diff --git a/client/internal/ipcauth/authz_gate.go b/client/internal/ipcauth/authz_gate.go
index f3173c9e9..722aa9a83 100644
--- a/client/internal/ipcauth/authz_gate.go
+++ b/client/internal/ipcauth/authz_gate.go
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ func (g *AuthzGate) authorize(ctx context.Context, method string, msg any) (cont
 		if presentable := presentableHandleError(handle, handleErr); presentable != nil {
 			return ctx, presentable
 		}
-		return ctx, denyPolicyLevel(req, policy)
+		return ctx, denyPolicyLevel(req, policy, target)
 	}
 	for _, rule := range policy.Rules {
 		if err := rule(req); err != nil {
diff --git a/client/internal/ipcauth/authz_level.go b/client/internal/ipcauth/authz_level.go
index cc7c87173..e0cecb9ce 100644
--- a/client/internal/ipcauth/authz_level.go
+++ b/client/internal/ipcauth/authz_level.go
@@ -64,17 +64,14 @@ func denyLevel(r Request, want AuthzLevel) error {
 
 // denyPolicyLevel refuses a caller at the gate, where the policy is in hand.
 //
-// Requiring privilege is the one denial a caller can act on, so it carries the
-// elevated command rather than a bare refusal. A privileged method that declares
-// no action keeps the plain message. Rules deny through denyLevel instead: they
-// cannot reach the policy table without an initialization cycle, and no rule
-// requires privilege.
-func denyPolicyLevel(r Request, p MethodPolicy) error {
+// A privileged method that declares no action keeps the plain message. Rules
+// deny through denyLevel instead: they cannot reach the policy table without an
+// initialization cycle, and no rule requires privilege.
+func denyPolicyLevel(r Request, p MethodPolicy, target Target) error {
 	switch p.Level {
 	case AuthzLevelPrivileged:
 		if p.Action != "" {
-			actor, command := RequiredActor(p.Command)
-			return PrivilegeError(PrivilegeSummary(p.Action, actor), command)
+			return denyPrivileged(p, target)
 		}
 
 	case AuthzLevelSessionHolder:
@@ -83,11 +80,27 @@ func denyPolicyLevel(r Request, p MethodPolicy) error {
 		if r.Level == AuthzLevelProfileOwner {
 			return SessionHeldError(p.Action)
 		}
-		return NotOwnerError(p.Action)
+		return denyOwnership(p.Action, r.Identity, target)
 
 	case AuthzLevelProfileOwner:
-		return NotOwnerError(p.Action)
+		return denyOwnership(p.Action, r.Identity, target)
 	}
 
 	return denyLevel(r, p.Level)
 }
+
+// denyPrivileged refuses a method that needs a privileged caller.
+// Claiming a profile is currently the only privileged method
+func denyPrivileged(p MethodPolicy, target Target) error {
+	actor, command := RequiredActor(ClaimCommand(target.Handle))
+	return PrivilegeError(PrivilegeSummary(p.Action, actor), command)
+}
+
+// denyOwnership refuses a caller with no standing on the profile. Only a profile
+// nobody has claimed is theirs to put right, so only that one carries a command.
+func denyOwnership(action string, id Identity, target Target) error {
+	if target.UnOwned {
+		return UnownedError(action, target.Handle, consoleLookup(id))
+	}
+	return NotOwnerError(action)
+}
diff --git a/client/internal/ipcauth/consoleuser.go b/client/internal/ipcauth/consoleuser.go
index 982d2c104..1114b4efa 100644
--- a/client/internal/ipcauth/consoleuser.go
+++ b/client/internal/ipcauth/consoleuser.go
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ func IsConsoleUser(id Identity) bool {
 	return guardConsoleLookup(id, isConsoleUser)
 }
 
