diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/model-picker/components/model-config-page.tsx b/studio/frontend/src/features/model-picker/components/model-config-page.tsx
index d290e516bb..b4100295a0 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/model-picker/components/model-config-page.tsx
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/model-picker/components/model-config-page.tsx
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ import {
   floorMaxSeqLength,
   isDefaultConfig,
   normalizeMaxSeqLength,
+  normalizePerModelConfig,
   resolveInitialConfig,
   savePerModelConfig,
 } from "../model-config/per-model-config";
@@ -871,14 +872,23 @@ export function ModelConfigPage({
     const effectiveAtBaseline = perModelConfigsEqual(effectiveConfig, baseline);
     const effectivePersistenceOnly =
       isActiveModel && effectiveAtBaseline && rememberChanged;
-    const defaultConfig = isDefaultConfig(effectiveRuntimeConfig);
+    // Storage's own shape, because savePerModelConfig judges the normalized
+    // object: the runtime hands this page Speculative Decoding "auto", which
+    // canonicalizes to null, so the raw one looked non-default. Remember then
+    // reported saved while the local write had dropped the entry as default, and
+    // the mirror below sent the server a "auto" override the browser did not
+    // have, which is exactly the disagreement that mirror must not create.
+    const normalizedRuntimeConfig = normalizePerModelConfig(
+      effectiveRuntimeConfig,
+    );
+    const defaultConfig = isDefaultConfig(normalizedRuntimeConfig);
     let saveFailed = false;
     const evicted: { modelId: string; ggufVariant: string | null }[] = [];
     if (remember) {
       saveFailed = !savePerModelConfig(
         configId,
         target.ggufVariant,
-        effectiveRuntimeConfig,
+        normalizedRuntimeConfig,
         evicted,
       );
     } else {
@@ -896,7 +906,7 @@ export function ModelConfigPage({
       syncModelOverride(
         configId,
         target.ggufVariant,
-        remember ? effectiveRuntimeConfig : null,
+        remember ? normalizedRuntimeConfig : null,
       );
     }
     // Saving can push the local map over budget and drop other models, whose server
diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/model-picker/model-config/per-model-config.ts b/studio/frontend/src/features/model-picker/model-config/per-model-config.ts
index 911b79e121..04ce96021c 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/model-picker/model-config/per-model-config.ts
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/model-picker/model-config/per-model-config.ts
@@ -479,6 +479,18 @@ function normalizeV1(partial: RawConfig): PerModelConfig {
   };
 }
 
+/**
+ * A config in the exact shape storage keeps it in.
+ *
+ * Callers that decide anything from a config a user is still editing have to run
+ * it through this first: the UI carries sentinels storage does not, notably
+ * Speculative Decoding "auto", which canonicalizes to null. Judging the raw
+ * object calls a default config non-default.
+ */
+export function normalizePerModelConfig(raw: unknown): PerModelConfig {
+  return normalize(raw);
+}
+
 function normalize(raw: unknown): PerModelConfig {
   if (!raw || typeof raw !== "object" || Array.isArray(raw)) {
     return normalizeV1({});
diff --git a/tests/studio/test_model_picker_contracts.py b/tests/studio/test_model_picker_contracts.py
index 255949cb92..c6bb7c71ff 100644
--- a/tests/studio/test_model_picker_contracts.py
+++ b/tests/studio/test_model_picker_contracts.py
@@ -912,3 +912,28 @@ def test_the_detail_card_also_gates_ollama_out_of_the_api_promise():
     assert hub.count("LOCAL_MODEL_SOURCE.OLLAMA") == 2
     assert "selectedModel.localSource !== LOCAL_MODEL_SOURCE.OLLAMA" in hub
     assert "row.source !== LOCAL_MODEL_SOURCE.OLLAMA" in hub
+
+
+def test_the_settings_page_judges_the_config_storage_actually_keeps():
+    """savePerModelConfig normalizes before deciding, and the runtime hands this
+    page Speculative Decoding "auto", which canonicalizes to null. Judging the raw
+    object called a default config non-default, so Remember reported saved while
+    the local write had dropped the entry, and the mirror sent the server an
+    "auto" override the browser did not have."""
+    src = " ".join(
+        _read("features/model-picker/components/model-config-page.tsx").split()
+    )
+    assert (
+        "const normalizedRuntimeConfig = normalizePerModelConfig( effectiveRuntimeConfig, );"
+        in src
+    )
+    assert "const defaultConfig = isDefaultConfig(normalizedRuntimeConfig);" in src
+    # The same object goes to storage and to the server, or they disagree again.
+    assert "target.ggufVariant, normalizedRuntimeConfig, evicted," in src
+    assert "remember ? normalizedRuntimeConfig : null," in src
+    assert "isDefaultConfig(effectiveRuntimeConfig)" not in src
+
+    store = " ".join(_read("features/model-picker/model-config/per-model-config.ts").split())
+    assert "export function normalizePerModelConfig(" in store
+    assert "const normalized = normalize(config);" in store
+    assert "if (isDefaultConfig(normalized)) {" in store, "the rule this mirrors"