diff --git a/agent/model_metadata.py b/agent/model_metadata.py
index 850e16662..125247d52 100644
--- a/agent/model_metadata.py
+++ b/agent/model_metadata.py
@@ -1287,13 +1287,8 @@ def get_model_context_length(
                 if local_ctx and local_ctx > 0:
                     save_context_length(model, base_url, local_ctx)
                     return local_ctx
-            logger.info(
-                "Could not detect context length for model %r at %s — "
-                "defaulting to %s tokens (probe-down). Set model.context_length "
-                "in config.yaml to override.",
-                model, base_url, f"{DEFAULT_FALLBACK_CONTEXT:,}",
-            )
-            return DEFAULT_FALLBACK_CONTEXT
+            # Don't early-return the fallback here — continue to steps 4-8
+            # so hardcoded defaults and models.dev can still match.
 
     # 4. Anthropic /v1/models API (only for regular API keys, not OAuth)
     if provider == "anthropic" or (