diff --git a/src/main/ports/workspace-port-execution-host.test.ts b/src/main/ports/workspace-port-execution-host.test.ts
index 7d1cefd9088..1ccd842b35b 100644
--- a/src/main/ports/workspace-port-execution-host.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/ports/workspace-port-execution-host.test.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import {
   killWorkspacePortOnExecutionHost,
   scanWorkspacePortsOnExecutionHost,
+  SSH_PORT_SCAN_UNSUPPORTED_REASON,
   type WorkspacePortExecutionHostDeps
 } from './workspace-port-execution-host'
 import type { WorkspacePortScanResult } from '../../shared/workspace-ports'
@@ -69,7 +70,8 @@ describe('scanWorkspacePortsOnExecutionHost', () => {
 
     expect(scanWorkspacePortsMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
     expect(result).toMatchObject({ executionHostId: 'ssh:box', ports: [] })
-    expect(result.unavailableReason).toMatch(/Reconnect/)
+    expect(result.unavailableReason).toBe(SSH_PORT_SCAN_UNSUPPORTED_REASON)
+    expect(result.unavailableReason).not.toMatch(/dropped|Reconnect/)
   })
 
   it('refuses a workspace hosted by another server instead of scanning here', async () => {
diff --git a/src/main/ports/workspace-port-execution-host.ts b/src/main/ports/workspace-port-execution-host.ts
index df1a477857c..759eecb8839 100644
--- a/src/main/ports/workspace-port-execution-host.ts
+++ b/src/main/ports/workspace-port-execution-host.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ import type {
   WorkspacePortKillResult,
   WorkspacePortProbe
 } from '../../shared/workspace-ports'
-import { SSH_HOST_NOT_SERVED_MESSAGE } from '../providers/ssh-host-not-served-error'
 import { killWorkspacePort, scanWorkspacePortProbes } from './workspace-port-ownership'
 
 export type WorkspacePortExecutionHostDeps = {
@@ -17,6 +16,9 @@ export type WorkspacePortExecutionHostDeps = {
   getLocalProbes: () => Promise<WorkspacePortProbe[]>
 }
 
+export const SSH_PORT_SCAN_UNSUPPORTED_REASON =
+  "Port detection isn't available for direct SSH hosts yet. Move this project to an Orca server on this host to see its ports."
+
 function unavailable(executionHostId: string, reason: string): WorkspacePortHostScanResult {
   return {
     executionHostId,
@@ -36,12 +38,10 @@ export async function scanWorkspacePortsOnExecutionHost(
   if (host?.kind === 'local') {
     return { ...(await scanWorkspacePortProbes(await deps.getLocalProbes())), executionHostId }
   }
-  // Why: this process serves no SSH host, so its listeners are unavailable, never "none".
+  // Why: this process serves no SSH host, so its listeners are unavailable, never "none". Not a
+  // dropped connection: the relay has no port scan, but an Orca server on the host scans as local.
   if (host?.kind === 'ssh') {
-    return unavailable(
-      executionHostId,
-      `Could not scan the SSH host: ${SSH_HOST_NOT_SERVED_MESSAGE}`
-    )
+    return unavailable(executionHostId, SSH_PORT_SCAN_UNSUPPORTED_REASON)
   }
   return unavailable(executionHostId, 'This workspace does not run on this server.')
 }
diff --git a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-workspace-ports-host.test.ts b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-workspace-ports-host.test.ts
index 46378708d0e..9837a0c99a7 100644
--- a/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-workspace-ports-host.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/runtime/orca-runtime-workspace-ports-host.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import './rpc/unused-default-rpc-methods.test-fixture'
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import { OrcaRuntimeWithListManagedWorktrees } from './workspaces/managed-workspace-operations'
+import { SSH_PORT_SCAN_UNSUPPORTED_REASON } from '../ports/workspace-port-execution-host'
 
 const scanWorkspacePortsMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn())
 
@@ -38,7 +39,7 @@ describe('host-scoped workspace port scans on the server', () => {
     expect(runtime.host.resolveRuntimeFileTarget).toHaveBeenCalledWith('folder:fw-1')
     expect(scanWorkspacePortsMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
     expect(result).toMatchObject({ executionHostId: 'ssh:box', ports: [] })
-    expect(result.unavailableReason).toMatch(/Reconnect/)
+    expect(result.unavailableReason).toBe(SSH_PORT_SCAN_UNSUPPORTED_REASON)
   })
 
   it('refuses Stop when the workspace now resolves to a different host than the row', async () => {