diff --git a/src/OpenClaw.SetupEngine.UI/Pages/WizardPage.xaml.cs b/src/OpenClaw.SetupEngine.UI/Pages/WizardPage.xaml.cs
index 27abbb48d..3a3fa2b0d 100644
--- a/src/OpenClaw.SetupEngine.UI/Pages/WizardPage.xaml.cs
+++ b/src/OpenClaw.SetupEngine.UI/Pages/WizardPage.xaml.cs
@@ -298,6 +298,20 @@ private async Task ApplyPayloadAsync(JsonElement payload)
                 return;
             }
 
+            var validationError = WizardPayloadHelpers.ExtractCurrentStepValidationError(payload, _stepId);
+            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(validationError))
+            {
+                BusyRing.Visibility = Visibility.Collapsed;
+                BusyRing.IsActive = false;
+                StatusText.Text = "A few quick questions to connect your agent";
+                SecondaryButton.IsEnabled = true;
+                ShowRecoveryActions();
+                UpdateContinueState();
+                ErrorText.Text = validationError;
+                ErrorText.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;
+                return;
+            }
+
             if (!payload.TryGetProperty("step", out var step))
             {
                 ShowError("Gateway wizard returned an invalid response.");
@@ -851,7 +865,8 @@ private async Task SendCurrentAnswerAsync(bool skip)
             if (generation != _operationGeneration)
                 return;
 
-            AppendTranscriptTurn(answeredQuestion, answeredLabel);
+            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(WizardPayloadHelpers.ExtractCurrentStepValidationError(payload, _stepId)))
+                AppendTranscriptTurn(answeredQuestion, answeredLabel);
             await ApplyPayloadAsync(payload);
             ScrollActiveIntoView();
         }
@@ -1056,7 +1071,7 @@ private bool TryBuildAnswerValue(out object value)
             return true;
 
         if (_stepType == "text")
-            return !WizardSelection.ShouldDisableContinue(_stepType, value?.ToString());
+            return WizardSelection.CanSubmitTextAnswer(_stepType);
 
         return !WizardSelection.ShouldDisableContinue(_stepType, GetSelectedOptionValues(), _options.Select(o => o.Value).ToArray());
     }
@@ -1083,7 +1098,7 @@ private void UpdateContinueState()
             return;
 
         PrimaryButton.IsEnabled = _stepType == "text"
-            ? !WizardSelection.ShouldDisableContinue(_stepType, _sensitive ? SecretInput.Password : TextInput.Text)
+            ? WizardSelection.CanSubmitTextAnswer(_stepType)
             : !WizardSelection.ShouldDisableContinue(
                 _stepType,
                 GetSelectedOptionValues(),
diff --git a/src/OpenClaw.SetupEngine.UI/WizardPayloadHelpers.cs b/src/OpenClaw.SetupEngine.UI/WizardPayloadHelpers.cs
index e4731ed31..8c1d65246 100644
--- a/src/OpenClaw.SetupEngine.UI/WizardPayloadHelpers.cs
+++ b/src/OpenClaw.SetupEngine.UI/WizardPayloadHelpers.cs
@@ -8,6 +8,29 @@ namespace OpenClaw.SetupEngine.UI;
 /// </summary>
 internal static class WizardPayloadHelpers
 {
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Returns a validation error only when the gateway kept the client on the
+    /// current step. This distinguishes rejected answers from terminal errors.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static string ExtractCurrentStepValidationError(JsonElement payload, string currentStepId)
+    {
+        if (payload.ValueKind != JsonValueKind.Object
+            || string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(currentStepId)
+            || !payload.TryGetProperty("error", out var error)
+            || error.ValueKind != JsonValueKind.String
+            || string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(error.GetString())
+            || !payload.TryGetProperty("step", out var step)
+            || step.ValueKind != JsonValueKind.Object
+            || !step.TryGetProperty("id", out var id)
+            || id.ValueKind != JsonValueKind.String
+            || !string.Equals(id.GetString(), currentStepId, StringComparison.Ordinal))
+        {
+            return string.Empty;
+        }
+
+        return error.GetString()!;
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Reads the <c>message</c> field of a wizard step. Upstream is supposed to
     /// send a string; the Gemini CLI OAuth plugin (and possibly others) nests a
diff --git a/src/OpenClaw.SetupEngine/WizardSelection.cs b/src/OpenClaw.SetupEngine/WizardSelection.cs
index 483b3a0f6..634c8c6ef 100644
--- a/src/OpenClaw.SetupEngine/WizardSelection.cs
+++ b/src/OpenClaw.SetupEngine/WizardSelection.cs
@@ -39,6 +39,9 @@ public static bool HasValidSelection(string stepType, IReadOnlyCollection<string
     public static bool ShouldDisableContinue(string stepType, IReadOnlyCollection<string> selectedValues, IReadOnlyCollection<string> optionValues) =>
         RequiresSelection(stepType) && !HasValidSelection(stepType, selectedValues, optionValues);
 
