diff --git a/core/archipelago/src/mesh/mod.rs b/core/archipelago/src/mesh/mod.rs
index ee5d3cae..0a58b3d9 100644
--- a/core/archipelago/src/mesh/mod.rs
+++ b/core/archipelago/src/mesh/mod.rs
@@ -1116,7 +1116,14 @@ impl MeshService {
                 .map(|p| !p.reachable && p.arch_pubkey_hex.is_some())
                 .unwrap_or(false)
         };
-        if is_federation_synthetic || exceeds_lora || radio_federated_unreachable {
+        let mesh_only_mode = load_config(&self.data_dir)
+            .await
+            .ok()
+            .and_then(|cfg| cfg.mesh_only_mode)
+            .unwrap_or(false);
+        if !mesh_only_mode
+            && (is_federation_synthetic || exceeds_lora || radio_federated_unreachable)
+        {
             // Resolve the peer's pubkey/did. Prefer the live mesh peer table,
             // but fall back to federation storage for federation-synthetic ids
             // that were never seeded into `state.peers` — e.g. a radio-less
@@ -1185,6 +1192,17 @@ impl MeshService {
             // (`send_dm_via_channel` in listener/session.rs) handles both
             // single-frame and chunked transmission internally; we must NOT
             // pre-chunk here as well or the receiver sees garbage.
+        } else if mesh_only_mode
+            && (is_federation_synthetic || exceeds_lora || radio_federated_unreachable)
+        {
+            tracing::info!(
+                contact_id,
+                bytes = wire.len(),
+                is_federation_synthetic,
+                exceeds_lora,
+                radio_federated_unreachable,
+                "Off-grid mode active; forcing mesh message over LoRa only"
+            );
         }
         self.send_raw_payload(contact_id, wire).await?;
         Ok(self
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/stores/transport.ts b/neode-ui/src/stores/transport.ts
index 8ec1f881..4141317d 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/stores/transport.ts
+++ b/neode-ui/src/stores/transport.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { defineStore } from 'pinia'
 import { ref, computed } from 'vue'
 import { rpcClient } from '@/api/rpc-client'
 
-export type TransportKind = 'mesh' | 'lan' | 'tor'
+export type TransportKind = 'mesh' | 'lan' | 'fips' | 'tor'
 
 export interface TransportInfo {
   kind: TransportKind
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/views/Mesh.vue b/neode-ui/src/views/Mesh.vue
index e45e577c..d1337a2c 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/views/Mesh.vue
+++ b/neode-ui/src/views/Mesh.vue
@@ -1477,7 +1477,7 @@ function isImageMime(mime?: string): boolean {
             <path stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" d="M18.364 5.636a9 9 0 11-12.728 0M12 9v4m0 4h.01" />
           </svg>
           <span class="text-sm font-medium text-orange-300">OFF-GRID</span>
-          <span class="text-xs text-white/50">Tor disabled — mesh only</span>
+          <span class="text-xs text-white/50">Tor/FIPS disabled - LoRa only</span>
         </div>
 
         <!-- Actions row -->
diff --git a/neode-ui/src/views/mesh/mesh-styles.css b/neode-ui/src/views/mesh/mesh-styles.css
index e7f7383b..fea1568d 100644
--- a/neode-ui/src/views/mesh/mesh-styles.css
+++ b/neode-ui/src/views/mesh/mesh-styles.css
@@ -119,10 +119,10 @@
 .mesh-signal-bar.active { background: #4ade80; }
 .mesh-unread-badge { background: #fb923c; color: #000; font-size: 0.65rem; font-weight: 700; min-width: 18px; height: 18px; border-radius: 9px; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; padding: 0 5px; flex-shrink: 0; }
 .mesh-chat-card { padding: 0; flex: 1; display: flex; flex-direction: column; min-height: 0; overflow: hidden; }
-.mesh-chat-empty { flex: 1; display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center; justify-content: center; color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3); gap: 8px; padding: 40px; }
-.mesh-chat-empty-icon { font-size: 3rem; opacity: 0.4; }
+.mesh-chat-empty { flex: 1; display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center; justify-content: center; color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.14); gap: 8px; padding: 40px; }
+.mesh-chat-empty-icon { font-size: 3rem; opacity: 0.18; }
 .mesh-chat-empty p { margin: 0; font-size: 0.9rem; }
-.mesh-chat-empty-sub { font-size: 0.75rem !important; color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.2); }
+.mesh-chat-empty-sub { font-size: 0.75rem !important; color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1); }
 .mesh-chat-header { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 10px; padding: 14px 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.06); flex-shrink: 0; }
 /* Floating mobile back button (Teleported to body). Hidden by default; only
    shown in the single-column mobile mesh layout (see media query below). */