diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index eeaa0e04..45e3150a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
 # Hermes Web UI -- Changelog
 
+## Unreleased
+
+- **Gateway heartbeat stale stopped state** — treat an old root
+  `gateway_state.json` with `gateway_state: "stopped"` as an unknown /
+  unconfigured root gateway instead of a live outage, so users running only
+  profile-scoped gateways do not get a persistent heartbeat-down alert from a
+  fossilized clean-stop file. Fresh stopped states still report down. Closes
+  #1944. (`api/agent_health.py`,
+  `tests/test_issue1879_cross_container_gateway_liveness.py`)
+
 ## [v0.51.30] — 2026-05-08 — 3-PR contributor batch (Release G: offline recovery + PWA hardening + opt-in session jump buttons + opt-in endless-scroll)
 
 ### Added (3 PRs, all from @ai-ag2026)
diff --git a/api/agent_health.py b/api/agent_health.py
index c68375b8..ea3bc572 100644
--- a/api/agent_health.py
+++ b/api/agent_health.py
@@ -91,6 +91,41 @@ def _runtime_status_is_fresh(
     return age_s <= threshold_s
 
 
+def _runtime_status_is_stale_stopped(
+    runtime_status: dict[str, Any] | None,
+    *,
+    now: datetime | None = None,
+    threshold_s: float = GATEWAY_FRESHNESS_THRESHOLD_S,
+) -> bool:
+    """Return ``True`` for an old clean-stop root gateway state.
+
+    A user may run only profile-scoped gateways while a root
+    ``gateway_state.json`` from an older, intentionally stopped gateway remains
+    on disk (#1944). Treat that stale stopped file like "no root gateway
+    configured" so the heartbeat banner does not keep warning about a service
+    the user is not running. Fresh stopped state still reports down.
+    """
+    if not isinstance(runtime_status, dict):
+        return False
+    if runtime_status.get("gateway_state") != "stopped":
+        return False
+
+    raw_updated_at = runtime_status.get("updated_at")
+    if not isinstance(raw_updated_at, str) or not raw_updated_at:
+        return False
+
+    try:
+        updated_at = datetime.fromisoformat(raw_updated_at)
+    except (TypeError, ValueError):
+        return False
+    if updated_at.tzinfo is None:
+        return False
+
+    reference = now if now is not None else datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+    age_s = (reference - updated_at).total_seconds()
+    return age_s > threshold_s
+
+
 def _gateway_status_module():
     """Load gateway.status lazily so tests and WebUI-only installs stay isolated."""
     return importlib.import_module("gateway.status")
@@ -263,6 +298,17 @@ def build_agent_health_payload() -> dict[str, Any]:
             },
         }
 
+    if _runtime_status_is_stale_stopped(runtime_status):
+        return {
+            "alive": None,
+            "checked_at": checked_at,
+            "details": {
+                "state": "unknown",
+                "reason": "gateway_stale_stopped_state",
+                **safe_details,
+            },
+        }
+
     if isinstance(runtime_status, dict):
         return {
             "alive": False,
diff --git a/tests/test_issue1879_cross_container_gateway_liveness.py b/tests/test_issue1879_cross_container_gateway_liveness.py
index 262b8f23..2eeaf38e 100644
--- a/tests/test_issue1879_cross_container_gateway_liveness.py
+++ b/tests/test_issue1879_cross_container_gateway_liveness.py
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ These tests pin every behavior the fix promises:
   * fresh + running gateway_state, no PID  → alive (cross-container path)
   * stale updated_at + running              → down (no false positives)
   * fresh updated_at + non-running state    → down (crash-without-cleanup case)
+  * stale updated_at + stopped state        → unknown (old root gateway was
+    intentionally stopped; do not nag profile-gateway users)
   * malformed / missing / naive timestamp   → down (no parser-quirk false alive)
   * future timestamp within threshold       → alive (clock skew tolerance)
   * future timestamp beyond threshold       → down (broken clock rejected)
@@ -152,6 +154,52 @@ def test_fresh_updated_at_with_non_running_state_reports_down(monkeypatch):
     assert payload["details"]["state"] == "down"
 
 
+def test_stale_stopped_runtime_status_reports_unknown_not_down(monkeypatch):
+    """#1944: a fossilized clean-stop root state should not trigger the alert.
+
+    Users can run profile-scoped gateways without a root gateway. If an old
+    root gateway_state.json says "stopped", treating it as down makes the
+    heartbeat banner fire forever even though no root gateway is configured.
+    """
+    from api import agent_health
+
+    stale_ts = _iso(datetime.now(timezone.utc) - timedelta(days=7))
+    runtime = _runtime_status(stale_ts, gateway_state="stopped", active_agents=0)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        agent_health,
+        "_gateway_status_module",
+        lambda: _FakeGatewayStatus(runtime, running_pid=None),
+    )
+
+    payload = agent_health.build_agent_health_payload()
+
+    assert payload["alive"] is None
+    assert payload["details"]["state"] == "unknown"
+    assert payload["details"]["reason"] == "gateway_stale_stopped_state"
+    assert payload["details"]["gateway_state"] == "stopped"
+
+
+def test_fresh_stopped_runtime_status_still_reports_down(monkeypatch):
+    """A recent stopped state still means the configured gateway is down."""
+    from api import agent_health
+
+    fresh_ts = _iso(datetime.now(timezone.utc) - timedelta(seconds=10))
+    runtime = _runtime_status(fresh_ts, gateway_state="stopped", active_agents=0)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        agent_health,
+        "_gateway_status_module",
+        lambda: _FakeGatewayStatus(runtime, running_pid=None),
+    )
+
+    payload = agent_health.build_agent_health_payload()
+
+    assert payload["alive"] is False
+    assert payload["details"]["state"] == "down"
+    assert payload["details"]["reason"] == "gateway_not_running"
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "broken_value",
     [