diff --git a/neode-ui/src/types/api.ts b/neode-ui/src/types/api.ts
index 714e060a..0d5db132 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/types/api.ts
+++ b/neode-ui/src/types/api.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@ export interface ServerInfo {
   'status-info': StatusInfo
   'lan-address': string | null
   'tor-address': string | null
+  /** Live probe of the Tor daemon. NOT the same as `tor-address`, which is read
+   *  from the hidden-service hostname file and outlives a dead daemon. */
+  'tor-running': boolean
   'node-address'?: string
   unread: number
   'wifi-ssids': string[]
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/views/Home.vue b/neode-ui/src/views/Home.vue
index bd2f9668..88b40ec8 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/views/Home.vue
+++ b/neode-ui/src/views/Home.vue
@@ -424,10 +424,13 @@ function marketplaceDescription(app: MarketplaceApp) {
 }
 
 // Network card data
-const torConnected = computed(() => {
-  const torAddr = store.data?.['server-info']?.['tor-address']
-  return !!torAddr && torAddr.length > 0
-})
+// Tor liveness, NOT "was an onion ever provisioned". This used to return
+// `!!server-info['tor-address']`, but that address is read from the
+// hidden-service hostname file on disk and outlives the daemon — so this card
+// showed "Connected" on three fleet nodes whose Tor had been dead for days
+// (2026-08-09), which is precisely why nobody noticed. `tor-running` is a live
+// probe of 127.0.0.1:9050 performed server-side.
+const torConnected = computed(() => store.data?.['server-info']?.['tor-running'] === true)
 const vpnConnected = computed(() => homeStatus.vpnStatus.connected === true || (!!packages.value['tailscale'] && packages.value['tailscale'].state === PackageState.Running))
 const vpnDotClass = computed(() => {
   if (vpnConnected.value) return 'bg-orange-400'
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/views/Server.vue b/neode-ui/src/views/Server.vue
index e85c0144..2e9e6784 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/views/Server.vue
+++ b/neode-ui/src/views/Server.vue
@@ -995,8 +995,14 @@ async function checkTorStatus() {
   checkingTor.value = true; torStatusLabel.value = 'checking'
   try {
     await torServicesRes.refresh()
+    // Report the DAEMON, not whether onion addresses exist. A .onion address is
+    // a config artifact — the hidden-service hostname file stays on disk when
+    // Tor is dead — so `some(s => s.onion_address)` reported "running" on three
+    // fleet nodes whose Tor had been down for days (2026-08-09). The backend
+    // already returns the truth: tor_running comes from an actual connect to
+    // 127.0.0.1:9050.
     if (torServicesRes.error.value) torStatusLabel.value = 'stopped'
-    else torStatusLabel.value = torServices.value.some(s => s.onion_address) ? 'running' : 'stopped'
+    else torStatusLabel.value = torDaemonRunning.value ? 'running' : 'stopped'
   } finally { checkingTor.value = false }
 }