diff --git a/src/device-sync/__tests__/engine/deleted-before-claim.test.ts b/src/device-sync/__tests__/engine/deleted-before-claim.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c31d2995
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/device-sync/__tests__/engine/deleted-before-claim.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+// Items created on the device and deleted before any run claimed them.
+// ContactsProvider soft-deletes every raw contact and group of a sync account
+// (DELETED=1, SOURCE_ID NULL), CalendarProvider hard-deletes an event without
+// `_SYNC_ID` at once. Such an item never reached the server: it is purged,
+// nothing uploads, and it never counts as a change waiting for an upload.
+
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { calendarPlanner } from '../../calendar/planner';
+import { contactsPlanner } from '../../contacts/planner';
+import {
+  addDeviceContact,
+  addServerCards,
+  ANDROID_ACCOUNT,
+  CALENDAR_AUTHORITY,
+  CONTACTS_AUTHORITY,
+  createHarness,
+  type Harness,
+} from './harness';
+
+function real(): Harness {
+  const h = createHarness();
+  h.deps.planners = { contacts: contactsPlanner, calendar: calendarPlanner };
+  return h;
+}
+
+/** Synced once, then a contact and a group created on the device and deleted again. */
+async function createdAndDeleted(): Promise<{ h: Harness; contact: number; group: number }> {
+  const h = real();
+  addServerCards(h, ['Ada Lovelace']);
+  expect((await h.run()).outcome).toBe('ok');
+  const contact = addDeviceContact(h, 'Hedy Lamarr');
+  h.device.user.deleteContact(contact);
+  const group = h.device.user.insertGroup(ANDROID_ACCOUNT, 'Friends');
+  h.device.user.deleteGroup(group);
+  return { h, contact, group };
+}
+
+function offline(h: Harness): void {
+  h.deps.jmap = async () => {
+    const error = new Error('Network request failed');
+    error.name = 'NetworkError';
+    throw error;
+  };
+}
+
+describe('device sync engine: an item deleted on the device before it was claimed', () => {
+  it('purges a contact and a group, and uploads nothing', async () => {
+    const { h, contact, group } = await createdAndDeleted();
+
+    const report = await h.run();
+
+    expect(report).toMatchObject({ outcome: 'ok', itemErrors: [], stats: { uploaded: { created: 0, updated: 0, deleted: 0 } } });
+    expect(h.device.row('raw_contacts', contact)).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(h.device.rows('data', 'raw_contact_id = ?', [contact])).toEqual([]);
+    expect(h.device.row('groups', group)).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(h.server.all('ContactCard', 'a').map((c) => c.name)).toEqual([{ full: 'Ada Lovelace' }]);
+  });
+
+  it('does not turn an upload-only sync into a full one', async () => {
+    const { h } = await createdAndDeleted();
+    const requests = h.server.requests.length;
+
+    expect((await h.run(CONTACTS_AUTHORITY, { upload: true })).outcome).toBe('ok');
+
+    expect(h.server.requests.length).toBe(requests);
+  });
+
+  it('is no change that turning sync off would lose, also while offline', async () => {
+    const { h } = await createdAndDeleted();
+    offline(h);
+
+    expect(await h.teardown(CONTACTS_AUTHORITY)).toEqual({ pending: 0 });
+
+    expect(h.device.rows('raw_contacts')).toEqual([]);
+    expect(h.device.rows('groups')).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('leaves nothing behind for an event: CalendarProvider removes it at once', async () => {
+    const h = real();
+    expect((await h.run(CALENDAR_AUTHORITY)).outcome).toBe('ok');
+    const calendarRow = Number(h.device.rows('calendars')[0]._id);
+    const event = h.device.user.insertEvent(calendarRow, {
+      title: 'Dentist',
+      dtstart: Date.UTC(2026, 9, 1, 8),
+      dtend: Date.UTC(2026, 9, 1, 9),
+      eventTimezone: 'Europe/Berlin',
+    });
+    h.device.user.deleteEvent(event);
+    expect(h.events()).toEqual([]);
+    const requests = h.server.requests.length;
+
+    expect((await h.run(CALENDAR_AUTHORITY, { upload: true })).outcome).toBe('ok');
+    expect(h.server.requests.length).toBe(requests);
+    offline(h);
+    expect(await h.teardown(CALENDAR_AUTHORITY)).toEqual({ pending: 0 });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/device-sync/engine/item-sync.ts b/src/device-sync/engine/item-sync.ts
index ce7947f5..c747ddae 100644
--- a/src/device-sync/engine/item-sync.ts
+++ b/src/device-sync/engine/item-sync.ts
@@ -886,13 +886,15 @@ export abstract class ItemSync {
   /**
    * New items get their uid and target written before anything is sent. A
    * claim whose collection is gone from the server is made again where the
-   * kind allows it (contacts: nothing of it can exist in a deleted book).
+   * kind allows it (contacts: nothing of it can exist in a deleted book). A
+   * new item deleted before it was claimed never reached the server, and no
+   * upload phase takes it (it has no account): its plan is a purge.
    */
   private async claimNewItems(): Promise<void> {
     const works: Work[] = [];
     for (const held of await this.loadUploadItems()) {
       const meta = held.kind.meta(held.local);
-      if (!meta.isNew || meta.deleted || !this.claimable(held)) continue;
+      if (!meta.isNew || (meta.deleted && meta.pending) || !this.claimable(held)) continue;
       const reclaim = !!meta.pending && !!held.kind.unclaimed && this.collectionGone(meta.pending.target);
       if (meta.pending && !reclaim) continue;
       const ref = `row:${meta.rowId}`;
diff --git a/src/device-sync/engine/run.ts b/src/device-sync/engine/run.ts
index 238d0aaa..d478abcb 100644
--- a/src/device-sync/engine/run.ts
+++ b/src/device-sync/engine/run.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import {
   type RunPayload,
   type RunReport,
   type RunStatus,
+  type Row,
 } from '../types';
 import { BatchWriter } from './batch';
 import { CalendarSync } from './calendar-sync';
@@ -26,7 +27,7 @@ import type { RunEnv } from './context';
 import { DEFAULT_TUNING, type EngineDeps, type Tuning } from './deps';
 import { classifyFailure, RunAbort } from './errors';
 import { acquireLock, lockKey, stopRequested } from './mutex';
-import { ProviderReader, str } from './provider';
+import { flag, ProviderReader, str } from './provider';
 import { isQuietRun, ReportBuilder, statusOf, statusToRecord } from './report';
 import { emptySyncState, parseSyncState, StateStore, type SyncState } from './sync-state';
 import type { ItemSync } from './item-sync';
@@ -46,6 +47,15 @@ function itemTypeOf(authority: Authority): string {
   return authority === CONTACTS_AUTHORITY ? 'ContactCard' : 'CalendarEvent';
 }
 
