diff --git a/internal/driver/ioscompanion/device.go b/internal/driver/ioscompanion/device.go
index 1193636..b8dbdff 100644
--- a/internal/driver/ioscompanion/device.go
+++ b/internal/driver/ioscompanion/device.go
@@ -83,7 +83,6 @@ func NewDevice(ctx context.Context, options DeviceOptions) (*Driver, error) {
 		coreDeviceID:             options.CoreDeviceID,
 		bundleID:                 options.BundleID,
 		appPath:                  options.AppPath,
-		clearStateAtStartup:      options.ClearState,
 		output:                   output,
 		doubleTapGapMilliseconds: gap,
 		deviceMode:               true,
@@ -104,20 +103,24 @@ func NewDevice(ctx context.Context, options DeviceOptions) (*Driver, error) {
 		}
 	}
 	if options.pickAddress != nil {
-		d.pickDeviceAddress = options.pickAddress
+		d.pickRunnerAddress = options.pickAddress
 	} else {
-		d.pickDeviceAddress = pickLoopbackAddress
+		d.pickRunnerAddress = pickLoopbackAddress
 	}
 
 	// Device seams: clear-state reinstalls via devicectl; the container reset and
 	// paste grant are simulator-only and become no-ops. The runner types
-	// natively, so no paste prompt is ever hit.
+	// natively, so no paste prompt is ever hit. Stopping the app before the
+	// clear is a no-op too: devicectl addresses processes by pid rather than by
+	// bundle, and the uninstall that is the device's only clear takes the
+	// running app with it, which is what a terminate here would be for.
 	d.reinstallApp = options.reinstallApp
 	if d.reinstallApp == nil {
 		d.reinstallApp = d.devicectlReinstall
 	}
 	d.resetContainer = d.deviceResetContainerUnsupported
 	d.grantPaste = func(context.Context) error { return nil }
+	d.terminateApp = func(context.Context) error { return nil }
 	d.restart = d.respawnDevice
 	d.processContext, d.processCancel = context.WithCancel(ctx)
 
@@ -133,6 +136,7 @@ func NewDevice(ctx context.Context, options DeviceOptions) (*Driver, error) {
 			d.Close()
 			return nil, err
 		}
+		d.clearedBundleID = options.BundleID
 	}
 