+// consoleLookup is a variable so a test can decide whether a caller is at the
+// console without the machine running it having a seat of its own.
+var consoleLookup = IsConsoleUser
+
 // guardConsoleLookup runs a platform lookup and turns a panic out of it into
 // "cannot confirm".
 func guardConsoleLookup(id Identity, lookup func(Identity) bool) (atConsole bool) {
diff --git a/client/internal/ipcauth/methods.go b/client/internal/ipcauth/methods.go
index 1ad8b5831..bb1a52762 100644
--- a/client/internal/ipcauth/methods.go
+++ b/client/internal/ipcauth/methods.go
@@ -45,13 +45,8 @@ type MethodPolicy struct {
 	Audit          bool
 	TargetsProfile bool
 
-	// Action and Command turn a privilege denial into guidance the caller can
-	// act on. Action reads as the subject of a sentence ("claiming a profile"),
-	// Command is the same operation run with the privileges it needs. Only read
-	// when Level is AuthzLevelPrivileged, the one denial a caller can fix by
-	// running as somebody else.
-	Action  string
-	Command string
+	// Action reads as the subject of a refusal message ("claiming a profile").
+	Action string
 }
 
 // RequireHolderForFullStatus escalates a StatusRequest that asks for peer detail
@@ -133,14 +128,12 @@ var methodPolicies = map[string]MethodPolicy{
 	servicePath + "TracePacket":                {Level: AuthzLevelSessionHolder, Action: "tracing a packet"},
 	servicePath + "TriggerUpdate":              {Level: AuthzLevelSessionHolder, Audit: true, Action: "starting an update"},
 
-	// Root or administrator only. Claiming names an arbitrary principal, so the
-	// caller asserts who a profile belongs to. Ownership does not enter it.
+	// Root or administrator only.
 	servicePath + "ClaimProfile": {
 		Level:          AuthzLevelPrivileged,
 		TargetsProfile: true,
 		Audit:          true,
 		Action:         "claiming a profile",
-		Command:        ElevatedCommand("netbird profile claim <profile>"),
 	},
 }
 
diff --git a/client/internal/ipcauth/privilege_denial_test.go b/client/internal/ipcauth/privilege_denial_test.go
index 9132f8833..6c5fe92c1 100644
--- a/client/internal/ipcauth/privilege_denial_test.go
+++ b/client/internal/ipcauth/privilege_denial_test.go
@@ -20,27 +20,24 @@ func TestPoliciesDeclareAnAction(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// A privileged method must also say how to satisfy it, since that is the one
-// refusal the caller can act on.
-func TestPrivilegedPoliciesDeclareGuidance(t *testing.T) {
+// A refusal that names no action cannot say what was refused, and a privileged
+// method drops to a bare message without one.
+func TestPrivilegedPoliciesDeclareAnAction(t *testing.T) {
 	for method, policy := range methodPolicies {
 		if policy.Level != AuthzLevelPrivileged {
 			continue
 		}
-		assert.NotEmpty(t, policy.Command, "%s requires privilege but declares no Command", method)
+		assert.NotEmpty(t, policy.Action, "%s requires privilege but declares no Action", method)
 	}
 }
 
-// Only privilege is something the caller can run their way out of. The other
-// refusals explain and stop there.
-func TestOnlyPrivilegedPoliciesDeclareACommand(t *testing.T) {
-	for method, policy := range methodPolicies {
-		if policy.Level == AuthzLevelPrivileged {
-			continue
-		}
-		assert.Empty(t, policy.Command, "%s is not privileged but offers a command", method)
-	}
-}
+// ownedByAnother is the profile most of these refusals are about: it exists and
+// records an owner, that owner is simply not this caller.
+var ownedByAnother = Target{Path: "/profiles/someone-else.json"}
+
+// unownedProfile records no owner, which is what a machine set up with nobody at
+// its console leaves behind.
+var unownedProfile = Target{Path: "/profiles/default.json", UnOwned: true, Handle: "default"}
 
 func TestDenyPolicyLevelCarriesPrivilegeGuidance(t *testing.T) {
 	req := Request{
@@ -49,7 +46,7 @@ func TestDenyPolicyLevelCarriesPrivilegeGuidance(t *testing.T) {
 		Method:   servicePath + "ClaimProfile",
 	}
 
