diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/controls.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/controls.test.tsx
index b35c280c732d..8a84be8ea477 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/controls.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/controls.test.tsx
@@ -100,11 +100,22 @@ describe('wake-word ear visibility', () => {
     expect(screen.getByLabelText('Wake word: "hey hermes" — off')).toBeTruthy()
   })
 
-  it('hides only when unavailable AND not enabled in config', () => {
+  it('stays visible (never hides) even when unavailable and not enabled', () => {
     applyWakeStatus({ available: false, enabled: false, listening: false, phrase: 'hey hermes' })
     renderControls()
 
-    expect(screen.queryByLabelText(/Wake word/)).toBeNull()
+    // The ear ALWAYS shows so the user can click to enable; a failed start
+    // surfaces its reason in the tooltip rather than hiding the control.
+    expect(screen.getByLabelText('Wake word: "hey hermes" — off')).toBeTruthy()
+  })
+
+  it('surfaces the backend refusal reason in the tooltip, still visible', () => {
+    applyWakeStatus({ available: false, enabled: false, listening: false, phrase: 'hey hermes' })
+    applyWakeStartResult({ hint: 'run `hermes tools` (Voice section)', reason: 'unavailable', started: false })
+    renderControls()
+
+    const ear = screen.getByLabelText('Wake word: "hey hermes" — off')
+    expect(ear).toBeTruthy()
   })
 
   it('shows a disabled paused ear inside the voice-conversation pill', () => {
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/controls.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/controls.tsx
index 6e2ec91f49c1..7c1a90df4de2 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/controls.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/controls.tsx
@@ -301,23 +301,20 @@ function AutoSpeakButton({ active, disabled, onToggle }: { active: boolean; disa
   )
 }
 
-// "Hey Hermes" wake-word toggle. States: listening (accent-highlighted, like
-// the auto-speak toggle above), off (muted ear-off), paused-for-voice (shown
-// disabled while a voice conversation holds the mic — the one legitimate
-// pause), and hidden — only when the feature can't run AND isn't enabled in
-// config. `enabled` keeps the ear mounted through transient refusals and busy
-// agent turns, so a persistent setting never silently vanishes mid-session.
-// Backend refusals ({started:false, reason}) keep the toggle off and surface
-// the reason/hint in the tooltip.
+// "Hey Hermes" wake-word toggle. ALWAYS rendered — the ear never hides. A
+// user must always be able to click it to turn passive listening on; if the
+// backend can't start (missing STT/TTS, deps still installing, no mic
+// permission, etc.) the click surfaces the reason in the tooltip and the
+// toggle stays off. States: listening (accent-highlighted), off (muted
+// ear-off), and paused-for-voice (disabled while a voice conversation holds
+// the mic — the one time wake genuinely must not listen). Backend refusals
+// ({started:false, reason}) keep the toggle off and put the reason/hint in
+// the tooltip.
 function WakeWordButton({ disabled, pausedForVoice = false }: { disabled: boolean; pausedForVoice?: boolean }) {
   const { t } = useI18n()
   const c = t.composer
   const wake = useStore($wakeWord)
 
-  if (!wake.available && !wake.enabled) {
-    return null
-  }
-
   const phrase = wake.phrase || 'hey hermes'
   const label = pausedForVoice
     ? c.wakeWordPausedVoice(phrase)
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/store/wake-word.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/store/wake-word.test.ts
index 2234d468a7df..f69321e3f5b3 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/store/wake-word.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/store/wake-word.test.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ describe('applyWakeStatus', () => {
     })
   })
 
-  it('keeps the button hidden and carries the hint when unavailable', () => {
+  it('tracks unavailability and carries the hint for the tooltip', () => {
     applyWakeStatus({ available: false, hint: 'pip install openwakeword', listening: false, phrase: 'hey hermes' })
 
     const state = $wakeWord.get()