 	if err := d.bringUpDevice(ctx); err != nil {
@@ -155,7 +159,7 @@ func NewDevice(ctx context.Context, options DeviceOptions) (*Driver, error) {
 // health. The build runs inside spawnRunner under the process context, so the
 // startup timeout only bounds the post-spawn wait, not the build.
 func (d *Driver) bringUpDevice(ctx context.Context) error {
-	address, err := d.pickDeviceAddress()
+	address, err := d.pickRunnerAddress()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -239,13 +243,11 @@ func (d *Driver) devicectlReinstall(ctx context.Context) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// deviceResetContainerUnsupported warns once that device clear-state needs an
-// app path for a devicectl reinstall: there is no simulator-style data-container
-// wipe on a physical device.
+// deviceResetContainerUnsupported ends the run: there is no simulator-style
+// data-container wipe on a physical device, so a clear-state with no app path
+// to reinstall from cannot happen. Warning and carrying on hands the run every
+// previous run's data while the flag says it started clean.
 func (d *Driver) deviceResetContainerUnsupported(context.Context) error {
-	if !d.clearStateWarned {
-		fmt.Fprintln(d.output, "clear-state on a physical device requires --ios-app-path for a reinstall; skipping (state not cleared)")
-		d.clearStateWarned = true
-	}
-	return nil
+	return errors.New("clear-state on a physical device requires --ios-app-path for a reinstall; " +
+		"there is no data-container wipe on a device, so the run would start on the previous run's state")
 }
diff --git a/internal/driver/ioscompanion/device_test.go b/internal/driver/ioscompanion/device_test.go
index abc5ced..15bf23a 100644
--- a/internal/driver/ioscompanion/device_test.go
+++ b/internal/driver/ioscompanion/device_test.go
@@ -83,6 +83,25 @@ func TestNewDeviceWiresRunnerOnlyMode(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestNewDeviceWiresTheAddressPickerEveryBringUpUses keeps the device driver
+// whole. bringUpRunner reads its picker from a field rather than calling the
+// package function, and NewDevice left that field nil, so the only thing
+// standing between a device run and a nil call was which restart path ran.
+func TestNewDeviceWiresTheAddressPickerEveryBringUpUses(t *testing.T) {
+	address := startLoopbackListener(t)
+	options := testDeviceOptions(address, newDeviceCompanion())
+	options.HardwareUDID = "00008140-PICKER"
+	d, err := NewDevice(context.Background(), options)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("NewDevice: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer d.Close()
+
+	if err := d.bringUpRunner(context.Background()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("bringUpRunner: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestNewDeviceRequiresIdentifiers(t *testing.T) {
 	if _, err := NewDevice(context.Background(), DeviceOptions{CoreDeviceID: "x"}); err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("missing HardwareUDID must error")
@@ -222,17 +241,32 @@ func TestDevicectlReinstallProceedsWhenNothingIsInstalled(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestDeviceClearStateWithoutAppPathWarnsOnce(t *testing.T) {
-	output := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	d := &Driver{output: output, deviceMode: true}
-	d.resetContainer = d.deviceResetContainerUnsupported
-	for i := 0; i < 2; i++ {
-		if err := d.deviceResetContainerUnsupported(context.Background()); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
+// TestNewDeviceRefusesClearStateWithoutAnAppPath keeps the device from starting
+// a run whose clear-state cannot happen. There is no data-container wipe on a
+// physical device, so without an app path to reinstall from, carrying on hands
+// the run every previous run's data under a flag that says otherwise.
+func TestNewDeviceRefusesClearStateWithoutAnAppPath(t *testing.T) {
+	address := startLoopbackListener(t)
+	options := testDeviceOptions(address, newDeviceCompanion())
+	options.HardwareUDID = "00008140-NO-APP-PATH"
+	options.ClearState = true
+	spawned := false
+	spawn := options.spawnRunner
+	options.spawnRunner = func(ctx context.Context, runnerAddress string) (*exec.Cmd, error) {
+		spawned = true
+		return spawn(ctx, runnerAddress)
 	}
-	if got := bytes.Count(output.Bytes(), []byte("requires --ios-app-path")); got != 1 {
-		t.Fatalf("warning emitted %d times, want once", got)
+
+	d, err := NewDevice(context.Background(), options)
+	if err == nil {
+		d.Close()
+		t.Fatal("NewDevice returned a driver whose clear-state never happened")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "--ios-app-path") {
+		t.Fatalf("err = %v, want it to name the flag that makes the clear possible", err)
+	}
+	if spawned {
+		t.Fatal("the run started anyway; a clear-state that cannot happen must end the run, not open it")
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/driver/ioscompanion/driver.go b/internal/driver/ioscompanion/driver.go
index 125a421..aa12589 100644
--- a/internal/driver/ioscompanion/driver.go
+++ b/internal/driver/ioscompanion/driver.go
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ type Options struct {
 	dialRunner     func(address string) (transport.Companion, error)
 	reinstallApp   func(ctx context.Context) error
 	resetContainer func(ctx context.Context) error
+	terminateApp   func(ctx context.Context) error
 }
 
 // Driver implements driver.DeviceDriver against an iOS simulator companion.
@@ -101,11 +102,12 @@ type Driver struct {
 	appPath   string
 	output    io.Writer
 
-	// clearStateAtStartup records that New (or NewDevice) reset the app to
-	// first-launch state before attaching, which is the only point in a run
-	// where clearing is safe. Launch refuses a clear-state request the driver
-	// was not built for rather than reinstalling under a live session.
-	clearStateAtStartup bool
+	// clearedBundleID names the app New (or NewDevice) reset to first-launch
+	// state before attaching, which is the only point in a run where clearing
+	// is safe. Launch refuses a clear-state request for anything else rather
+	// than reinstalling under a live session or reporting a reset that only
+	// ever reached another bundle.
+	clearedBundleID string
 
 	screenWidth  int
 	screenHeight int
@@ -136,6 +138,10 @@ type Driver struct {
 	// A seam so tests skip the simctl shell-outs.
 	reinstallApp func(ctx context.Context) error
 
