diff --git a/Partnership/partnership_onboard.sh b/Partnership/partnership_onboard.sh
index bb06d06..34de173 100755
--- a/Partnership/partnership_onboard.sh
+++ b/Partnership/partnership_onboard.sh
@@ -264,7 +264,12 @@ write_onboard_phase() {
     local state_file="$(platform_setup_db_path)"
     [[ "$DRY_RUN" == true ]] && { warn "DRY RUN — would write ${key}=true"; return 0; }
     set_state_var "$state_file" "$key" "true"
-    platform_push_setup_state
+    # The push now reports failure, so it is warned about rather than returned. This function's
+    # contract is "the phase is recorded here" — the flag is on local disk either way, and an
+    # unreachable partner must not make a completed phase look like it did not happen.
+    platform_push_setup_state \
+        || warn "Phase flag ${key} written locally but not delivered to the partner"
+    return 0
 }
 
 
diff --git a/Plugin/unraid/adapter.sh b/Plugin/unraid/adapter.sh
index a7eafb2..17e1fd0 100755
--- a/Plugin/unraid/adapter.sh
+++ b/Plugin/unraid/adapter.sh
@@ -429,10 +429,14 @@ exit(\$failed > 0 ? 1 : 0);
 # ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # platform_push_setup_state
 #   Pushes the Varaverk wizard setup state to all partners via the WebGUI PHP API.
-#   No-op if php is unavailable. Always returns 0.
+#   Returns 1 if any partner did not take it, 0 otherwise. No-op returning 0 if php is absent.
+#
+#   This used to end with a bare `return 0` under the comment "Always returns 0", which meant
+#   every caller that wrote `platform_push_setup_state || X=false` was testing a constant.
+#   Wiring a failure branch onto a helper that cannot fail is worse than hardcoding the tick,
+#   because the code reads as though it checked.
 # ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 platform_push_setup_state() {
     command -v php &>/dev/null || return 0
-    php -r "require_once '/usr/local/emhttp/plugins/varaverk/include/config.php'; vv_push_setup_state();" 2>/dev/null
-    return 0
+    php -r "require_once '/usr/local/emhttp/plugins/varaverk/include/config.php'; exit(vv_push_setup_state() > 0 ? 1 : 0);" 2>/dev/null
 }
diff --git a/Plugin/unraid/include/config.php b/Plugin/unraid/include/config.php
index 23141a1..5a9b1a5 100644
--- a/Plugin/unraid/include/config.php
+++ b/Plugin/unraid/include/config.php
@@ -238,12 +238,23 @@ function vv_setup_state_write(array $data): bool {
 
 // Push the setup state file to all remote hosts via scp.
 // Reads the remote's varaverk.cfg to find their actual SCRIPTS_DIR (handles appdata mode).
-function vv_push_setup_state(): void {
-    if (!file_exists(VV_SETUP_STATE_FILE)) return;
+//
+// Returns the number of hosts the push FAILED to reach — 0 when every partner took it, and 0
+// when there was nothing to do. This was `: void`, and it threw away the exec() status too, so
+// the adapter that wraps it was documented "Always returns 0" and every caller testing it was
+// testing a constant. partnership_offboard.sh reported "Phase flags pushed ✅" on runs whose own
+// body had just warned the push failed, which is the difference between a mirror that knows the
+// partnership ended and one whose wizard still shows a finished onboard.
+//
+// A host with no resolvable Tailscale IP counts as a failure, not a skip: it is precisely the
+// case where the partner keeps stale state and nobody is told.
+function vv_push_setup_state(): int {
+    if (!file_exists(VV_SETUP_STATE_FILE)) return 0;
     $myHostId = vv_detect_host();
     $vars     = vv_conf_vars();
     $sshKey   = $vars[strtoupper($myHostId) . '_SSH_KEY'] ?? '';
-    if (!$sshKey || !file_exists($sshKey)) return;
+    if (!$sshKey || !file_exists($sshKey)) return 0;
+    $failed = 0;
 
     $master = vv_read_conf_raw('master.conf');
     preg_match_all('/^\s*(HOST\d+)(?:_NAME)?\s*=\s*["\']?(\S+?)["\']?\s*$/m', $master, $m);
@@ -255,9 +266,9 @@ function vv_push_setup_state(): void {
         $hostname = trim($m[2][$i]);
         if (!$hostname) continue;
         $ip = vv_resolve_tailscale_ip($hostname);
-        if (!$ip) continue;
+        if (!$ip) { $failed++; continue; }
         $sshBase = 'ssh -i ' . escapeshellarg($sshKey)
-                 . ' -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no root@' . $ip;
+                 . ' -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o BatchMode=yes root@' . $ip;
 
         // Get remote SCRIPTS_DIR from varaverk.cfg — handles appdata mode on remote.
         // Falls back to the default install path if varaverk.cfg is absent (pre-install).
@@ -282,9 +293,15 @@ function vv_push_setup_state(): void {
                        . '[ -d "$sf" ] || { [ -d "' . $remoteSD . '/State_Files" ] '
                        . '&& sf="' . $remoteSD . '/State_Files"; }; '
                        . 'mkdir -p "$sf" && cat > "$sf/varaverk_setup.db"';
+        // 2>&1 without capturing the status was the whole problem: the command could fail on an
+        // unreachable host, a full disk or a refused key and this function returned identically.
+        $out = [];
+        $rc  = 0;
         exec('cat ' . escapeshellarg(VV_SETUP_STATE_FILE) . ' | '
-            . $sshBase . ' ' . escapeshellarg($remoteResolve) . ' 2>&1');
+            . $sshBase . ' ' . escapeshellarg($remoteResolve) . ' 2>&1', $out, $rc);
+        if ($rc !== 0) $failed++;
     }
+    return $failed;
 }
 
 // Push master.conf to all remote hosts via scp after a local save.