diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/model-menu-panel.test.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/model-menu-panel.test.tsx
index 5a8e1d649b02..e68d3b99a077 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/model-menu-panel.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/model-menu-panel.test.tsx
@@ -124,6 +124,26 @@ describe('ModelMenuPanel MoA presets', () => {
   })
 })
 
+describe('ModelMenuPanel current selection', () => {
+  it('keeps the checkmark on the live SessionView model when a stale options response disagrees', async () => {
+    $currentProvider.set('google')
+    $currentModel.set('gemini-3.1-pro')
+    getGlobalModelOptions.mockResolvedValue({
+      model: 'deepseek-chat',
+      provider: 'deepseek',
+      providers: MOCK_PROVIDERS
+    })
+
+    const { content } = renderPanel()
+
+    const currentRow = (await content.findByText(/Gemini 3\.1 Pro/i)).closest('[role="menuitem"]')
+    const staleRow = content.getByText('Deepseek Chat').closest('[role="menuitem"]')
+
+    expect(currentRow?.querySelector('.codicon-check')).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(staleRow?.querySelector('.codicon-check')).toBeNull()
+  })
+})
+
 describe('ModelMenuPanel provider collapse', () => {
   it('shows all provider models by default (none collapsed)', async () => {
     const { content } = renderPanel()
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/model-menu-panel.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/model-menu-panel.tsx
index c7fa0246cf72..883b9c18063e 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/model-menu-panel.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/shell/model-menu-panel.tsx
@@ -94,7 +94,6 @@ export function ModelMenuPanel({ gateway, onSelectModel, profile = 'default', re
   })
 
   const { model: optionsModel, provider: optionsProvider } = currentPickerSelection(
-    !!activeSessionId,
     { model: currentModel, provider: currentProvider },
     modelOptions.data
   )
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/model-picker.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/components/model-picker.tsx
index 73e3401e078f..3395a0c3387a 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/model-picker.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/model-picker.tsx
@@ -64,7 +64,6 @@ export function ModelPickerDialog({
   const providers = modelOptions.data?.providers ?? []
 
   const { model: optionsModel, provider: optionsProvider } = currentPickerSelection(
-    !!sessionId,
     { model: currentModel, provider: currentProvider },
     modelOptions.data
   )
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/lib/model-status-label.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/lib/model-status-label.test.ts
index f21c1f5f1d34..d1ad06fb73ee 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/lib/model-status-label.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/lib/model-status-label.test.ts
@@ -51,19 +51,23 @@ describe('model-status-label', () => {
     const options = { model: 'hermes-4', provider: 'nous' }
 
     it('prefers the sticky composer pick over the profile default pre-session', () => {
-      expect(currentPickerSelection(false, store, options)).toEqual(store)
+      expect(currentPickerSelection(store, options)).toEqual(store)
     })
 
-    it('lets the live session model.options win when a session exists', () => {
-      expect(currentPickerSelection(true, store, options)).toEqual(options)
+    it('keeps the SessionView selection when a stale options response disagrees', () => {
+      expect(currentPickerSelection(store, options)).toEqual(store)
     })
 
     it('falls back to options when the store is empty', () => {
-      expect(currentPickerSelection(false, { model: '', provider: '' }, options)).toEqual(options)
+      expect(currentPickerSelection({ model: '', provider: '' }, options)).toEqual(options)
+    })
+
+    it('uses the complete options pair instead of mixing a partial store selection', () => {
+      expect(currentPickerSelection({ model: 'opus', provider: '' }, options)).toEqual(options)
     })
 
     it('falls back to the store while options are still loading', () => {
-      expect(currentPickerSelection(true, store, undefined)).toEqual(store)
+      expect(currentPickerSelection(store, undefined)).toEqual(store)
     })
   })
 })
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/lib/model-status-label.ts b/apps/desktop/src/lib/model-status-label.ts
index 0a1f14818504..5dde20746f8e 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/lib/model-status-label.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/lib/model-status-label.ts
@@ -1,18 +1,35 @@
 import { DEFAULT_REASONING_EFFORT, reasoningEffortLabel } from '@/lib/reasoning-effort'
 
-/** Which model/provider a picker should mark "current". With a live session the
- *  gateway's `model.options` is authoritative; pre-session there is no server
- *  "current", so the sticky composer pick wins over the profile default the
- *  global options query returns — else the checkmark snaps back to the default
- *  and the pick looks ignored. */
+/** Which model/provider pair a picker should mark "current". SessionView state
+ *  also drives the composer label, so a complete pair there wins over an older
+ *  `model.options` response. During initial hydration (or pre-session startup),
+ *  options remain the fallback. Pick one complete pair before mixing fields so
+ *  a model is never shown under a different provider. */
 export function currentPickerSelection(
-  hasSession: boolean,
   store: { model: string; provider: string },
   options?: { model?: string; provider?: string }
 ): { model: string; provider: string } {
+  const storeSelection = {
+    model: String(store.model || ''),
+    provider: String(store.provider || '')
+  }
+
+  const optionsSelection = {
+    model: String(options?.model || ''),
+    provider: String(options?.provider || '')
+  }
+
+  if (storeSelection.model && storeSelection.provider) {
+    return storeSelection
+  }
+
+  if (optionsSelection.model && optionsSelection.provider) {
+    return optionsSelection
+  }
+
   return {
-    model: String((hasSession && options?.model) || store.model || options?.model || ''),
-    provider: String((hasSession && options?.provider) || store.provider || options?.provider || '')
+    model: storeSelection.model || optionsSelection.model,
+    provider: storeSelection.provider || optionsSelection.provider
   }
 }