diff --git a/scripts/e2e/lib/onboard/scenario.sh b/scripts/e2e/lib/onboard/scenario.sh
index 1d458cbf1c03..c1e786cceb85 100644
--- a/scripts/e2e/lib/onboard/scenario.sh
+++ b/scripts/e2e/lib/onboard/scenario.sh
@@ -77,18 +77,22 @@ start_gateway() {
 }
 
 wait_for_gateway() {
-  for _ in $(seq 1 20); do
+  local wait_attempts="${OPENCLAW_ONBOARD_GATEWAY_WAIT_ATTEMPTS:-20}"
+  local wait_interval_s="${OPENCLAW_ONBOARD_GATEWAY_WAIT_INTERVAL_S:-1}"
+  local saw_listening_log="false"
+  for _ in $(seq 1 "$wait_attempts"); do
     if openclaw_e2e_probe_tcp 127.0.0.1 18789 500 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
       return 0
     fi
     if [ -f "$GATEWAY_LOG_PATH" ] && grep -E -q "listening on ws://[^ ]+:18789" "$GATEWAY_LOG_PATH"; then
-      if [ -n "${GATEWAY_PID:-}" ] && kill -0 "$GATEWAY_PID" 2>/dev/null; then
-        return 0
-      fi
+      saw_listening_log="true"
     fi
-    sleep 1
+    sleep "$wait_interval_s"
   done
   echo "Gateway failed to start"
+  if [ "$saw_listening_log" = "true" ]; then
+    echo "Gateway log reported listening, but TCP probe never succeeded"
+  fi
   cat "$GATEWAY_LOG_PATH" || true
   return 1
 }
diff --git a/test/scripts/e2e-shell-tempfiles.test.ts b/test/scripts/e2e-shell-tempfiles.test.ts
index 64c3f3f92cea..498a815a005f 100644
--- a/test/scripts/e2e-shell-tempfiles.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/e2e-shell-tempfiles.test.ts
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ run_wizard_cmd failing-wizard fake-state "node fake-wizard" send_noop false
     );
   });
 
-  it("probes onboarding gateway readiness through the isolated scratch log", async () => {
+  it("probes onboarding gateway readiness through TCP", async () => {
     const tempRoot = await mkdtemp(path.join(tmpdir(), "openclaw-onboard-gateway-log-"));
     const fixturePath = path.join(tempRoot, "gateway-log.sh");
     await writeFile(
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ export OPENCLAW_ONBOARD_E2E_TMPDIR=${JSON.stringify(tempRoot)}
 OPENCLAW_ENTRY=node
 source scripts/e2e/lib/onboard/scenario.sh
 
-openclaw_e2e_probe_tcp() { return 1; }
+openclaw_e2e_probe_tcp() { return 0; }
 sleep 30 &
 GATEWAY_PID="$!"
 printf 'listening on ws://127.0.0.1:18789\\n' >"$GATEWAY_LOG_PATH"
@@ -134,6 +134,49 @@ test ! -e "$ONBOARD_TMP_DIR"
     }
   });
 
+  it("rejects onboarding gateway readiness when the TCP probe fails", async () => {
+    const tempRoot = await mkdtemp(path.join(tmpdir(), "openclaw-onboard-gateway-tcp-"));
+    const fixturePath = path.join(tempRoot, "gateway-tcp.sh");
+    await writeFile(
+      fixturePath,
+      `#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+export OPENCLAW_ONBOARD_SCENARIO_SOURCE_ONLY=1
+export OPENCLAW_ONBOARD_E2E_TMPDIR=${JSON.stringify(tempRoot)}
+export OPENCLAW_ONBOARD_GATEWAY_WAIT_ATTEMPTS=2
+export OPENCLAW_ONBOARD_GATEWAY_WAIT_INTERVAL_S=0.1
+OPENCLAW_ENTRY=node
+source scripts/e2e/lib/onboard/scenario.sh
+
+openclaw_e2e_probe_tcp() { return 1; }
+sleep 30 &
+GATEWAY_PID="$!"
+printf 'listening on ws://127.0.0.1:18789\\n' >"$GATEWAY_LOG_PATH"
+if wait_for_gateway; then
+  echo "gateway readiness passed without TCP reachability" >&2
+  cleanup_onboard_artifacts
+  exit 1
+fi
+cleanup_onboard_artifacts
+test ! -e "$ONBOARD_TMP_DIR"
+`,
+    );
+
+    try {
+      const result = spawnSync("bash", [fixturePath], {
+        cwd: process.cwd(),
+        encoding: "utf8",
+      });
+
+      expect(result.status, `${result.stdout}\n${result.stderr}`).toBe(0);
+      expect(result.stdout).toContain("Gateway failed to start");
+      expect(result.stdout).toContain("TCP probe never succeeded");
+    } finally {
+      await rm(tempRoot, { force: true, recursive: true });
+    }
+  });
+
   it("removes fallback ClawHub skill install HOME on failure", async () => {
     const tempRoot = await mkdtemp(path.join(tmpdir(), "openclaw-clawhub-home-test-"));
     const fakeBin = path.join(tempRoot, "bin");