diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/stores/__tests__/settingsStore.spec.ts b/apps/desktop/src/stores/__tests__/settingsStore.spec.ts
index 717286a4f1..66e7d5e99e 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/stores/__tests__/settingsStore.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/stores/__tests__/settingsStore.spec.ts
@@ -527,6 +527,53 @@ describe("settingsStore MCP policy persistence", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("settingsStore persisted settings initialization", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.resetModules();
+    setActivePinia(createPinia());
+  });
+
+  it("does not treat an editor settings read failure as an empty record", async () => {
+    const loadEditorSettings = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error("storage temporarily unavailable"));
+    const saveEditorSettings = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+    vi.doMock("@/lib/backend/api", () => ({ loadEditorSettings, saveEditorSettings }));
+
+    const { useSettingsStore } = await import("@/stores/settingsStore");
+    const store = useSettingsStore();
+
+    await expect(store.initEditorSettings()).rejects.toThrow("storage temporarily unavailable");
+    expect(store.isEditorSettingsLoaded).toBe(false);
+    expect(saveEditorSettings).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("can retry editor settings initialization without losing saved values", async () => {
+    const loadEditorSettings = vi.fn().mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error("storage temporarily unavailable")).mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      fontSize: 17,
+      theme: "xcode-dark",
+      executeMode: "all",
+      executeModeDefaultVersion: 1,
+      updateNotificationsEnabled: false,
+    });
+    const saveEditorSettings = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+    vi.doMock("@/lib/backend/api", () => ({ loadEditorSettings, saveEditorSettings }));
+
+    const { useSettingsStore } = await import("@/stores/settingsStore");
+    const store = useSettingsStore();
+
+    await expect(store.initEditorSettings()).rejects.toThrow("storage temporarily unavailable");
+    await store.initEditorSettings();
+
+    expect(store.isEditorSettingsLoaded).toBe(true);
+    expect(store.editorSettings).toMatchObject({
+      fontSize: 17,
+      theme: "xcode-dark",
+      executeMode: "all",
+      updateNotificationsEnabled: false,
+    });
+    expect(saveEditorSettings).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
+
 describe("settingsStore sidebar connection sort persistence", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     vi.resetModules();
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/stores/settingsStore.ts b/apps/desktop/src/stores/settingsStore.ts
index 207dfd93c9..227e6b83c1 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/stores/settingsStore.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/stores/settingsStore.ts
@@ -1191,7 +1191,10 @@ export const useSettingsStore = defineStore("settings", () => {
 
   async function initEditorSettings() {
     if (isEditorSettingsLoaded.value) return;
-    const saved = await api.loadEditorSettings().catch(() => null);
+    // A read failure is not the same as an empty settings record. Keeping the
+    // store unloaded prevents startup migrations from persisting defaults over
+    // settings that are temporarily unavailable.
+    const saved = await api.loadEditorSettings();
     if (saved && typeof saved === "object" && !Array.isArray(saved)) {
       const savedSettings = saved as Partial<EditorSettings>;
       const normalized = normalizeEditorSettings(savedSettings);