diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 655de6d7427..2dfa2981103 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -110,6 +110,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Agents/exec: restore `host=node` routing for node-pinned and `host=auto` sessions, while still blocking sandboxed `auto` sessions from jumping to gateway. (#60788) Thanks @openperf.
 - Agents/compaction: keep assistant tool calls and displaced tool results in the same compaction chunk so strict summarization providers stop rejecting orphaned tool pairs. (#58849) Thanks @openperf.
 - Outbound/sanitizer: strip leaked `<tool_call>`, `<function_calls>`, and model special tokens from shared user-visible assistant text, including truncated tool-call streams, so internal scaffolding no longer bleeds into replies across surfaces. (#60619) Thanks @oliviareid-svg.
+- Telegram: restore DM voice-note preflight transcription so direct-message audio stops arriving as raw `<media:audio>` placeholders. (#61008) Thanks @manueltarouca.
 - Control UI/avatar: honor `ui.assistant.avatar` when serving `/avatar/:agentId` so Appearance UI avatar paths stop falling back to initials placeholders. (#60778) Thanks @hannasdev.
 - Control UI/Overview: prevent gateway access token/password visibility toggle buttons from overlapping their inputs at narrow widths. (#56924) Thanks @bbddbb1.
 - Control UI/cron: highlight the Cron refresh button while refresh is in flight so the page's loading state stays visible even when prior data remains on screen. (#60394) Thanks @coder-zhuzm.
diff --git a/extensions/telegram/src/bot-message-context.body.test.ts b/extensions/telegram/src/bot-message-context.body.test.ts
index e8f8cd38350..c9a01b87d76 100644
--- a/extensions/telegram/src/bot-message-context.body.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/telegram/src/bot-message-context.body.test.ts
@@ -145,4 +145,48 @@ describe("resolveTelegramInboundBody", () => {
       effectiveWasMentioned: true,
     });
   });
+
+  it("transcribes DM voice notes via preflight (not only groups)", async () => {
+    transcribeFirstAudioMock.mockReset();
+    transcribeFirstAudioMock.mockResolvedValueOnce("hello from a voice note");
+
+    const result = await resolveTelegramInboundBody({
+      cfg: {
+        channels: { telegram: {} },
+        tools: { media: { audio: { enabled: true } } },
+      } as never,
+      primaryCtx: {
+        me: { id: 7, username: "bot" },
+      } as never,
+      msg: {
+        message_id: 10,
+        date: 1_700_000_010,
+        chat: { id: 42, type: "private", first_name: "Pat" },
+        from: { id: 42, first_name: "Pat" },
+        voice: { file_id: "voice-dm-1" },
+        entities: [],
+      } as never,
+      allMedia: [{ path: "/tmp/voice-dm.ogg", contentType: "audio/ogg" }],
+      isGroup: false,
+      chatId: 42,
+      senderId: "42",
+      senderUsername: "",
+      routeAgentId: undefined,
+      effectiveGroupAllow: normalizeAllowFrom([]),
+      effectiveDmAllow: normalizeAllowFrom([]),
+      groupConfig: undefined,
+      topicConfig: undefined,
+      requireMention: false,
+      options: undefined,
+      groupHistories: new Map(),
+      historyLimit: 0,
+      logger: { info: vi.fn() },
+    });
+
+    expect(transcribeFirstAudioMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(result).toMatchObject({
+      bodyText: "hello from a voice note",
+    });
+    expect(result?.bodyText).not.toContain("<media:audio>");
+  });
 });
diff --git a/extensions/telegram/src/bot-message-context.body.ts b/extensions/telegram/src/bot-message-context.body.ts
index b24b00772a0..6fc3fa360b9 100644
--- a/extensions/telegram/src/bot-message-context.body.ts
+++ b/extensions/telegram/src/bot-message-context.body.ts
@@ -181,13 +181,13 @@ export async function resolveTelegramInboundBody(params: {
 
   let preflightTranscript: string | undefined;
   const needsPreflightTranscription =
-    isGroup &&
-    requireMention &&
     hasAudio &&
     !hasUserText &&
-    mentionRegexes.length > 0 &&
-    !disableAudioPreflight &&
-    senderAllowedForAudioPreflight;
+    (!isGroup ||
+      (requireMention &&
+        mentionRegexes.length > 0 &&
+        !disableAudioPreflight &&
+        senderAllowedForAudioPreflight));
 
   if (needsPreflightTranscription) {
     try {