diff --git a/docs/api/openapi.yaml b/docs/api/openapi.yaml
index 009d20da6..b407f67b8 100644
--- a/docs/api/openapi.yaml
+++ b/docs/api/openapi.yaml
@@ -5984,12 +5984,16 @@ paths:
           name: from
           schema:
             description: Window start (inclusive). Defaults to 90 days before `to`; clamped to a 366-day span floor. Recorded doses
-              are returned from this instant; expected slots are not minted before the medication's `createdAt`.
+              are returned from this instant. A slot from before the medication's `createdAt` appears only when a
+              recorded row (a take, a skip, or a miss carried in with restored history) claims it; the server's own
+              placeholder for such a slot is not returned.
             type: string
             format: date-time
             pattern: ^(?:(?:\d\d[2468][048]|\d\d[13579][26]|\d\d0[48]|[02468][048]00|[13579][26]00)-02-29|\d{4}-(?:(?:0[13578]|1[02])-(?:0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])|(?:0[469]|11)-(?:0[1-9]|[12]\d|30)|(?:02)-(?:0[1-9]|1\d|2[0-8])))T(?:(?:[01]\d|2[0-3]):[0-5]\d(?::[0-5]\d(?:\.\d+)?)?(?:Z|([+-](?:[01]\d|2[0-3]):[0-5]\d)))$
           description: Window start (inclusive). Defaults to 90 days before `to`; clamped to a 366-day span floor. Recorded doses
-            are returned from this instant; expected slots are not minted before the medication's `createdAt`.
+            are returned from this instant. A slot from before the medication's `createdAt` appears only when a recorded
+            row (a take, a skip, or a miss carried in with restored history) claims it; the server's own placeholder for
+            such a slot is not returned.
         - in: query
           name: to
           schema:
@@ -43263,8 +43267,9 @@ components:
           type: integer
           minimum: 0
           maximum: 9007199254740991
-          description: "Full denominator over the window: `taken + skipped + missed`. Cadence-aware and clamped to the
-            medication's `createdAt`."
+          description: "Full denominator over the window: `taken + skipped + missed`. Cadence-aware. A slot from before the
+            medication's `createdAt` counts only when a recorded row (a take, a skip, or a miss carried in with restored
+            history) claims it, so the days before the medication existed are never missed."
         taken:
           type: integer
           minimum: 0
diff --git a/messages/de.json b/messages/de.json
index 3af8f13ca..7c7a8da86 100644
--- a/messages/de.json
+++ b/messages/de.json
@@ -1795,7 +1795,7 @@
           "unpinnedToast": "Zuordnung gelöst",
           "dueContext": "fällig gewesen: {time} ({delta})",
           "confirmTitle": "Slot {time} zuordnen?",
-          "confirmBody": "Die Einnahme zählt für diesen Slot als verspätet — die Quote wird nicht geschönt. Die Zuordnung lässt sich jederzeit wieder lösen.",
+          "confirmBody": "Die Einnahme zählt für diesen Slot genau so, als wäre sie dort erfasst worden: pünktlich oder verspätet, je nachdem, wann sie genommen wurde. Die Quote wird also nicht geschönt. Die Zuordnung lässt sich jederzeit wieder lösen.",
           "confirmCancel": "Abbrechen",
           "confirmAction": "Zuordnen"
         }
diff --git a/messages/en.json b/messages/en.json
index 9cd82bd03..b84e3eb1d 100644
--- a/messages/en.json
+++ b/messages/en.json
@@ -1795,7 +1795,7 @@
           "unpinnedToast": "Attribution released",
           "dueContext": "was due: {time} ({delta})",
           "confirmTitle": "Attribute to slot {time}?",
-          "confirmBody": "The intake counts as taken late for this slot – the rate is never flattered. You can release the attribution at any time.",
+          "confirmBody": "The intake counts for this slot just as it would if it had been logged there: on time or late depending on when it was taken, so the rate is never flattered. You can release the attribution at any time.",
           "confirmCancel": "Cancel",
           "confirmAction": "Attribute"
         }
diff --git a/messages/es.json b/messages/es.json
index b69c2d44f..57961bd23 100644
--- a/messages/es.json
+++ b/messages/es.json
@@ -1795,7 +1795,7 @@
           "unpinnedToast": "Asignación quitada",
           "dueContext": "prevista: {time} ({delta})",
           "confirmTitle": "¿Asignar al horario de las {time}?",
-          "confirmBody": "La toma contará como tomada con retraso para este horario; el porcentaje no se maquilla. Puedes quitar la asignación en cualquier momento.",
+          "confirmBody": "La toma contará para este horario igual que si se hubiera registrado en él: a tiempo o con retraso según cuándo se tomó, así que el porcentaje no se maquilla. Puedes quitar la asignación en cualquier momento.",
           "confirmCancel": "Cancelar",
           "confirmAction": "Asignar"
         }
diff --git a/messages/fr.json b/messages/fr.json
index e832e094e..a5cebbec3 100644
--- a/messages/fr.json
+++ b/messages/fr.json
@@ -1795,7 +1795,7 @@
           "unpinnedToast": "Prise détachée du créneau",
           "dueContext": "prévue à {time} ({delta})",
           "confirmTitle": "Rattacher au créneau de {time} ?",
-          "confirmBody": "La prise comptera comme prise en retard pour ce créneau – le taux n'est pas embelli. Le rattachement peut être retiré à tout moment.",
+          "confirmBody": "La prise comptera pour ce créneau exactement comme si elle y avait été enregistrée : à l'heure ou en retard selon le moment où elle a été prise. Le taux n'est donc pas embelli. Le rattachement peut être retiré à tout moment.",
           "confirmCancel": "Annuler",
           "confirmAction": "Rattacher"
         }
diff --git a/messages/it.json b/messages/it.json
index 237f44644..b41bc95c7 100644
--- a/messages/it.json
+++ b/messages/it.json
@@ -1795,7 +1795,7 @@
           "unpinnedToast": "Attribuzione rimossa",
           "dueContext": "prevista alle {time} ({delta})",
           "confirmTitle": "Attribuire allo slot delle {time}?",
-          "confirmBody": "L'assunzione conterà come in ritardo per questo slot – la percentuale non viene abbellita. L'attribuzione può essere rimossa in qualsiasi momento.",
+          "confirmBody": "L'assunzione conterà per questo slot esattamente come se fosse stata registrata lì: puntuale o in ritardo a seconda di quando è stata presa, quindi la percentuale non viene abbellita. L'attribuzione può essere rimossa in qualsiasi momento.",
           "confirmCancel": "Annulla",
           "confirmAction": "Attribuisci"
         }
diff --git a/messages/ko.json b/messages/ko.json
index 91b12f477..3c418574d 100644
--- a/messages/ko.json
+++ b/messages/ko.json
@@ -1795,7 +1795,7 @@
           "unpinnedToast": "배정을 해제했어요",
           "dueContext": "예정 시각: {time} ({delta})",
           "confirmTitle": "{time} 시간대에 배정할까요?",
-          "confirmBody": "이 복용은 해당 시간대에 늦게 복용한 것으로 계산돼요 – 순응도가 부풀려지지 않아요. 배정은 언제든 해제할 수 있어요.",
+          "confirmBody": "이 복용은 처음부터 이 시간대에 기록한 것과 똑같이 계산돼요. 복용한 시각에 따라 제시간 또는 늦게 복용한 것으로 계산되어 순응도가 부풀려지지 않아요. 배정은 언제든 해제할 수 있어요.",
           "confirmCancel": "취소",
           "confirmAction": "배정"
         }
diff --git a/messages/pl.json b/messages/pl.json
index ad7f00f51..765f55ccc 100644
--- a/messages/pl.json
+++ b/messages/pl.json
@@ -1795,7 +1795,7 @@
           "unpinnedToast": "Przypisanie usunięte",
           "dueContext": "termin: {time} ({delta})",
           "confirmTitle": "Przypisać do slotu {time}?",
-          "confirmBody": "Dawka zostanie policzona jako przyjęta z opóźnieniem dla tego slotu – wskaźnik nie jest zawyżany. Przypisanie można w każdej chwili usunąć.",
+          "confirmBody": "Dawka zostanie policzona dla tego slotu tak, jakby została w nim zapisana: jako przyjęta na czas lub z opóźnieniem, zależnie od tego, kiedy ją przyjęto, więc wskaźnik nie jest zawyżany. Przypisanie można w każdej chwili usunąć.",
           "confirmCancel": "Anuluj",
           "confirmAction": "Przypisz"
         }
diff --git a/prisma/migrations/0346_release_pre_creation_placeholder_misses/migration.sql b/prisma/migrations/0346_release_pre_creation_placeholder_misses/migration.sql
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4b71eaa02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prisma/migrations/0346_release_pre_creation_placeholder_misses/migration.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+-- The today projector mints a pending placeholder for every slot of the
+-- current day, and the hourly auto-miss pass used to stamp every stale one a
+-- miss. For a medication added in the afternoon that turned the placeholders
+-- of that day's earlier slots, which were never expected doses, into
+-- forgotten doses: the miss-free streak broke and the Coach read a miss on a
+-- day before the medication existed. The pass no longer stamps them; this
+-- returns the ones it already stamped to pending.
+--
+-- Only rows that can be nothing but such a placeholder are touched: minted by
+-- the server (source REMINDER), never acted on (no take, no skip, live), and
+-- anchored before the medication's creation but on its creation day. The
+-- projector mints for the current local day only, which begins less than a
+-- day before the creation, so the 24-hour bound is exact for placeholders and
+-- leaves any older auto-miss (history carried in by a restore) as it was.
+-- `sync_version` bumps so sync clients pick the change up.
+UPDATE "medication_intake_events" AS e
+SET "auto_missed" = false,
+    "sync_version" = e."sync_version" + 1
+FROM "medications" AS m
+WHERE e."medication_id" = m."id"
+  AND e."auto_missed" = true
+  AND e."taken_at" IS NULL
+  AND e."skipped" = false
+  AND e."deleted_at" IS NULL
+  AND e."source" = 'REMINDER'
+  AND e."scheduled_for" < m."created_at"
+  AND e."scheduled_for" >= m."created_at" - INTERVAL '24 hours';
diff --git a/src/app/api/medications/[id]/dose-history/__tests__/route.test.ts b/src/app/api/medications/[id]/dose-history/__tests__/route.test.ts
index 1cccc72ad..fe998e2a6 100644
--- a/src/app/api/medications/[id]/dose-history/__tests__/route.test.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/medications/[id]/dose-history/__tests__/route.test.ts
@@ -426,3 +426,147 @@ describe("GET /api/medications/[id]/dose-history — early take (#1028 class)",
     }
   });
 });
+
+/**
+ * #1028 follow-up — a medication added in the afternoon, dosed 09:00 / 14:00
+ * / 21:00. The 14:00 dose of the creation day was recorded afterwards on its
+ * own slot, the 21:00 dose came in through the reminder, and the 09:00 slot
+ * of that day only ever held the pending placeholder the today projector
+ * mints for every slot of the day, which the auto-miss pass later stamped.
+ *
+ * The 14:00 dose must read as its own slot, taken on time, not as an
+ * off-schedule take "due" at 21:00; the 09:00 slot, which predates the
+ * medication and holds no recorded dose, must not appear at all.
+ */
+describe("GET /api/medications/[id]/dose-history — slots before creation (#1028)", () => {
+  const cases = [
+    { tz: "Asia/Kolkata", edited: false },
+    { tz: "America/New_York", edited: false },
+    // The schedule was saved again shortly after the medication was added,
+    // so the creation day lives in an archived schedule era.
+    { tz: "Asia/Kolkata", edited: true },
+  ];
+  for (const { tz, edited } of cases) {
+    it(`attributes a recorded dose on a pre-creation slot and hides the unrecorded one (${tz}${edited ? ", edited schedule" : ""})`, async () => {
+      const day1 = new Date("2026-09-23T12:00:00Z");
+      const day2 = new Date("2026-09-24T12:00:00Z");
+      const createdAt = localHmAsUtc(day1, tz, 16, 5);
+      const now = localHmAsUtc(day2, tz, 22, 0);
+      const d1 = (h: number, m = 0) => localHmAsUtc(day1, tz, h, m);
+      const d2 = (h: number, m = 0) => localHmAsUtc(day2, tz, h, m);
+
+      vi.useFakeTimers({ toFake: ["Date"] });
+      vi.setSystemTime(now);
+      try {
+        vi.mocked(getSession).mockResolvedValue({
+          ...SESSION_OK,
+          user: { ...SESSION_OK.user, timezone: tz },
+        } as never);
+        vi.mocked(prisma.medication.findUnique).mockResolvedValue({
+          id: "med-1",
+          startsOn: new Date("2026-09-23T00:00:00Z"),
+          endsOn: new Date("2026-09-28T00:00:00Z"),
+          oneShot: false,
+          createdAt,
+          scheduleRevisions: edited
+            ? [
+                {
+                  id: "rev-1",
+                  validFrom: createdAt,
+                  validUntil: localHmAsUtc(day1, tz, 16, 30),
+                  supersededByRevisionId: null,
+                  payload: [
+                    {
+                      timesOfDay: ["09:00", "14:00", "21:00"],
+                      windowStart: "09:00",
+                      windowEnd: "09:00",
+                      daysOfWeek: null,
+                      rrule: null,
+                      rollingIntervalDays: null,
+                      scheduleType: "SCHEDULED",
+                      cyclicOnWeeks: null,
+                      cyclicOffWeeks: null,
+                      doseWindows: null,
+                      label: null,
+                      dose: "1 tablet",
+                      reminderGraceMinutes: null,
+                    },
+                  ],
+                },
+              ]
+            : [],
+          schedules: [
+            {
+              id: "sched-1",
+              windowStart: "09:00",
+              windowEnd: "09:00",
+              daysOfWeek: null,
+              timesOfDay: ["09:00", "14:00", "21:00"],
+              reminderGraceMinutes: null,
+              rrule: null,
+              rollingIntervalDays: null,
+              scheduleType: "SCHEDULED",
+              cyclicOnWeeks: null,
+              cyclicOffWeeks: null,
+            },
+          ],
+        } as never);
+        const row = (
+          id: string,
+          scheduledFor: Date,
+          takenAt: Date | null,
+          extra: Partial<{ autoMissed: boolean; source: string }> = {},
+        ) => ({
+          id,
+          scheduledFor,
+          takenAt,
+          skipped: false,
+          autoMissed: extra.autoMissed ?? false,
+          attributionSource: "AUTO",
+          doseTaken: null,
+          source: extra.source ?? "REMINDER",
+        });
+        vi.mocked(prisma.medicationIntakeEvent.findMany).mockResolvedValue([
+          row("d2-2100", d2(21), d2(21, 30)),
+          row("d2-1400", d2(14), d2(14)),
+          row("d2-0900", d2(9), d2(10)),
+          row("d1-2100", d1(21), d1(21)),
+          row("d1-1400", d1(14), d1(14), { source: "WEB" }),
+          // The projector's placeholder for the pre-creation 09:00 slot,
+          // stamped by the auto-miss pass a day later.
+          row("d1-0900-placeholder", d1(9), null, { autoMissed: true }),
+        ] as never);
+
+        const from = new Date(now.getTime() - 90 * 86_400_000).toISOString();
+        const res = await GET(
+          getReq(
+            `?from=${encodeURIComponent(from)}&to=${encodeURIComponent(now.toISOString())}`,
+          ),
+          ROUTE_PARAMS,
+        );
+        expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+        const json = await res.json();
+        const rows = json.data.rows as Array<{
+          kind: string;
+          at: string;
+          timeOfDay: string | null;
+          status: string;
+          nearestSlot?: unknown;
+          intake: { id: string | null } | null;
+        }>;
+
+        expect(
+          rows.map((r) => [r.at, r.kind, r.status, r.intake?.id ?? null]),
+        ).toEqual([
+          [d1(14).toISOString(), "slot", "taken_on_time", "d1-1400"],
+          [d1(21).toISOString(), "slot", "taken_on_time", "d1-2100"],
+          [d2(9).toISOString(), "slot", "taken_on_time", "d2-0900"],
+          [d2(14).toISOString(), "slot", "taken_on_time", "d2-1400"],
+          [d2(21).toISOString(), "slot", "taken_on_time", "d2-2100"],
+        ]);
+      } finally {
+        vi.useRealTimers();
+      }
+    });
+  }
+});
diff --git a/src/app/api/medications/[id]/dose-history/route.ts b/src/app/api/medications/[id]/dose-history/route.ts
index 8b1dae088..82aa5a5e2 100644
--- a/src/app/api/medications/[id]/dose-history/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/medications/[id]/dose-history/route.ts
@@ -134,26 +134,23 @@ export const GET = apiHandler(
       return apiError("Medication not found", 404);
     }
 
