diff --git a/src/lib/runtime-recovery.test.ts b/src/lib/runtime-recovery.test.ts
index cf364bd8b..868934f3f 100644
--- a/src/lib/runtime-recovery.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/runtime-recovery.test.ts
@@ -74,6 +74,8 @@ describe("runtime recovery helpers", () => {
     expect(classifyGatewayStatus("Gateway: nemoclaw\nStatus: Disconnected").state).toBe(
       "inactive",
     );
+    expect(classifyGatewayStatus("Status: Not connected").state).toBe("inactive");
+    expect(classifyGatewayStatus("Connected").state).toBe("connected");
   });
 
   it("only attempts gateway recovery when sandbox access is unavailable and gateway is down", () => {
diff --git a/src/lib/runtime-recovery.ts b/src/lib/runtime-recovery.ts
index 134d433f2..d33162f59 100644
--- a/src/lib/runtime-recovery.ts
+++ b/src/lib/runtime-recovery.ts
@@ -61,9 +61,6 @@ export function classifyGatewayStatus(output = ""): StateClassification {
   if (!clean) {
     return { state: "inactive", reason: "empty" };
   }
-  if (/\bConnected\b/i.test(clean) && !/\bDisconnected\b/i.test(clean)) {
-    return { state: "connected", reason: "ok" };
-  }
   if (
     /No active gateway|transport error|client error|Connection reset by peer|Connection refused|Gateway: .*Error/i.test(
       clean,
@@ -71,6 +68,9 @@ export function classifyGatewayStatus(output = ""): StateClassification {
   ) {
     return { state: "unavailable", reason: "gateway_unavailable" };
   }
+  if (/^\s*(?:Status:\s*)?Connected\s*$/im.test(clean)) {
+    return { state: "connected", reason: "ok" };
+  }
   return { state: "inactive", reason: "not_connected" };
 }