diff --git a/src/cron/service.external-reload-schedule-recompute.test.ts b/src/cron/service.external-reload-schedule-recompute.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7c45d2cac29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cron/service.external-reload-schedule-recompute.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+import fs from "node:fs/promises";
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { setupCronServiceSuite, writeCronStoreSnapshot } from "./service.test-harness.js";
+import { createCronServiceState } from "./service/state.js";
+import { ensureLoaded } from "./service/store.js";
+import type { CronJob } from "./types.js";
+
+const { logger: noopLogger, makeStorePath } = setupCronServiceSuite({
+  prefix: "openclaw-cron-external-reload-",
+  baseTimeIso: "2026-03-19T01:44:00.000Z",
+});
+
+describe("forceReload repairs externally changed cron schedules", () => {
+  it("recomputes nextRunAtMs when jobs.json changes schedule outside cron.update", async () => {
+    const store = await makeStorePath();
+    const nowMs = Date.parse("2026-03-19T01:44:00.000Z");
+    const jobId = "external-schedule-change";
+    const staleNextRunAtMs = Date.parse("2026-03-20T00:30:00.000Z");
+    const correctedNextRunAtMs = Date.parse("2026-03-19T12:30:00.000Z");
+
+    const createJob = (expr: string): CronJob => ({
+      id: jobId,
+      name: "external schedule change",
+      enabled: true,
+      createdAtMs: Date.parse("2026-03-18T00:30:00.000Z"),
+      updatedAtMs: Date.parse("2026-03-19T01:44:00.000Z"),
+      schedule: { kind: "cron", expr, tz: "Asia/Shanghai", staggerMs: 0 },
+      sessionTarget: "main",
+      wakeMode: "next-heartbeat",
+      payload: { kind: "systemEvent", text: "tick" },
+      state: {
+        nextRunAtMs: staleNextRunAtMs,
+        lastRunAtMs: Date.parse("2026-03-19T00:30:00.000Z"),
+        lastStatus: "ok",
+        lastRunStatus: "ok",
+      },
+    });
+
+    await writeCronStoreSnapshot({
+      storePath: store.storePath,
+      jobs: [createJob("30 8 * * *")],
+    });
+
+    const state = createCronServiceState({
+      cronEnabled: true,
+      storePath: store.storePath,
+      log: noopLogger,
+      nowMs: () => nowMs,
+      enqueueSystemEvent: vi.fn(),
+      requestHeartbeatNow: vi.fn(),
+      runIsolatedAgentJob: vi.fn(async () => ({ status: "ok" as const })),
+    });
+
+    await ensureLoaded(state, { skipRecompute: true });
+    expect(state.store?.jobs[0]?.state.nextRunAtMs).toBe(staleNextRunAtMs);
+
+    await writeCronStoreSnapshot({
+      storePath: store.storePath,
+      jobs: [createJob("30 8,20 * * *")],
+    });
+
+    await ensureLoaded(state, { forceReload: true, skipRecompute: true });
+
+    const reloaded = state.store?.jobs.find((job) => job.id === jobId);
+    expect(reloaded?.schedule).toEqual({
+      kind: "cron",
+      expr: "30 8,20 * * *",
+      tz: "Asia/Shanghai",
+      staggerMs: 0,
+    });
+    expect(reloaded?.state.nextRunAtMs).toBe(correctedNextRunAtMs);
+
+    const persisted = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(store.storePath, "utf8")) as {
+      jobs?: Array<{ id: string; state?: { nextRunAtMs?: number } }>;
+    };
+    const persistedJob = persisted.jobs?.find((job) => job.id === jobId);
+    expect(persistedJob?.state?.nextRunAtMs).toBe(correctedNextRunAtMs);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/cron/service/store.ts b/src/cron/service/store.ts
index d1d36e48e08..37942ccd367 100644
--- a/src/cron/service/store.ts
+++ b/src/cron/service/store.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import fs from "node:fs";
 import { normalizeStoredCronJobs } from "../store-migration.js";
 import { loadCronStore, saveCronStore } from "../store.js";
 import type { CronJob } from "../types.js";
-import { recomputeNextRuns } from "./jobs.js";
+import { computeJobNextRunAtMs, recomputeNextRuns } from "./jobs.js";
 import type { CronServiceState } from "./state.js";
 
 async function getFileMtimeMs(path: string): Promise<number | null> {
@@ -14,6 +14,71 @@ async function getFileMtimeMs(path: string): Promise<number | null> {
   }
 }
 
+function schedulesEqual(a: CronJob["schedule"], b: CronJob["schedule"]): boolean {
+  if (a.kind !== b.kind) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  if (a.kind === "at" && b.kind === "at") {
+    return a.at === b.at;
+  }
+  if (a.kind === "every" && b.kind === "every") {
+    return a.everyMs === b.everyMs && a.anchorMs === b.anchorMs;
+  }
+  if (a.kind === "cron" && b.kind === "cron") {
+    return a.expr === b.expr && a.tz === b.tz && a.staggerMs === b.staggerMs;
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
+function repairNextRunsAfterExternalReload(params: {
+  state: CronServiceState;
+  previousJobs: CronJob[] | undefined;
+}): boolean {
+  const { state, previousJobs } = params;
+  if (!state.store || !previousJobs?.length) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  const previousById = new Map(previousJobs.map((job) => [job.id, job]));
+  const now = state.deps.nowMs();
+  let changed = false;
+
+  for (const job of state.store.jobs) {
+    const previous = previousById.get(job.id);
+    if (!previous) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const scheduleChanged = !schedulesEqual(previous.schedule, job.schedule);
+    const enabledChanged = previous.enabled !== job.enabled;
+    if (!scheduleChanged && !enabledChanged) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const nextRunAtMs = job.enabled ? computeJobNextRunAtMs(job, now) : undefined;
+    if (job.state.nextRunAtMs !== nextRunAtMs) {
+      job.state.nextRunAtMs = nextRunAtMs;
+      changed = true;
+    }
+    if (!job.enabled && job.state.runningAtMs !== undefined) {
+      job.state.runningAtMs = undefined;
+      changed = true;
+    }
+
+    state.deps.log.debug(
+      {
+        jobId: job.id,
+        scheduleChanged,
+        enabledChanged,
+        nextRunAtMs: job.state.nextRunAtMs,
+      },
+      "cron: repaired nextRunAtMs after external reload",
+    );
+  }
+
+  return changed;
+}
+
 export async function ensureLoaded(
   state: CronServiceState,
   opts?: {
@@ -31,6 +96,7 @@ export async function ensureLoaded(
   // Force reload always re-reads the file to avoid missing cross-service
   // edits on filesystems with coarse mtime resolution.
 
+  const previousJobs = state.store?.jobs;
   const fileMtimeMs = await getFileMtimeMs(state.deps.storePath);
   const loaded = await loadCronStore(state.deps.storePath);
   const jobs = (loaded.jobs ?? []) as unknown as Array<Record<string, unknown>>;
@@ -38,12 +104,16 @@ export async function ensureLoaded(
   state.store = { version: 1, jobs: jobs as unknown as CronJob[] };
   state.storeLoadedAtMs = state.deps.nowMs();
   state.storeFileMtimeMs = fileMtimeMs;
+  const repairedExternalReload = repairNextRunsAfterExternalReload({
+    state,
+    previousJobs,
+  });
 
   if (!opts?.skipRecompute) {
     recomputeNextRuns(state);
   }
 
-  if (mutated) {
+  if (mutated || repairedExternalReload) {
     await persist(state, { skipBackup: true });
   }
 }