-	err := denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicies[servicePath+"ClaimProfile"])
+	err := denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicies[servicePath+"ClaimProfile"], unownedProfile)
 	require.Error(t, err)
 
 	st := gstatus.Convert(err)
@@ -65,7 +62,8 @@ func TestDenyPolicyLevelCarriesPrivilegeGuidance(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, ErrorReasonPrivilegeRequired, info.GetReason())
 	assert.Equal(t, ErrorDomain, info.GetDomain())
 	assert.NotEmpty(t, info.GetMetadata()[ErrorMetaSummary])
-	assert.NotEmpty(t, info.GetMetadata()[ErrorMetaCommand])
+	assert.Contains(t, info.GetMetadata()[ErrorMetaCommand], "netbird profile claim default",
+		"the guidance names the profile the request resolved to, not a placeholder")
 }
 
 // A profile that belongs to somebody else is explained, not answered with sudo.
@@ -77,7 +75,7 @@ func TestDenyPolicyLevelExplainsAProfileOwnedByAnother(t *testing.T) {
 		State:    stubState{},
 	}
 
-	info := denialDetail(t, denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicies[servicePath+"SetConfig"]))
+	info := denialDetail(t, denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicies[servicePath+"SetConfig"], ownedByAnother))
 	assert.Equal(t, ErrorReasonNotProfileOwner, info.GetReason())
 	assert.Contains(t, info.GetMetadata()[ErrorMetaSummary], "belongs to another user")
 
@@ -94,7 +92,7 @@ func TestDenyPolicyLevelWithoutGuidanceStaysBare(t *testing.T) {
 		Method:   servicePath + "NotARealMethod",
 	}
 
-	err := denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicyFor(req.Method))
+	err := denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicyFor(req.Method), ownedByAnother)
 	require.Error(t, err)
 	assert.Equal(t, codes.PermissionDenied, gstatus.Convert(err).Code())
 	assert.Empty(t, gstatus.Convert(err).Details())
@@ -126,7 +124,7 @@ func TestDenyPolicyLevelExplainsAHeldSession(t *testing.T) {
 		Method:   servicePath + "Up",
 	}
 
-	info := denialDetail(t, denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicies[servicePath+"Up"]))
+	info := denialDetail(t, denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicies[servicePath+"Up"], ownedByAnother))
 	assert.Equal(t, ErrorReasonSessionHeld, info.GetReason())
 
 	summary := info.GetMetadata()[ErrorMetaSummary]
@@ -148,7 +146,7 @@ func TestDenyPolicyLevelBelowProfileOwnerBlamesOwnership(t *testing.T) {
 		Method:   servicePath + "Up",
 	}
 