+	// terminateApp stops the app before its state is cleared. A seam so tests
+	// skip the simctl shell-out.
+	terminateApp func(ctx context.Context) error
+
 	// grantPaste pre-authorizes the app's pasteboard access. A seam so tests
 	// skip the sqlite shell-out.
 	grantPaste func(ctx context.Context) error
@@ -151,23 +157,26 @@ type Driver struct {
 	// lifecycle, screenshot) with an in-simulator runner that serves
 	// collapse-free accessibility snapshots and native unicode typing.
 	// runnerClient is nil on the legacy-only path.
-	runnerClient      transport.Companion
-	runnerChild       *exec.Cmd
-	runnerAddress     string
-	spawnRunner       func(ctx context.Context, address string) (*exec.Cmd, error)
-	dialRunner        func(address string) (transport.Companion, error)
+	runnerClient  transport.Companion
+	runnerChild   *exec.Cmd
+	runnerAddress string
+	spawnRunner   func(ctx context.Context, address string) (*exec.Cmd, error)
+	dialRunner    func(address string) (transport.Companion, error)
+	hybrid        bool
+
+	// pickRunnerAddress hands every bring-up a free loopback port, on the
+	// simulator and the device alike. One field, so no path can be wired
+	// without it.
 	pickRunnerAddress func() (string, error)
-	hybrid            bool
 
 	// Device-mode fields. On the physical-device path d.companion is the runner
 	// dialed over a usbmux tunnel, hybrid is false, and runnerClient is nil.
 	// coreDeviceID feeds devicectl; tunnel is the in-process usbmux forwarder
 	// bridging the host loopback port to the runner's device-side port.
-	deviceMode        bool
-	coreDeviceID      string
-	tunnel            io.Closer
-	startTunnel       func(ctx context.Context, hardwareUDID, localAddress, devicePort string) (io.Closer, error)
-	pickDeviceAddress func() (string, error)
+	deviceMode   bool
+	coreDeviceID string
+	tunnel       io.Closer
+	startTunnel  func(ctx context.Context, hardwareUDID, localAddress, devicePort string) (io.Closer, error)
 
 	// processContext owns the companion child's lifetime: it is derived from
 	// New's context (so a canceled run still reaps the child) and canceled by
@@ -228,7 +237,6 @@ func New(ctx context.Context, options Options) (*Driver, error) {
 		udid:                     options.UniqueDeviceIdentifier,
 		bundleID:                 options.BundleID,
 		appPath:                  options.AppPath,
-		clearStateAtStartup:      options.ClearState,
 		output:                   output,
 		doubleTapGapMilliseconds: gap,
 		spawnChild:               options.spawnChild,
@@ -237,6 +245,7 @@ func New(ctx context.Context, options Options) (*Driver, error) {
 		dialRunner:               options.dialRunner,
 		reinstallApp:             options.reinstallApp,
 		resetContainer:           options.resetContainer,
+		terminateApp:             options.terminateApp,
 		hybrid:                   hybridCompanionEnabled(),
 	}
 	if driverInstance.spawnChild == nil {
@@ -271,6 +280,9 @@ func New(ctx context.Context, options Options) (*Driver, error) {
 	if driverInstance.reinstallApp == nil {
 		driverInstance.reinstallApp = driverInstance.simctlReinstall
 	}
+	if driverInstance.terminateApp == nil {
+		driverInstance.terminateApp = driverInstance.simctlTerminate
+	}
 	driverInstance.grantPaste = driverInstance.grantPasteboardAccess
 	driverInstance.processContext, driverInstance.processCancel = context.WithCancel(ctx)
 