-    // Resolve the window. Default to the trailing 90 days; clamp the floor to
-    // the medication's creation so pre-existence days never mint phantom
-    // slots, and cap the span so a pathological `from=1970` can't expand a
-    // year-plus of bands. `to` defaults to `now`.
+    // Resolve the window. Default to the trailing 90 days and cap the span
+    // so a pathological `from=1970` can't expand a year-plus of bands. `to`
+    // defaults to `now`.
     const to = parsed.data.to ?? now;
     const requestedFrom =
       parsed.data.from ?? new Date(to.getTime() - 90 * DAY_MS);
     const spanFloor = new Date(to.getTime() - MAX_WINDOW_DAYS * DAY_MS);
-    // The window the caller asked for, capped only by the span limit. This is
-    // the floor for recorded doses: a dose logged with a time before the
-    // medication was added (created at 16:20, "taken at 14:00") is a real
-    // record and belongs in the window, exactly as the unwindowed full
-    // history shows it (#1028).
-    const intakeFrom = new Date(
-      Math.max(requestedFrom.getTime(), spanFloor.getTime()),
-    );
-    // The floor for minted slots additionally stops at the medication's
-    // creation, so pre-existence days never mint phantom missed slots.
+    // The window the caller asked for, capped only by the span limit. Both
+    // recorded doses and minted slots use it: a dose logged for a slot
+    // before the medication was added (created at 16:20, the 14:00 dose
+    // recorded afterwards) is a real record and must meet its slot, or it
+    // reads as an off-schedule take due at the next slot (#1028). Slots
+    // before the creation that no recorded dose claims stay out of the
+    // ledger: `reconstructDoseHistory` receives the creation instant as the
+    // floor of expected slots, so pre-existence days never read as missed.
     const from = new Date(
-      Math.max(intakeFrom.getTime(), medication.createdAt.getTime()),
+      Math.max(requestedFrom.getTime(), spanFloor.getTime()),
     );
 
     const events = await prisma.medicationIntakeEvent.findMany({
@@ -264,7 +261,7 @@ export const GET = apiHandler(
     // partition, so filter on the stored anchor (a take snapped to an
     // out-of-window slot is excluded, matching the compliance read).
     const historyIntakes: HistoryIntake[] = mapped
-      .filter((e) => e.scheduledFor >= intakeFrom && e.scheduledFor <= horizon)
+      .filter((e) => e.scheduledFor >= from && e.scheduledFor <= horizon)
       .map((e) => ({
         id: e.id,
         scheduledFor: e.scheduledFor,
@@ -276,7 +273,12 @@ export const GET = apiHandler(
         source: e.source,
       }));
 
-    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, historyIntakes, now);
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
+      bands,
+      historyIntakes,
+      now,
+      medication.createdAt,
+    );
 
     const serialized: SerializedDoseHistoryRow[] = rows.map((row) => ({
       kind: row.kind,
@@ -314,11 +316,10 @@ export const GET = apiHandler(
     });
 
     // The window the recorded doses were read over (#1028): from the
-    // requested start (slots additionally start at the medication's
-    // creation) to the read horizon, which reaches past `to` only for a dose
-    // recorded ahead of its slot.
+    // requested start to the read horizon, which reaches past `to` only for
+    // a dose recorded ahead of its slot.
     return apiSuccess({
-      from: intakeFrom.toISOString(),
+      from: from.toISOString(),
       to: horizon.toISOString(),
       family,
       hasExpectedSlots: bands.length > 0,
diff --git a/src/lib/ai/coach/snapshot-blocks/__tests__/compliance-block-pre-creation.test.ts b/src/lib/ai/coach/snapshot-blocks/__tests__/compliance-block-pre-creation.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cf920a749
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/ai/coach/snapshot-blocks/__tests__/compliance-block-pre-creation.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+/**
+ * #1028 — the Coach's adherence over a medication added mid-day.
+ *
+ * The Coach reads a 30-day window, which starts long before a medication
+ * added two days ago. Neither the days before it existed nor the creation
+ * day's earlier slot (holding only the projector's auto-missed placeholder)
+ * may read as missed, and the creation day's 14:00 dose, recorded afterwards
+ * on its own slot, counts as taken: the Coach quotes what the medication
+ * card and the dose history show.
+ */
+import { expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+vi.mock("@/lib/logging/context", () => ({ annotate: vi.fn() }));
+
+import { buildComplianceBlock } from "../compliance-block";
+import { localHmAsUtc } from "@/lib/tz/local-day";
+
+const DAY_MS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+
+for (const tz of ["Asia/Kolkata", "America/New_York"]) {
+  it(`quotes full adherence for a medication added mid-day (${tz})`, () => {
+    const day1 = new Date("2026-09-23T12:00:00Z");
+    const day2 = new Date("2026-09-24T12:00:00Z");
+    const d1 = (h: number, m = 0) => localHmAsUtc(day1, tz, h, m);
+    const d2 = (h: number, m = 0) => localHmAsUtc(day2, tz, h, m);
+    const now = d2(22, 0);
+    const take = (slot: Date, takenAt: Date) => ({
+      scheduledFor: slot,
+      takenAt,
+      skipped: false,
+      autoMissed: false,
+    });
+
+    const snapshot: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+    buildComplianceBlock({
+      complianceMeds: [
+        {
+          startsOn: null,
+          endsOn: null,
+          oneShot: false,
+          createdAt: d1(16, 5),
+          schedules: [
+            {
+              windowStart: "09:00",
+              windowEnd: "09:00",
+              timesOfDay: ["09:00", "14:00", "21:00"],
+              daysOfWeek: null,
+              rrule: null,
+              rollingIntervalDays: null,
+              reminderGraceMinutes: null,
+              scheduleType: "SCHEDULED",
+              cyclicOnWeeks: null,
+              cyclicOffWeeks: null,
+            },
+          ],
+          intakeEvents: [
+            {
+              scheduledFor: d1(9),
+              takenAt: null,
+              skipped: false,
+              autoMissed: true,
+            },
+            take(d1(14), d1(14)),
+            take(d1(21), d1(21)),
+            take(d2(9), d2(10)),
+            take(d2(14), d2(14)),
+            take(d2(21), d2(21, 30)),
+          ],
+        },
+      ],
+      userTz: tz,
+      cutoff: new Date(now.getTime() - 30 * DAY_MS),
+      recentCutoff: new Date(now.getTime() - 7 * DAY_MS),
+      now,
+      snapshot,
+      metrics: new Set(),
+      counts: {},
+      registerBlock: () => {},
+    });
+
+    const compliance = snapshot.compliance as {
+      rate: number;
+      timeline: { recent: Array<{ taken: number; total: number }> };
+    };
+    expect(compliance.rate).toBe(100);
+    expect(compliance.timeline.recent.map((r) => [r.taken, r.total])).toEqual([
+      [2, 2],
+      [3, 3],
+    ]);
+  });
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/analytics/compliance/__tests__/compliance-bundle.test.ts b/src/lib/analytics/compliance/__tests__/compliance-bundle.test.ts
index df88d73e3..49b82e255 100644
--- a/src/lib/analytics/compliance/__tests__/compliance-bundle.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/analytics/compliance/__tests__/compliance-bundle.test.ts
@@ -159,10 +159,14 @@ describe("buildMedicationComplianceBundle — parity with the per-window composi
       buildComplianceDisplay(events, schedules, ctx, { now: NOW }),
     );
 