-	info := denialDetail(t, denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicies[servicePath+"Up"]))
+	info := denialDetail(t, denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicies[servicePath+"Up"], ownedByAnother))
 	assert.Equal(t, ErrorReasonNotProfileOwner, info.GetReason())
 	assert.Contains(t, info.GetMetadata()[ErrorMetaSummary], "belongs to another user")
 	assert.NotContains(t, info.GetMetadata()[ErrorMetaSummary], "connected",
@@ -236,3 +234,152 @@ func TestDenialFromFallsBackToTheStatusMessage(t *testing.T) {
 	require.True(t, ok)
 	assert.Equal(t, "refused for reasons", denial.Summary)
 }
+
+// A profile nobody has claimed is the headless install: the caller is not being
+// kept out of somebody else's profile, they are being told to record an owner.
+func TestDenyPolicyLevelOffersTheClaimForAnUnownedProfile(t *testing.T) {
+	req := Request{
+		Identity: KnownForTest(Identity{UID: 1000}),
+		Level:    AuthzLevelIdentified,
+		Method:   servicePath + "Up",
+	}
+
+	stubConsoleLookup(t, false)
+
+	info := denialDetail(t, denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicies[servicePath+"Up"], unownedProfile))
+	assert.Equal(t, ErrorReasonProfileUnowned, info.GetReason())
+
+	summary := info.GetMetadata()[ErrorMetaSummary]
+	assert.Contains(t, summary, "Connecting", "the summary names what was refused")
+	assert.Contains(t, summary, "no owner on record")
+	assert.NotContains(t, summary, "another user",
+		"nobody owns it, so blaming another user would be untrue")
+
+	// Without the sudo prefix, which RequiredActor drops for a daemon that is
+	// not itself privileged, as this test process is not.
+	assert.Contains(t, info.GetMetadata()[ErrorMetaCommand], "netbird profile claim default",
+		"the command names the profile that was refused")
+}
+
+// The same refusal reaches a method that only needs profile owner, so a settings
+// read on a fresh headless machine explains itself the same way connecting does.
+func TestDenyPolicyLevelOffersTheClaimBelowSessionHolderToo(t *testing.T) {
+	req := Request{
+		Identity: KnownForTest(Identity{UID: 1000}),
+		Level:    AuthzLevelIdentified,
+		Method:   servicePath + "GetConfig",
+	}
+
+	info := denialDetail(t, denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicies[servicePath+"GetConfig"], unownedProfile))
+	assert.Equal(t, ErrorReasonProfileUnowned, info.GetReason())
+	assert.Contains(t, info.GetMetadata()[ErrorMetaCommand], "netbird profile claim default")
+}
+
+// A session somebody else holds outranks the profile having no owner: the
+// connection is what is in the way, and ending it is the remedy.
+func TestDenyPolicyLevelKeepsTheHeldSessionAheadOfOwnership(t *testing.T) {
+	req := Request{
+		Identity: KnownForTest(Identity{UID: 1000}),
+		Level:    AuthzLevelProfileOwner,
+		Method:   servicePath + "Up",
+	}
+
+	info := denialDetail(t, denyPolicyLevel(req, methodPolicies[servicePath+"Up"], unownedProfile))
+	assert.Equal(t, ErrorReasonSessionHeld, info.GetReason())
+}
+
+// The claim command names the profile it is going to act on.
+func TestClaimCommandNamesTheProfile(t *testing.T) {
+	assert.Equal(t, ElevatedCommand("netbird profile claim default"), ClaimCommand("default"))
+	assert.Equal(t, ElevatedCommand("netbird profile claim <profile>"), ClaimCommand(""),
+		"with no profile to name the caller fills in the placeholder")
+}
+
+// stubConsoleLookup decides whether a caller counts as being at the console,
+// without the machine running the test having a seat of its own.
+func stubConsoleLookup(t *testing.T, atConsole bool) {
+	t.Helper()
+	orig := consoleLookup
+	consoleLookup = func(Identity) bool { return atConsole }
+	t.Cleanup(func() { consoleLookup = orig })
+}
+
+// A caller away from the console is told what normally claims a profile, since
+// a machine set up without one is how it goes unclaimed.
+func TestUnownedSummaryNamesTheConsoleAwayFromIt(t *testing.T) {
+	summary := unownedSummary("connecting", false)
