diff --git a/neode-ui/src/components/AppLauncherOverlay.vue b/neode-ui/src/components/AppLauncherOverlay.vue
index 4bae8a02..cb6bb640 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/components/AppLauncherOverlay.vue
+++ b/neode-ui/src/components/AppLauncherOverlay.vue
@@ -529,7 +529,7 @@ async function approvePayment() {
     } else if (method === 'lightning') {
       // Both arms below need a Lightning node — paying an invoice and minting
       // one. With none installed, raise the install modal instead of failing.
-      if (!lightning.requireLightningNode()) return
+      if (!(await lightning.requireLightningReady('send'))) return
       if (pay.invoice) {
         // Tracked to a real terminal state — slow routing is not a failure.
         const res = await rpcClient.payLightningInvoice({ payment_request: pay.invoice })
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/components/LightningRequiredModal.vue b/neode-ui/src/components/LightningRequiredModal.vue
index f41728a5..831bac89 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/components/LightningRequiredModal.vue
+++ b/neode-ui/src/components/LightningRequiredModal.vue
@@ -11,9 +11,19 @@
     @close="onClose"
   >
     <p v-if="lightning.status.value === 'no-funds'" class="text-sm text-white/70 leading-relaxed">
-      Your Lightning node is running, but it has no funds or inbound liquidity
-      yet — so it can't send or be paid. The Lightning setup walks you through
-      funding it and opening a channel.
+      Your Lightning node is running, but it has no payment channel yet.
+      <template v-if="lightning.fundingDirection.value === 'receive'">
+        Receiving needs <span class="text-white/90">inbound liquidity</span> — a
+        channel with funds on the far side — otherwise any invoice you create
+        is unpayable.
+      </template>
+      <template v-else>
+        Sending needs <span class="text-white/90">outbound liquidity</span> — a
+        funded channel to route through.
+      </template>
+      Open one with <span class="text-white/90">Zeus Olympus</span> from the
+      channels screen — it's prefilled there, and needs 150,000–1,500,000
+      on-chain sats.
     </p>
     <p v-else-if="lightning.status.value === 'stopped'" class="text-sm text-white/70 leading-relaxed">
       Lightning payments need a Lightning node that's actually running. Yours is
@@ -81,7 +91,7 @@
       started. You can close this and carry on; the install keeps running.
     </p>
 
-    <div class="flex gap-2 mt-6">
+    <div class="flex flex-wrap gap-2 mt-6">
       <button class="flex-1 glass-button px-4 py-2 rounded-lg text-sm" @click="onClose">
         {{ installing ? 'Close' : 'Not now' }}
       </button>
@@ -90,11 +100,16 @@
         class="flex-1 glass-button glass-button-warning px-4 py-2 rounded-lg text-sm font-medium"
         @click="openApps"
       >Open My Apps</button>
-      <button
-        v-else-if="lightning.status.value === 'no-funds'"
-        class="flex-1 glass-button glass-button-warning px-4 py-2 rounded-lg text-sm font-medium"
-        @click="openLightningSetup"
-      >Set up Lightning</button>
+      <template v-else-if="lightning.status.value === 'no-funds'">
+        <button
+          class="flex-1 glass-button px-4 py-2 rounded-lg text-sm"
+          @click="openSetupGuide"
+        >Setup Guide</button>
+        <button
+          class="flex-1 glass-button glass-button-warning px-4 py-2 rounded-lg text-sm font-medium"
+          @click="openLightningSetup"
+        >Open a channel</button>
+      </template>
     </div>
   </BaseModal>
 </template>
@@ -140,7 +155,7 @@ const nodes: NodeChoice[] = [
 const router = useRouter()
 
 const modalTitle = computed(() => {
-  if (lightningStatusIs('no-funds')) return 'Lightning not funded yet'
+  if (lightningStatusIs('no-funds')) return 'You need a Lightning channel'
   if (lightningStatusIs('stopped')) return 'Lightning node not running'
   return 'Lightning node required'
 })
@@ -177,6 +192,16 @@ function lightningStatusIs(s: string) {
 /** The Lightning goal already owns funding + channel-opening, so reuse it
  *  rather than duplicating that flow inside this modal. */
 function openLightningSetup() {
+  lightning.close()
+  // The channels screen already has the prefilled Zeus/Olympus open-channel
+  // flow, so send the user straight to the thing that solves it rather than
+  // to the wizard that would only point here anyway.
+  router.push('/dashboard/apps/lnd/channels')
+}
+
+/** The guided walkthrough, for someone who wants the whole path explained
+ *  rather than to be dropped straight into the open-channel form. */
+function openSetupGuide() {
   lightning.close()
   router.push('/dashboard/goals/run-lightning-node')
 }
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/components/ReceiveBitcoinModal.vue b/neode-ui/src/components/ReceiveBitcoinModal.vue
index 4b77e29e..085133e1 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/components/ReceiveBitcoinModal.vue
+++ b/neode-ui/src/components/ReceiveBitcoinModal.vue
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ async function receive() {
       // No Lightning implementation installed is not an error — it is a
       // missing prerequisite. Raise the install modal instead of letting
       // lnd.createinvoice fail with connection-refused (FED-08 follow-up).
-      if (!lightning.requireLightningNode()) return
+      if (!(await lightning.requireLightningReady('receive'))) return
       if (!invoiceAmount.value) { error.value = t('receiveBitcoin.enterAnAmount'); return }
       const res = await rpcClient.call<{ payment_request: string }>({
         method: 'lnd.createinvoice',
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/components/SendBitcoinModal.vue b/neode-ui/src/components/SendBitcoinModal.vue
index 84c5ff32..52b0720d 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/components/SendBitcoinModal.vue
+++ b/neode-ui/src/components/SendBitcoinModal.vue
@@ -513,14 +513,14 @@ async function loadConfirmBalance() {
   }
 }
 
