diff --git a/lib/__tests__/telemetry-state-read-error.test.ts b/lib/__tests__/telemetry-state-read-error.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8c11b79d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/__tests__/telemetry-state-read-error.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+// @vitest-environment node
+import { mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync, mkdirSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+
+// A telemetry state file that couldn't be read (a torn write, a passing I/O
+// error) used to be replaced with the defaults, which turned the admin's
+// consent off for good. Now the read answers with the defaults and leaves
+// the file alone.
+
+vi.mock('@/lib/admin/third-party-mode', () => ({ isNoThirdPartyTrafficOn: async () => false }));
+
+let dir: string;
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  dir = mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpdir(), 'bw-telemetry-state-'));
+  vi.stubEnv('TELEMETRY_DATA_DIR', dir);
+  vi.stubEnv('BULWARK_TELEMETRY', '');
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.unstubAllEnvs();
+  rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+describe('telemetry state that cannot be read', () => {
+  it('keeps the stored consent', async () => {
+    const { effectiveConsent, loadState } = await import('@/lib/telemetry/state');
+    const good = JSON.stringify({ consent: 'on', endpoint: 'https://collector.example.org/', consentedAt: '2026-10-01T00:00:00.000Z', lastSentAt: null, nextScheduledAt: null });
+    mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+    const file = path.join(dir, 'state.json');
+    writeFileSync(file, good.slice(0, 20));
+
+    expect((await loadState()).consent).toBe('off');
+    expect((await effectiveConsent()).consent).toBe('off');
+    expect(readFileSync(file, 'utf8')).toBe(good.slice(0, 20));
+
+    writeFileSync(file, good);
+    expect((await effectiveConsent()).consent).toBe('on');
+  });
+
+  it('still writes the default state on a fresh install', async () => {
+    const { loadState } = await import('@/lib/telemetry/state');
+    expect((await loadState()).consent).toBe('off');
+    expect(JSON.parse(readFileSync(path.join(dir, 'state.json'), 'utf8')).consent).toBe('off');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/lib/telemetry/state.ts b/lib/telemetry/state.ts
index 57dc68db5..cae5ccd96 100644
--- a/lib/telemetry/state.ts
+++ b/lib/telemetry/state.ts
@@ -64,9 +64,13 @@ export async function loadState(): Promise<TelemetryStateFile> {
     return { ...DEFAULTS, ...parsed };
   } catch (err) {
     if ((err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== 'ENOENT') {
+      // Unreadable is not missing: answer with the defaults (so nothing is
+      // sent on a guess) but leave the file alone, or a passing read error
+      // would switch the admin's consent off for good.
       logger.warn('telemetry: state read failed', {
         error: err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err),
       });
+      return { ...DEFAULTS };
     }
     // First-ever load on a fresh install: persist the default-off state so the
     // instance id and (lack of) consent are stable across restarts. The admin