+
+	assert.Contains(t, summary, "has no owner on record")
+	assert.Contains(t, summary, "console")
+	assert.Contains(t, summary, "An explicit claim of the profile is needed.")
+}
+
+// A caller at the console who still finds no owner got here another way, a
+// migration that did not finish among them.
+func TestUnownedSummaryStaysQuietAboutTheConsoleAtIt(t *testing.T) {
+	summary := unownedSummary("connecting", true)
+
+	assert.Contains(t, summary, "has no owner on record")
+	assert.NotContains(t, summary, "console")
+	assert.Contains(t, summary, "An explicit claim of the profile is needed.",
+		"the remedy is the same wherever the caller is sitting")
+}
+
+// The reason and the command do not move with the caller, only the explanation
+// of how the profile came to be unowned does.
+func TestDenyOwnershipKeepsTheClaimForAConsoleCaller(t *testing.T) {
+	stubConsoleLookup(t, true)
+
+	info := denialDetail(t, denyOwnership("connecting", KnownForTest(Identity{UID: 1000}), unownedProfile))
+	assert.Equal(t, ErrorReasonProfileUnowned, info.GetReason())
+	assert.Contains(t, info.GetMetadata()[ErrorMetaCommand], "netbird profile claim default")
+	assert.NotContains(t, info.GetMetadata()[ErrorMetaSummary], "console")
+}
+
+// Two commands put an authorization refusal right, ending the session and
+// recording an owner. Whatever a denial hands the caller is one of them.
+func TestDenialsOfferOnlyTheTwoRemedies(t *testing.T) {
+	_, down := RequiredActor(DownCommand())
+	_, claim := RequiredActor(ClaimCommand(unownedProfile.Handle))
+
+	for name, err := range map[string]error{
+		"privileged":   denyPrivileged(methodPolicies[servicePath+"ClaimProfile"], unownedProfile),
+		"session held": SessionHeldError("connecting"),
+		"unowned":      UnownedError("connecting", unownedProfile.Handle, false),
+		"not owner":    NotOwnerError("connecting"),
+	} {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			denial, ok := DenialFrom(err)
+			require.True(t, ok, "every refusal has to be machine readable")
+			if denial.Command == "" {
+				return
+			}
+			assert.Contains(t, []string{down, claim}, denial.Command,
+				"a refusal offered a command that is neither remedy")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// A sudo prefix already says who has to run the command, so repeating it in the
+// summary would be noise.
+func TestRemedyNoteStaysQuietBehindSudo(t *testing.T) {
+	assert.Empty(t, remedyNote("root", "sudo netbird down"))
+}
+
+// Windows has no sudo to prefix and neither does a delegating daemon, so the
+// summary is the only place that can name who must run the command.
+func TestRemedyNoteNamesTheActorWithoutSudo(t *testing.T) {
+	assert.Equal(t, " Running this requires administrator privileges.",
+		remedyNote("administrator privileges", "netbird down"))
+}
+
+// The refusal a user hits when somebody else holds the session has to say what
+// running the command it offers takes.
+func TestSessionHeldSaysWhatRunningTheCommandTakes(t *testing.T) {
+	denial, ok := DenialFrom(SessionHeldError("switching profile"))
+	require.True(t, ok)
+
+	actor, command := RequiredActor(DownCommand())
+	require.NotContains(t, command, "sudo ", "this test process runs a delegating daemon")
+	assert.Contains(t, denial.Summary, "Running this requires "+actor)
+}
diff --git a/client/internal/ipcauth/privileged.go b/client/internal/ipcauth/privileged.go
index 4da69cede..2a5fec76b 100644
--- a/client/internal/ipcauth/privileged.go
+++ b/client/internal/ipcauth/privileged.go
@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@ const (
 	// not what the method asked for, so telling the caller to elevate would send
 	// them the wrong way.
 	ErrorReasonNotProfileOwner = "NOT_PROFILE_OWNER"
+
+	// ErrorReasonProfileUnowned identifies a refusal caused by the profile
+	// recording no owner. It carries the command that records one.
+	ErrorReasonProfileUnowned = "PROFILE_UNOWNED"
 )
 