-    public static bool ShouldDisableContinue(string stepType, string? textInput) =>
-        stepType == "text" && string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(textInput);
+    // Text validation belongs to the gateway because the wire protocol does not
+    // expose whether a text step is required. Always submit the current value so
+    // optional empty answers can advance and required fields can return their
+    // authoritative validation message.
+    public static bool CanSubmitTextAnswer(string stepType) => stepType == "text";
 }
diff --git a/tests/OpenClaw.SetupEngine.Tests/WizardSelectionTests.cs b/tests/OpenClaw.SetupEngine.Tests/WizardSelectionTests.cs
index 52db8b93c..05640945e 100644
--- a/tests/OpenClaw.SetupEngine.Tests/WizardSelectionTests.cs
+++ b/tests/OpenClaw.SetupEngine.Tests/WizardSelectionTests.cs
@@ -57,12 +57,11 @@ public void EmptyAcknowledgeSteps_AllowContinue(string stepType)
     }
 
     [Theory]
-    [InlineData(null, true)]
-    [InlineData("", true)]
-    [InlineData("   ", true)]
-    [InlineData("value", false)]
-    public void ContinueDisabled_ForEmptyTextInput(string? input, bool expectedDisabled)
+    [InlineData("text", true)]
+    [InlineData("select", false)]
+    [InlineData("note", false)]
+    public void TextAnswers_AreSubmittedForGatewayValidation(string stepType, bool expected)
     {
-        Assert.Equal(expectedDisabled, WizardSelection.ShouldDisableContinue("text", input));
+        Assert.Equal(expected, WizardSelection.CanSubmitTextAnswer(stepType));
     }
 }
diff --git a/tests/OpenClaw.Tray.Tests/AppRefactorContractTests.cs b/tests/OpenClaw.Tray.Tests/AppRefactorContractTests.cs
index be17a3181..07eb6943c 100644
--- a/tests/OpenClaw.Tray.Tests/AppRefactorContractTests.cs
+++ b/tests/OpenClaw.Tray.Tests/AppRefactorContractTests.cs
@@ -1479,6 +1479,21 @@ public void WizardProgressPolling_UsesStepIdForTimeoutClassification()
         Assert.Contains("WizardTimeouts.ForStep(title, message, _stepId)", source);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public void WizardValidationError_RemainsVisibleAfterContinueStateRefresh()
+    {
+        var root = TestRepositoryPaths.GetRepositoryRoot();
+        var source = File.ReadAllText(Path.Combine(root, "src", "OpenClaw.SetupEngine.UI", "Pages", "WizardPage.xaml.cs"));
+        var applyPayload = ExtractMethod(source, "ApplyPayloadAsync");
+
+        AssertInOrder(
+            applyPayload,
+            "ExtractCurrentStepValidationError",
+            "UpdateContinueState();",
+            "ErrorText.Text = validationError;",
+            "ErrorText.Visibility = Visibility.Visible;");
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     public void WizardResetInputs_RemovesOverflowMoreButton()
     {
diff --git a/tests/OpenClaw.Tray.Tests/WizardPayloadHelpersTests.cs b/tests/OpenClaw.Tray.Tests/WizardPayloadHelpersTests.cs
index d40845a69..3405ab1c3 100644
--- a/tests/OpenClaw.Tray.Tests/WizardPayloadHelpersTests.cs
+++ b/tests/OpenClaw.Tray.Tests/WizardPayloadHelpersTests.cs
@@ -9,6 +9,28 @@ public class WizardPayloadHelpersTests
     private static JsonElement Parse(string json)
         => JsonDocument.Parse(json).RootElement;
 
+    [Fact]
+    public void ExtractCurrentStepValidationError_returns_error_for_rejected_answer()
+    {
+        var payload = Parse("""{"done":false,"error":"Model ID is required","step":{"id":"model","type":"text"}}""");
+
+        Assert.Equal(
+            "Model ID is required",
+            WizardPayloadHelpers.ExtractCurrentStepValidationError(payload, "model"));
+    }
+
+    [Theory]
+    [InlineData("other")]
+    [InlineData("")]
+    public void ExtractCurrentStepValidationError_ignores_non_current_steps(string currentStepId)
+    {
+        var payload = Parse("""{"done":false,"error":"Model ID is required","step":{"id":"model","type":"text"}}""");
+
+        Assert.Equal(
+            string.Empty,
+            WizardPayloadHelpers.ExtractCurrentStepValidationError(payload, currentStepId));
+    }
+
     // ---- ExtractStepMessage -----------------------------------------------
 
     [Fact]