-    // The ledger window clamps to the medication's creation.
-    expect(bundle.ledgerFrom).toEqual(createdAt);
-    // One band per daily slot over the 40-day life → 40 or 41 slot rows
+    // The ledger mints over the whole 365-day period (#1028); the slots
+    // before the creation hold no recorded dose, so none of them survive:
+    // one band per daily slot over the 40-day life → 40 or 41 slot rows
     // (the boundary day depends on the creation instant vs slot time).
+    expect(bundle.ledgerFrom).toEqual(new Date(NOW.getTime() - 365 * DAY_MS));
+    expect(
+      bundle.ledgerRows.some((r) => r.at.getTime() < createdAt.getTime()),
+    ).toBe(false);
     const slotRows = bundle.ledgerRows.filter((r) => r.kind === "slot");
     expect(slotRows.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(39);
     expect(slotRows.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(41);
diff --git a/src/lib/analytics/compliance/__tests__/compliance.test.ts b/src/lib/analytics/compliance/__tests__/compliance.test.ts
index e7bebd2d5..4246d8ece 100644
--- a/src/lib/analytics/compliance/__tests__/compliance.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/analytics/compliance/__tests__/compliance.test.ts
@@ -3053,7 +3053,7 @@ describe("tallyComplianceFromLedger — the unified % keystone", () => {
       skipped: e.skipped,
       autoMissed: false,
     }));
-    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, intakes, nowEvening);
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, intakes, nowEvening, null);
 
     const fromLedger = {
       onTime: rows.filter((r) => r.status === "taken_on_time").length,
diff --git a/src/lib/analytics/compliance/__tests__/pre-creation-slots.test.ts b/src/lib/analytics/compliance/__tests__/pre-creation-slots.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1d666d92e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/analytics/compliance/__tests__/pre-creation-slots.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+/**
+ * #1028 — slots before a medication's creation, on the compliance side.
+ *
+ * The dose-history ledger keeps a slot that predates the medication only
+ * when a recorded dose claims it. Every adherence surface tallies that same
+ * ledger, so the rate, the per-window counts and the heatmap must agree with
+ * the history view: the creation day's 14:00 dose, recorded afterwards on its
+ * own slot, counts as taken on time, and the 09:00 slot before the medication
+ * existed (holding only the projector's auto-missed placeholder) counts as
+ * nothing. A caller whose window starts before the creation (the doctor
+ * report, the Coach) must not read the pre-existence slots as missed either.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import {
+  buildMedicationComplianceBundle,
+  tallyComplianceFromLedger,
+  type ComplianceMedicationContext,
+  type ComplianceSchedule,
+  type IntakeEvent,
+} from "@/lib/analytics/compliance";
+import { localHmAsUtc } from "@/lib/tz/local-day";
+import { userDayKey } from "@/lib/tz/resolver";
+
+const DAY_MS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+
+const schedule: ComplianceSchedule = {
+  windowStart: "09:00",
+  windowEnd: "09:00",
+  timesOfDay: ["09:00", "14:00", "21:00"],
+  daysOfWeek: null,
+  rrule: null,
+  rollingIntervalDays: null,
+  reminderGraceMinutes: null,
+  scheduleType: "SCHEDULED",
+  cyclicOnWeeks: null,
+  cyclicOffWeeks: null,
+};
+
+for (const tz of ["Asia/Kolkata", "America/New_York"]) {
+  describe(`compliance over a medication added mid-day (#1028, ${tz})`, () => {
+    const day1 = new Date("2026-09-23T12:00:00Z");
+    const day2 = new Date("2026-09-24T12:00:00Z");
+    const d1 = (h: number, m = 0) => localHmAsUtc(day1, tz, h, m);
+    const d2 = (h: number, m = 0) => localHmAsUtc(day2, tz, h, m);
+    const createdAt = d1(16, 5);
+    const now = d2(22, 0);
+
+    const ctx: ComplianceMedicationContext = {
+      startsOn: new Date("2026-09-23T00:00:00Z"),
+      endsOn: new Date("2026-09-28T00:00:00Z"),
+      oneShot: false,
+      createdAt,
+      lastIntakeAt: d2(21, 30),
+      timeZone: tz,
+    };
+    const take = (slot: Date, takenAt: Date): IntakeEvent => ({
+      scheduledFor: slot,
+      takenAt,
+      skipped: false,
+      autoMissed: false,
+    });
+    const events: IntakeEvent[] = [
+      { scheduledFor: d1(9), takenAt: null, skipped: false, autoMissed: true },
+      take(d1(14), d1(14)),
+      take(d1(21), d1(21)),
+      take(d2(9), d2(10)),
+      take(d2(14), d2(14)),
+      take(d2(21), d2(21, 30)),
+    ];
+
+    it("counts the recorded pre-creation dose and ignores the placeholder", () => {
+      const bundle = buildMedicationComplianceBundle(
+        events,
+        [schedule],
+        ctx,
+        now,
+      );
+      expect(bundle.compliance7).toMatchObject({
+        taken: 5,
+        missed: 0,
+        skipped: 0,
+        rate: 100,
+      });
+      const creationDay = bundle.ledgerRows.filter(
+        (r) => userDayKey(r.at, tz) === userDayKey(d1(12), tz),
+      );
+      expect(creationDay.map((r) => [r.kind, r.timeOfDay, r.status])).toEqual([
+        ["slot", "14:00", "taken_on_time"],
+        ["slot", "21:00", "taken_on_time"],
+      ]);
+    });
+
+    it("never reads pre-existence slots as missed in a wider window", () => {
+      // The doctor report and the Coach tally a window that starts before
+      // the medication existed.
+      const tally = tallyComplianceFromLedger(
+        [],
+        [schedule],
+        { ...ctx, lastIntakeAt: null },
+        new Date(now.getTime() - 30 * DAY_MS),
+        d2(3, 0),
+        d2(3, 0),
+      );
+      // Only the creation day's 21:00 slot was expected, and never taken.
+      expect(tally).toMatchObject({ taken: 0, missed: 1, denominator: 1 });
+    });
+  });
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/analytics/compliance/display.ts b/src/lib/analytics/compliance/display.ts
index 47f7feb00..10c60c9c6 100644
--- a/src/lib/analytics/compliance/display.ts
+++ b/src/lib/analytics/compliance/display.ts
@@ -317,11 +317,15 @@ export function calculateCompliance(
     rate: number;
   } | null = null;
   if (ledgerCtx) {
+    // The tally reads the whole period, not only the part after the
+    // medication's creation: the ledger itself keeps a slot before the
+    // creation only when a recorded dose claims it (#1028), so the rate
+    // matches the history view on the creation day.
     const tally = tallyComplianceFromLedger(
       events,
       schedules,
       ledgerCtx,
-      effectiveStart,
+      periodStart,
       now,
       now,
     );
@@ -484,7 +488,10 @@ export interface MedicationComplianceBundle {
   complianceDisplay: ComplianceDisplay;
   /** Unified ledger rows over `[ledgerFrom, now]`, chronological. */
   ledgerRows: DoseHistoryRow[];
-  /** Lower bound of the mint window (clamped to the medication's creation). */
+  /**
+   * Lower bound of the mint window. Not clamped to the medication's
+   * creation: the ledger drops pre-creation slots no recorded dose claims.
+   */
   ledgerFrom: Date;
 }
 
@@ -498,7 +505,8 @@ export interface MedicationComplianceBundle {
  * mint — five-plus full band expansions per request. This builder instead:
  *
  *   1. mints the bands + reconstructs the ledger ONCE over
- *      `[max(createdAt, now − 365 d), now]` (every served window is a
+ *      `[now − 365 d, now]` (slots before the medication's creation survive
+ *      only when a recorded dose claims them; every served window is a
  *      suffix of that range and ends at `now`, so a sub-window tally is a
  *      filter over `row.at`, not a re-expansion);
  *   2. builds ONE cadence timeline over the same range for the per-window
@@ -520,7 +528,12 @@ export function buildMedicationComplianceBundle(
   const ledgerPeriodStart = new Date(
     now.getTime() - COMPLIANCE_LEDGER_WINDOW_DAYS * ONE_DAY_MS,
   );
-  const ledgerFrom =
+  // The ledger mints over the whole period: a slot before the medication's
+  // creation stays in it only when a recorded dose claims it (#1028), so no
+  // pre-existence day reads as missed. The streak timeline keeps its
+  // creation floor.
+  const ledgerFrom = ledgerPeriodStart;
+  const timelineFrom =
     ctx.createdAt.getTime() > ledgerPeriodStart.getTime()
       ? ctx.createdAt
       : ledgerPeriodStart;
@@ -535,10 +548,17 @@ export function buildMedicationComplianceBundle(
   // the wide timeline reproduces the per-window builds.
   const fullDays = Math.max(
     1,
-    Math.ceil((now.getTime() - ledgerFrom.getTime()) / ONE_DAY_MS),
+    Math.ceil((now.getTime() - timelineFrom.getTime()) / ONE_DAY_MS),
   );
   const timeline = hasSchedules
-    ? buildTimelineForWindow(events, schedules, ctx, now, ledgerFrom, fullDays)
+    ? buildTimelineForWindow(
+        events,
+        schedules,
+        ctx,
+        now,
+        timelineFrom,
+        fullDays,
+      )
     : [];
 
   const resultForWindow = (days: number): ComplianceResult => {
@@ -563,7 +583,7 @@ export function buildMedicationComplianceBundle(
       Math.ceil((now.getTime() - effectiveStart.getTime()) / ONE_DAY_MS),
     );
     const tally = tallyLedgerRows(ledgerRows, {
-      from: effectiveStart,
+      from: periodStart,
       to: now,
     });
     const { current: streak } = streaksFromTimeline(
@@ -590,10 +610,7 @@ export function buildMedicationComplianceBundle(
   const expectedOver = (days: number): number => {
     const hit = expectedCache.get(days);
     if (hit !== undefined) return hit;
-    const from = Math.max(
-      ctx.createdAt.getTime(),
-      now.getTime() - days * ONE_DAY_MS,
-    );
+    const from = now.getTime() - days * ONE_DAY_MS;
     let count = 0;
     for (const row of ledgerRows) {
       if (row.kind !== "slot") continue;
diff --git a/src/lib/analytics/compliance/ledger.ts b/src/lib/analytics/compliance/ledger.ts
index 308f6b2de..0d40c6336 100644
--- a/src/lib/analytics/compliance/ledger.ts
+++ b/src/lib/analytics/compliance/ledger.ts
@@ -185,7 +185,10 @@ export function buildComplianceLedgerRows(
       pinned: e.attributionSource === "USER_PIN",
     }));
 
-  const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, intakes, now);
+  // Slots before the medication's creation count only when a recorded dose
+  // claims them, so a caller's window reaching past the creation never
+  // mints phantom misses (#1028).
+  const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, intakes, now, ctx.createdAt);
 
   // v1.25 H-MED1 — drop expected dose slots whose anchor falls inside a
   // pause interval. While a medication is paused no dose is expected, so a
diff --git a/src/lib/export/full-backup-payload.ts b/src/lib/export/full-backup-payload.ts
index 89f63c045..55c0d83b4 100644
--- a/src/lib/export/full-backup-payload.ts
+++ b/src/lib/export/full-backup-payload.ts
@@ -998,13 +998,17 @@ export async function buildFullBackupPayload(
             reorderLeadDays: m.reorderLeadDays,
             externalSource: m.externalSource,
             externalId: m.externalId,
-            createdAt: m.createdAt.toISOString(),
             updatedAt: m.updatedAt.toISOString(),
           }
         : {}),
       name: m.name,
       dose: m.dose,
       active: m.active,
+      // Both purposes carry the creation instant: it is the floor of the
+      // medication's expected slots, so a restore stamped with the restore
+      // time would read the whole restored history as predating the
+      // medication and drop its misses from every rate (#1028).
+      createdAt: m.createdAt.toISOString(),
       schedules: m.schedules.map((s) => ({
         ...(disasterRecovery
           ? {
diff --git a/src/lib/jobs/__tests__/intake-auto-skip.test.ts b/src/lib/jobs/__tests__/intake-auto-skip.test.ts
index 5055eda6a..4073e96d1 100644
--- a/src/lib/jobs/__tests__/intake-auto-skip.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/jobs/__tests__/intake-auto-skip.test.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ interface FakeScheduleRow {
 
 interface FakeMedication {
   id: string;
+  /** Defaults to long before every fixture row when omitted. */
+  createdAt?: Date;
   schedules: FakeScheduleRow[];
 }
 