-function review() {
+async function review() {
   error.value = ''
   const method = effectiveMethod.value
   const d = dest.value.trim()
   if (method === 'lightning') {
     // Gate BEFORE the confirm step, not at submit: walking a user through
     // review-and-confirm only to fail on a missing node is the defect.
-    if (!lightning.requireLightningNode()) return
+    if (!(await lightning.requireLightningReady('send'))) return
     if (!d) { error.value = t('web5.pasteInvoice'); return }
     invoiceAmountSats.value = parseBolt11AmountSats(d)
   } else {
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/composables/useLightningRequired.ts b/neode-ui/src/composables/useLightningRequired.ts
index cca8e95e..4a378525 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/composables/useLightningRequired.ts
+++ b/neode-ui/src/composables/useLightningRequired.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 // lnd container at all.
 import { ref } from 'vue'
 import { useAppStore } from '@/stores/app'
+import { rpcClient } from '@/api/rpc-client'
 import { PackageState } from '@/types/api'
 
 /** Package ids that provide a Lightning node.
@@ -37,6 +38,8 @@ export type LightningStatus = 'absent' | 'stopped' | 'running' | 'no-funds'
 // global modal mounted in App.vue.
 const show = ref(false)
 const status = ref<LightningStatus>('absent')
+/** Which direction raised the funding modal, so the copy can be specific. */
+const fundingDirection = ref<'send' | 'receive'>('receive')
 
 export function useLightningRequired() {
   const appStore = useAppStore()
@@ -113,13 +116,44 @@ export function useLightningRequired() {
     return true
   }
 
+  /**
+   * The full readiness gate: node installed AND running AND with liquidity in
+   * the direction being attempted.
+   *
+   * Node state alone is not enough — LND happily mints an invoice with zero
+   * channels, so a state-only gate hands the user an invoice nobody can pay
+   * (and a send that can only fail). `receive` needs inbound liquidity,
+   * `send` needs outbound.
+   *
+   * Fails OPEN on an RPC error: if we cannot read the channel list we let the
+   * attempt proceed rather than block a working wallet on a transient blip.
+   */
+  async function requireLightningReady(direction: 'send' | 'receive'): Promise<boolean> {
+    if (!requireLightningNode()) return false
+    try {
+      const res = await rpcClient.call<{ total_inbound?: number; total_outbound?: number }>({
+        method: 'lnd.listchannels',
+        timeout: 15000,
+      })
+      const liquidity = direction === 'receive' ? res?.total_inbound ?? 0 : res?.total_outbound ?? 0
+      if (liquidity > 0) return true
+      fundingDirection.value = direction
+      openLightningFunding()
+      return false
+    } catch {
+      return true
+    }
+  }
+
   return {
     show,
+    fundingDirection,
     status,
     lightningStatus,
     hasLightningNode,
     requireLightningNode,
     openLightningFunding,
+    requireLightningReady,
     handleLightningFailure,
     close,
   }
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/views/web5/Web5SendReceiveModals.vue b/neode-ui/src/views/web5/Web5SendReceiveModals.vue
index a9ac9899..6f7ceace 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/views/web5/Web5SendReceiveModals.vue
+++ b/neode-ui/src/views/web5/Web5SendReceiveModals.vue
@@ -471,7 +471,7 @@ async function unifiedReceive() {
     if (receiveMethod.value === 'lightning') {
       // Missing prerequisite, not an error — raise the install modal rather
       // than letting lnd.createinvoice fail with connection-refused.
-      if (!lightning.requireLightningNode()) return
+      if (!(await lightning.requireLightningReady('receive'))) return
       if (!receiveInvoiceAmount.value || receiveInvoiceAmount.value < 1) {
         unifiedReceiveError.value = t('web5.enterAmount')
         return