diff --git a/cloud/infra/terraform/environments/staging.tfvars b/cloud/infra/terraform/environments/staging.tfvars
index 1cb260e11ea..8c095bcb9ce 100644
--- a/cloud/infra/terraform/environments/staging.tfvars
+++ b/cloud/infra/terraform/environments/staging.tfvars
@@ -39,7 +39,11 @@ relay_gce_cells = {
     boot_disk_gb      = 30
     boot_image        = "https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/cos-cloud/global/images/cos-stable-121-18867-528-7"
     capacity_requests = 4000
-    image             = "us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/onorca-cloud-staging/orca-cloud/relay@sha256:2d0f6e6db2b0eb9d6aba188698de8330f8c30b4e76badfcf0fac3f3eb9508a87"
+    # c2's image: the legacy 2d0f6e6 cannot report capped telemetry, so a cap needs this one.
+    image = "us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/onorca-cloud-staging/orca-cloud/relay@sha256:1239830d0946dc92ded3c9edde1c0b827f584a7a2be5c177beed900056d76f69"
+    # Step-5 staging e2e: c1 is the second US reserve cell, so it needs a cap and rehome trust.
+    connection_hard_cap         = 600
+    connection_unobserved_bound = 60
   }
   "staging-gce-c2" = {
     hostname                    = "c2"
@@ -80,7 +84,8 @@ relay_gce_cells = {
   }
 }
 
-relay_region_rehome_source_cell_ids = ["staging-gce-c2", "staging-gce-c3"]
+# c1 and c4 hold rehome trust for the step-5 staging e2e: the reserve and demote routes need it.
+relay_region_rehome_source_cell_ids = ["staging-gce-c1", "staging-gce-c2", "staging-gce-c3", "staging-gce-c4"]
 
 # Push is currently provisioned only in production.
 push_gateway_enabled = false