@@ -286,6 +298,7 @@ func New(ctx context.Context, options Options) (*Driver, error) {
 			driverInstance.Close()
 			return nil, err
 		}
+		driverInstance.clearedBundleID = options.BundleID
 	}
 
 	if err := driverInstance.bringUp(ctx); err != nil {
@@ -484,6 +497,26 @@ func isConnectionError(err error) bool {
 	return false
 }
 
+// isBudgetExpiry reports whether err is a call that outlived its bound rather
+// than a failure the transport can name. Each transport says so differently:
+// the runner wraps the context's error when cancellation has landed and the
+// connection's i/o timeout when the deadline it armed from that context fires
+// first, and the legacy companion returns a gRPC status. Only an expiry earns
+// a session restart; an error the runner reports has already said what a fresh
+// session would say.
+func isBudgetExpiry(err error) bool {
+	if err == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	if errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) || errors.Is(err, os.ErrDeadlineExceeded) {
+		return true
+	}
+	if statusValue, ok := status.FromError(err); ok {
+		return statusValue.Code() == codes.DeadlineExceeded
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 func (d *Driver) Launch(ctx context.Context, bundleID string, clearState bool, env map[string]string) error {
 	if bundleID != "" {
 		d.bundleID = bundleID
@@ -495,12 +528,13 @@ func (d *Driver) Launch(ctx context.Context, bundleID string, clearState bool, e
 		// loudly rather than silently dropping the request.
 		return errors.New("ios companion: launch with environment variables is unsupported on this backend")
 	}
-	if clearState && !d.clearStateAtStartup {
+	if clearState && (d.clearedBundleID == "" || d.clearedBundleID != d.bundleID) {
 		// Clearing here would uninstall and reinstall the app underneath a live
 		// automation session, which is what races FrontBoard's registration and
 		// leaves the session launching a bundle FrontBoard has not registered.
-		return errors.New("ios companion: clear-state must be requested when the driver is created (Options.ClearState); " +
-			"this backend clears the app before its automation session exists")
+		return fmt.Errorf("ios companion: clear-state must be requested when the driver is created (Options.ClearState) "+
+			"for the bundle being launched; this backend cleared %q before its automation session existed, not %q",
+			d.clearedBundleID, d.bundleID)
 	}
 
 	// Terminate first so the launch is a clean cold start regardless of the
@@ -545,7 +579,7 @@ func (d *Driver) launchWithSessionRecovery(ctx context.Context) error {
 	err := d.lifecycleCall(ctx, launch)
 	// A caller whose own budget ran out gets no restart: the bound that expired
 	// was the caller's to spend, and the second attempt would inherit it dead.
-	if err == nil || !errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) || ctx.Err() != nil || d.restart == nil {
+	if !isBudgetExpiry(err) || ctx.Err() != nil || d.restart == nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	fmt.Fprintf(d.output, "launch %s blew its %v bound (%v); restarting the session and launching once more\n",
@@ -599,6 +633,11 @@ func (d *Driver) lifecycleCompanion() transport.Companion {
 // container and warns once that a full reinstall needs the app path. Called
 // only from construction, before any automation session is attached to the app.
 func (d *Driver) clearAppState(ctx context.Context) error {
+	// Nothing may be writing to the state while it goes, which is the ordering
+	// Launch used to hold: uninstall copes with a running app, deleting the
+	// data container out from under one does not. Best effort, because an app
+	// that is not running reports a failure that means nothing here.
+	_ = d.terminateApp(ctx)
 	if d.appPath != "" {
 		if err := d.reinstallApp(ctx); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("reinstall %s: %w", d.appPath, err)
@@ -630,6 +669,18 @@ func (d *Driver) simctlReinstall(ctx context.Context) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// simctlTerminate stops the app under test. Launch used to terminate through
+// the automation session before clearing; the clear now runs before any session
+// exists, so simctl is what is left to stop the app with. An app that is not
+// running reports a failure that means nothing to the caller, which is why
+// clearAppState treats this as best effort.
+func (d *Driver) simctlTerminate(ctx context.Context) error {
+	if output, err := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "xcrun", "simctl", "terminate", d.udid, d.bundleID).CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("simctl terminate %s: %w: %s", d.bundleID, err, strings.TrimSpace(string(output)))
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 // grantPasteboardAccess authorizes the app to read the pasteboard without the
 // iOS permission prompt, by writing an allow row into the simulator's privacy
 // (TCC) database. This is the simulator counterpart to `simctl privacy grant`,
diff --git a/internal/driver/ioscompanion/driver_test.go b/internal/driver/ioscompanion/driver_test.go
index f8ae5b9..21e85a8 100644
--- a/internal/driver/ioscompanion/driver_test.go
+++ b/internal/driver/ioscompanion/driver_test.go
@@ -18,10 +18,12 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
+	"google.golang.org/grpc"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/status"
 
