diff --git a/listenarr.application/Downloads/Queue/DownloadOrphanCleanupService.cs b/listenarr.application/Downloads/Queue/DownloadOrphanCleanupService.cs
index b08662039..a95c088fc 100644
--- a/listenarr.application/Downloads/Queue/DownloadOrphanCleanupService.cs
+++ b/listenarr.application/Downloads/Queue/DownloadOrphanCleanupService.cs
@@ -48,16 +48,14 @@ public async Task RemoveOrphansAsync(
                 return;
             }
 
+            // A snapshot that reaches this point is guaranteed live: the UsedCachedSnapshot
+            // and IsUnavailable guards above already excluded every unreachable path (the
+            // poller surfaces timeout/cancel/error as cached or unavailable, never as a live
+            // empty snapshot). An empty live queue therefore means the items really are gone,
+            // so an empty snapshot must be allowed to terminalize orphans - otherwise deleting
+            // your only active torrent strands its Download record forever and blocks re-grabs
+            // with 409. The per-item grace period below still protects fresh adds.
             var clientQueue = clientQueueResult.QueueItems;
-            if (clientQueue.Count == 0 && clientDownloads.Any())
-            {
-                logger.LogWarning(
-                    "Skipping orphan cleanup for client {ClientName}: client returned 0 queue items but {Count} downloads are tracked. Client may be temporarily unreachable.",
-                    client.Name,
-                    clientDownloads.Count);
-                return;
-            }
-
             var liveClientItemIds = BuildLiveClientItemIds(clientQueue, mappedQueueItems);
             var now = DateTime.UtcNow;
             var cleanupCandidates = clientDownloads
diff --git a/tests/Features/Application/Downloads/Queue/DownloadOrphanCleanupServiceTests.cs b/tests/Features/Application/Downloads/Queue/DownloadOrphanCleanupServiceTests.cs
index e3ba31431..cd294d0ed 100644
--- a/tests/Features/Application/Downloads/Queue/DownloadOrphanCleanupServiceTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Features/Application/Downloads/Queue/DownloadOrphanCleanupServiceTests.cs
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ await service.RemoveOrphansAsync(
 
         [Fact]
         [Trait("Method", "RemoveOrphansAsync")]
-        public async Task RemoveOrphansAsync_DoesNotRemoveIdlessDownloadWhenLiveSnapshotIsEmpty()
+        public async Task RemoveOrphansAsync_RemovesIdlessDownloadWhenLiveSnapshotIsEmpty()
         {
             var client = CreateClient();
             var download = await AddDownloadAsync(
@@ -102,6 +102,96 @@ await service.RemoveOrphansAsync(
                 [],
                 [download]);
 
+            Assert.Null(await _downloadRepository.GetByIdAsync(download.Id));
+            _metricsMock.Verify(m => m.Increment("download.orphan.unlinked_removed", 1), Times.Once);
+            _metricsMock.Verify(m => m.Increment("download.orphan.removed", It.IsAny<double>()), Times.Never);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Method", "RemoveOrphansAsync")]
+        public async Task RemoveOrphansAsync_RemovesOnlyTrackedDownloadWhenLiveSnapshotIsEmpty()
+        {
+            var client = CreateClient();
+            var download = await AddDownloadAsync(
+                id: "sole-active-orphan",
+                clientId: client.Id,
+                status: DownloadStatus.Downloading,
+                startedAt: DateTime.UtcNow.AddMinutes(-10),
+                metadata: new Dictionary<string, object>
+                {
+                    ["ClientDownloadId"] = "deleted-in-client"
+                });
+            var service = _provider.GetRequiredService<DownloadOrphanCleanupService>();
+
+            await service.RemoveOrphansAsync(
+                client,
+                CreateLiveSnapshot(client, []),
+                [],
+                [download]);
+
+            Assert.Null(await _downloadRepository.GetByIdAsync(download.Id));
+            _metricsMock.Verify(m => m.Increment("download.orphan.removed", 1), Times.Once);
+            _metricsMock.Verify(m => m.Increment("download.orphan.unlinked_removed", It.IsAny<double>()), Times.Never);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Method", "RemoveOrphansAsync")]
+        public async Task RemoveOrphansAsync_DoesNotRemoveRecentDownloadWhenLiveSnapshotIsEmpty()
+        {
+            var client = CreateClient();
+            var download = await AddDownloadAsync(
+                id: "recent-empty-snapshot-download",
+                clientId: client.Id,
+                status: DownloadStatus.Downloading,
+                startedAt: DateTime.UtcNow.AddMinutes(-1),
+                metadata: new Dictionary<string, object>
+                {
+                    ["ClientDownloadId"] = "deleted-in-client"
+                });
+            var service = _provider.GetRequiredService<DownloadOrphanCleanupService>();
+
+            await service.RemoveOrphansAsync(
+                client,
+                CreateLiveSnapshot(client, []),
+                [],
+                [download]);
+
+            Assert.NotNull(await _downloadRepository.GetByIdAsync(download.Id));
+            _metricsMock.Verify(m => m.Increment(It.IsAny<string>(), It.IsAny<double>()), Times.Never);
+        }
+
+        [Theory]
+        [Trait("Method", "RemoveOrphansAsync")]
+        [InlineData(true, false)]
+        [InlineData(false, true)]
+        public async Task RemoveOrphansAsync_DoesNotRemoveWhenEmptySnapshotIsNotTrusted(bool usedCachedSnapshot, bool isUnavailable)
+        {
+            var client = CreateClient();
+            var download = await AddDownloadAsync(
+                id: "untrusted-empty-snapshot-download",
+                clientId: client.Id,
+                status: DownloadStatus.Downloading,
+                startedAt: DateTime.UtcNow.AddMinutes(-10),
+                metadata: new Dictionary<string, object>
+                {
+                    ["ClientDownloadId"] = "deleted-in-client"
+                });
+            var service = _provider.GetRequiredService<DownloadOrphanCleanupService>();
+
+            await service.RemoveOrphansAsync(
+                client,
+                new ClientQueueFetchResult(
+                    client,
+                    [],
+                    usedCachedSnapshot,
+                    isUnavailable,
+                    snapshotAge: null,
+                    failureReason: isUnavailable ? "unavailable" : null,
+                    snapshotState: isUnavailable ? "unavailable" : "cached",
+                    snapshotRefreshedAtUtc: DateTimeOffset.UtcNow),
+                [],
+                [download]);
+
             Assert.NotNull(await _downloadRepository.GetByIdAsync(download.Id));
             _metricsMock.Verify(m => m.Increment(It.IsAny<string>(), It.IsAny<double>()), Times.Never);
         }