diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d274a8a0291..0aa25f9858d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 
 - Channels/WhatsApp: allow `@whiskeysockets/libsignal-node` in `onlyBuiltDependencies` so pnpm v9+ `blockExoticSubdeps` no longer rejects the baileys git-tarball subdep and silences all inbound agent replies. Fixes #76539. Thanks @ottodeng and @vincentkoc.
 - Gateway/systemd: preserve operator-added secrets in the Gateway env file across re-stage while clearing OpenClaw-managed keys (such as `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN`) so a fresh staging value is never shadowed by a stale env-file copy; operator secrets are also retained when the state-dir `.env` is empty. Fixes #76860. Thanks @hclsys.
+- Realtime transcription: report socket closes before provider readiness as closed-before-ready failures instead of mislabeling them as connection timeouts for OpenAI, xAI, and Deepgram streaming transcription. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - OpenAI/Google Meet: fail realtime voice connection attempts when the socket closes before `session.updated`, avoiding stuck Meet joins waiting on a bridge that never became ready. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - QA/cache: require the full `CACHE-OK <suffix>` marker before live cache probes stop retrying, so suffix-only prose cannot hide a broken probe response. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Slack/Matrix: avoid creating blank progress-draft messages when `streaming.progress.label=false` and progress tool lines are disabled. Thanks @vincentkoc.
diff --git a/extensions/deepgram/realtime-transcription-provider.ts b/extensions/deepgram/realtime-transcription-provider.ts
index 9401d538020..49cdc1a7b4e 100644
--- a/extensions/deepgram/realtime-transcription-provider.ts
+++ b/extensions/deepgram/realtime-transcription-provider.ts
@@ -232,6 +232,8 @@ function createDeepgramRealtimeTranscriptionSession(
     reconnectDelayMs: DEEPGRAM_REALTIME_RECONNECT_DELAY_MS,
     maxQueuedBytes: DEEPGRAM_REALTIME_MAX_QUEUED_BYTES,
     connectTimeoutMessage: "Deepgram realtime transcription connection timeout",
+    connectClosedBeforeReadyMessage:
+      "Deepgram realtime transcription connection closed before ready",
     reconnectLimitMessage: "Deepgram realtime transcription reconnect limit reached",
     sendAudio: (audio, transport) => {
       transport.sendBinary(audio);
diff --git a/extensions/openai/realtime-transcription-provider.ts b/extensions/openai/realtime-transcription-provider.ts
index 8c68c8650d5..16fd9e575a7 100644
--- a/extensions/openai/realtime-transcription-provider.ts
+++ b/extensions/openai/realtime-transcription-provider.ts
@@ -138,6 +138,7 @@ function createOpenAIRealtimeTranscriptionSession(
     maxReconnectAttempts: OPENAI_REALTIME_TRANSCRIPTION_MAX_RECONNECT_ATTEMPTS,
     reconnectDelayMs: OPENAI_REALTIME_TRANSCRIPTION_RECONNECT_DELAY_MS,
     connectTimeoutMessage: "OpenAI realtime transcription connection timeout",
+    connectClosedBeforeReadyMessage: "OpenAI realtime transcription connection closed before ready",
     reconnectLimitMessage: "OpenAI realtime transcription reconnect limit reached",
     sendAudio: (audio, transport) => {
       transport.sendJson({
diff --git a/extensions/xai/realtime-transcription-provider.ts b/extensions/xai/realtime-transcription-provider.ts
index bae22582b29..6db59141108 100644
--- a/extensions/xai/realtime-transcription-provider.ts
+++ b/extensions/xai/realtime-transcription-provider.ts
@@ -226,6 +226,7 @@ function createXaiRealtimeTranscriptionSession(
     reconnectDelayMs: XAI_REALTIME_STT_RECONNECT_DELAY_MS,
     maxQueuedBytes: XAI_REALTIME_STT_MAX_QUEUED_BYTES,
     connectTimeoutMessage: "xAI realtime transcription connection timeout",
+    connectClosedBeforeReadyMessage: "xAI realtime transcription connection closed before ready",
     reconnectLimitMessage: "xAI realtime transcription reconnect limit reached",
     sendAudio: (audio, transport) => {
       transport.sendBinary(audio);
diff --git a/src/realtime-transcription/websocket-session.test.ts b/src/realtime-transcription/websocket-session.test.ts
index 8ca0ad67657..5607cb15754 100644
--- a/src/realtime-transcription/websocket-session.test.ts
+++ b/src/realtime-transcription/websocket-session.test.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ afterEach(async () => {
 });
 
 async function createRealtimeServer(params?: {
+  closeOnConnection?: boolean;
   initialEvent?: unknown;
   onBinary?: (payload: Buffer) => void;
   onText?: (payload: unknown) => void;
@@ -25,6 +26,10 @@ async function createRealtimeServer(params?: {
     wss.handleUpgrade(request, socket, head, (ws) => {
       clients.add(ws);
       ws.on("close", () => clients.delete(ws));
+      if (params?.closeOnConnection) {
+        ws.close(1011, "setup failed");
+        return;
+      }
       if (params?.initialEvent) {
         ws.send(JSON.stringify(params.initialEvent));
       }
@@ -153,4 +158,27 @@ describe("createRealtimeTranscriptionWebSocketSession", () => {
     expect(session.isConnected()).toBe(false);
     expect(onError).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.any(Error));
   });
+
+  it("reports pre-ready closes separately from connection timeouts", async () => {
+    const server = await createRealtimeServer({ closeOnConnection: true });
+    const onError = vi.fn();
+    const session = createRealtimeTranscriptionWebSocketSession({
+      providerId: "test",
+      callbacks: { onError },
+      url: server.url,
+      connectTimeoutMessage: "test realtime transcription connection timeout",
+      connectClosedBeforeReadyMessage: "test realtime transcription connection closed before ready",
+      sendAudio: (audio, transport) => {
+        transport.sendBinary(audio);
+      },
+    });
+
+    await expect(session.connect()).rejects.toThrow(
+      "test realtime transcription connection closed before ready",
+    );
+    expect(onError).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.any(Error));
+    expect(onError.mock.calls[0]?.[0]).toMatchObject({
+      message: "test realtime transcription connection closed before ready",
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/realtime-transcription/websocket-session.ts b/src/realtime-transcription/websocket-session.ts
index f6c2f0c674e..5510c45a937 100644
--- a/src/realtime-transcription/websocket-session.ts
+++ b/src/realtime-transcription/websocket-session.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ export type RealtimeTranscriptionWebSocketTransport = {
 
 export type RealtimeTranscriptionWebSocketSessionOptions<Event = unknown> = {
   callbacks: RealtimeTranscriptionSessionCallbacks;
+  connectClosedBeforeReadyMessage?: string;
   connectTimeoutMessage?: string;
   connectTimeoutMs?: number;
   closeTimeoutMs?: number;
@@ -267,7 +268,7 @@ class WebSocketRealtimeTranscriptionSession<Event> implements RealtimeTranscript
         if (!opened || !settled) {
           failConnect(
             new Error(
-              this.options.connectTimeoutMessage ??
+              this.options.connectClosedBeforeReadyMessage ??
                 `${this.options.providerId} realtime transcription connection closed before ready`,
             ),
           );