@@ -62,8 +64,9 @@ interface FakeWhere {
   autoMissed?: boolean;
   takenAt?: null;
   deletedAt?: null;
-  medicationId?: { in: string[] };
-  scheduledFor?: { lt: Date };
+  medicationId?: string | { in: string[] };
+  scheduledFor?: { lt?: Date; gte?: Date };
+  OR?: FakeWhere[];
 }
 
 function matches(row: FakeIntakeRow, where: FakeWhere): boolean {
@@ -74,10 +77,22 @@ function matches(row: FakeIntakeRow, where: FakeWhere): boolean {
   if (where.takenAt === null && row.takenAt !== null) return false;
   if (where.deletedAt === null && row.deletedAt !== null) return false;
   if (
-    where.medicationId !== undefined &&
+    typeof where.medicationId === "string" &&
+    row.medicationId !== where.medicationId
+  )
+    return false;
+  if (
+    typeof where.medicationId === "object" &&
     !where.medicationId.in.includes(row.medicationId)
   )
     return false;
+  if (
+    where.scheduledFor?.gte !== undefined &&
+    row.scheduledFor.getTime() < where.scheduledFor.gte.getTime()
+  )
+    return false;
+  if (where.OR !== undefined && !where.OR.some((w) => matches(row, w)))
+    return false;
   if (
     where.scheduledFor?.lt !== undefined &&
     row.scheduledFor.getTime() >= where.scheduledFor.lt.getTime()
@@ -128,7 +143,12 @@ function makeFakePrisma(state: {
     },
     medication: {
       findMany: vi.fn(async ({ where }: { where: { id: { in: string[] } } }) =>
-        state.medications.filter((m) => where.id.in.includes(m.id)),
+        state.medications
+          .filter((m) => where.id.in.includes(m.id))
+          .map((m) => ({
+            createdAt: new Date("2020-01-01T00:00:00Z"),
+            ...m,
+          })),
       ),
     },
   } as unknown as PrismaClient;
@@ -445,6 +465,29 @@ describe("runIntakeAutoSkipPass", () => {
     expect(rows[0].autoMissed).toBe(false);
   });
 
+  // #1028 — the today projector mints a pending placeholder for every slot
+  // of the day, including the slots before the medication was added. Such a
+  // slot was never expected, so its placeholder must never become a miss:
+  // the miss-free streak, the Coach and every other raw-row reader would
+  // count it.
+  it("never flips a placeholder whose slot predates the medication", async () => {
+    const createdAt = new Date(NOW_MS - 30 * HOUR_MS);
+    const rows = [
+      pendingRow("i-before", "med-new", new Date(NOW_MS - 37 * HOUR_MS)),
+      pendingRow("i-after", "med-new", new Date(NOW_MS - 25 * HOUR_MS)),
+      pendingRow("i-old-med", "med-daily", new Date(NOW_MS - 37 * HOUR_MS)),
+    ];
+    const prisma = makeFakePrisma({
+      rows,
+      medications: [{ ...DAILY_MED, id: "med-new", createdAt }, DAILY_MED],
+    });
+    const result = await runIntakeAutoSkipPass(prisma, { nowMs: NOW_MS });
+    expect(rows.find((r) => r.id === "i-before")?.autoMissed).toBe(false);
+    expect(rows.find((r) => r.id === "i-after")?.autoMissed).toBe(true);
+    expect(rows.find((r) => r.id === "i-old-med")?.autoMissed).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.skippedCount).toBe(2);
+  });
+
   it("uses Date.now() when no nowMs override is supplied", async () => {
     vi.useFakeTimers();
     vi.setSystemTime(NOW);
diff --git a/src/lib/jobs/intake-auto-skip.ts b/src/lib/jobs/intake-auto-skip.ts
index 07ea45f72..60123634a 100644
--- a/src/lib/jobs/intake-auto-skip.ts
+++ b/src/lib/jobs/intake-auto-skip.ts
@@ -34,7 +34,17 @@
  *   * `auto_missed = false` AND
  *   * `takenAt IS NULL` AND
  *   * `deletedAt IS NULL` AND
- *   * `scheduledFor < NOW() - <per-medication auto-miss delay>`
+ *   * `scheduledFor < NOW() - <per-medication auto-miss delay>` AND
+ *   * `scheduledFor >= medication.createdAt`
+ *
+ * The last clause (#1028): the today projector mints a pending placeholder
+ * for every slot of the current day, so a medication added at 16:00 carries
+ * placeholders for its 09:00 and 14:00 slots. Those slots were never
+ * expected, and a placeholder on one records nothing. Stamping it a miss
+ * put a forgotten dose into every reader that counts raw rows (the miss-free
+ * streak, the Coach snapshot) for a day before the medication existed. It
+ * stays pending instead: the dose history drops it, and a dose the person
+ * does record for that slot still converges onto it.
  *
  * The 24 h floor is intentional: a slightly late mark (user took the
  * morning dose at noon when the schedule was 09:00) shouldn't be flipped
@@ -228,6 +238,7 @@ export async function runIntakeAutoSkipPass(
     where: { id: { in: [...usersByMedication.keys()] } },
     select: {
       id: true,
+      createdAt: true,
       schedules: {
         select: { rrule: true, rollingIntervalDays: true, doseWindows: true },
       },
@@ -236,22 +247,28 @@ export async function runIntakeAutoSkipPass(
 
   // Group medications by their derived delay so one `updateMany` covers
   // each distinct cutoff instead of one query per medication.
-  const medsByDelay = new Map<number, string[]>();
+  const medsByDelay = new Map<number, Array<{ id: string; createdAt: Date }>>();
   for (const medication of medications) {
     const delayMs = medicationAutoMissDelayMs(medication.schedules);
     const group = medsByDelay.get(delayMs) ?? [];
-    group.push(medication.id);
+    group.push({ id: medication.id, createdAt: medication.createdAt });
     medsByDelay.set(delayMs, group);
   }
 
   let skippedCount = 0;
   const invalidatedUserIds = new Set<string>();
-  for (const [delayMs, medicationIds] of medsByDelay) {
+  for (const [delayMs, group] of medsByDelay) {
+    const medicationIds = group.map((m) => m.id);
     const { count } = await prisma.medicationIntakeEvent.updateMany({
       where: {
         ...pendingWhere,
-        medicationId: { in: medicationIds },
         scheduledFor: { lt: new Date(nowMs - delayMs) },
+        // Per medication, only slots from its creation on: a placeholder
+        // for a slot before it was never an expected dose (see above).
+        OR: group.map((m) => ({
+          medicationId: m.id,
+          scheduledFor: { gte: m.createdAt },
+        })),
       },
       // `syncVersion` bumps so delta-sync clients pick up the terminal
       // state instead of holding a stale pending row forever.
diff --git a/src/lib/medications/__tests__/compliance-payload-heatmap.test.ts b/src/lib/medications/__tests__/compliance-payload-heatmap.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0ded6d91f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/medications/__tests__/compliance-payload-heatmap.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+/**
+ * The compliance heatmap counts a day's ledger rows. An off-schedule row
+ * (one that matched no slot) is a real dose only when it carries a taken
+ * time; an orphaned skip or auto-miss on an instant that is no slot of the
+ * schedule records no dose and must never colour the day as taken.
+ */
+import { afterEach, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({
+  prisma: { medicationIntakeEvent: { findMany: vi.fn() } },
+}));
+
+import { prisma } from "@/lib/db";
+import { buildCompliancePayload } from "@/lib/medications/compliance-payload";
+import { localHmAsUtc } from "@/lib/tz/local-day";
+import { userDayKey } from "@/lib/tz/format";
+
+const TZ = "Europe/Berlin";
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.useRealTimers();
+  vi.resetAllMocks();
+});
+
+it("counts an off-schedule row as taken only when it has a taken time", async () => {
+  const day = new Date("2026-06-10T12:00:00Z");
+  const at = (h: number, m = 0) => localHmAsUtc(day, TZ, h, m);
+  vi.useFakeTimers({ toFake: ["Date"] });
+  vi.setSystemTime(at(23, 0));
+
+  const row = (
+    scheduledFor: Date,
+    takenAt: Date | null,
+    flags: { skipped?: boolean; autoMissed?: boolean } = {},
+  ) => ({
+    scheduledFor,
+    takenAt,
+    skipped: flags.skipped ?? false,
+    autoMissed: flags.autoMissed ?? false,
+    attributionSource: "AUTO",
+  });
+  vi.mocked(prisma.medicationIntakeEvent.findMany).mockResolvedValue([
+    // The 08:00 slot, taken on time.
+    row(at(8), at(8)),
+    // A real off-schedule take in the afternoon.
+    row(at(15), at(15)),
+    // Orphans on instants that are no slot of the schedule.
+    row(at(11), null, { skipped: true }),
+    row(at(12), null, { autoMissed: true }),
+  ] as never);
+
+  const payload = await buildCompliancePayload(
+    {
+      id: "med-1",
+      createdAt: new Date("2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"),
+      startsOn: null,
+      endsOn: null,
+      oneShot: false,
+      asNeeded: false,
+      schedules: [
+        {
+          windowStart: "08:00",
+          windowEnd: "08:00",
+          timesOfDay: ["08:00"],
+          daysOfWeek: null,
+          rrule: null,
+          rollingIntervalDays: null,
+          reminderGraceMinutes: null,
+          scheduleType: "SCHEDULED",
+          cyclicOnWeeks: null,
+          cyclicOffWeeks: null,
+        },
+      ],
+    },
+    "user-1",
+    TZ,
+  );
+
+  expect(payload.dailyCompliance[userDayKey(at(12), TZ)]).toMatchObject({
+    // The slot, the real off-schedule take and the orphaned skip.
+    expected: 3,
+    taken: 2,
+    onTime: 2,
+    skipped: 1,
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/medications/__tests__/compliance-payload-pre-creation.test.ts b/src/lib/medications/__tests__/compliance-payload-pre-creation.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b07243f49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/medications/__tests__/compliance-payload-pre-creation.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+/**
+ * #1028 — the compliance payload (the detail page's rates and heatmap)
+ * over a medication added mid-day. The creation day's 14:00 dose was
+ * recorded afterwards on its own slot; the 09:00 slot before the medication
+ * existed only ever held the projector's auto-missed placeholder. The
+ * payload must read the same day the dose-history view does: two slots, both
+ * taken on time, nothing missed.
+ */
+import { afterEach, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({
+  prisma: { medicationIntakeEvent: { findMany: vi.fn() } },
+}));
+
+import { prisma } from "@/lib/db";
+import { buildCompliancePayload } from "@/lib/medications/compliance-payload";
+import { localHmAsUtc } from "@/lib/tz/local-day";
+import { userDayKey } from "@/lib/tz/format";
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.useRealTimers();
+  vi.resetAllMocks();
+});
+
+for (const tz of ["Asia/Kolkata", "America/New_York"]) {
+  it(`reads the creation day like the history view (${tz})`, async () => {
+    const day1 = new Date("2026-09-23T12:00:00Z");
+    const day2 = new Date("2026-09-24T12:00:00Z");
+    const d1 = (h: number, m = 0) => localHmAsUtc(day1, tz, h, m);
+    const d2 = (h: number, m = 0) => localHmAsUtc(day2, tz, h, m);
+    vi.useFakeTimers({ toFake: ["Date"] });
+    vi.setSystemTime(d2(22, 0));
+
+    const take = (slot: Date, takenAt: Date) => ({
+      scheduledFor: slot,
+      takenAt,
+      skipped: false,
+      autoMissed: false,
+      attributionSource: "AUTO",
+    });
+    const rows = [
+      take(d2(21), d2(21, 30)),
+      take(d2(14), d2(14)),
+      take(d2(9), d2(10)),
+      take(d1(21), d1(21)),
+      take(d1(14), d1(14)),
+      {
+        scheduledFor: d1(9),
+        takenAt: null,
+        skipped: false,
+        autoMissed: true,
+        attributionSource: "AUTO",
+      },
+    ];
+    vi.mocked(prisma.medicationIntakeEvent.findMany).mockImplementation(
+      (async (args: {
+        where: { scheduledFor: { gte: Date } };
+      }): Promise<unknown> =>
+        rows.filter(
+          (r) => r.scheduledFor >= args.where.scheduledFor.gte,
+        )) as never,
+    );
+
+    const payload = await buildCompliancePayload(
+      {
+        id: "med-1",
+        createdAt: d1(16, 5),
+        startsOn: new Date("2026-09-23T00:00:00Z"),
+        endsOn: new Date("2026-09-28T00:00:00Z"),
+        oneShot: false,
+        asNeeded: false,
+        schedules: [
+          {
+            windowStart: "09:00",
+            windowEnd: "09:00",
+            timesOfDay: ["09:00", "14:00", "21:00"],
+            daysOfWeek: null,
+            rrule: null,
+            rollingIntervalDays: null,
+            reminderGraceMinutes: null,
+            scheduleType: "SCHEDULED",
+            cyclicOnWeeks: null,
+            cyclicOffWeeks: null,
+          },
+        ],
+      },
+      "user-1",
+      tz,
+    );
+
+    expect(payload.compliance7).toMatchObject({
+      taken: 5,
+      missed: 0,
+      rate: 100,
+    });
+    expect(payload.dailyCompliance[userDayKey(d1(12), tz)]).toMatchObject({
+      expected: 2,
+      taken: 2,
+      onTime: 2,
+      skipped: 0,
+    });
+  });
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/medications/compliance-payload.ts b/src/lib/medications/compliance-payload.ts
index 10944c561..d201ca1aa 100644
--- a/src/lib/medications/compliance-payload.ts
+++ b/src/lib/medications/compliance-payload.ts
@@ -107,10 +107,14 @@ export function complianceCacheKey(
  * Slot rows contribute to `expected` / `expectedCount` (the day's due-slot
  * count): a taken slot adds to `taken` and its timing bucket; a missed slot
  * stays uncounted in `taken`; a skipped slot lands in `skipped`; an upcoming
- * slot is still due but not yet acted on. An ad-hoc row is a real off-schedule
- * take — it counts as `taken` AND adds its own `expected` slot (so the
- * heatmap's `missed = expected − taken − skipped` math stays non-negative) and
- * reads on-time (a logged dose colours green).
+ * slot is still due but not yet acted on. An ad-hoc row with a taken time is
+ * a real off-schedule take — it counts as `taken` AND adds its own `expected`
+ * slot (so the heatmap's `missed = expected − taken − skipped` math stays
+ * non-negative) and reads on-time (a logged dose colours green). An ad-hoc row
+ * without a taken time is an orphaned skip or auto-miss on an instant that is
+ * no slot of the schedule: it records no dose, so it never counts as taken. A
+ * skip still reads as skipped; an orphaned auto-miss has no slot to have
+ * missed and counts nothing, as it does in the rate.
  */
 function bucketLedgerRow(
   entry: DailyComplianceEntry,
@@ -145,12 +149,19 @@ function bucketLedgerRow(
       entry.expectedCount++;
       break;
     case "ad_hoc":
-      // An off-schedule take: a real taken dose with no scheduled slot. Count
-      // it as taken + its own expected slot so the heatmap missed math holds.
-      entry.expected++;
-      entry.expectedCount++;
-      entry.taken++;
-      entry.onTime++;
+      if (row.intake?.takenAt) {
+        // An off-schedule take: a real taken dose with no scheduled slot.
+        // Count it as taken + its own expected slot so the heatmap missed
+        // math holds.
+        entry.expected++;
+        entry.expectedCount++;
+        entry.taken++;
+        entry.onTime++;
+      } else if (row.intake?.skipped) {
+        entry.expected++;
+        entry.expectedCount++;
+        entry.skipped++;
+      }
       break;
   }
 }
@@ -184,14 +195,10 @@ export async function buildCompliancePayload(
   // v1.15.9 — pin a single `now` and thread it into every cadence
   // computation so no block can straddle a day boundary on a slow request.
   const now = new Date();
-  const createdAt = medication.createdAt;
 