 // The identity of the process evaluating callers, captured once because it cannot
@@ -210,7 +214,8 @@ func PrivilegeError(summary, command string) error {
 // SessionHeldError refuses an operation because another user has the machine
 // connected.
 func SessionHeldError(action string) error {
-	return denialError(ErrorReasonSessionHeld, sessionHeldSummary(action), ElevatedCommand("netbird down"))
+	actor, command := RequiredActor(DownCommand())
+	return denialError(ErrorReasonSessionHeld, sessionHeldSummary(action)+remedyNote(actor, command), command)
 }
 
 // NotOwnerError refuses an operation because the profile it addresses belongs to
@@ -219,6 +224,36 @@ func NotOwnerError(action string) error {
 	return denialError(ErrorReasonNotProfileOwner, notOwnerSummary(action), "")
 }
 
+// UnownedError refuses an operation because the profile it addresses has no
+// owner on record, and names the command that gives it one. atConsole is whether
+// the caller sits at one of this machine's consoles.
+func UnownedError(action, handle string, atConsole bool) error {
+	actor, command := RequiredActor(ClaimCommand(handle))
+	return denialError(ErrorReasonProfileUnowned, unownedSummary(action, atConsole)+remedyNote(actor, command), command)
+}
+
+// remedyNote names who has to run the command a refusal offers.
+func remedyNote(actor, command string) string {
+	if strings.HasPrefix(command, "sudo ") {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return " Running this requires " + actor + "."
+}
+
+// DownCommand renders the elevated command that ends the live session.
+func DownCommand() string {
+	return ElevatedCommand("netbird down")
+}
+
+// ClaimCommand renders the elevated command that records an owner for a profile.
+// With no profile to name it keeps the placeholder for the caller to fill in.
+func ClaimCommand(handle string) string {
+	if handle == "" {
+		handle = "<profile>"
+	}
+	return ElevatedCommand("netbird profile claim " + handle)
+}
+
 // sessionHeldSummary says whose the connection is and why that settles it.
 func sessionHeldSummary(action string) string {
 	return refusedSubject(action) + " refused while another user has this machine connected. " +
@@ -233,6 +268,19 @@ func notOwnerSummary(action string) string {
 		"so use one of your own or ask an administrator to hand this one over."
 }
 
+// unownedSummary says the profile belongs to nobody yet and what changes that.
+// Only a caller away from the console is told about it, since a profile left
+// unclaimed while somebody is at one got that way for another reason.
+func unownedSummary(action string, atConsole bool) string {
+	cause := ""
+	if !atConsole {
+		cause = "A profile is claimed by the user who sets it up at this machine's console (in front of the machine), " +
+			"and nobody has done that here. "
+	}
+	return refusedSubject(action) + " refused because the profile it addresses has no owner on record. " +
+		cause + "An explicit claim of the profile is needed."
+}
+
 // refusedSubject opens a refusal with what was refused, falling back to the
 // command itself for a method that names no action.
 func refusedSubject(action string) string {
@@ -266,9 +314,7 @@ func denialError(reason, summary, command string) error {
 }
 
 // RequiredActor names who may perform the operation and adjusts the command to
-// match. A daemon that is not itself privileged delegates to its own identity, so
-// telling that host's user to become root is wrong twice over: root is not what the
-// daemon checks for, and a rootless container has neither root nor sudo.
+// match.
 func RequiredActor(command string) (string, string) {
 	self, delegates := SelfDelegatesTo()
 	if !delegates {
diff --git a/client/internal/ipcauth/target.go b/client/internal/ipcauth/target.go
index 5c0075a4a..f50e3e6f0 100644
--- a/client/internal/ipcauth/target.go
+++ b/client/internal/ipcauth/target.go
@@ -6,6 +6,11 @@ import "context"
 type Target struct {
 	Path  string
 	Owned bool
+	// UnOwned reports that the resolved profile records no owner.
+	UnOwned bool
+	// Handle is the resolved profile's ID, which a refusal names in the command
+	// it hands the caller. A request that named nothing still has one.
+	Handle string
 }
 
 type targetKey struct{}
diff --git a/client/server/server.go b/client/server/server.go
index 58506ef45..71776e69e 100644
--- a/client/server/server.go
+++ b/client/server/server.go
@@ -2932,7 +2932,7 @@ func targetFromMatch(id ipcauth.Identity, handle string, match profilemanager.Ha
 
 	switch {
 	case len(owned) == 1:
-		return ipcauth.Target{Path: owned[0].Path, Owned: true}, nil
+		return targetForProfile(owned[0], true), nil
 
 	case len(owned) > 1:
 		return ipcauth.Target{}, gstatus.Errorf(codes.InvalidArgument, "%v", &profilemanager.ErrAmbiguousHandle{
@@ -2943,13 +2943,25 @@ func targetFromMatch(id ipcauth.Identity, handle string, match profilemanager.Ha
 
 	case len(match.Profiles) > 0:
 		// The handle names a profile that is real but not the caller's.
-		return ipcauth.Target{Path: match.Profiles[0].Path}, nil
+		return targetForProfile(match.Profiles[0], false), nil
 
 	default:
 		return ipcauth.Target{}, gstatus.Errorf(codes.NotFound, "profile %q not found", handle)
 	}
 }
 