 	"github.com/priyanshujain/sanderling/internal/driver"
+	"github.com/priyanshujain/sanderling/internal/driver/ioscompanion/companionpb"
 	"github.com/priyanshujain/sanderling/internal/driver/ioscompanion/transport"
 )
 
@@ -230,6 +232,7 @@ func clearStateOptions(t *testing.T, probe *clearStateProbe, udid string, clearS
 		},
 		reinstallApp:   func(context.Context) error { probe.record("reinstall"); return nil },
 		resetContainer: func(context.Context) error { probe.record("reset container"); return nil },
+		terminateApp:   func(context.Context) error { probe.record("stop app"); return nil },
 	}
 }
 
@@ -247,9 +250,9 @@ func TestClearStateReinstallsOnceBeforeTheRunnerSession(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("Launch: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	want := []string{"reinstall", "runner session"}
+	want := []string{"stop app", "reinstall", "runner session"}
 	if got := probe.recorded(); !slices.Equal(got, want) {
-		t.Fatalf("calls = %v, want %v: the reinstall must run once, before the automation session attaches", got, want)
+		t.Fatalf("calls = %v, want %v: the reinstall must run once, on a stopped app, before the automation session attaches", got, want)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -268,9 +271,9 @@ func TestClearStateWithoutAppPathWipesContainerBeforeTheRunnerSession(t *testing
 		t.Fatalf("Launch: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	want := []string{"reset container", "runner session"}
+	want := []string{"stop app", "reset container", "runner session"}
 	if got := probe.recorded(); !slices.Equal(got, want) {
-		t.Fatalf("calls = %v, want %v: the fallback must wipe the container once, before the session, and never reinstall", got, want)
+		t.Fatalf("calls = %v, want %v: the fallback must wipe a stopped app's container once, before the session, and never reinstall", got, want)
 	}
 	if warnings := strings.Count(output.String(), "resetting the data container only"); warnings != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("warning emitted %d times, want once", warnings)
@@ -316,6 +319,25 @@ func TestLaunchRefusesClearStateTheDriverWasNotBuiltFor(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestLaunchRefusesClearStateForABundleItDidNotClear holds the guard to the
+// fact it is guarding. A driver built to clear one bundle has cleared nothing
+// for another, so reporting that launch as a clear-state launch is a reset the
+// caller was told happened and did not.
+func TestLaunchRefusesClearStateForABundleItDidNotClear(t *testing.T) {
+	companion := &fakeCompanion{accessibilityJSON: "[]"}
+	d := newTestDriver(companion)
+	d.clearedBundleID = "com.example.app"
+
+	err := d.Launch(context.Background(), "com.other.app", true, nil)
+
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "clear-state") {
+		t.Fatalf("Launch err = %v, want a refusal naming clear-state: com.other.app was never cleared", err)
+	}
+	if indexOf(companion.recorded(), "launch") >= 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a launch reporting a clear that never happened must not reach the companion; got %v", companion.recorded())
+	}
+}
+
 func TestNewRejectsClearStateWithoutBundleID(t *testing.T) {
 	probe := &clearStateProbe{}
 	options := clearStateOptions(t, probe, "NO-BUNDLE-UDID", true)
@@ -391,6 +413,55 @@ func TestSimctlReinstallProceedsWhenNothingIsInstalled(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestClearStateStopsTheAppBeforeWipingItsContainer covers the ordering Launch
+// used to hold. simctl uninstall copes with a running app; deleting the data
+// container out from under one does not, and the CI iOS leg passes no app path
+// so it is the wipe that runs. A run whose previous run was interrupted finds