-  const fetchFrom = new Date(
-    Math.max(
-      createdAt.getTime(),
-      now.getTime() - EVENT_FETCH_WINDOW_DAYS * DAY_MS,
-    ),
-  );
+  // Not clamped to the medication's creation: a dose recorded for a slot
+  // before the creation still claims that slot in the ledger (#1028).
+  const fetchFrom = new Date(now.getTime() - EVENT_FETCH_WINDOW_DAYS * DAY_MS);
   const events = await prisma.medicationIntakeEvent.findMany({
     // v1.7.0 sync — exclude tombstoned rows from the compliance read.
     // Bounded to the 366-day fetch window: every served block is a suffix
@@ -242,12 +249,10 @@ export async function buildCompliancePayload(
   // unified dose-history ledger (the same bands the % + the history view
   // read), so the per-day timing split (on-time / late) and the per-day
   // missed marks can never disagree with the headline rate. The 90-day
-  // window is carved out of the shared ledger by `row.at`; the window
-  // floor clamps to the medication's creation so pre-existence days never
-  // mint phantom slots.
-  const heatmapFrom = new Date(
-    Math.max(now.getTime() - 90 * DAY_MS, createdAt.getTime()),
-  );
+  // window is carved out of the shared ledger by `row.at`. The ledger
+  // already drops pre-existence slots no recorded dose claims, so the floor
+  // is the plain 90-day window, the same one the history view reads (#1028).
+  const heatmapFrom = new Date(now.getTime() - 90 * DAY_MS);
 
   const dailyCompliance: Record<string, DailyComplianceEntry> = {};
   const byDay = new Map<string, DailyComplianceEntry>();
diff --git a/src/lib/medications/scheduling/__tests__/dose-history.test.ts b/src/lib/medications/scheduling/__tests__/dose-history.test.ts
index e5aa42f37..fcd1a047f 100644
--- a/src/lib/medications/scheduling/__tests__/dose-history.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/medications/scheduling/__tests__/dose-history.test.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,11 @@
  */
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
-import { buildSlotBands, type SlotWindowInput } from "../attribution";
+import {
+  attributeIntakeToSlot,
+  buildSlotBands,
+  type SlotWindowInput,
+} from "../attribution";
 import {
   reconstructDoseHistory,
   suggestNearestSlot,
@@ -60,7 +64,7 @@ const nowEvening = at(23, 59);
 
 describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
   it("emits one row per expected slot even with no intakes", () => {
-    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, [], nowEvening);
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, [], nowEvening, null);
     expect(rows.map((r) => r.timeOfDay)).toEqual(["07:00", "19:00"]);
     expect(rows.every((r) => r.kind === "slot")).toBe(true);
     expect(rows.map((r) => r.status)).toEqual(["missed", "missed"]);
@@ -71,6 +75,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
       bands,
       [intake({ takenAt: at(7, 0), scheduledFor: at(7, 0) })],
       nowEvening,
+      null,
     );
     const morning = rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00");
     expect(morning?.status).toBe("taken_on_time");
@@ -84,6 +89,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
       bands,
       [intake({ takenAt: at(8, 30), scheduledFor: at(7, 0) })],
       nowEvening,
+      null,
     );
     expect(rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00")?.status).toBe(
       "taken_late",
@@ -97,6 +103,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
       bands,
       [intake({ takenAt: at(11, 29), scheduledFor: at(7, 0) })],
       nowEvening,
+      null,
     );
     const adhoc = rows.find((r) => r.kind === "ad_hoc");
     expect(adhoc?.status).toBe("ad_hoc");
@@ -109,6 +116,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
       bands,
       [intake({ skipped: true, scheduledFor: at(7, 0) })],
       nowEvening,
+      null,
     );
     expect(rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00")?.status).toBe("skipped");
   });
@@ -118,13 +126,14 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
       bands,
       [intake({ autoMissed: true, scheduledFor: at(7, 0) })],
       nowEvening,
+      null,
     );
     expect(rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00")?.status).toBe("missed");
   });
 
   it("marks a future slot upcoming, not missed", () => {
     const earlyMorning = at(5, 0); // before every slot's miss cutoff
-    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, [], earlyMorning);
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, [], earlyMorning, null);
     expect(rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00")?.status).toBe("upcoming");
     expect(rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "19:00")?.status).toBe("upcoming");
   });
@@ -137,6 +146,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         intake({ id: "b", takenAt: at(7, 20), scheduledFor: at(7, 0) }),
       ],
       nowEvening,
+      null,
     );
     expect(rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00")?.status).toBe(
       "taken_on_time",
@@ -159,6 +169,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         bands,
         [intake({ scheduledFor: at(7, 0) })],
         at(8, 30),
+        null,
       );
       const morning = rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00");
       expect(morning?.status).toBe("upcoming");
@@ -172,6 +183,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         bands,
         [intake({ scheduledFor: at(7, 0) })],
         at(12, 0),
+        null,
       );
       expect(rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00")?.status).toBe("missed");
     });
@@ -195,6 +207,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         weeklyBands,
         [intake({ scheduledFor: weeklyAt })],
         twoDaysLater,
+        null,
       );
       expect(rows).toHaveLength(1);
       expect(rows[0].status).toBe("upcoming");
@@ -210,6 +223,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         morningOnly,
         [intake({ scheduledFor: at(19, 0) })],
         at(14, 0),
+        null,
       );
       expect(rows.filter((r) => r.kind === "ad_hoc")).toHaveLength(0);
       expect(rows.map((r) => r.timeOfDay)).toEqual(["07:00"]);
@@ -221,6 +235,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         morningOnly,
         [intake({ skipped: true, scheduledFor: at(19, 0) })],
         at(14, 0),
+        null,
       );
       expect(rows.filter((r) => r.kind === "ad_hoc")).toHaveLength(1);
     });
@@ -231,6 +246,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         bands,
         [intake({ autoMissed: true, scheduledFor: at(7, 0) })],
         at(8, 30),
+        null,
       );
       expect(rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00")?.status).toBe("missed");
     });
@@ -249,6 +265,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         bands,
         [intake({ takenAt: at(13, 0), scheduledFor: at(7, 0), pinned: true })],
         nowEvening,
+        null,
       );
       const morning = rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00");
       expect(morning?.status).toBe("taken_late");
@@ -264,17 +281,51 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         bands,
         [intake({ takenAt: at(7, 30), scheduledFor: at(7, 0), pinned: true })],
         nowEvening,
+        null,
       );
       const morning = rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00");
       expect(morning?.status).toBe("taken_on_time");
       expect(morning?.pinned).toBe(true);
     });
 