+// targetForProfile describes a resolved profile for the gate. UnOwned comes
+// off the profile rather than from owned, since a privileged caller may address
+// a profile nobody has claimed.
+func targetForProfile(p profilemanager.Profile, owned bool) ipcauth.Target {
+	return ipcauth.Target{
+		Path:    p.Path,
+		Owned:   owned,
+		UnOwned: len(p.Owners) == 0,
+		Handle:  p.ID.String(),
+	}
+}
+
 // matchHandleError renders a failed match as something the caller can act on.
 func matchHandleError(handle string, err error) error {
 	if errors.Is(err, profilemanager.ErrProfileNotFound) {
diff --git a/client/server/server_resolvetarget_test.go b/client/server/server_resolvetarget_test.go
index deb334d06..75687bd22 100644
--- a/client/server/server_resolvetarget_test.go
+++ b/client/server/server_resolvetarget_test.go
@@ -137,6 +137,28 @@ func TestResolveTarget_AnotherUsersProfileIsNotOwned(t *testing.T) {
 	target, err := s.ResolveTarget(foreignIdentity(), activeProfile)
 	require.NoError(t, err, "the profile is there, so nothing about the handle is wrong")
 	require.False(t, target.Owned, "a profile the caller does not own is not theirs to act on")
+	require.False(t, target.UnOwned, "it has an owner, just not this caller")
+}
+
+// A profile nobody has claimed resolves like any other and reports itself
+// unowned, so the refusal can point at the claim.
+func TestResolveTarget_UnownedProfileResolvesAsUnOwned(t *testing.T) {
+	s, _, _, _, _ := setupServerWithProfile(t)
+
+	// Not the default profile, whose own claim path would stamp an owner on it
+	// the moment a caller at a console resolved it.
+	unowned := "unowned-profile"
+	_, err := profilemanager.UpdateOrCreateConfig(profilemanager.ConfigInput{
+		ConfigPath:    filepath.Join(profilemanager.DefaultConfigPathDir, unowned+".json"),
+		ManagementURL: "https://api.netbird.io:443",
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	target, err := s.ResolveTarget(unprivilegedIdentity(), unowned)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "the profile is there, so nothing about the handle is wrong")
+	require.False(t, target.Owned, "an unclaimed profile is nobody's to act on")
+	require.True(t, target.UnOwned, "nothing was ever stamped on it")
+	require.Equal(t, unowned, target.Handle, "the refusal names this in the claim command")
 }
 