+/**
+ * Whether a dirty, deleted or new raw contact or group has anything to
+ * upload. One created and deleted on the device before a run claimed it (no
+ * identity, no pending create) never reached the server: a run purges it.
+ */
+export function waitsForUpload(row: Row): boolean {
+  return !!str(row.sourceid) || !!str(row.sync3) || !flag(row.deleted);
+}
+
 /** Rows waiting for an upload (dirty, deleted, new), or state work a run must do whatever its extras. */
 export async function hasLocalWork(reader: ProviderReader, authority: Authority, state: SyncState): Promise<boolean> {
   for (const account of Object.values(state.accounts)) {
@@ -55,11 +65,11 @@ export async function hasLocalWork(reader: ProviderReader, authority: Authority,
     const rows = await reader.rows('events', ['_id'], "dirty = 1 OR deleted = 1 OR _sync_id IS NULL OR _sync_id LIKE '~pending/%'");
     return rows.length > 0;
   }
-  const contacts = await reader.rows('raw_contacts', ['_id'], 'dirty = 1 OR deleted = 1 OR sourceid IS NULL');
-  if (contacts.length) return true;
-  const groups = await reader.rows('groups', ['_id', 'sourceid', 'dirty', 'deleted']);
+  const contacts = await reader.rows('raw_contacts', ['_id', 'sourceid', 'deleted', 'sync3'], 'dirty = 1 OR deleted = 1 OR sourceid IS NULL');
+  if (contacts.some(waitsForUpload)) return true;
+  const groups = await reader.rows('groups', ['_id', 'sourceid', 'dirty', 'deleted', 'sync3']);
   const present = new Set(groups.map((g) => str(g.sourceid)).filter(Boolean));
-  if (groups.some((g) => !str(g.sourceid) || Number(g.dirty) === 1 || Number(g.deleted) === 1)) return true;
+  if (groups.some((g) => (!str(g.sourceid) || Number(g.dirty) === 1 || Number(g.deleted) === 1) && waitsForUpload(g))) return true;
   // A group an app hard-deleted is only found by its absence.
   return Object.values(state.accounts).some((a) => (a.groups ?? []).some((ref) => !present.has(ref)));
 }
diff --git a/src/device-sync/engine/teardown.ts b/src/device-sync/engine/teardown.ts
index 8e0bbc20..abc80dcc 100644
--- a/src/device-sync/engine/teardown.ts
+++ b/src/device-sync/engine/teardown.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import type { EngineDeps } from './deps';
 import { acquireLock, clearStopRequest, lockKey, requestStop } from './mutex';
 import { ProviderReader, str } from './provider';
 import { ReportBuilder } from './report';
-import { createEnv, tuningOf } from './run';
+import { createEnv, tuningOf, waitsForUpload } from './run';
 import { parseSyncState } from './sync-state';
 
 export interface TeardownOptions {
@@ -36,12 +36,12 @@ export async function countPending(reader: ProviderReader, authority: Authority)
     const masters = new Set(rows.map((r) => str(r.original_id) ?? str(r.original_sync_id) ?? `row:${String(r._id)}`));
     return masters.size;
   }
-  const contacts = await reader.rows('raw_contacts', ['_id'], 'dirty = 1 OR deleted = 1 OR sourceid IS NULL');
-  const groups = await reader.rows('groups', ['_id', 'sourceid', 'dirty', 'deleted']);
+  const contacts = await reader.rows('raw_contacts', ['_id', 'sourceid', 'deleted', 'sync3'], 'dirty = 1 OR deleted = 1 OR sourceid IS NULL');
+  const groups = await reader.rows('groups', ['_id', 'sourceid', 'dirty', 'deleted', 'sync3']);
   const present = new Set(groups.map((g) => str(g.sourceid)).filter(Boolean));
-  const waitingGroups = groups.filter((g) => !str(g.sourceid) || Number(g.dirty) === 1 || Number(g.deleted) === 1).length;
+  const waitingGroups = groups.filter((g) => (!str(g.sourceid) || Number(g.dirty) === 1 || Number(g.deleted) === 1) && waitsForUpload(g)).length;
   const absent = Object.values(state.accounts).reduce((n, a) => n + (a.groups ?? []).filter((ref) => !present.has(ref)).length, 0);
-  return contacts.length + waitingGroups + absent;
+  return contacts.filter(waitsForUpload).length + waitingGroups + absent;
 }
 
 function deleteEverything(authority: Authority): ProviderOp[] {