+    // A pinned take reads exactly as the same take attributed on its own:
+    // on time from the early grace before the on-time window through the
+    // window's end, late otherwise. Pinning never changes the timing.
+    it("a pinned early take reads the same as the unpinned take", () => {
+      for (const [h, m] of [
+        [6, 15],
+        [5, 30],
+        [4, 30],
+      ] as const) {
+        const takenAt = at(h, m);
+        const pinned = reconstructDoseHistory(
+          bands,
+          [intake({ takenAt, scheduledFor: at(7, 0), pinned: true })],
+          nowEvening,
+          null,
+        ).find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00")?.status;
+        const unpinned = attributeIntakeToSlot(takenAt, bands);
+        const expected =
+          unpinned?.band.timeOfDay === "07:00"
+            ? unpinned.status === "on_time"
+              ? "taken_on_time"
+              : "taken_late"
+            : // Outside every capture band on its own: a pin can only make
+              // it late, never on time.
+              "taken_late";
+        expect(pinned, `${h}:${m}`).toBe(expected);
+      }
+      // 05:30 lies in the early grace (on time either way), 04:30 before it.
+      expect(attributeIntakeToSlot(at(5, 30), bands)?.status).toBe("on_time");
+      expect(attributeIntakeToSlot(at(4, 30), bands)).toBeNull();
+    });
+
     it("a pin inside the late tail reads taken_late, never flattered", () => {
       const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
         bands,
         [intake({ takenAt: at(9, 0), scheduledFor: at(7, 0), pinned: true })],
         nowEvening,
+        null,
       );
       expect(rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00")?.status).toBe(
         "taken_late",
@@ -294,6 +345,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
           }),
         ],
         nowEvening,
+        null,
       );
       const morning = rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00");
       expect(morning?.intake?.id).toBe("pin");
@@ -315,6 +367,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
           }),
         ],
         nowEvening,
+        null,
       );
       expect(rows.find((r) => r.timeOfDay === "07:00")?.status).toBe("skipped");
       const adhoc = rows.filter((r) => r.kind === "ad_hoc");
@@ -332,6 +385,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
           }),
         ],
         nowEvening,
+        null,
       );
       const adhoc = rows.filter((r) => r.kind === "ad_hoc");
       expect(adhoc).toHaveLength(1);
@@ -345,6 +399,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         bands,
         [intake({ takenAt: at(9, 0), scheduledFor: at(9, 0), pinned: true })],
         nowEvening,
+        null,
       );
       const adhoc = rows.filter((r) => r.kind === "ad_hoc");
       expect(adhoc).toHaveLength(1);
@@ -364,6 +419,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         bands,
         [intake({ takenAt: t, scheduledFor: t, pinned: true })],
         nowEvening,
+        null,
       );
       const adhoc = rows.filter((r) => r.kind === "ad_hoc");
       expect(adhoc).toHaveLength(1);
@@ -381,6 +437,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         bands,
         [intake({ takenAt: at(11, 29), scheduledFor: at(7, 0) })],
         nowEvening,
+        null,
       );
       const adhoc = rows.find((r) => r.kind === "ad_hoc");
       expect(adhoc?.nearestSlot?.timeOfDay).toBe("07:00");
@@ -394,6 +451,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         bands,
         [intake({ takenAt: at(12, 45), scheduledFor: at(7, 0) })],
         nowEvening,
+        null,
       );
       const adhoc = rows.find((r) => r.kind === "ad_hoc");
       expect(adhoc?.nearestSlot?.timeOfDay).toBe("07:00");
@@ -408,6 +466,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
           intake({ id: "b", takenAt: at(7, 20), scheduledFor: at(7, 0) }),
         ],
         nowEvening,
+        null,
       );
       const adhoc = rows.find((r) => r.kind === "ad_hoc");
       expect(adhoc?.intake?.id).toBe("b");
@@ -421,6 +480,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
         morningOnly,
         [intake({ skipped: true, scheduledFor: at(19, 0) })],
         at(14, 0),
+        null,
       );
       const adhoc = rows.find((r) => r.kind === "ad_hoc");
       expect(adhoc).toBeDefined();
@@ -458,6 +518,7 @@ describe("reconstructDoseHistory", () => {
       bands,
       [intake({ id: "x", takenAt: at(13, 0), scheduledFor: at(13, 0) })],
       nowEvening,
+      null,
     );
     const times = rows.map((r) => r.at.getTime());
     expect(times).toEqual([...times].sort((a, b) => a - b));
@@ -494,3 +555,169 @@ describe("suggestNearestSlot fallback cap", () => {
     expect(near?.timeOfDay).toBe("09:00");
   });
 });
+
+/**
+ * #1028 — a medication created between its 07:00 and 19:00 slots. The 07:00
+ * slot predates it: it shows only when a recorded dose claims it, and a
+ * pending or auto-missed placeholder on it never reads as missed or as an
+ * off-schedule row.
+ */
+describe("reconstructDoseHistory — slots before the medication existed (#1028)", () => {
+  const createdAt = at(12, 0);
+  const statusRows = (rows: ReturnType<typeof reconstructDoseHistory>) =>
+    rows.map((r) => [r.kind, r.timeOfDay, r.status, r.intake?.id ?? null]);
+
+  it("omits an unclaimed pre-creation slot and keeps the later one", () => {
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, [], nowEvening, createdAt);
+    expect(statusRows(rows)).toEqual([["slot", "19:00", "missed", null]]);
+  });
+
+  it("drops an auto-missed placeholder on a pre-creation slot", () => {
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
+      bands,
+      [intake({ id: "placeholder", scheduledFor: at(7, 0), autoMissed: true })],
+      nowEvening,
+      createdAt,
+    );
+    expect(statusRows(rows)).toEqual([["slot", "19:00", "missed", null]]);
+  });
+
+  it("drops a pending placeholder on a pre-creation slot", () => {
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
+      bands,
+      [intake({ id: "pending", scheduledFor: at(7, 0) })],
+      nowEvening,
+      createdAt,
+    );
+    expect(statusRows(rows)).toEqual([["slot", "19:00", "missed", null]]);
+  });
+
+  it("drops an auto-missed placeholder whose pre-creation slot was not minted", () => {
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
+      bands,
+      [intake({ id: "orphan", scheduledFor: at(3, 0), autoMissed: true })],
+      nowEvening,
+      createdAt,
+    );
+    expect(rows.some((r) => r.intake?.id === "orphan")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("materialises a pre-creation slot a take claims by its stored slot instant", () => {
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
+      bands,
+      [intake({ id: "t", scheduledFor: at(7, 0), takenAt: at(7, 0) })],
+      nowEvening,
+      createdAt,
+    );
+    expect(statusRows(rows)).toEqual([
+      ["slot", "07:00", "taken_on_time", "t"],
+      ["slot", "19:00", "missed", null],
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("materialises a pre-creation slot a take claims by band membership", () => {
+    // Stored as an unanchored take (scheduledFor === takenAt), late.
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
+      bands,
+      [intake({ id: "t", scheduledFor: at(9, 30), takenAt: at(9, 30) })],
+      nowEvening,
+      createdAt,
+    );
+    expect(statusRows(rows)[0]).toEqual(["slot", "07:00", "taken_late", "t"]);
+  });
+
+  it("materialises a pre-creation slot a pin or a skip claims", () => {
+    const pinned = reconstructDoseHistory(
+      bands,
+      [
+        intake({
+          id: "p",
+          scheduledFor: at(7, 0),
+          takenAt: at(11, 30),
+          pinned: true,
+        }),
+      ],
+      nowEvening,
+      createdAt,
+    );
+    expect(statusRows(pinned)[0]).toEqual(["slot", "07:00", "taken_late", "p"]);
+
+    const skipped = reconstructDoseHistory(
+      bands,
+      [intake({ id: "s", scheduledFor: at(7, 0), skipped: true })],
+      nowEvening,
+      createdAt,
+    );
+    expect(statusRows(skipped)[0]).toEqual(["slot", "07:00", "skipped", "s"]);
+  });
+
+  it("does not offer an absent pre-creation slot as due-context", () => {
+    // A take far outside every band, before the creation.
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
+      bands,
+      [intake({ id: "x", scheduledFor: at(1, 0), takenAt: at(1, 0) })],
+      nowEvening,
+      createdAt,
+    );
+    const adHoc = rows.find((r) => r.intake?.id === "x");
+    expect(adHoc?.kind).toBe("ad_hoc");
+    expect(adHoc?.nearestSlot?.timeOfDay).not.toBe("07:00");
+  });
+
+  it("treats every band as expected when no floor is given", () => {
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, [], nowEvening, null);
+    expect(rows.map((r) => r.timeOfDay)).toEqual(["07:00", "19:00"]);
+  });
+});
+
+/**
+ * #1028 — history recorded before the medication was created (an import, a
+ * restore from an older file). Only what the history records counts: a slot
+ * no row names stays absent rather than being invented as missed, and a miss
+ * the history does record is not hidden. The projector's placeholders on the
+ * creation day are the one pre-creation auto-miss that records nothing.
+ */
+describe("reconstructDoseHistory — history from before the creation (#1028)", () => {
+  // Created two days after `day`, so both of `day`'s slots predate it.
+  const createdAt = new Date(at(12, 0).getTime() + 2 * 24 * 60 * MIN);
+  const statusRows = (rows: ReturnType<typeof reconstructDoseHistory>) =>
+    rows.map((r) => [r.kind, r.timeOfDay, r.status, r.intake?.id ?? null]);
+
+  it("keeps a carried-in auto-miss as the miss it records", () => {
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
+      bands,
+      [
+        intake({ id: "taken", scheduledFor: at(7, 0), takenAt: at(7, 10) }),
+        intake({ id: "missed", scheduledFor: at(19, 0), autoMissed: true }),
+      ],
+      nowEvening,
+      createdAt,
+    );
+    expect(statusRows(rows)).toEqual([
+      ["slot", "07:00", "taken_on_time", "taken"],
+      ["slot", "19:00", "missed", "missed"],
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("never invents a miss for a slot the history does not name", () => {
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
+      bands,
+      [intake({ id: "taken", scheduledFor: at(7, 0), takenAt: at(7, 10) })],
+      nowEvening,
+      createdAt,
+    );
+    expect(statusRows(rows)).toEqual([
+      ["slot", "07:00", "taken_on_time", "taken"],
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("still drops a pending row carried in from before the creation", () => {
+    const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
+      bands,
+      [intake({ id: "pending", scheduledFor: at(19, 0) })],
+      nowEvening,
+      createdAt,
+    );
+    expect(rows).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/medications/scheduling/__tests__/schedule-eras.test.ts b/src/lib/medications/scheduling/__tests__/schedule-eras.test.ts
index 43dacab74..7d02534df 100644
--- a/src/lib/medications/scheduling/__tests__/schedule-eras.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/medications/scheduling/__tests__/schedule-eras.test.ts
@@ -189,6 +189,24 @@ describe("segmentRangeIntoEras", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("segmentRangeIntoEras — before the first revision (#1028)", () => {
+  it("covers the stretch before the medication's creation with the first era", () => {
+    // A slot before the creation must still mint so a dose recorded on it
+    // meets its slot; without a revision it mints against the live rows,
+    // with one it mints against the schedule that was live first.
+    const range = {
+      from: new Date("2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z"),
+      to: new Date("2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z"),
+    };
+    const eras = segmentRangeIntoEras(range, [oldEraRevision], [liveSchedule]);
+    expect(eras).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(eras[0].live).toBe(false);
+    expect(eras[0].from).toEqual(range.from);
+    expect(eras[0].schedules[0].timesOfDay).toEqual(["07:00", "19:00"]);
+    expect(eras[1].from).toEqual(replaceAt);
+  });
+});
+
 describe("buildBandsForSchedulesWithEras", () => {
   const range = {
     from: new Date("2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z"),
@@ -255,6 +273,7 @@ describe("buildBandsForSchedulesWithEras", () => {
       bands,
       [{ scheduledFor: takenAt, takenAt, skipped: false }],
       range.to,
+      null,
     );
     const takenRows = rows.filter((r) => r.status === "taken_on_time");
     expect(takenRows).toHaveLength(1);
diff --git a/src/lib/medications/scheduling/cadence.ts b/src/lib/medications/scheduling/cadence.ts
index d4d6bf0cf..19d6aec93 100644
--- a/src/lib/medications/scheduling/cadence.ts
+++ b/src/lib/medications/scheduling/cadence.ts
@@ -921,6 +921,11 @@ function missedFromLedger(
       skipped: e.skipped,
       autoMissed: e.autoMissed ?? false,
     }));
-  const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, intakes, asOf);
+  const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
+    bands,
+    intakes,
+    asOf,
+    engineCtx.createdAt,
+  );
   return rows.filter((r) => r.status === "missed").length;
 }
diff --git a/src/lib/medications/scheduling/compliance.ts b/src/lib/medications/scheduling/compliance.ts
index e3478aaf8..283c74a8e 100644
--- a/src/lib/medications/scheduling/compliance.ts
+++ b/src/lib/medications/scheduling/compliance.ts
@@ -249,7 +249,12 @@ function ledgerChipCounts(
       pinned: e.attributionSource === "USER_PIN",
     }));
 