+// the app still up.
+func TestClearStateStopsTheAppBeforeWipingItsContainer(t *testing.T) {
+	container := t.TempDir()
+	stale := filepath.Join(container, "Documents")
+	if err := os.Mkdir(stale, 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	log := scriptedXcrun(t, `"simctl terminate "*) :;;
+"simctl get_app_container "*) echo `+container+`;;`)
+	d := &Driver{udid: "SIM-UDID", bundleID: "app.example", output: &bytes.Buffer{}}
+	d.terminateApp = d.simctlTerminate
+	d.resetContainer = d.resetDataContainer
+
+	if err := d.clearAppState(context.Background()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("clearAppState: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	want := []string{
+		"simctl terminate SIM-UDID app.example",
+		"simctl get_app_container SIM-UDID app.example data",
+	}
+	if got := xcrunCalls(t, log); !slices.Equal(got, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("xcrun calls = %v, want %v: the app was still writing to the container being deleted", got, want)
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(stale); !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		t.Fatalf("stat %s = %v, want the previous run's state gone", stale, err)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestClearStateSurvivesAnAppThatIsNotRunning holds the terminate to best
+// effort. simctl exits non-zero when there is nothing to stop, and a first run
+// on a fresh simulator must not fail on it.
+func TestClearStateSurvivesAnAppThatIsNotRunning(t *testing.T) {
+	container := t.TempDir()
+	scriptedXcrun(t, `"simctl terminate "*) echo "No matching processes belonging to bundle identifier app.example"; exit 3;;
+"simctl get_app_container "*) echo `+container+`;;`)
+	d := &Driver{udid: "SIM-UDID", bundleID: "app.example", output: &bytes.Buffer{}}
+	d.terminateApp = d.simctlTerminate
+	d.resetContainer = d.resetDataContainer
+
+	if err := d.clearAppState(context.Background()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("clearAppState: %v: an app that is not running is not a failure to clear", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestLaunchRejectsEnvironment(t *testing.T) {
 	d := newTestDriver(&fakeCompanion{accessibilityJSON: "[]"})
 	err := d.Launch(context.Background(), "", false, map[string]string{"K": "V"})
@@ -1116,14 +1187,134 @@ func TestLaunchLeavesATighterCallerDeadlineAlone(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// blownBudgetShape is one way a transport the driver launches through reports
+// a lifecycle call outliving its budget.
+type blownBudgetShape struct {
+	name string
+	err  error
+}
+
+// blownBudgetShapes drives every such transport against a server that never
+// answers and returns the error each one really produces. The runner transport
+// has two: wrapTransport wraps the context's own error once cancellation has
+// landed, and the connection's i/o timeout when the deadline it armed from
+// that context fires first. The legacy transport reports the same expiry as a
+// gRPC status. Only the first satisfies errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded),
+// so a fake that returns ctx.Err() raw shows the driver a recovery that two
+// thirds of production can never reach.
+func blownBudgetShapes(t *testing.T) []blownBudgetShape {
+	t.Helper()
+	return []blownBudgetShape{
+		{"runner context deadline", runnerContextDeadlineError(t)},
+		{"runner connection deadline", silentRunnerLaunchError(t, connectionDeadlineOnly{time.Now().Add(100 * time.Millisecond)})},
+		{"legacy grpc deadline", silentGRPCLaunchError(t)},
+	}
+}
+
+// runnerContextDeadlineError is the shape the runner transport produces once
+// the context's own cancellation has landed.
+func runnerContextDeadlineError(t *testing.T) error {
