diff --git a/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/api/chat-adapter.ts b/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/api/chat-adapter.ts
index 2666d06928..2b32ac89da 100644
--- a/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/api/chat-adapter.ts
+++ b/studio/frontend/src/features/chat/api/chat-adapter.ts
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ import {
   type PendingImageEditReference,
   type RagAutoInject,
   GPU_LAYERS_AUTO,
+  isLocalModelPath,
   loadedGpuMemoryFields,
   reconcilePersistedGpuIds,
   resolveLoadedSpeculativeSettings,
@@ -1439,14 +1440,18 @@ function findCachedRepo<T extends { repo_id: string }>(
 
 /**
  * Managed-cache rows eligible for background auto-load: complete, not
- * hidden infrastructure, and not declared non-chat by the backend.
+ * hidden infrastructure, not declared non-chat by the backend, and not an
+ * adapter (loading an adapter resolves its base model, which for an
+ * uncached Hub base would start an implicit remote fetch).
  */
 function isAutoLoadableCachedRepo(repo: {
   repo_id: string;
   partial?: boolean;
+  model_format?: string | null;
   capabilities?: { can_chat?: boolean } | null;
 }): boolean {
   if (repo.partial) return false;
+  if (repo.model_format === "adapter") return false;
   if (repo.capabilities?.can_chat === false) return false;
   return !isHiddenModelId(repo.repo_id);
 }
@@ -1524,7 +1529,12 @@ async function resolveLocalRowCandidate(
     // Only GGUF folders have an automatic quant resolution path.
     if (!isGguf) return null;
     if (!rememberedVariant) {
-      const variants = await listGgufVariants(row.model_id || row.id, undefined, {
+      // Scan the folder the row will actually load from: the cache-first
+      // prefer_local_cache flow could return a quant present in the HF
+      // cache but missing at row's own path. A local-path repo id routes
+      // the backend straight to the filesystem scan of that folder.
+      const variantScanTarget = isLocalModelPath(row.id) ? row.id : row.path;
+      const variants = await listGgufVariants(variantScanTarget, undefined, {
         preferLocalCache: true,
         localPath: row.path,
       });
@@ -1952,9 +1962,13 @@ export async function autoLoadOnDeviceModel(): Promise<{
           matchesRememberedLocalRow(candidateRow, lastLoaded),
         );
         if (row) {
-          markSeen(row.load_id, row.id, row.path, row.model_id);
+          // Not marked seen here: if this exact quant fails, the fallback
+          // loop may still pick another complete quant from the same folder
+          // (only the failed candidate key below is excluded, mirroring the
+          // managed-cache remembered path).
+          let rememberedCandidate: AutoLoadCandidate | null = null;
           try {
-            const rememberedCandidate = await resolveLocalRowCandidate(
+            rememberedCandidate = await resolveLocalRowCandidate(
               row,
               lastLoaded.ggufVariant,
             );
@@ -1972,9 +1986,10 @@ export async function autoLoadOnDeviceModel(): Promise<{
             hadNonTrustFailure = true;
             skippedAutoLoadCandidates.add(
               autoLoadCandidateKey(
-                row.model_format === "gguf" ? "gguf" : "model",
+                rememberedCandidate?.kind ??
+                  (row.model_format === "gguf" ? "gguf" : "model"),
                 row.id,
-                lastLoaded.ggufVariant,
+                rememberedCandidate?.ggufVariant ?? lastLoaded.ggufVariant,
               ),
             );
           }
diff --git a/tests/studio/test_model_picker_contracts.py b/tests/studio/test_model_picker_contracts.py
index 4e898b8fb9..ab6bbb7edd 100644
--- a/tests/studio/test_model_picker_contracts.py
+++ b/tests/studio/test_model_picker_contracts.py
@@ -528,6 +528,9 @@ def test_autoload_filters_match_picker_policy():
     cached_fn = src.split("function isAutoLoadableCachedRepo", 1)[1]
     cached_fn = cached_fn.split("\nconst ", 1)[0]
     assert "repo.partial" in cached_fn
+    # Cached adapter repos are chat-capable too and resolve a base model on
+    # load, so they must be excluded exactly like local adapter rows.
+    assert 'repo.model_format === "adapter"' in cached_fn
     assert "repo.capabilities?.can_chat === false" in cached_fn
     assert "isHiddenModelId(repo.repo_id)" in cached_fn
 
@@ -640,10 +643,30 @@ def test_directory_gguf_rows_resolve_variant_like_picker():
     resolve_fn = resolve_fn.split("\nfunction ", 1)[0]
     assert "row.capabilities?.requires_variant === true" in resolve_fn
     assert "if (!isGguf) return null;" in resolve_fn
-    assert "listGgufVariants(row.model_id || row.id" in resolve_fn
+    # Quants must be resolved from the folder the row will load from, not
+    # from a same-id HF cache repo whose quants may be absent locally.
+    assert (
+        "const variantScanTarget = isLocalModelPath(row.id) ? row.id : row.path;"
+        in resolve_fn
+    )
+    assert "listGgufVariants(variantScanTarget" in resolve_fn
     assert "localPath: row.path" in resolve_fn
     assert "entry.downloaded && !entry.partial && isAutoLoadableGgufVariant(entry)" in resolve_fn
     # The cascade must keep directory GGUF rows as candidates.
     auto_load = src.split("async function autoLoadOnDeviceModel", 1)[1]
     assert 'row.model_format === "gguf" ||' in auto_load
     assert "await resolveLocalRowCandidate(row)" in auto_load
+
+
+def test_remembered_local_failure_does_not_block_folder_fallback():
+    """A failed remembered local quant must exclude only that exact candidate
+    key, not mark the whole row as seen; otherwise a folder with another
+    complete quant can never fall back and Send falsely reports no model."""
+    src = _read("features/chat/api/chat-adapter.ts")
+    auto_load = src.split("async function autoLoadOnDeviceModel", 1)[1]
+    remembered_block = auto_load.split("isManagedCacheSource(lastLoaded.source)", 1)[1]
+    remembered_block = remembered_block.split('} else if (lastLoaded.kind === "gguf")', 1)[0]
+    assert "markSeen(" not in remembered_block, (
+        "remembered-local retry must not pre-mark the row as deduped"
+    )
+    assert "rememberedCandidate?.ggufVariant ?? lastLoaded.ggufVariant" in remembered_block