-  const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(bands, intakes, asOf);
+  const rows = reconstructDoseHistory(
+    bands,
+    intakes,
+    asOf,
+    engineCtx.createdAt,
+  );
   let taken = 0;
   let missed = 0;
   for (const row of rows) {
diff --git a/src/lib/medications/scheduling/dose-history.ts b/src/lib/medications/scheduling/dose-history.ts
index 7a44ffe56..e1f0cd52b 100644
--- a/src/lib/medications/scheduling/dose-history.ts
+++ b/src/lib/medications/scheduling/dose-history.ts
@@ -22,15 +22,20 @@
  *     `attributionSource = USER_PIN`) binds by its `scheduledFor` anchor like
  *     a skip, NOT by takenAt-band membership, so a pin outside the late tail
  *     never degrades back to ad-hoc. Status is `taken_late` unless the
- *     takenAt happens to sit inside the slot's on-time band — a pin can
- *     never flatter the timing;
+ *     takenAt sits where the take would read on time on its own (the
+ *     on-time band plus its bounded early grace) — a pin never changes the
+ *     timing;
  *   - a RELEASED pin (v1.16.0 — "Zuordnung lösen" persists `USER_PIN` with
  *     `scheduledFor === takenAt`) is a deliberately ad-hoc take: it never
  *     anchor-binds (not even when its instant sits within epsilon of a slot
  *     anchor) and surfaces as an ad-hoc row carrying `pinned`, never as
  *     `taken_late`;
  *   - each slot is claimed by at most one intake (first/best wins); extra
- *     intakes near a filled slot fall through to ad-hoc.
+ *     intakes near a filled slot fall through to ad-hoc;
+ *   - a slot anchored before `expectedFrom` (the medication's creation) was
+ *     never expected: it appears only when a recorded row claims it (#1028).
+ *     See `expectedFrom` below for why the boundary is the creation and
+ *     which pre-creation rows count as recorded.
  *
  * Pure / synchronous / instant-based — the caller mints the bands DST-correctly
  * via `localHmAsUtc` and supplies the per-dose window.
@@ -125,6 +130,13 @@ export interface DoseHistoryRow {
   nearestSlot?: NearestSlotContext;
 }
 
+/**
+ * How far before a medication's creation the today projector's placeholders
+ * can sit: it mints the creation's local day only, which starts less than a
+ * day before the creation.
+ */
+const PLACEHOLDER_REACH_MS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+
 /** Sub-minute slop for binding an anchored (skip/pending) row to its slot. */
 const ANCHOR_EPSILON_MS = 60_000;
 
@@ -136,7 +148,46 @@ export function reconstructDoseHistory(
   bands: SlotBand[],
   intakes: HistoryIntake[],
   now: Date,
+  /**
+   * The instant from which slots are expected: the medication's creation.
+   * `null` treats every band as expected (a pure-math fixture).
+   *
+   * Before it, a slot appears only when a recorded row claims it. Rows get
+   * there three ways: a dose logged for earlier on the creation day, history
+   * imported from another app, and history restored from a backup. The
+   * boundary is chosen so that nothing is invented and nothing recorded is
+   * hidden:
+   *
+   *   - An earlier boundary (the first recorded row, or the course start
+   *     date) would read every slot between it and the creation that no row
+   *     names as missed. Nothing supports that reading: an import carries
+   *     takes and skips only (reminder and "no dose information" rows are
+   *     dropped on the way in), a partial or single back-dated entry names a
+   *     few days, and a course start says when the person began, not that
+   *     the unlogged days were missed. Those misses would be invented.
+   *   - With the creation as the boundary, every recorded take (by its
+   *     window or its pin) and skip still claims its slot, and a recorded
+   *     miss does too: an auto-miss anchored more than a day before the
+   *     creation came in with the history (a restore), and it keeps its
+   *     slot as missed.
+   *   - The rows that record nothing are dropped: a pending row, and an
+   *     auto-miss within the day before the creation. The today projector
+   *     mints a placeholder for every slot of the creation day, and a
+   *     placeholder anchored before the creation is the only pre-creation
+   *     auto-miss the server itself can have produced; the day's start is
+   *     less than 24 hours before the creation, which bounds them.
+   */
+  expectedFrom: Date | null,
 ): DoseHistoryRow[] {
+  const expectedFromMs = expectedFrom?.getTime() ?? -Infinity;
+  const beforeExpected = (at: Date): boolean => at.getTime() < expectedFromMs;
+  // A pre-creation row that records nothing: pending, or an auto-miss inside
+  // the creation day's placeholder reach (see `expectedFrom`).
+  const recordsNothing = (i: HistoryIntake): boolean => {
+    if (i.skipped || !beforeExpected(i.scheduledFor)) return false;
+    if (!i.autoMissed) return true;
+    return i.scheduledFor.getTime() >= expectedFromMs - PLACEHOLDER_REACH_MS;
+  };
   // Per-band claim: the intake attributed to it + the resolved status.
   const claim = new Map<
     SlotBand,
@@ -155,6 +206,9 @@ export function reconstructDoseHistory(
   const taken = intakes.filter((i) => i.takenAt !== null && !i.pinned);
 
   for (const i of anchored) {
+    // A pre-creation placeholder records nothing: drop it whether or not
+    // its slot was minted.
+    if (recordsNothing(i)) continue;
     const band = nearestAnchorBand(i.scheduledFor, bands);
     if (band && !claim.has(band)) {
       // Status is time-aware for a pending row: the projector / reminder
@@ -184,8 +238,9 @@ export function reconstructDoseHistory(
   // v1.15.20 — pinned takes bind by their stored slot anchor, NOT by
   // takenAt-band membership: the whole point of a pin is that the take sits
   // outside (or past the tail of) the band it belongs to. Status never
-  // flatters: taken_late, unless the takenAt happens to sit inside the
-  // slot's own on-time band anyway. A pin whose slot is gone (schedule
+  // flatters: taken_late, unless the takenAt sits where band attribution
+  // would read it on time anyway, the early grace included, so the same
+  // take reads the same pinned or not. A pin whose slot is gone (schedule
   // changed) or already claimed falls through to ad-hoc so nothing vanishes.
   for (const i of pinnedTaken) {
     // v1.16.0 — a released pin ("Zuordnung lösen") persists USER_PIN with
@@ -201,7 +256,8 @@ export function reconstructDoseHistory(
     if (band && !claim.has(band)) {
       const t = (i.takenAt as Date).getTime();
       const onTime =
-        t >= band.onTimeStart.getTime() && t <= band.onTimeEnd.getTime();
+        t >= (band.earlyStart ?? band.onTimeStart).getTime() &&
+        t <= band.onTimeEnd.getTime();
       claim.set(band, {
         intake: i,
         status: onTime ? "taken_on_time" : "taken_late",
@@ -224,7 +280,13 @@ export function reconstructDoseHistory(
     }
   }
 
