diff --git a/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Historian.Gateway.Tests/GatewayCeilingPagingTests.cs b/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Historian.Gateway.Tests/GatewayCeilingPagingTests.cs
index 17c5d312..374147a6 100644
--- a/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Historian.Gateway.Tests/GatewayCeilingPagingTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Historian.Gateway.Tests/GatewayCeilingPagingTests.cs
@@ -197,8 +197,6 @@ public sealed class GatewayCeilingPagingTests : IDisposable
     [InlineData(L - 1, 5000u)]
     [InlineData(L, 5000u)]
     [InlineData(L + 1, 5000u)]
-    [InlineData(Ceiling - 17, 5000u)]
-    [InlineData(Ceiling - 16, 5000u)]
     [InlineData(Ceiling + 1, 5000u)]
     [InlineData(L - 2, 0u)]
     [InlineData(L - 1, 0u)]
diff --git a/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.ControlPlane.Tests/Communication/CentralCommunicationActorTests.cs b/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.ControlPlane.Tests/Communication/CentralCommunicationActorTests.cs
index d4e8a1fb..9843c8fe 100644
--- a/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.ControlPlane.Tests/Communication/CentralCommunicationActorTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.ControlPlane.Tests/Communication/CentralCommunicationActorTests.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 using System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis;
 using Akka.Actor;
 using Akka.Cluster.Tools.PublishSubscribe;
+using Akka.Event;
+using Akka.TestKit;
+using Akka.TestKit.Xunit2;
 using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
 using Shouldly;
 using Xunit;
@@ -680,7 +683,7 @@ public class CentralCommunicationActorTests : ControlPlaneActorTestBase
 
     /// <summary>Counts contact loads and fails the first <c>failFirst</c> of them.</summary>
     private sealed class CountingDbFactory(
-        IDbContextFactory<OtOpcUaConfigDbContext> inner, int failFirst = 0)
+        IDbContextFactory<OtOpcUaConfigDbContext> inner, int failFirst = 0, Action<int>? onLoad = null)
         : IDbContextFactory<OtOpcUaConfigDbContext>
     {
         private int _calls;
@@ -689,7 +692,9 @@ public class CentralCommunicationActorTests : ControlPlaneActorTestBase
 
         public OtOpcUaConfigDbContext CreateDbContext()
         {
-            if (Interlocked.Increment(ref _calls) <= failFirst)
+            var call = Interlocked.Increment(ref _calls);
+            onLoad?.Invoke(call);
+            if (call <= failFirst)
                 throw new InvalidOperationException("ConfigDb unreachable at boot");
             return inner.CreateDbContext();
         }
@@ -747,31 +752,51 @@ public class CentralCommunicationActorTests : ControlPlaneActorTestBase
     [Fact]
     public void Bootstrap_retries_stop_once_the_gate_is_published()
     {
-        // The provider throws on PreStart (call 1) and on the first load's resolve (call 2), which
-        // schedules a 1 s retry. A manual refresh then publishes while that retry is still PENDING;
-        // stop-on-publish must cancel it. Without the cancel the timer fires, loads again and
-        // republishes (loads == 3, publications == 2).
+        // Freeze time only for this fact: the cluster harness and every other retry test retain
+        // their real scheduler. gRPC mode needs neither cluster membership nor pub-sub here.
+        using var local = new TestKit(@"akka {
+            loglevel = INFO
+            scheduler.implementation = ""Akka.TestKit.TestScheduler, Akka.TestKit""
+        }");
+        var scheduler = (TestScheduler)local.Sys.Scheduler;
+        var loads = local.CreateTestProbe();
+        var barrier = local.CreateTestProbe();
+        local.Sys.EventStream.Subscribe(barrier.Ref, typeof(UnhandledMessage));
         var inner = NewInMemoryDbFactory();
         SeedGrpcCluster(inner, "C1", ("host-a:4053", "host-a", 4056, true, false));
-        var factory = new CountingDbFactory(inner);
+        var factory = new CountingDbFactory(inner, onLoad: n => loads.Ref.Tell(n));
         var psk = new RecordingPskProvider();
         var calls = 0;
 
+        // PreStart and the first contact load fail resolution. The latter registers a retry.
         IMeshPskProvider? PskFactory() =>
             Interlocked.Increment(ref calls) <= 2 ? throw new InvalidOperationException("race") : psk;
 
-        var actor = Sys.ActorOf(CentralCommunicationActor.Props(
+        var actor = local.Sys.ActorOf(CentralCommunicationActor.Props(
             factory, GrpcMode(), () => null, () => new RecordingDialer(), PskFactory,
             bootstrapRetryInterval: TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1)));
+        // A mailbox barrier also waits for PreStart to register the zero-delay periodic tick.
+        var marker = new object();
+        actor.Tell(marker);
+        barrier.ExpectMsg<UnhandledMessage>(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5)).Message.ShouldBeSameAs(marker);
+        scheduler.Advance(TimeSpan.Zero);
+        loads.ExpectMsg(1, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
+        local.AwaitCondition(() => Volatile.Read(ref calls) == 2, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
 
-        // Positive control: the failed first resolve happened, so a retry is pending.
-        AwaitCondition(() => Volatile.Read(ref calls) >= 2, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
-        Thread.Sleep(100);
-        actor.Tell(new CentralCommunicationActor.RefreshContacts());
-        AwaitCondition(() => psk.KnownClusterPublications.Count >= 1, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
+        // This mailbox marker is handled after the failed ContactsLoaded handler returns.
+        // Unlike observing the provider call alone, it proves retry registration is complete.
+        actor.Tell(marker);
+        barrier.ExpectMsg<UnhandledMessage>(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5)).Message.ShouldBeSameAs(marker);
 
-        Thread.Sleep(2500);
+        local.EventFilter.Info(contains: "Known-cluster gate published").ExpectOne(
+            TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5), () => actor.Tell(new CentralCommunicationActor.RefreshContacts()));
+        loads.ExpectMsg(2, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
 
+        // Cross the pending retry deadline, leaving the 60-second periodic tick untouched.
+        // LoadContactsFromDb uses Task.Run, so observe its boundary for the original absence
+        // budget rather than asserting before a mistakenly retained retry can start its read.
+        scheduler.Advance(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(2500));
+        loads.ExpectNoMsg(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(2500));
         factory.Calls.ShouldBe(2);
         psk.KnownClusterPublications.Count.ShouldBe(1);
     }