diff --git a/app/services/dm_ingest.py b/app/services/dm_ingest.py
index f5a39d7..df01e46 100644
--- a/app/services/dm_ingest.py
+++ b/app/services/dm_ingest.py
@@ -132,20 +132,6 @@ async def resolve_direct_message_sender_metadata(
         )
         return contact.name, contact.public_key.lower()
 
-    if normalized_sender:
-        placeholder_upsert = ContactUpsert(
-            public_key=normalized_sender,
-            type=0,
-            last_seen=received_at,
-            last_contacted=received_at,
-            first_seen=received_at,
-            on_radio=False,
-        )
-        await contact_repository.upsert(placeholder_upsert)
-        placeholder = await contact_repository.get_by_key(normalized_sender)
-        if placeholder is not None:
-            broadcast_fn("contact", placeholder.model_dump())
-
     return None, normalized_sender or None
 
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/RoomServerPanel.tsx b/frontend/src/components/RoomServerPanel.tsx
index bb1bbe9..58c278c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/RoomServerPanel.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/RoomServerPanel.tsx
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ export function RoomServerPanel({ contact, onAuthenticatedChange }: RoomServerPa
       setLoginMessage(null);
       try {
         const result = await api.roomLogin(contact.public_key, password);
-        setAuthenticated(result.authenticated);
+        setAuthenticated(true);
         setLoginMessage(
           result.message ??
             (result.authenticated
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ export function RoomServerPanel({ contact, onAuthenticatedChange }: RoomServerPa
         }
       } catch (err) {
         const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'Unknown error';
-        setAuthenticated(false);
+        setAuthenticated(true);
         setLoginError(message);
         toast.error('Room login failed', { description: message });
       } finally {
diff --git a/frontend/src/test/roomServerPanel.test.tsx b/frontend/src/test/roomServerPanel.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bb9718a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/test/roomServerPanel.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+import { fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi, type Mock } from 'vitest';
+
+import { RoomServerPanel } from '../components/RoomServerPanel';
+import type { Contact } from '../types';
+
+vi.mock('../api', () => ({
+  api: {
+    roomLogin: vi.fn(),
+    roomStatus: vi.fn(),
+    roomAcl: vi.fn(),
+    roomLppTelemetry: vi.fn(),
+    sendRepeaterCommand: vi.fn(),
+  },
+}));
+
+vi.mock('../components/ui/sonner', () => ({
+  toast: Object.assign(vi.fn(), {
+    success: vi.fn(),
+    error: vi.fn(),
+    warning: vi.fn(),
+  }),
+}));
+
+const { api: _rawApi } = await import('../api');
+const mockApi = _rawApi as unknown as Record<string, Mock>;
+
+const roomContact: Contact = {
+  public_key: 'aa'.repeat(32),
+  name: 'Ops Board',
+  type: 3,
+  flags: 0,
+  direct_path: null,
+  direct_path_len: -1,
+  direct_path_hash_mode: 0,
+  last_advert: null,
+  lat: null,
+  lon: null,
+  last_seen: null,
+  on_radio: false,
+  last_contacted: null,
+  last_read_at: null,
+  first_seen: null,
+};
+
+describe('RoomServerPanel', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    localStorage.clear();
+  });
+
+  it('keeps room controls available when login is not confirmed', async () => {
+    mockApi.roomLogin.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      status: 'timeout',
+      authenticated: false,
+      message:
+        'No login confirmation was heard from the room server. The control panel is still available; try logging in again if authenticated actions fail.',
+    });
+    const onAuthenticatedChange = vi.fn();
+
+    render(<RoomServerPanel contact={roomContact} onAuthenticatedChange={onAuthenticatedChange} />);
+
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText('Login with ACL / Guest'));
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(screen.getByText('Room Server Controls')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    });
+    expect(screen.getByText(/control panel is still available/i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(onAuthenticatedChange).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tests/test_event_handlers.py b/tests/test_event_handlers.py
index f0bacf8..5c810c0 100644
--- a/tests/test_event_handlers.py
+++ b/tests/test_event_handlers.py
@@ -492,6 +492,58 @@ class TestContactMessageCLIFiltering:
             assert payload["sender_key"] == author_key
             assert payload["signature"] == author_key[:8]
 
+    @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    async def test_room_server_message_does_not_create_placeholder_contact_for_unknown_author(
+        self, test_db
+    ):
+        from app.event_handlers import on_contact_message
+
+        room_key = "ab" * 32
+        author_prefix = "12345678"
+        await ContactRepository.upsert(
+            {
+                "public_key": room_key,
+                "name": "Ops Board",
+                "type": 3,
+                "flags": 0,
+                "direct_path": None,
+                "direct_path_len": -1,
+                "direct_path_hash_mode": -1,
+                "last_advert": None,
+                "lat": None,
+                "lon": None,
+                "last_seen": None,
+                "on_radio": False,
+                "last_contacted": None,
+                "first_seen": None,
+            }
+        )
+
+        with patch("app.event_handlers.broadcast_event") as mock_broadcast:
+
+            class MockEvent:
+                payload = {
+                    "pubkey_prefix": room_key[:12],
+                    "text": "hello room",
+                    "txt_type": 2,
+                    "signature": author_prefix,
+                    "sender_timestamp": 1700000000,
+                }
+
+            await on_contact_message(MockEvent())
+
+            message = (await MessageRepository.get_all(msg_type="PRIV", conversation_key=room_key))[
+                0
+            ]
+            assert message.sender_name is None
+            assert message.sender_key == author_prefix
+            assert await ContactRepository.get_by_key(author_prefix) is None
+
+            assert len(mock_broadcast.call_args_list) == 1
+            event_type, payload = mock_broadcast.call_args_list[0][0]
+            assert event_type == "message"
+            assert payload["sender_key"] == author_prefix
+
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
     async def test_missing_txt_type_defaults_to_normal(self, test_db):
         """Messages without txt_type field are treated as normal (not filtered)."""