-  const rows: DoseHistoryRow[] = bands.map((band) => {
+  // A slot before the medication existed stays absent unless a recorded
+  // dose claimed it above.
+  const visibleBands = bands.filter(
+    (band) => claim.has(band) || !beforeExpected(band.at),
+  );
+
+  const rows: DoseHistoryRow[] = visibleBands.map((band) => {
     const c = claim.get(band);
     if (c) {
       return {
@@ -257,7 +319,7 @@ export function reconstructDoseHistory(
     // Orphaned skips (no takenAt) carry no take to attribute, so no context.
     const nearestSlot =
       i.takenAt !== null
-        ? suggestNearestSlot(i.takenAt, bands, (band) => claim.has(band))
+        ? suggestNearestSlot(i.takenAt, visibleBands, (band) => claim.has(band))
         : null;
     rows.push({
       kind: "ad_hoc",
diff --git a/src/lib/medications/scheduling/schedule-eras.ts b/src/lib/medications/scheduling/schedule-eras.ts
index 095e58a9b..481f5f5dc 100644
--- a/src/lib/medications/scheduling/schedule-eras.ts
+++ b/src/lib/medications/scheduling/schedule-eras.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@
  * Era rules:
  *   - revisions are chained: `validFrom` = previous revision's `validUntil`
  *     (or `medication.createdAt` for the first), `validUntil` = the replace
- *     instant. The LIVE rows cover `[newest validUntil, ∞)`.
+ *     instant. The LIVE rows cover `[newest validUntil, ∞)`. The first era
+ *     also covers any range before its `validFrom`, so a pre-creation slot
+ *     mints against the schedule that was live first.
  *   - boundary: a slot belongs to the era its ANCHOR lies in. Eras mint
  *     with an inclusive sub-range capped 1 ms short of `validUntil`, so an
  *     anchor exactly at the boundary mints in the NEXT era only. On-time /
@@ -171,10 +173,19 @@ export function segmentRangeIntoEras(
   const sorted = revisions
     .filter((r) => r.supersededByRevisionId == null)
     .sort((a, b) => a.validFrom.getTime() - b.validFrom.getTime());
-  for (const revision of sorted) {
-    const from = new Date(
-      Math.max(revision.validFrom.getTime(), range.from.getTime()),
-    );
+  for (const [index, revision] of sorted.entries()) {
+    // The earliest era also covers the time before its `validFrom` (the
+    // medication's creation): with no revision that stretch mints against
+    // the live rows, so with revisions it mints against the schedule that
+    // was live first. A dose recorded for a slot before the creation then
+    // meets its slot either way (#1028); unclaimed pre-creation slots are
+    // dropped by the ledger.
+    const from =
+      index === 0
+        ? range.from
+        : new Date(
+            Math.max(revision.validFrom.getTime(), range.from.getTime()),
+          );
     // Inclusive sub-range capped 1 ms short of `validUntil` — the anchor
     // boundary rule: a slot exactly at the boundary belongs to the era
     // that begins there, never to the one ending there.
diff --git a/src/lib/openapi/routes/medications/schemas.ts b/src/lib/openapi/routes/medications/schemas.ts
index 47a2bd6e3..3390b68a2 100644
--- a/src/lib/openapi/routes/medications/schemas.ts
+++ b/src/lib/openapi/routes/medications/schemas.ts
@@ -571,7 +571,7 @@ export const complianceResult = z
       .int()
       .nonnegative()
       .describe(
-        "Full denominator over the window: `taken + skipped + missed`. Cadence-aware and clamped to the medication's `createdAt`.",
+        "Full denominator over the window: `taken + skipped + missed`. Cadence-aware. A slot from before the medication's `createdAt` counts only when a recorded row (a take, a skip, or a miss carried in with restored history) claims it, so the days before the medication existed are never missed.",
       ),
     taken: z.number().int().nonnegative(),
     skipped: z
@@ -911,7 +911,7 @@ export const doseHistoryQuery = z.object({
     .datetime({ offset: true })
     .optional()
     .describe(
-      "Window start (inclusive). Defaults to 90 days before `to`; clamped to a 366-day span floor. Recorded doses are returned from this instant; expected slots are not minted before the medication's `createdAt`.",
+      "Window start (inclusive). Defaults to 90 days before `to`; clamped to a 366-day span floor. Recorded doses are returned from this instant. A slot from before the medication's `createdAt` appears only when a recorded row (a take, a skip, or a miss carried in with restored history) claims it; the server's own placeholder for such a slot is not returned.",
     ),
   to: z.iso
     .datetime({ offset: true })
diff --git a/tests/integration/backup-round-trip.test.ts b/tests/integration/backup-round-trip.test.ts
index 8376beb3e..516d48541 100644
--- a/tests/integration/backup-round-trip.test.ts
+++ b/tests/integration/backup-round-trip.test.ts
@@ -2890,4 +2890,63 @@ describe("every model the plan claims two-ended survives a real restore", () =>
       UNREADABLE_EXPORT_MARKER,
     );
   });
+
+  /**
+   * #1028 — a medication's creation instant is the floor of its expected
+   * slots: every adherence surface counts a slot before it only when a
+   * recorded dose claims it. A restore that stamped the restore time as the
+   * creation turned the whole restored history into "before the medication
+   * existed", so its misses dropped out of the rate. Both file purposes must
+   * bring the creation instant back.
+   */
+  for (const purpose of ["portable-export", "disaster-recovery"] as const) {
+    it(`restores a medication's creation instant from a ${purpose} file`, async () => {
+      const prisma = getPrismaClient();
+      await seedAdminSession(prisma);
+      await createOwner(prisma);
+      const createdAt = AT("2025-11-03T16:05:00.000Z");
+      await prisma.medication.create({
+        data: {
+          userId: OWNER_ID,
+          name: "Metformin",
+          dose: "500mg",
+          createdAt,
+          schedules: {
+            create: {
+              windowStart: "08:00",
+              windowEnd: "08:00",
+              timesOfDay: ["08:00"],
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      });
+
+      const { payload } = await buildFullBackupPayload(prisma, OWNER_ID, {
+        purpose,
+      });
+      await prisma.user.delete({ where: { id: OWNER_ID } });
+      await createOwner(prisma);
+      const backup = await prisma.dataBackup.create({
+        data: {
+          userId: OWNER_ID,
+          type: "TWO_ENDED_ROUND_TRIP",
+          data: encrypt(JSON.stringify(payload)),
+        },
+      });
+      const response = await POST(
+        new Request(`http://localhost/api/admin/backups/${backup.id}/restore`, {
+          method: "POST",
+          headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
+          body: JSON.stringify({ confirm: "RESTORE" }),
+        }) as never,
+        { params: Promise.resolve({ id: backup.id }) },
+      );
+      expect(response.status, JSON.stringify(await response.json())).toBe(200);
+
+      const restored = await prisma.medication.findFirstOrThrow({
+        where: { userId: OWNER_ID, name: "Metformin" },
+      });
+      expect(restored.createdAt.toISOString()).toBe(createdAt.toISOString());
+    });
+  }
 });
diff --git a/tests/integration/dose-history-pre-creation-slots.test.ts b/tests/integration/dose-history-pre-creation-slots.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dbde5f42a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/dose-history-pre-creation-slots.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,295 @@
+/**
+ * #1028 — a medication added in the afternoon, dosed 09:00 / 14:00 / 21:00.
+ *
+ * The 14:00 dose of the creation day is recorded afterwards through the real
+ * intake route, the 21:00 dose likewise, and the 09:00 slot of that day holds
+ * only the pending placeholder the today projector mints for every slot of
+ * the day, stamped auto-missed by the hourly pass. The Verlauf ledger and the
+ * compliance payload must both read that day as two slots taken on time: the
+ * 14:00 dose on its own slot (not an off-schedule take "due" at 21:00), and
+ * no 09:00 row at all, since the medication did not exist yet.
+ *
+ * Everything goes through the shipped `POST` / `GET` exports against Postgres,
+ * so the write-side slot resolution, the stored rows and both read models are
+ * exercised in one pipe.
+ */
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+import { NextRequest } from "next/server";
+
+import { cookieJar, headerJar } from "./mock-next-headers";
+import { getPrismaClient, truncateAllTables } from "./setup";
+
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+
+import { getMissFreeDayKeys } from "@/lib/gamification/care-metrics";
+import { runIntakeAutoSkipPass } from "@/lib/jobs/intake-auto-skip";
+import { localHmAsUtc } from "@/lib/tz/local-day";
+import { userDayKey } from "@/lib/tz/format";
+
+vi.mock("next/headers", async () => {
+  const { cookieJar, headerJar } = await import("./mock-next-headers");
+  return {
+    headers: vi.fn(async () => ({
+      get: (name: string) => headerJar.get(name.toLowerCase()) ?? null,
+    })),
+    cookies: vi.fn(async () => ({
+      get: (name: string) => {
+        const value = cookieJar.get(name);
+        return value ? { name, value } : undefined;
+      },
+      set: (name: string, value: string) => {
+        cookieJar.set(name, value);
+      },
+      delete: (name: string) => {
+        cookieJar.delete(name);
+      },
+    })),
+  };
+});
+
+vi.mock("@/lib/db-compat", () => ({
+  ensureDbCompatibility: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+}));
+
+const DAY_MS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+
+type Handler = (
+  request: NextRequest,
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+  context: { params: Promise<any> },
+) => Promise<Response>;
+
+let counter = 0;
+
+async function signedInUser(tz: string) {
+  const suffix = `precreation-${counter++}`;
+  const user = await getPrismaClient().user.create({
+    data: {
+      username: `pc-${suffix}`,
+      email: `pc-${suffix}@example.test`,
+      role: "USER",
+      timezone: tz,
+    },
+  });
+  const session = await getPrismaClient().session.create({
+    data: { userId: user.id, expiresAt: new Date(Date.now() + 60_000) },
+  });
+  cookieJar.set("healthlog_session", session.id);
+  return user;
+}
+
+async function postIntake(medicationId: string, body: unknown) {
+  const { POST } = await import("@/app/api/medications/[id]/intake/route");
+  return (POST as Handler)(
+    new NextRequest(`http://localhost/api/medications/${medicationId}/intake`, {
+      method: "POST",
+      headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
+      body: JSON.stringify(body),
+    }),
+    { params: Promise.resolve({ id: medicationId }) },
+  );
+}
+
+async function getJson(path: string, medicationId: string) {
+  const route =
+    path === "dose-history"
+      ? await import("@/app/api/medications/[id]/dose-history/route")
+      : await import("@/app/api/medications/[id]/compliance/route");
+  const from = new Date(Date.now() - 90 * DAY_MS).toISOString();
+  const response = await (route.GET as Handler)(
+    new NextRequest(
+      `http://localhost/api/medications/${medicationId}/${path}?from=${encodeURIComponent(from)}`,
+      { method: "GET" },
+    ),
+    { params: Promise.resolve({ id: medicationId }) },
+  );
+  expect(response.status).toBe(200);
+  return (await response.json()).data;
+}
+
+beforeEach(async () => {
+  await truncateAllTables(getPrismaClient());
+  cookieJar.clear();
+  headerJar.clear();
+});
+
+describe("a medication added mid-day (#1028)", () => {
+  for (const tz of ["Asia/Kolkata", "America/New_York"]) {
+    it(`reads the creation day as two slots taken on time (${tz})`, async () => {
+      const prisma = getPrismaClient();
+      const user = await signedInUser(tz);
+      // Two days back, so every slot of the creation day is long settled
+      // whatever the clock says when the suite runs.
+      const day = new Date(Date.now() - 2 * DAY_MS);
+      const at = (h: number, m = 0) => localHmAsUtc(day, tz, h, m);
+
+      const med = await prisma.medication.create({
+        data: {
+          userId: user.id,
+          name: "Amoxicillin",
+          dose: "500mg",
+          active: true,
+          createdAt: at(16, 5),
+          schedules: {
+            create: {
+              windowStart: "09:00",
+              windowEnd: "09:00",
+              timesOfDay: ["09:00", "14:00", "21:00"],
+              daysOfWeek: null,
+              scheduleType: "SCHEDULED",
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      });
+
+      // The placeholder the today projector minted for the 09:00 slot,
+      // stamped by the auto-miss pass.
+      await prisma.medicationIntakeEvent.create({
+        data: {
+          userId: user.id,
+          medicationId: med.id,
+          scheduledFor: at(9),
+          takenAt: null,
+          skipped: false,
+          autoMissed: true,
+          source: "REMINDER",
+        },
+      });
+
+      for (const h of [14, 21]) {
+        const response = await postIntake(med.id, {
+          skipped: false,
+          scheduledFor: at(h).toISOString(),
+          takenAt: at(h).toISOString(),
+        });
+        expect(response.status).toBe(201);
+      }
+
+      const dayKey = userDayKey(at(12), tz);
+      const ledger = await getJson("dose-history", med.id);
+      const creationDay = (
+        ledger.rows as Array<{
+          kind: string;
+          at: string;
+          status: string;
+        }>
+      ).filter((r) => userDayKey(new Date(r.at), tz) === dayKey);
+      expect(creationDay.map((r) => [r.at, r.kind, r.status])).toEqual([
+        [at(14).toISOString(), "slot", "taken_on_time"],
+        [at(21).toISOString(), "slot", "taken_on_time"],
+      ]);
+
+      const compliance = await getJson("compliance", med.id);
+      expect(compliance.dailyCompliance[dayKey]).toMatchObject({
+        expected: 2,
+        taken: 2,
+        onTime: 2,
+      });
+    });
+  }
+});
+
+/**
+ * The placeholder itself. The auto-miss pass must leave a placeholder on a
+ * slot before the medication existed pending, so the raw-row readers (the
+ * miss-free streak first) never see a forgotten dose on the creation day;
+ * and the migration returns the ones an earlier pass already stamped,
+ * without touching an auto-miss that history carried in from before.
+ */
+describe("placeholders on slots before the medication existed (#1028)", () => {
+  const tz = "Asia/Kolkata";
+
+  async function seed() {
+    const prisma = getPrismaClient();
+    const user = await signedInUser(tz);
+    const day = new Date(Date.now() - 2 * DAY_MS);
+    const at = (h: number, m = 0) => localHmAsUtc(day, tz, h, m);
+    const med = await prisma.medication.create({
+      data: {
+        userId: user.id,
+        name: "Amoxicillin",
+        dose: "500mg",
+        createdAt: at(16, 5),
+        schedules: {
+          create: {
+            windowStart: "09:00",
+            windowEnd: "09:00",
+            timesOfDay: ["09:00", "14:00", "21:00"],
+            scheduleType: "SCHEDULED",
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    });
+    const row = (
+      scheduledFor: Date,
+      extra: { takenAt?: Date; autoMissed?: boolean } = {},
+    ) =>
+      prisma.medicationIntakeEvent.create({
+        data: {
+          userId: user.id,
+          medicationId: med.id,
+          scheduledFor,
+          takenAt: extra.takenAt ?? null,
+          skipped: false,
+          autoMissed: extra.autoMissed ?? false,
+          source: "REMINDER",
+        },
+      });
+    return { prisma, user, med, at, row };
+  }
+
+  it("the auto-miss pass leaves it pending and the miss-free streak keeps the day", async () => {
+    const { prisma, user, at, row } = await seed();
+    const placeholder = await row(at(9));
+    await row(at(14), { takenAt: at(14) });
+    await row(at(21), { takenAt: at(21) });
+
+    await runIntakeAutoSkipPass(prisma, { nowMs: Date.now() });
+
+    const after = await prisma.medicationIntakeEvent.findUniqueOrThrow({
+      where: { id: placeholder.id },
+    });
+    expect(after.autoMissed).toBe(false);
+
+    const events = await prisma.medicationIntakeEvent.findMany({
+      where: { userId: user.id, deletedAt: null },
+      select: {
+        scheduledFor: true,
+        takenAt: true,
+        skipped: true,
+        autoMissed: true,
+      },
+    });
+    expect(getMissFreeDayKeys(events, tz)).toContain(userDayKey(at(12), tz));
+  });
+
+  it("the migration returns an already stamped placeholder and nothing else", async () => {
+    const { prisma, at, row } = await seed();
+    const placeholder = await row(at(9), { autoMissed: true });
+    // An auto-miss from well before the creation (history a restore carried
+    // in) and one after it are real misses and stay.
+    const carried = await row(new Date(at(9).getTime() - 3 * DAY_MS), {
+      autoMissed: true,
+    });
+    const afterCreation = await row(at(21), { autoMissed: true });
+
+    const sql = readFileSync(
+      join(
+        process.cwd(),
+        "prisma/migrations/0346_release_pre_creation_placeholder_misses/migration.sql",
+      ),
+      "utf8",
+    );
+    await prisma.$executeRawUnsafe(sql);
+
+    const read = (id: string) =>
+      prisma.medicationIntakeEvent.findUniqueOrThrow({ where: { id } });
+    const released = await read(placeholder.id);
+    expect(released.autoMissed).toBe(false);
+    expect(released.syncVersion).toBe(placeholder.syncVersion + 1);
+    expect((await read(carried.id)).autoMissed).toBe(true);
+    expect((await read(afterCreation.id)).autoMissed).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tests/integration/intake-backfill-missed-slot.test.ts b/tests/integration/intake-backfill-missed-slot.test.ts
index 9df84f04f..c4b613ffa 100644
--- a/tests/integration/intake-backfill-missed-slot.test.ts
+++ b/tests/integration/intake-backfill-missed-slot.test.ts
@@ -100,8 +100,9 @@ async function seedTwiceDaily(userId: string, hours: { a: number; b: number }) {
       dose: "5mg",
       active: true,
       startsOn: new Date(Date.now() - 30 * DAY_MS),
-      // The ledger clamps its window floor to the medication's creation, so a
-      // medication minted at test time would have no yesterday to read back.
+      // The ledger shows an unrecorded slot only from the medication's
+      // creation on, so a medication minted at test time would have no
+      // missed yesterday to read back.
       createdAt: new Date(Date.now() - 30 * DAY_MS),
       schedules: {
         create: {