diff --git a/Assets/archive/starting-background-v1-2026-11-06.jpg b/Assets/archive/starting-background-v1-2026-11-06.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e23965e
Binary files /dev/null and b/Assets/archive/starting-background-v1-2026-11-06.jpg differ
diff --git a/Assets/starting-background.jpg b/Assets/starting-background.jpg
index e23965e..555915c 100644
Binary files a/Assets/starting-background.jpg and b/Assets/starting-background.jpg differ
diff --git a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Background.cs b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Background.cs
index 37135bb..97b12f6 100644
--- a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Background.cs
+++ b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Background.cs
@@ -429,7 +429,7 @@ public partial class MainViewModel
     /// drops duplicates/stale rows, re-seeds missing ones.</summary>
     /// <summary>Bump when a bundled background image is replaced. Layouts stamped with an older version
     /// re-seed their DEFAULT art on next load; a creator's own custom background is never touched.</summary>
-    private const int CurrentDefaultArtVersion = 2;
+    private const int CurrentDefaultArtVersion = 4;
 
     /// <summary>Re-stamp the shipped art for scenes still using the default. Without this, a replaced
     /// <c>starting-background.jpg</c> reaches new installs only: the asset is hash-keyed into the layout
@@ -438,12 +438,19 @@ public partial class MainViewModel
     {
         if (_layoutStore.LoadDefaultArtVersion() >= CurrentDefaultArtVersion) return;
 
-        foreach (var background in AllBackgrounds())
+        // Every scene's background, not AllBackgrounds(): that helper only returns the LIVE scene's
+        // capture-flavoured rows, which is why version 2 healed nothing (2026-11-06).
+        var cleared = 0;
+        foreach (var scene in Scenes)
+        foreach (var background in scene.Elements.OfType<Source>().Where(element => element.IsBackground))
         {
-            if (!background.UseDefaultBackground) continue;   // the creator chose their own art
-            background.AssetId = null;                        // seed re-stamps it below
+            if (!background.UseDefaultBackground && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(background.CustomBackgroundPath))
+                continue;                                     // the creator chose their own art
+            background.AssetId = null;                        // the seed below re-stamps the bundled art
+            cleared++;
         }
 
+        AppLog.Write($"Default art version {CurrentDefaultArtVersion}: re-seeding {cleared} background(s)");
         _layoutStore.SaveDefaultArtVersion(CurrentDefaultArtVersion);
     }
 
@@ -516,7 +523,10 @@ public partial class MainViewModel
 
         try
         {
-            var uri = new Uri($"pack://application:,,,/Assets/{asset}", UriKind.Absolute);
+            // Assembly-qualified on purpose: the unqualified form resolves against the ENTRY assembly,
+            // which is LlamaCasty.exe in production but the test host under `dotnet test` — so the seed
+            // silently did nothing there (and the art test could not see the bundled image).
+            var uri = new Uri($"pack://application:,,,/LlamaCasty;component/Assets/{asset}", UriKind.Absolute);
             using var stream = Application.GetResourceStream(uri)?.Stream;
             if (stream == null) return;
             using var ms = new MemoryStream();
diff --git a/ytLive.Tests/BackgroundDefaultArtTests.cs b/ytLive.Tests/BackgroundDefaultArtTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e567b4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ytLive.Tests/BackgroundDefaultArtTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+using System;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Linq;
+using Microsoft.Data.Sqlite;
+using Xunit;
+using ytLive.Services;
+using ytLive.ViewModels;
+
+namespace ytLive.Tests;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// 2026-11-06: replacing a bundled background reached new installs only. Default art is hash-keyed into the
+/// layout database on first seed, so an existing profile kept the old image for ever — and the first
+/// attempt at a version heal silently did nothing because it iterated `AllBackgrounds()`, which returns
+/// only the LIVE scene's rows.
+/// </summary>
+[Collection("RealApp")]
+public sealed class BackgroundDefaultArtTests
+{
+    private readonly RealAppHost _app;
+
+    public BackgroundDefaultArtTests(RealAppHost app) => _app = app;
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ReplacingTheBundledArt_ReSeedsAnExistingProfile() => _app.Run(() =>
+    {
+        // The bundled art is a WPF resource, so this needs a real Application to resolve the pack URI.
+        var tempDb = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), $"ytLlive-art-{Guid.NewGuid():N}.db");
+        MainViewModel.LayoutPathOverride = tempDb;
+        try
+        {
+            // First launch: the seeded art is whatever ships today.
+            var first = new MainViewModel();
+            var firstId = StartingBackgroundId(first);
+            Assert.False(string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(firstId), "the bundled Starting art never seeded");
+            var firstBytes = AssetLength(tempDb, firstId!);
+
+            // Simulate a profile stamped with the OLD art: point the Starting background at a planted
+            // asset and mark the layout as an older art vintage. The heal must re-stamp the shipped art.
+            using (var connection = new SqliteConnection($"Data Source={tempDb}"))
+            {
+                connection.Open();
+                using var plant = connection.CreateCommand();
+                plant.CommandText = """
+                    INSERT OR REPLACE INTO Asset (Id, Hash, Data, PixelWidth, PixelHeight)
+                    VALUES ('old-art', 'deadbeef', zeroblob(1024), 1920, 1080);
+                    UPDATE Source SET AssetId = 'old-art' WHERE IsBackground = 1;
+                    """;
+                plant.ExecuteNonQuery();
+            }
+            SqliteConnection.ClearAllPools();
+            using (var store = new LayoutStore(tempDb))
+                store.SaveDefaultArtVersion(1);
+
+            var second = new MainViewModel();
+            var secondId = StartingBackgroundId(second);
+            Assert.NotNull(secondId);
+
+            // Re-stamped to the SHIPPED art — which, being the same bytes, is the same asset row the
+            // first launch created. What matters is that the planted "old art" is gone.
+            Assert.NotEqual("old-art", secondId);
+            Assert.Equal(firstId, secondId);
+            Assert.Equal(File.ReadAllBytes(Path.Combine(
+                AppContext.BaseDirectory, "..", "..", "..", "..", "Assets", "starting-background.jpg")).Length,
+                AssetLength(tempDb, secondId!));
+            Assert.NotEqual(firstBytes, 0);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            MainViewModel.LayoutPathOverride = null;
+            SqliteConnection.ClearAllPools();
+            try { File.Delete(tempDb); } catch { /* best-effort cleanup */ }
+        }
+    });
+
+    private static string? StartingBackgroundId(MainViewModel vm)
+        => vm.Scenes
+            .Where(scene => ytLive.Models.SceneCatalog.Is(scene.Name, ytLive.Models.SceneCatalog.Starting))
+            .SelectMany(scene => scene.Elements.OfType<ytLive.Models.Source>())
+            .FirstOrDefault(element => element.IsBackground)?.AssetId;
+
+    private static int AssetLength(string dbPath, string assetId)
+    {
+        using var connection = new SqliteConnection($"Data Source={dbPath}");
+        connection.Open();
+        using var cmd = connection.CreateCommand();
+        cmd.CommandText = "SELECT length(Data) FROM Asset WHERE Id = $id;";
+        cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("$id", assetId);
+        return Convert.ToInt32(cmd.ExecuteScalar());
+    }
+}