""
     live = tmp_path / "state.db"
     other = tmp_path / "other.db"
     db = _make_db(live, "s", "a")
@@ -127,10 +138,13 @@ def test_malformed_error_on_replaced_file_skips_fts_rebuild(tmp_path):
     os.replace(other, live)
 
     with pytest.raises(StateDbReplacedError):
-        db._try_runtime_fts_rebuild(
-            sqlite3.DatabaseError("database disk image is malformed")
+        db._enter_fts_fail_open(
+            sqlite3.DatabaseError(
+                'fts5: corrupt structure record for table "messages_fts"'
+            )
         )
-    assert db._fts_runtime_rebuild_attempted is False
+    assert db._fts_enabled is True
+    assert db._fts_stale is False
     db.close()
 
 
@@ -156,7 +170,8 @@ def test_copyfile_same_inode_fails_loudly_without_fts_repair(tmp_path):
     with pytest.raises(StateDbReplacedError, match="replaced underneath"):
         db.append_message("live-sess", role="user", content="after-cp")
     assert db._db_replaced is True
-    assert db._fts_runtime_rebuild_attempted is False
+    assert db._fts_enabled is True
+    assert db._fts_stale is False
     db.close()