diff --git a/src/app/api/dashboard/summary/__tests__/route.test.ts b/src/app/api/dashboard/summary/__tests__/route.test.ts
index 1005fd8ea..57fb570ad 100644
--- a/src/app/api/dashboard/summary/__tests__/route.test.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/dashboard/summary/__tests__/route.test.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,12 @@ vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({
     user: {
       findUnique: vi.fn(),
     },
+    // The greeting salutation is one of the two strings this route still
+    // translates server-side; `resolveJobLocale` reads the operator's
+    // configured default from here when the user's column is NULL.
+    appSettings: {
+      findUnique: vi.fn(async () => null),
+    },
     // v1.4.38 W-F — the route now uses `$queryRaw` for the per-type
     // latest reading, the 7-day rollup-bucket sparkline, and the
     // 365-day distinct-day streak set. Three raw calls per request,
@@ -1089,6 +1095,46 @@ describe("GET /api/dashboard/summary", () => {
  * source — `buildMoodDailySeries` for mood, `computeBmi` for BMI — so the
  * client consumes a finished figure instead of re-deriving one.
  */
+describe("GET /api/dashboard/summary — greeting locale", () => {
+  // The salutation and the streak label are translated on the server, and
+  // the native client is this route's only caller: a Bearer request carries
+  // no locale cookie, so `User.locale` is the sole per-user signal. When it
+  // is NULL the operator's configured default is the answer — the same
+  // fallback order every background writer uses. The coercion this replaces
+  // stopped at English, so a German instance greeted a user who never opened
+  // the language picker in English while the rest of their screen was German.
+  it("falls back to the operator default, not to English", async () => {
+    vi.mocked(getSession).mockResolvedValue(SESSION_OK as never);
+    vi.mocked(prisma.appSettings.findUnique).mockResolvedValue({
+      defaultLocale: "de",
+    } as never);
+
+    const res = await callGet(makeReq());
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+    const body = (await res.json()) as {
+      data: { greeting: { salutation: string } };
+    };
+    expect(body.data.greeting.salutation).toBe("Hallo, testuser");
+  });
+
+  it("still prefers the user's own stored locale", async () => {
+    vi.mocked(getSession).mockResolvedValue({
+      ...SESSION_OK,
+      user: { ...SESSION_OK.user, locale: "en" },
+    } as never);
+    vi.mocked(prisma.appSettings.findUnique).mockResolvedValue({
+      defaultLocale: "de",
+    } as never);
+
+    const res = await callGet(makeReq());
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+    const body = (await res.json()) as {
+      data: { greeting: { salutation: string } };
+    };
+    expect(body.data.greeting.salutation).toBe("Hi, testuser");
+  });
+});
+
 describe("GET /api/dashboard/summary — mood + BMI cards", () => {
   function cardsOf(body: unknown): Array<Record<string, unknown>> {
     return (body as { data: { metrics: Array<Record<string, unknown>> } }).data
diff --git a/src/app/api/dashboard/summary/route.ts b/src/app/api/dashboard/summary/route.ts
index b596e17fb..a80dbc6de 100644
--- a/src/app/api/dashboard/summary/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/dashboard/summary/route.ts
@@ -61,7 +61,8 @@ import type { MeasurementType } from "@/generated/prisma/client";
 import { measurementTypeEnum } from "@/lib/validations/measurement";
 import { CUMULATIVE_HK_TYPES } from "@/lib/measurements/apple-health-mapping";
 import { getServerTranslator } from "@/lib/i18n/server-translator";
-import { defaultLocale, locales, type Locale } from "@/lib/i18n/config";
+import { type Locale } from "@/lib/i18n/config";
+import { resolveJobLocale } from "@/lib/i18n/job-locale";
 import { userDayKey, DEFAULT_TIMEZONE } from "@/lib/tz/resolver";
 import { cachedSwr, caches, type ServerCache } from "@/lib/cache/server-cache";
 import { buildMedsTodayBlock } from "@/lib/dashboard/meds-today";
@@ -343,7 +344,8 @@ export const GET = apiHandler(async () => {
       Awaited<ReturnType<typeof buildDashboardSummary>>
     >,
     `${user.id}|dashboard-summary`,
-    () => buildDashboardSummary(user.id, userTz, buildContext(user)),
+    async () =>
+      buildDashboardSummary(user.id, userTz, await buildContext(user)),
     annotate,
   );
 
@@ -383,23 +385,22 @@ interface SummaryBuilderContext {
   locale: Locale;
 }
 
-function buildContext(user: {
+async function buildContext(user: {
   displayName: string | null;
   username: string;
   locale: string | null;
-}): SummaryBuilderContext {
+}): Promise<SummaryBuilderContext> {
   const greetingName = user.displayName ?? user.username;
-  // v1.5.x — accept every shipped locale (de / en / es / fr / it / pl)
-  // so the greeting + streak label resolve against the user's
-  // configured language. The legacy narrowing dropped fr/es/it/pl back
-  // to the default; that bug is masked for the title/unit fields by
-  // the new key-based wire shape but still mattered for the strings
-  // that stay translated server-side.
-  const locale: Locale = (locales as readonly string[]).includes(
-    user.locale ?? "",
-  )
-    ? (user.locale as Locale)
-    : defaultLocale;
+  // The greeting salutation and the streak label are the two strings this
+  // route still translates server-side, and the native client is its only
+  // caller — a Bearer request carries no locale cookie and no meaningful
+  // Accept-Language, so the stored column is the only per-user signal.
+  // That is exactly the shape `resolveJobLocale` exists for: stored user
+  // locale, then the operator's configured default, then English. The
+  // hand-rolled coercion this replaces stopped at English, so a German
+  // instance whose user never touched the language picker greeted them in
+  // English while every other string on the same screen was German.
+  const locale: Locale = await resolveJobLocale(user.locale);
   return { greetingName, locale };
 }