+	t.Helper()
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithDeadline(context.Background(), time.Now().Add(-time.Second))
+	defer cancel()
+	return silentRunnerLaunchError(t, ctx)
+}
+
+// connectionDeadlineOnly carries a deadline the runner transport arms the
+// connection with, while its own cancellation never lands. That is the race
+// wrapTransport's second branch exists for: the connection's deadline fires
+// while ctx.Err() is still nil.
+type connectionDeadlineOnly struct{ deadline time.Time }
+
+func (c connectionDeadlineOnly) Deadline() (time.Time, bool) { return c.deadline, true }
+func (c connectionDeadlineOnly) Done() <-chan struct{}       { return nil }
+func (c connectionDeadlineOnly) Err() error                  { return nil }
+func (c connectionDeadlineOnly) Value(any) any               { return nil }
+
+// silentRunnerLaunchError returns what the real runner transport produces for a
+// launch nobody ever answers.
+func silentRunnerLaunchError(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context) error {
+	t.Helper()
+	listener, err := net.Listen("tcp", "127.0.0.1:0")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	closed := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		conn, acceptErr := listener.Accept()
+		if acceptErr != nil {
+			return
+		}
+		defer conn.Close()
+		<-closed
+	}()
+	companion, err := transport.DialRunner(listener.Addr().String(), "SIM-UDID", "com.example.app")
+	if err != nil {
+		listener.Close()
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		close(closed)
+		_ = companion.Close()
+		listener.Close()
+	})
+
+	launchErr := companion.Launch(ctx, "com.example.app", true)
+	if launchErr == nil {
+		t.Fatal("the runner transport reported a launch no server ever answered")
+	}
+	return launchErr
+}
+
+// silentCompanionServer is the legacy companion with a launch that never
+// answers, so the caller's own deadline is what ends the call.
+type silentCompanionServer struct {
+	companionpb.UnimplementedCompanionServiceServer
+}
+
+func (silentCompanionServer) Launch(stream grpc.BidiStreamingServer[companionpb.LaunchRequest, companionpb.LaunchResponse]) error {
+	<-stream.Context().Done()
+	return stream.Context().Err()
+}
+
+// silentGRPCLaunchError returns what the legacy transport produces for the same
+// launch, which SANDERLING_SIMULATOR_COMPANION=legacy still runs on.
+func silentGRPCLaunchError(t *testing.T) error {
+	t.Helper()
+	listener, err := net.Listen("tcp", "127.0.0.1:0")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	server := grpc.NewServer()
+	companionpb.RegisterCompanionServiceServer(server, silentCompanionServer{})
+	go server.Serve(listener)
+	t.Cleanup(server.Stop)
+
+	companion, err := transport.Dial(listener.Addr().String())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { companion.Close() })
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 250*time.Millisecond)
+	defer cancel()
+	launchErr := companion.Launch(ctx, "com.example.app", true)
+	if launchErr == nil {
+		t.Fatal("the legacy transport reported a launch the companion never answered")
+	}
+	return launchErr
+}
+
 // wedgedUntilRestartCompanion models the session a refused launch leaves
-// behind: the refusal is never reported, and no later launch is answered until
-// the session itself is replaced.
+// behind: the refusal is never reported, no later launch is answered until the
+// session itself is replaced, and the expired bound reaches the driver in
+// whatever shape its transport gives it.
 type wedgedUntilRestartCompanion struct {
 	fakeCompanion
-	mutex     sync.Mutex
-	replaced  bool
-	attempted int
+	blownBudget error
+	mutex       sync.Mutex
+	replaced    bool
+	attempted   int
 }
 
