diff --git a/apps/bot/src/ipc/pair-handler.ts b/apps/bot/src/ipc/pair-handler.ts
index ad4d31f..966163b 100644
--- a/apps/bot/src/ipc/pair-handler.ts
+++ b/apps/bot/src/ipc/pair-handler.ts
@@ -37,8 +37,14 @@ async function abandonPair(accountId: string): Promise<{ existed: boolean; label
   if (sessionManager.hasSession(accountId)) {
     await sessionManager.stop(accountId);
   }
+  // Throw away the partial Baileys session files so the next pair
+  // attempt starts clean — but KEEP the account row so the operator
+  // sees it on the list with a "Re-pair" affordance.
   await rm(join(env.SESSIONS_DIR, accountId), { recursive: true, force: true });
-  await db.delete(whatsappAccounts).where(eq(whatsappAccounts.id, accountId));
+  await db
+    .update(whatsappAccounts)
+    .set({ status: "unpaired", lastQrPng: null })
+    .where(eq(whatsappAccounts.id, accountId));
   return { existed: true, label: account.label };
 }
 
@@ -132,8 +138,9 @@ export async function handleStartPairing(accountId: string): Promise<void> {
         // During the pairing window, ANY close means the QR window
         // ended without a successful link — Baileys' default is to
         // close after exhausting QR refs (~2.5 min). Surface this to
-        // the UI so the user gets a "pairing timed out" screen and a
-        // chance to retry, instead of staring at a stale QR forever.
+        // the UI so the user gets a "pairing timed out" screen, and
+        // park the row in a stable state so it shows up cleanly on
+        // the accounts list with a "Re-pair" affordance.
         const t = pairTimeouts.get(id);
         if (t) {
           clearTimeout(t);
@@ -141,6 +148,10 @@ export async function handleStartPairing(accountId: string): Promise<void> {
         }
         lastQrPayload.delete(id);
         offByAccount.delete(id);
+        await db
+          .update(whatsappAccounts)
+          .set({ status: "unpaired", lastQrPng: null })
+          .where(eq(whatsappAccounts.id, id));
         await pgNotifyWeb({ type: "session.timeout", accountId: id });
         off();
       }
@@ -175,7 +186,12 @@ export async function handleStartPairing(accountId: string): Promise<void> {
   pairTimeouts.set(accountId, timeoutId);
 }
 
-/** Sweep stale pending accounts on bot startup. */
+/**
+ * Sweep stale `pending` accounts on bot startup. The bot was probably
+ * restarted mid-pair (or the operator never finished scanning) — the
+ * row is parked as `unpaired` so the operator sees it on the list and
+ * can hit Re-pair, instead of silently disappearing.
+ */
 export async function sweepStalePendingAccounts(): Promise<void> {
   const cutoff = new Date(Date.now() - 60 * 60 * 1000);
   const stale = await db
@@ -184,7 +200,10 @@ export async function sweepStalePendingAccounts(): Promise<void> {
     .where(and(eq(whatsappAccounts.status, "pending"), lt(whatsappAccounts.createdAt, cutoff)));
   for (const row of stale) {
     await rm(join(env.SESSIONS_DIR, row.id), { recursive: true, force: true });
-    await db.delete(whatsappAccounts).where(eq(whatsappAccounts.id, row.id));
-    logger.info({ accountId: row.id, label: row.label }, "sweep: removed stale pending account");
+    await db
+      .update(whatsappAccounts)
+      .set({ status: "unpaired", lastQrPng: null })
+      .where(eq(whatsappAccounts.id, row.id));
+    logger.info({ accountId: row.id, label: row.label }, "sweep: parked stale pending account as unpaired");
   }
 }
diff --git a/apps/web/src/lib/queries.ts b/apps/web/src/lib/queries.ts
index 34ccba8..58dd900 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/lib/queries.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/lib/queries.ts
@@ -44,13 +44,14 @@ export async function getDashboardStats(operatorId: string) {
 }
 
 export async function listAccounts(operatorId: string) {
-  // Show all accounts except those in the transient `pending` state
-  // (active QR scan in progress — they're surfaced via the pairing page,
-  // and abandoned ones are swept by the bot). Operators see unpaired,
-  // connected, disconnected, and banned accounts so they can manage them.
+  // Show every account the operator owns, regardless of status. The
+  // status badge tells the user what state each row is in (Pending /
+  // Unpaired / Connected / Disconnected / etc), and the detail page
+  // exposes Pair / Re-pair / Delete actions accordingly. Hiding rows
+  // by status produced phantom "I created an account but it's gone"
+  // bug reports.
   return db.query.whatsappAccounts.findMany({
-    where: (a, { eq, and, ne }) =>
-      and(eq(a.operatorId, operatorId), ne(a.status, "pending")),
+    where: (a, { eq }) => eq(a.operatorId, operatorId),
     orderBy: (a, { asc }) => [asc(a.label)],
   });
 }