diff --git a/Services/Encoder/FfmpegLocator.cs b/Services/Encoder/FfmpegLocator.cs
index d756ccc..a214530 100644
--- a/Services/Encoder/FfmpegLocator.cs
+++ b/Services/Encoder/FfmpegLocator.cs
@@ -25,9 +25,17 @@ public sealed class FfmpegLocator : IFfmpegLocator
     /// derive its path from the located ffmpeg directory.</summary>
     public const string ProbeFileName = "ffprobe.exe";
 
-    /// <summary>Pinned BtbN LGPL-shared win64 build (immutable autobuild tag; see TASKS.md).</summary>
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Pinned BtbN LGPL-shared win64 build — <c>autobuild-2026-08-31-13-27</c>, the
+    /// ffmpeg N-126342 build (immutable tag; recorded in TASKS.md per the licensing rule).
+    /// Deliberately a MONTH-END tag: BtbN retains the last ~14 dailies but month-end
+    /// builds for ~2 years — the previous pin (a 2026-08-09 daily) aged out of retention
+    /// and 404'd on a cold cache exactly as ai.md predicted (2026-09-01, the first real
+    /// recording attempt). Dated tags carry versioned asset names (ffmpeg-N-…-win64-lgpl-shared.zip);
+    /// extraction is name-agnostic.
+    /// </summary>
     public const string PinnedUrl =
-        "https://github.com/BtbN/FFmpeg-Builds/releases/download/autobuild-2026-08-09-13-03/ffmpeg-master-latest-win64-lgpl-shared.zip";
+        "https://github.com/BtbN/FFmpeg-Builds/releases/download/autobuild-2026-08-31-13-27/ffmpeg-N-126342-gf88b741dbf-win64-lgpl-shared.zip";
 
     private readonly string[] _searchDirs;
     private readonly string _toolsDir;
@@ -65,6 +73,17 @@ public sealed class FfmpegLocator : IFfmpegLocator
             ExtractBinaries(zip, _toolsDir);
             return cached;
         }
+        catch (HttpRequestException ex)
+        {
+            // The old gap: this exception type escaped unwrapped, so a dead pin surfaced
+            // as a raw "Response status code does not indicate success: 404" from the
+            // frame pump. Locator failures are IOException with an actionable message.
+            AppLog.Write(ex, "FFmpeg locator: download failed");
+            throw new IOException(
+                $"FFmpeg download failed ({ex.Message}). The pinned build may have aged out of " +
+                "retention — update FfmpegLocator.PinnedUrl, or install FFmpeg (LGPL-shared build) " +
+                "and make sure 'ffmpeg' is on PATH.", ex);
+        }
         catch (Exception ex) when (ex is IOException or InvalidDataException or NotSupportedException)
         {
             AppLog.Write(ex, "FFmpeg locator: download/extract failed");
diff --git a/TASKS.md b/TASKS.md
index 9ab2605..7b357dd 100644
--- a/TASKS.md
+++ b/TASKS.md
@@ -342,10 +342,15 @@ provides one.
    compliance is "license text + source offer + unmodified binaries" (see `THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt` and
    `ai.md` → Licensing). Drops libx264/libx265 while keeping NVENC/QSV/AMF, libopenh264 (the LGPL-legal
    H.264 software fallback) and native AAC — exactly the requirement-1 encoder profile.
-2. **Pinned URL** — `https://github.com/BtbN/FFmpeg-Builds/releases/download/autobuild-2026-08-09-13-03/ffmpeg-master-latest-win64-lgpl-shared.zip`
-   (~75 MB zip — earlier "~30 MB" estimate corrected). A dated autobuild tag is immutable; BtbN retention
+2. **Pinned URL** — **RE-PINNED 2026-09-01**: `https://github.com/BtbN/FFmpeg-Builds/releases/download/autobuild-2026-08-31-13-27/ffmpeg-N-126342-gf88b741dbf-win64-lgpl-shared.zip`
+   (BtbN **lgpl-shared** variant, ffmpeg N-126342; ~75 MB zip — earlier "~30 MB" estimate corrected). A dated autobuild tag is immutable; BtbN retention
    keeps the last 14 daily builds + each month-end build for 2 years, so a cold cache after retention
-   expiry 404s — a logged, recoverable failure (the seam throws; the encoder step surfaces it). Once
+   expiry 404s — a logged, recoverable failure (the seam throws; the encoder step surfaces it). The
+   first pin (`autobuild-2026-08-09-13-03`, a daily) aged out on 2026-09-01 — the first real recording
+   attempt — proving the rule; the new pin is deliberately the **month-end** build (2-year retention).
+   Dated tags carry versioned asset names (`ffmpeg-N-…-win64-lgpl-shared.zip`), extraction is
+   name-agnostic; download failures now wrap in `IOException` with an actionable message
+   ("refresh `FfmpegLocator.PinnedUrl` or install ffmpeg on PATH") instead of leaking a raw 404. Once
    cached, the URL is never touched again. The pin is a single `const`, bumpable in one place — and must
    always stay on the **shared** variant (never `gpl`, `nonfree`, or static; see ai.md Licensing).
 3. **Check-then-pull order** — (1) PATH probe (the user's own install wins), (2) cached
diff --git a/ytLive.Tests/FfmpegLocatorTests.cs b/ytLive.Tests/FfmpegLocatorTests.cs
index c7767f7..a626e18 100644
--- a/ytLive.Tests/FfmpegLocatorTests.cs
+++ b/ytLive.Tests/FfmpegLocatorTests.cs
@@ -164,6 +164,23 @@ public class FfmpegLocatorTests
     {
         var downloader = new RecordingDownloader { Error = new HttpRequestException("offline") };
         var locator = new FfmpegLocator([], TempDir(), downloader.DownloadAsync);
-        await Assert.ThrowsAsync<HttpRequestException>(() => locator.LocateAsync());
+        var ex = await Assert.ThrowsAsync<IOException>(() => locator.LocateAsync());
+        Assert.IsType<HttpRequestException>(ex.InnerException);
+        Assert.Contains("pinned build", ex.Message, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Locate_DeadPin404_ThrowsActionableLocatorError()
+    {
+        // 2026-09-01 incident: the pinned autobuild tag aged out of BtbN retention;
+        // the raw HttpRequestException must never surface from the pump again.
+        var downloader = new RecordingDownloader
+        {
+            Error = new HttpRequestException("Response status code does not indicate success: 404 (Not Found)."),
+        };
+        var locator = new FfmpegLocator([], TempDir(), downloader.DownloadAsync);
+        var ex = await Assert.ThrowsAsync<IOException>(() => locator.LocateAsync());
+        Assert.Contains("PATH", ex.Message);
+        Assert.Contains("PinnedUrl", ex.Message);
     }
 }