 func (w *wedgedUntilRestartCompanion) replaceSession() {
@@ -1147,7 +1338,7 @@ func (w *wedgedUntilRestartCompanion) Launch(ctx context.Context, _ string, _ bo
 		return nil
 	}
 	<-ctx.Done()
-	return ctx.Err()
+	return w.blownBudget
 }
 
 // TestLaunchReplacesTheSessionAfterALaunchBlowsItsBound covers the FrontBoard
@@ -1155,34 +1346,40 @@ func (w *wedgedUntilRestartCompanion) Launch(ctx context.Context, _ string, _ bo
 // makes the session refuse the launch, and XCTest answers that refusal with
 // minutes of diagnostics instead of an error, so the bound expires and every
 // later call queues behind the same wedge. Calling launch again on that session
-// cannot work; the run only recovers if the session is replaced first.
+// cannot work; the run only recovers if the session is replaced first. The
+// recovery has to fire on every shape the driver's transports report that
+// expiry in, because which one arrives is a race the driver does not control.
 func TestLaunchReplacesTheSessionAfterALaunchBlowsItsBound(t *testing.T) {
-	previous := launchTimeout
-	launchTimeout = 100 * time.Millisecond
-	defer func() { launchTimeout = previous }()
+	for _, shape := range blownBudgetShapes(t) {
+		t.Run(shape.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			previous := launchTimeout
+			launchTimeout = 100 * time.Millisecond
+			defer func() { launchTimeout = previous }()
 
-	companion := &wedgedUntilRestartCompanion{}
-	output := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	d := newTestDriver(companion)
-	d.output = output
-	restarts := 0
-	d.restart = func(context.Context) error {
-		restarts++
-		companion.replaceSession()
-		return nil
-	}
+			companion := &wedgedUntilRestartCompanion{blownBudget: shape.err}
+			output := &bytes.Buffer{}
+			d := newTestDriver(companion)
+			d.output = output
+			restarts := 0
+			d.restart = func(context.Context) error {
+				restarts++
+				companion.replaceSession()
+				return nil
+			}
 
-	if err := d.Launch(context.Background(), "", false, nil); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Launch: %v", err)
-	}
-	if restarts != 1 {
-		t.Fatalf("session restarts = %d, want exactly 1", restarts)
-	}
-	if attempts := companion.launchAttempts(); attempts != 2 {
-		t.Fatalf("launch attempts = %d, want 2: one that wedged and one on the replaced session", attempts)
-	}
-	if !strings.Contains(output.String(), "restarting the session") {
-		t.Fatalf("the recovery was silent, so a run that needed it never says so; output was %q", output.String())
+			if err := d.Launch(context.Background(), "", false, nil); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("Launch: %v", err)
+			}
+			if restarts != 1 {
+				t.Fatalf("session restarts = %d, want exactly 1 (the session reported %v)", restarts, shape.err)
+			}
+			if attempts := companion.launchAttempts(); attempts != 2 {
+				t.Fatalf("launch attempts = %d, want 2: one that wedged and one on the replaced session", attempts)
+			}
+			if !strings.Contains(output.String(), "restarting the session") {
+				t.Fatalf("the recovery was silent, so a run that needed it never says so; output was %q", output.String())
+			}
+		})
 	}
 }
 
@@ -1196,7 +1393,7 @@ func TestLaunchBoundsTheSessionRestartItTriggers(t *testing.T) {
 	launchRecoveryTimeout = 200 * time.Millisecond
 	defer func() { launchTimeout, launchRecoveryTimeout = previousLaunch, previousRecovery }()
 
-	d := newTestDriver(&wedgedUntilRestartCompanion{})
+	d := newTestDriver(&wedgedUntilRestartCompanion{blownBudget: runnerContextDeadlineError(t)})
 	d.restart = func(restartCtx context.Context) error {
 		<-restartCtx.Done()
 		return restartCtx.Err()
@@ -1222,7 +1419,7 @@ func TestLaunchKeepsTheSessionWhenTheCallersOwnDeadlineExpires(t *testing.T) {
 	launchTimeout = 30 * time.Second
 	defer func() { launchTimeout = previous }()
 
-	companion := &wedgedUntilRestartCompanion{}
+	companion := &wedgedUntilRestartCompanion{blownBudget: runnerContextDeadlineError(t)}
 	d := newTestDriver(companion)
 	restarts := 0
 	d.restart = func(context.Context) error {