diff --git a/deploy/install_netwatch.sh b/deploy/install_netwatch.sh
index 90aca49..eff1bc4 100755
--- a/deploy/install_netwatch.sh
+++ b/deploy/install_netwatch.sh
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 REPO_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
 WLAN=wlan1   # T3U dongle — change to wlan0 if reverting to onboard
+WLAN_FB=wlan0  # onboard fallback
 
 sudo systemctl stop yaris-uplink-wait.service 2>/dev/null || true
 sudo systemctl stop yaris-netwatch.timer yaris-netwatch.service 2>/dev/null || true
@@ -39,9 +40,27 @@ if nmcli connection show phone-hotspot >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         802-11-wireless.mtu 1400
 fi
 
-# Disable onboard wlan0 so it doesn't interfere
-sudo nmcli device disconnect wlan0 2>/dev/null || true
-sudo nmcli device set wlan0 managed no 2>/dev/null || true
+# Create wlan0 fallback profiles (lower autoconnect-priority so wlan1 wins)
+# home-wifi-fb: same SSID as home-wifi but on wlan0
+HOME_SSID=$(nmcli -g 802-11-wireless.ssid connection show home-wifi 2>/dev/null || true)
+HOME_PSK=$(sudo nmcli -g 802-11-wireless-security.psk connection show --show-secrets home-wifi 2>/dev/null || true)
+if [ -n "$HOME_SSID" ] && [ -n "$HOME_PSK" ]; then
+    nmcli connection delete home-wifi-fb 2>/dev/null || true
+    sudo nmcli connection add \
+        type wifi \
+        con-name home-wifi-fb \
+        ifname "$WLAN_FB" \
+        ssid "$HOME_SSID" \
+        -- \
+        wifi-security.key-mgmt wpa-psk \
+        wifi-security.psk "$HOME_PSK" \
+        connection.autoconnect yes \
+        connection.autoconnect-priority 5
+    echo "Created home-wifi-fb fallback on $WLAN_FB"
+fi
+
+# Re-enable wlan0 as a managed (but low-priority) fallback
+sudo nmcli device set "$WLAN_FB" managed yes 2>/dev/null || true
 
 sudo cp "$REPO_DIR/deploy/yaris-netwatch.service" /etc/systemd/system/yaris-netwatch.service
 sudo cp "$REPO_DIR/deploy/yaris-netwatch.timer" /etc/systemd/system/yaris-netwatch.timer
diff --git a/deploy/yaris_uplink.py b/deploy/yaris_uplink.py
index a5bfb8a..fc2058d 100644
--- a/deploy/yaris_uplink.py
+++ b/deploy/yaris_uplink.py
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@ import uuid
 PHONE_CONNECTION = "phone-hotspot"
 HOME_CONNECTION = "home-wifi"
 AP_CONNECTION = "Hotspot"
-INTERFACE = "wlan1"       # TP-Link T3U dongle — all client + AP traffic
+PRIMARY_INTERFACE = "wlan1"    # TP-Link T3U dongle — preferred
+FALLBACK_INTERFACE = "wlan0"   # onboard — used if T3U is absent
 STATUS_PATH = "/var/lib/yaris-obd/uplink-status.json"
 PHONE_KEYFILE = (
     "/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/"
@@ -24,6 +25,24 @@ class UplinkError(RuntimeError):
     pass
 
 
+def _interface_exists(iface):
+    """Return True if the kernel sees this network interface."""
+    return os.path.exists(f"/sys/class/net/{iface}")
+
+
+def resolve_interface():
+    """Return PRIMARY_INTERFACE if it exists, else FALLBACK_INTERFACE."""
+    if _interface_exists(PRIMARY_INTERFACE):
+        return PRIMARY_INTERFACE
+    if _interface_exists(FALLBACK_INTERFACE):
+        return FALLBACK_INTERFACE
+    return PRIMARY_INTERFACE   # return primary anyway; nmcli will error clearly
+
+
+# Module-level convenience — resolved once at startup.
+INTERFACE = resolve_interface()
+
+
 def run_nmcli(*args, timeout=45, check=True):
     process = subprocess.run(
         ["nmcli", *args],
@@ -149,6 +168,7 @@ def write_status(action, error=None):
     status = {
         "action": action,
         "active_connection": current,
+        "interface": INTERFACE,
         "error": error,
         "last_phone_ip": last_phone_ip,
         "updated_at": time.time(),
@@ -182,6 +202,17 @@ def restore_fallback():
     if activate(HOME_CONNECTION):
         write_status("connected_home")
         return True
+    # If the primary interface (wlan1) failed, try the wlan0 fallback profiles
+    if INTERFACE == PRIMARY_INTERFACE and _interface_exists(FALLBACK_INTERFACE):
+        # Temporarily try connections bound to wlan0
+        for conn in (f"{HOME_CONNECTION}-fb", AP_CONNECTION):
+            proc = subprocess.run(
+                ["nmcli", "--wait", "30", "connection", "up", conn],
+                capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=35,
+            )
+            if proc.returncode == 0:
+                write_status(f"fallback_wlan0_{conn}")
+                return True
     if activate(AP_CONNECTION):
         write_status("restored_local_hotspot")
         return True