diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b86eb2249cb..126ec8a6e27 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 
 ### Fixes
 
+- Gateway/Pairing: treat operator.admin pairing tokens as satisfying operator.write requests so legacy devices stop looping through scope-upgrade prompts introduced in 2026.2.19. (#23125, #23006) Thanks @vignesh07.
 - Memory/QMD: add optional `memory.qmd.mcporter` search routing so QMD `query/search/vsearch` can run through mcporter keep-alive flows (including multi-collection paths) to reduce cold starts, while keeping searches on agent-scoped QMD state for consistent recall. (#19617) Thanks @nicole-luxe and @vignesh07.
 - Chat/UI: strip inline reply/audio directive tags (`[[reply_to_current]]`, `[[reply_to:<id>]]`, `[[audio_as_voice]]`) from displayed chat history, live chat event output, and session preview snippets so control tags no longer leak into user-visible surfaces.
 - BlueBubbles/DM history: restore DM backfill context with account-scoped rolling history, bounded backfill retries, and safer history payload limits. (#20302) Thanks @Ryan-Haines.
diff --git a/src/infra/gateway-lock.test.ts b/src/infra/gateway-lock.test.ts
index f4a8c999d24..195a242defc 100644
--- a/src/infra/gateway-lock.test.ts
+++ b/src/infra/gateway-lock.test.ts
@@ -196,6 +196,55 @@ describe("gateway lock", () => {
     staleSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 
+  it("keeps lock when fs.stat fails until payload is stale", async () => {
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+    const env = await makeEnv();
+    const { lockPath, configPath } = resolveLockPath(env);
+    const payload = createLockPayload({ configPath, startTime: 111 });
+    await fs.writeFile(lockPath, JSON.stringify(payload), "utf8");
+
+    const procSpy = mockProcStatRead({
+      onProcRead: () => {
+        throw new Error("EACCES");
+      },
+    });
+    const statSpy = vi
+      .spyOn(fs, "stat")
+      .mockRejectedValue(Object.assign(new Error("EPERM"), { code: "EPERM" }));
+
+    const pending = acquireForTest(env, {
+      timeoutMs: 20,
+      staleMs: 10_000,
+      platform: "linux",
+    });
+    await expect(pending).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(GatewayLockError);
+
+    procSpy.mockRestore();
+
+    const stalePayload = createLockPayload({
+      configPath,
+      startTime: 111,
+      createdAt: new Date(0).toISOString(),
+    });
+    await fs.writeFile(lockPath, JSON.stringify(stalePayload), "utf8");
+
+    const staleProcSpy = mockProcStatRead({
+      onProcRead: () => {
+        throw new Error("EACCES");
+      },
+    });
+
+    const lock = await acquireForTest(env, {
+      staleMs: 1,
+      platform: "linux",
+    });
+    expect(lock).not.toBeNull();
+
+    await lock?.release();
+    staleProcSpy.mockRestore();
+    statSpy.mockRestore();
+  });
+
   it("returns null when multi-gateway override is enabled", async () => {
     const env = await makeEnv();
     const lock = await acquireGatewayLock({
diff --git a/src/infra/gateway-lock.ts b/src/infra/gateway-lock.ts
index ccca44c4b58..34300f9545b 100644
--- a/src/infra/gateway-lock.ts
+++ b/src/infra/gateway-lock.ts
@@ -231,7 +231,11 @@ export async function acquireGatewayLock(
             const st = await fs.stat(lockPath);
             stale = Date.now() - st.mtimeMs > staleMs;
           } catch {
-            stale = true;
+            // On Windows or locked filesystems we may be unable to stat the
+            // lock file even though the existing gateway is still healthy.
+            // Treat the lock as non-stale so we keep waiting instead of
+            // forcefully removing another gateway's lock.
+            stale = false;
           }
         }
         if (stale) {
diff --git a/src/memory/qmd-manager.test.ts b/src/memory/qmd-manager.test.ts
index b0dd592cf6c..49dfca02fa9 100644
--- a/src/memory/qmd-manager.test.ts
+++ b/src/memory/qmd-manager.test.ts
@@ -985,8 +985,9 @@ describe("QmdMemoryManager", () => {
     );
     expect(mcporterCall).toBeDefined();
     const spawnOpts = mcporterCall?.[2] as { env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv } | undefined;
-    expect(spawnOpts?.env?.XDG_CONFIG_HOME).toContain("/agents/main/qmd/xdg-config");
-    expect(spawnOpts?.env?.XDG_CACHE_HOME).toContain("/agents/main/qmd/xdg-cache");
+    const normalizePath = (value?: string) => value?.replace(/\\/g, "/");
+    expect(normalizePath(spawnOpts?.env?.XDG_CONFIG_HOME)).toContain("/agents/main/qmd/xdg-config");
+    expect(normalizePath(spawnOpts?.env?.XDG_CACHE_HOME)).toContain("/agents/main/qmd/xdg-cache");
 
     await manager.close();
   });