diff --git a/apps/server/src/routes/turns.ts b/apps/server/src/routes/turns.ts
index 9a729c45..11edf65e 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/routes/turns.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/routes/turns.ts
@@ -455,7 +455,7 @@ export async function executeTurn(
         ...(partialOutput !== undefined ? { output: partialOutput } : {}),
         error: {
           code: result.code,
-          message: indeterminateMessage(result.code),
+          message: indeterminateMessage(result.code, partialOutput !== undefined),
           retryable: result.code === "turn_timeout" || result.code === "turn_cancelled",
           ...(result.diagnostic !== "" ? { diagnostic: result.diagnostic } : {}),
         },
@@ -585,8 +585,6 @@ export async function handleTurnCancel(
 }
 
 const INDETERMINATE_MESSAGES: Record<string, string> = {
-  turn_timeout: "the turn exceeded its time budget and was terminated; partial output was preserved",
-  turn_cancelled: "the turn was cancelled by the operator; partial output was preserved",
   turn_engine_unavailable: "the engine process could not be started; check that the engine CLI is installed and reachable",
   turn_protocol_invalid: "the engine output did not conform to the expected protocol; no automatic retry was attempted",
   turn_driver_failure: "the driver encountered an internal error; no automatic retry was attempted",
@@ -594,7 +592,17 @@ const INDETERMINATE_MESSAGES: Record<string, string> = {
   turn_process_exit_1: "the engine process exited with status 1; no automatic retry was attempted",
 };
 
-function indeterminateMessage(code: string): string {
+function indeterminateMessage(code: string, hasPartialOutput: boolean): string {
+  if (code === "turn_timeout") {
+    return hasPartialOutput
+      ? "the turn exceeded its time budget and was terminated; partial output was preserved"
+      : "the turn exceeded its time budget and was terminated before any output was received";
+  }
+  if (code === "turn_cancelled") {
+    return hasPartialOutput
+      ? "the turn was cancelled by the operator; partial output was preserved"
+      : "the turn was cancelled by the operator before any output was received";
+  }
   return INDETERMINATE_MESSAGES[code] ?? `the engine process ended unexpectedly (code: ${code}); no automatic retry was attempted`;
 }
 
diff --git a/apps/server/test/turns-cancel.test.ts b/apps/server/test/turns-cancel.test.ts
index a74b5fda..e2933515 100644
--- a/apps/server/test/turns-cancel.test.ts
+++ b/apps/server/test/turns-cancel.test.ts
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ test("POST /turns/cancel aborts the in-flight turn as indeterminate/turn_cancell
     assert.equal(record.status, "indeterminate");
     assert.deepEqual(record.error, {
       code: "turn_cancelled",
-      message: "the turn was cancelled by the operator; partial output was preserved",
+      message: "the turn was cancelled by the operator before any output was received",
       retryable: true,
     });
 
diff --git a/apps/server/test/turns.test.ts b/apps/server/test/turns.test.ts
index 0eccb849..056eede1 100644
--- a/apps/server/test/turns.test.ts
+++ b/apps/server/test/turns.test.ts
@@ -815,6 +815,30 @@ test("turn_timeout message names the timeout and preserved output (AC-003)", asy
   }
 });
 
+test("turn_timeout does not claim to preserve output when no delta arrived", async () => {
+  const turnDriver = new FakeTurnDriver({
+    status: "indeterminate",
+    events: [{ type: "run.started", runId: "run-1", timestamp: "2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z" }],
+    diagnostic: "",
+    code: "turn_timeout",
+  });
+  const server = await startTestServer(undefined, turnDriver);
+  const workspace = await copyExampleWorkspace();
+  try {
+    await openWorkspace(server.baseUrl, server.token, workspace);
+    const response = await api(server.baseUrl, "/turns", {
+      method: "POST",
+      token: server.token,
+      body: { positionId: "repo-owner", input: "hello", engine: "qoder" },
+    });
+    const record = response.body as { error: { message: string }; output?: string };
+    assert.match(record.error.message, /before any output was received/i);
+    assert.equal(record.output, undefined);
+  } finally {
+    await server.close();
+  }
+});
+
 test("diagnostic from engine stderr reaches the turn record (AC-004)", async () => {
   const turnDriver = new FakeTurnDriver({
     status: "indeterminate",