diff --git a/docs/drivers/MTConnect.md b/docs/drivers/MTConnect.md
index ad0b7984..9999b3e4 100644
--- a/docs/drivers/MTConnect.md
+++ b/docs/drivers/MTConnect.md
@@ -437,9 +437,11 @@ refused — advances `LastSuccessfulRead`, with the state following the read / `
 (a write cannot clear either of those paths' degradation). A write that got **no** answer
 (transport failure, deadline) sets **Degraded** with the stamp preserved and a type-only
 `LastError` (review 2026-10-21 I-3, coordinator ruling). One success writer is shared: that
-degradation is cleared by the next answered **write** or the next good **read** (a `/current`
-answer or a live-index read), so it cannot stick on a driver still talking to the Agent; a
-`/sample` chunk alone does not clear it.
+degradation is **latched until the next answered write or the next answered `/current` read**.
+Neither a `/sample` chunk nor a read served from the live pump index clears it (both are stream
+evidence, not an answer to a request), so on a **subscription-only** driver one timed-out write
+keeps the driver Degraded until the next write — the comms-loss watchdog does not trip on it,
+because the stream keeps advancing `LastSuccessfulRead`.
 
 **One request per device (review 2026-10-21 T-6).** The slots that survive the refusals above
 go out as one `POST {agent}/{device}?id1=v1&id2=v2…` per device (the Agent's PUT surface takes
diff --git a/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.MTConnect/MTConnectDriver.cs b/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.MTConnect/MTConnectDriver.cs
index 853caf36..816b877b 100644
--- a/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.MTConnect/MTConnectDriver.cs
+++ b/src/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.MTConnect/MTConnectDriver.cs
@@ -371,8 +371,9 @@ public sealed partial class MTConnectDriver
 
     /// <summary>
     ///     Whether the last Agent write got no reply (review I-3 / coordinator ruling: an unanswered write degrades).
-    ///     Cleared by the next answered read OR write (<see cref="RecordReadAnswered"/> / <see cref="RecordWriteAnswered"/>),
-    ///     so it cannot latch on a driver that is still talking to the Agent.
+    ///     Latched until the next answered <c>/current</c> read or answered write (<see cref="RecordReadAnswered"/> /
+    ///     <see cref="RecordWriteAnswered"/>). <b>Neither a <c>/sample</c> chunk nor a live-index read clears it</b>, so on
+    ///     a subscription-only driver one timed-out write keeps the driver Degraded until the next write (r1 N-5).
     /// </summary>
     private volatile bool _writeDegraded;
 
@@ -855,9 +856,13 @@ public sealed partial class MTConnectDriver
 
         // The read path is answering (from a stream that is delivering), so a degradation a failed /current left
         // behind is no longer true of it. The stamp stays the pump's — this read heard nothing from the Agent itself.
-        if (_readDegraded || _writeDegraded)
+        // Clears only the READ degradation (r1 N-5): an index read is the stream's evidence, not an Agent answer to a
+        // request — the same evidence a /sample chunk carries, which by the I-3 ruling does not clear an unanswered
+        // write either.
+        if (_readDegraded)
         {
-            RecordReadAnswered(ReadHealth().LastSuccessfulRead ?? DateTime.UtcNow);
+            _readDegraded = false;
+            PublishHealthy(ReadHealth().LastSuccessfulRead ?? DateTime.UtcNow);
         }
 
         return results;
@@ -2255,12 +2260,9 @@ public sealed partial class MTConnectDriver
                         // forever, so retrying would be an unbounded hot loop against an endpoint
                         // that will never stream until an operator changes something. Latch it, say
                         // so loudly, and stop. A re-initialize clears the latch.
-                        lock (_subscriptionLock)
-                        {
-                            _streamUnsupported = true;
-                        }
-
-                        if (!TryDegradeStream(generation, outcome.Error!.Message))
+                        // r1 N-4: the latch is set inside the same generation-checked section as the degrade, so a
+                        // superseded pump can never latch Unsupported on the session that replaced it.
+                        if (!TryDegradeStream(generation, outcome.Error!.Message, latchUnsupported: true))
                         {
                             return;
                         }
@@ -2707,7 +2709,8 @@ public sealed partial class MTConnectDriver
     /// <param name="generation">The pump's session generation.</param>
     /// <param name="message">The failure (redacted text only).</param>
     /// <returns><see langword="false"/> when the pump's session has been replaced (nothing written).</returns>
-    private bool TryDegradeStream(long generation, string message)
+    /// <param name="latchUnsupported">Also latch the "endpoint cannot stream" verdict (r1 N-4).</param>
+    private bool TryDegradeStream(long generation, string message, bool latchUnsupported = false)
     {
         // The mirror of TryMarkStreamDelivered: a superseded pump's failure is not the new session's.
         lock (_subscriptionLock)
@@ -2717,6 +2720,11 @@ public sealed partial class MTConnectDriver
                 return false;
             }
 
+            if (latchUnsupported)
+            {
+                _streamUnsupported = true;
+            }
+
             _streamDegraded = true;
             Degrade(message);
 
diff --git a/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.MTConnect.Tests/MTConnectBatchedWriteTests.cs b/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.MTConnect.Tests/MTConnectBatchedWriteTests.cs
index cb9c96c3..c230abbb 100644
--- a/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.MTConnect.Tests/MTConnectBatchedWriteTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Drivers/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.MTConnect.Tests/MTConnectBatchedWriteTests.cs
@@ -165,4 +165,37 @@ public sealed class MTConnectBatchedWriteTests
 
         driver.GetHealth().State.ShouldBe(DriverState.Degraded);
     }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     r1 N-5: stream evidence does not clear an unanswered write — neither a delivered /sample chunk nor a read
+    ///     served from the live pump index. The next answered write does (the positive control).
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Stream_evidence_does_not_clear_an_unanswered_write_but_an_answered_write_does()
+    {
+        var (driver, client) = await WritableAsync();
+        try
+        {
+            await driver.SubscribeAsync([PosRaw], TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(50), Ct);
+            await client.PumpAsync(MTConnectPumpGenerationChunks.Pos(108, 113, "1.5")).WaitAsync(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30), Ct);
+            client.WriteFailure = new HttpRequestException("connection refused");
+            await driver.WriteAsync([new WriteRequest(PosRaw, 9.5)], Ct);
+            driver.GetHealth().State.ShouldBe(DriverState.Degraded);
+            var currentCalls = client.CurrentCallCount;
+
+            await client.PumpAsync(MTConnectPumpGenerationChunks.Pos(113, 118, "2.5")).WaitAsync(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30), Ct);
+            (await driver.ReadAsync([PosRaw], Ct)).Single().StatusCode.ShouldBe(Good);
+            client.CurrentCallCount.ShouldBe(currentCalls, "the read was served from the live index");
+
+            driver.GetHealth().State.ShouldBe(DriverState.Degraded, "stream evidence is not an answer to the write");
+
+            client.WriteFailure = null;
+            await driver.WriteAsync([new WriteRequest(PosRaw, 3.5)], Ct);
+            driver.GetHealth().State.ShouldBe(DriverState.Healthy);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            await driver.ShutdownAsync(CancellationToken.None);
+        }
+    }
 }