diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
index be5cfa43..e7b39993 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ name: release
 
 # Builds and pushes the minstrel container image to the Gitea registry.
 #
-#   push to main             → :main and :latest (no APK bundled)
-#   push tag vYYYY.MM.DD     → :vYYYY.MM.DD and :latest (APK bundled)
+#   push to main             → :main and :latest (latest-release APK bundled)
+#   push tag vYYYY.MM.DD     → :vYYYY.MM.DD and :latest (freshly-built APK bundled)
 #   workflow_dispatch        → manual trigger (same rules based on the ref)
 #
 # Release model: per-day CalVer tags (no trailing patch digit). The day's
@@ -20,6 +20,14 @@ name: release
 # happens in the same android-release job, so the Release-page download
 # link and the in-image bundled APK are both populated atomically.
 #
+# :latest always carries an APK. Because every main push also moves
+# :latest (not just tags), a main build with no APK would silently strip
+# the in-app update channel off :latest until the next release. So on
+# non-tag builds image-release pulls the MOST RECENT release's signed APK
+# and reconstructs its exact versionName (tag + commit-count, the same
+# formula android-release bakes in) for the version sidecar — no rebuild,
+# just rebundle. Tag builds keep bundling their own freshly-built APK.
+#
 # Android testing (lint + detekt + unit tests, debug APK upload on main)
 # lives in android.yml and runs independently on every push.
 
@@ -181,6 +189,12 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          # Full history + tags so non-tag :latest builds can resolve the
+          # latest release tag's commit count and reconstruct the bundled
+          # APK's exact versionName (see "Bundle latest release APK" below).
+          fetch-depth: 0
+          fetch-tags: true
 
       - name: Detect buildable project
         id: guard
@@ -221,9 +235,8 @@ jobs:
             | docker login git.fabledsword.com -u "${{ github.actor }}" --password-stdin
 
       - name: Download signed APK artifact
-        # Tag pushes only — android-release just produced this. Main
-        # pushes skip and the image ships with empty client/ (the
-        # /api/client/version endpoint then returns 404 by design).
+        # Tag pushes only — android-release just produced this. Non-tag
+        # builds take the "Bundle latest release APK" path below instead.
         if: steps.guard.outputs.ready == 'true' && startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v')
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
         with:
@@ -247,6 +260,42 @@ jobs:
           echo "${APK_VERSION_NAME}" > client/minstrel.apk.version
           ls -lh client/
 
+      - name: Bundle latest release APK (non-tag :latest builds)
+        # Main pushes don't build an APK, but they DO move :latest — so
+        # without this the in-app update channel would vanish from :latest
+        # until the next tag. Pull the most-recent release's signed APK and
+        # reconstruct its exact versionName (${TAG#v}.$(git rev-list --count
+        # TAG) — identical to android-release's formula) so the version
+        # sidecar the server hands clients matches the installed build.
+        # Degrades to an empty client/ (404 update channel) — never a wrong
+        # version — if no release / APK asset / tag-count can be resolved.
+        if: steps.guard.outputs.ready == 'true' && !startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v')
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          CI_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CI_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          set -eu
+          REPO="${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}"
+          REL_JSON="$(curl -fsSL -H "Authorization: token ${CI_TOKEN}" \
+            "https://git.fabledsword.com/api/v1/repos/${REPO}/releases/latest" || true)"
+          if [ -z "${REL_JSON}" ]; then
+            echo "::notice::no published release — image ships without bundled APK"; exit 0
+          fi
+          TAG="$(printf '%s' "${REL_JSON}" | grep -oP '"tag_name":\s*"\K[^"]+' | head -1)"
+          APK_URL="$(printf '%s' "${REL_JSON}" | grep -oP '"browser_download_url":\s*"\K[^"]+' | grep -E '\.apk$' | head -1)"
+          if [ -z "${TAG}" ] || [ -z "${APK_URL}" ]; then
+            echo "::notice::latest release '${TAG:-?}' has no APK asset — image ships without bundled APK"; exit 0
+          fi
+          COUNT="$(git rev-list --count "${TAG}" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+          if [ -z "${COUNT}" ]; then
+            echo "::notice::could not resolve commit count for ${TAG} (tag not fetched?) — skipping APK bundle"; exit 0
+          fi
+          VERSION_NAME="${TAG#v}.${COUNT}"
+          curl -fsSL -H "Authorization: token ${CI_TOKEN}" -o client/minstrel.apk "${APK_URL}"
+          echo "${VERSION_NAME}" > client/minstrel.apk.version
+          echo "::notice::bundled release APK ${TAG} as version ${VERSION_NAME}"
+          ls -lh client/
+
       - name: Build and push
         if: steps.guard.outputs.ready == 'true'
         run: |