diff --git a/extensions/elevenlabs/realtime-transcription-provider.test.ts b/extensions/elevenlabs/realtime-transcription-provider.test.ts
index 295aa429a785..e13f5015cf28 100644
--- a/extensions/elevenlabs/realtime-transcription-provider.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/elevenlabs/realtime-transcription-provider.test.ts
@@ -2,9 +2,18 @@
 import { createServer } from "node:http";
 import type { AddressInfo } from "node:net";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/config-contracts";
-import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import type WebSocket from "ws";
 import { WebSocketServer } from "ws";
+
+const { resolveElevenLabsApiKeyWithProfileFallbackMock } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  resolveElevenLabsApiKeyWithProfileFallbackMock: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./config-api.js", () => ({
+  resolveElevenLabsApiKeyWithProfileFallback: resolveElevenLabsApiKeyWithProfileFallbackMock,
+}));
+
 import { buildElevenLabsRealtimeTranscriptionProvider } from "./realtime-transcription-provider.js";
 
 let cleanup: (() => Promise<void>) | undefined;
@@ -48,6 +57,8 @@ describe("buildElevenLabsRealtimeTranscriptionProvider", () => {
   afterEach(async () => {
     await cleanup?.();
     cleanup = undefined;
+    vi.unstubAllEnvs();
+    resolveElevenLabsApiKeyWithProfileFallbackMock.mockReset();
   });
 
   it("normalizes nested provider config", () => {
@@ -160,4 +171,16 @@ describe("buildElevenLabsRealtimeTranscriptionProvider", () => {
     expect(requests[0]?.searchParams.get("commit_strategy")).toBe("vad");
     expect(requests[0]?.searchParams.get("language_code")).toBe("en");
   });
+
+  it("rejects whitespace-only environment keys before session creation", () => {
+    resolveElevenLabsApiKeyWithProfileFallbackMock.mockReturnValue(null);
+    vi.stubEnv("ELEVENLABS_API_KEY", "");
+    vi.stubEnv("XI_API_KEY", "   ");
+    const provider = buildElevenLabsRealtimeTranscriptionProvider();
+
+    expect(provider.isConfigured({ cfg: {} as OpenClawConfig, providerConfig: {} })).toBe(false);
+    expect(() => provider.createSession({ providerConfig: {} })).toThrow(
+      "ElevenLabs API key missing",
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/extensions/elevenlabs/realtime-transcription-provider.ts b/extensions/elevenlabs/realtime-transcription-provider.ts
index 07ee3d6b73f2..048a2afd4a46 100644
--- a/extensions/elevenlabs/realtime-transcription-provider.ts
+++ b/extensions/elevenlabs/realtime-transcription-provider.ts
@@ -247,6 +247,16 @@ function createElevenLabsRealtimeTranscriptionSession(
   });
 }
 
+function resolveElevenLabsRealtimeApiKey(
+  config: ElevenLabsRealtimeTranscriptionProviderConfig,
+): string | null | undefined {
+  return (
+    config.apiKey ??
+    resolveElevenLabsApiKeyWithProfileFallback() ??
+    normalizeOptionalString(process.env.XI_API_KEY)
+  );
+}
+
 export function buildElevenLabsRealtimeTranscriptionProvider(): RealtimeTranscriptionProviderPlugin {
   return {
     id: "elevenlabs",
@@ -256,15 +266,10 @@ export function buildElevenLabsRealtimeTranscriptionProvider(): RealtimeTranscri
     autoSelectOrder: 40,
     resolveConfig: ({ rawConfig }) => normalizeProviderConfig(rawConfig),
     isConfigured: ({ providerConfig }) =>
-      Boolean(
-        normalizeProviderConfig(providerConfig).apiKey ||
-        resolveElevenLabsApiKeyWithProfileFallback() ||
-        process.env.XI_API_KEY,
-      ),
+      Boolean(resolveElevenLabsRealtimeApiKey(normalizeProviderConfig(providerConfig))),
     createSession: (req) => {
       const config = normalizeProviderConfig(req.providerConfig);
-      const apiKey =
-        config.apiKey || resolveElevenLabsApiKeyWithProfileFallback() || process.env.XI_API_KEY;
+      const apiKey = resolveElevenLabsRealtimeApiKey(config);
       if (!apiKey) {
         throw new Error("ElevenLabs API key missing");
       }