diff --git a/src/main/ssh/ssh-channel-multiplexer.test.ts b/src/main/ssh/ssh-channel-multiplexer.test.ts
index 16de2b94a46..d17e756f75b 100644
--- a/src/main/ssh/ssh-channel-multiplexer.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/ssh/ssh-channel-multiplexer.test.ts
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ type MuxInternals = {
   notificationHandlers: unknown[]
   methodNotificationHandlers: Map<string, Set<unknown>>
   disposeHandlers: unknown[]
+  lastReceivedAt: number
+  unackedTimestamps: Map<number, number>
 }
 
 function getMuxInternals(instance: SshChannelMultiplexer): MuxInternals {
@@ -286,14 +288,16 @@ describe('SshChannelMultiplexer', () => {
   })
 
   describe('keepalive', () => {
-    it('sends keepalive frames periodically', () => {
+    it('sends one keepalive frame per cadence tick', () => {
       const initialWrites = transport.written.length
 
       vi.advanceTimersByTime(5_000)
-      expect(transport.written.length).toBeGreaterThan(initialWrites)
+      expect(transport.written).toHaveLength(initialWrites + 1)
+      expect(transport.written.at(-1)![0]).toBe(MessageType.KeepAlive)
 
-      const lastFrame = transport.written.at(-1)!
-      expect(lastFrame[0]).toBe(MessageType.KeepAlive)
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(5_000)
+      expect(transport.written).toHaveLength(initialWrites + 2)
+      expect(transport.written.at(-1)![0]).toBe(MessageType.KeepAlive)
     })
 
     it('turns transport write failures into connection loss instead of throwing from the timer', () => {
@@ -327,22 +331,42 @@ describe('SshChannelMultiplexer', () => {
   })
 
   describe('wake guard (timer pause across system sleep, #7773)', () => {
-    it('does not kill a healthy link on the first tick after a long timer pause', () => {
-      // Reach steady state with pending unacked keepalives (<5s old at pause).
-      vi.advanceTimersByTime(5_000)
-      expect(mux.isDisposed()).toBe(false)
+    it('sends one fresh probe per link and rebaselines liveness after a wake gap', () => {
+      const secondTransport = createMockTransport()
+      const secondMux = new SshChannelMultiplexer(secondTransport)
 
-      // Simulate sleep/App Nap: wall clock jumps far ahead with no ticks.
-      // Without the guard, the first post-wake tick sees lastReceivedAt and
-      // the pre-pause keepalive both >20s stale and disposes the mux.
-      vi.setSystemTime(Date.now() + 60 * 60 * 1000)
-      const writesBefore = transport.written.length
-      vi.advanceTimersByTime(5_000)
+      try {
+        // Reach steady state with pending unacked keepalives (<5s old at pause).
+        vi.advanceTimersByTime(5_000)
+        expect(mux.isDisposed()).toBe(false)
+        expect(secondMux.isDisposed()).toBe(false)
 
-      expect(mux.isDisposed()).toBe(false)
-      // The guard probes immediately with a fresh keepalive.
-      expect(transport.written.length).toBeGreaterThan(writesBefore)
-      expect(transport.written.at(-1)![0]).toBe(MessageType.KeepAlive)
+        const internals = getMuxInternals(mux)
+        const secondInternals = getMuxInternals(secondMux)
+        const previousReceivedAt = internals.lastReceivedAt
+        const writesBefore = transport.written.length
+        const secondWritesBefore = secondTransport.written.length
+
+        // Simulate sleep/App Nap: wall clock jumps far ahead with no ticks.
+        vi.setSystemTime(Date.now() + 60 * 60 * 1000)
+        vi.advanceTimersByTime(5_000)
+        const resumedAt = Date.now()
+
+        expect(mux.isDisposed()).toBe(false)
+        expect(secondMux.isDisposed()).toBe(false)
+        expect(transport.written).toHaveLength(writesBefore + 1)
+        expect(secondTransport.written).toHaveLength(secondWritesBefore + 1)
+        expect(transport.written.at(-1)![0]).toBe(MessageType.KeepAlive)
+        expect(secondTransport.written.at(-1)![0]).toBe(MessageType.KeepAlive)
+
+        expect(internals.lastReceivedAt).toBe(resumedAt)
+        expect(internals.lastReceivedAt).toBeGreaterThan(previousReceivedAt)
+        expect(new Set(internals.unackedTimestamps.values())).toEqual(new Set([resumedAt]))
+        expect(secondInternals.lastReceivedAt).toBe(resumedAt)
+        expect(new Set(secondInternals.unackedTimestamps.values())).toEqual(new Set([resumedAt]))
+      } finally {
+        secondMux.dispose()
+      }
     })
 
     it('keeps the link alive after wake when frames resume', () => {
diff --git a/src/main/ssh/ssh-channel-multiplexer.ts b/src/main/ssh/ssh-channel-multiplexer.ts
index 25e6e2c6f00..9886b724755 100644
--- a/src/main/ssh/ssh-channel-multiplexer.ts
+++ b/src/main/ssh/ssh-channel-multiplexer.ts
@@ -482,34 +482,28 @@ export class SshChannelMultiplexer {
     }
   }
 
-  // Why: one 5s interval owns BOTH the periodic keepalive send and the
-  // liveness/dead-link check. They used to be two separate 5s intervals that
-  // always fired back-to-back (keepalive created first); folding them into one
-  // tick — send first (as the keepalive timer did), then run the check (as the
-  // timeout timer did) — halves the per-connection timer count with identical
-  // behavior, including the #7773 wake-gap recovery below.
+  // Why: one 5s interval owns both the periodic keepalive and dead-link check,
+  // halving per-connection timers while preserving their send-then-check order.
   private startConnectionHealthTimer(): void {
     let lastTickAt = Date.now()
     this.connectionHealthTimer = setInterval(() => {
-      this.sendKeepAlive()
-
-      if (this.disposed) {
-        return
-      }
-
       const now = Date.now()
       const sinceLastTick = now - lastTickAt
       lastTickAt = now
       // Why: after sleep/App Nap the pre-pause keepalive looks stale on the
       // first post-wake tick, killing a healthy link (#7773). Reset staleness
-      // tracking, probe with a fresh keepalive, and let the NEXT full window
-      // make an honest liveness determination.
-      if (sinceLastTick > WAKE_GAP_MS) {
+      // before this tick's fresh probe, then allow the next full window.
+      const resumedAfterWake = sinceLastTick > WAKE_GAP_MS
+      if (resumedAfterWake) {
         this.lastReceivedAt = now
         for (const seq of this.unackedTimestamps.keys()) {
           this.unackedTimestamps.set(seq, now)
         }
-        this.sendKeepAlive()
+      }
+
+      this.sendKeepAlive()
+
+      if (this.disposed || resumedAfterWake) {
         return
       }