 // Only a handle matching two of the caller's own profiles is genuinely
diff --git a/client/ui/i18n/locales/de/common.json b/client/ui/i18n/locales/de/common.json
index dbaa4b7a3..6dbd7c8db 100644
--- a/client/ui/i18n/locales/de/common.json
+++ b/client/ui/i18n/locales/de/common.json
@@ -1404,5 +1404,8 @@
     },
     "error.not_profile_owner": {
         "message": "Dieses Profil gehört einem anderen Benutzer."
+    },
+    "error.profile_unowned": {
+        "message": "Dieses Profil hat noch keinen Besitzer."
     }
 }
diff --git a/client/ui/i18n/locales/en/common.json b/client/ui/i18n/locales/en/common.json
index 9da9b8724..b6e3edea6 100644
--- a/client/ui/i18n/locales/en/common.json
+++ b/client/ui/i18n/locales/en/common.json
@@ -1870,5 +1870,9 @@
     "error.not_profile_owner": {
         "message": "This profile belongs to another user.",
         "description": "Short headline when the daemon refuses an action because the profile it addresses is owned by a different user account."
+    },
+    "error.profile_unowned": {
+        "message": "This profile has no owner yet.",
+        "description": "Short headline when the daemon refuses an action because the profile it addresses has no owner recorded yet. The daemon's own sentence is shown as the detail, followed by a copyable command that records an owner."
     }
 }
diff --git a/client/ui/i18n/locales/es/common.json b/client/ui/i18n/locales/es/common.json
index 23037b1b1..fc69c78b8 100644
--- a/client/ui/i18n/locales/es/common.json
+++ b/client/ui/i18n/locales/es/common.json
@@ -1404,5 +1404,8 @@
     },
     "error.not_profile_owner": {
         "message": "Este perfil pertenece a otro usuario."
+    },
+    "error.profile_unowned": {
+        "message": "Este perfil aún no tiene propietario."
     }
 }
diff --git a/client/ui/i18n/locales/fr/common.json b/client/ui/i18n/locales/fr/common.json
index 8341f9094..7da22b95e 100644
--- a/client/ui/i18n/locales/fr/common.json
+++ b/client/ui/i18n/locales/fr/common.json
@@ -1404,5 +1404,8 @@
     },
     "error.not_profile_owner": {
         "message": "Ce profil appartient à un autre utilisateur."
+    },
+    "error.profile_unowned": {
+        "message": "Ce profil n'a pas encore de propriétaire."
     }
 }
diff --git a/client/ui/i18n/locales/hu/common.json b/client/ui/i18n/locales/hu/common.json
index 2be54bb27..22ba7d92b 100644
--- a/client/ui/i18n/locales/hu/common.json
+++ b/client/ui/i18n/locales/hu/common.json
@@ -1404,5 +1404,8 @@
     },
     "error.not_profile_owner": {
         "message": "Ez a profil egy másik felhasználóé."
+    },
+    "error.profile_unowned": {
+        "message": "Ennek a profilnak még nincs tulajdonosa."
     }
 }
diff --git a/client/ui/i18n/locales/it/common.json b/client/ui/i18n/locales/it/common.json
index 436ba8bb9..c1296a3fb 100644
--- a/client/ui/i18n/locales/it/common.json
+++ b/client/ui/i18n/locales/it/common.json
@@ -1404,5 +1404,8 @@
     },
     "error.not_profile_owner": {
         "message": "Questo profilo appartiene a un altro utente."
+    },
+    "error.profile_unowned": {
+        "message": "Questo profilo non ha ancora un proprietario."
     }
 }
diff --git a/client/ui/i18n/locales/ja/common.json b/client/ui/i18n/locales/ja/common.json
index 9e9139d83..46358cd23 100644
--- a/client/ui/i18n/locales/ja/common.json
+++ b/client/ui/i18n/locales/ja/common.json
@@ -1404,5 +1404,8 @@
     },
     "error.not_profile_owner": {
         "message": "このプロファイルは別のユーザーのものです。"
+    },
+    "error.profile_unowned": {
+        "message": "このプロファイルにはまだ所有者がいません。"
     }
 }
diff --git a/client/ui/i18n/locales/pt/common.json b/client/ui/i18n/locales/pt/common.json
index d4f79ec2d..7dfa5fb71 100644
--- a/client/ui/i18n/locales/pt/common.json
+++ b/client/ui/i18n/locales/pt/common.json
@@ -1404,5 +1404,8 @@
     },
     "error.not_profile_owner": {
         "message": "Este perfil pertence a outro usuário."
+    },
+    "error.profile_unowned": {
+        "message": "Este perfil ainda não tem proprietário."
     }
 }
diff --git a/client/ui/i18n/locales/ru/common.json b/client/ui/i18n/locales/ru/common.json
index afa3e36fb..3ac9812c9 100644
--- a/client/ui/i18n/locales/ru/common.json
+++ b/client/ui/i18n/locales/ru/common.json
@@ -1404,5 +1404,8 @@
     },
     "error.not_profile_owner": {
         "message": "Этот профиль принадлежит другому пользователю."
+    },
+    "error.profile_unowned": {
+        "message": "У этого профиля пока нет владельца."
     }
 }
diff --git a/client/ui/i18n/locales/uk/common.json b/client/ui/i18n/locales/uk/common.json
index 266570e73..fca8664e0 100644
--- a/client/ui/i18n/locales/uk/common.json
+++ b/client/ui/i18n/locales/uk/common.json
@@ -1402,5 +1402,8 @@
     },
     "error.not_profile_owner": {
         "message": "Цей профіль належить іншому користувачеві."
+    },
+    "error.profile_unowned": {
+        "message": "Цей профіль ще не має власника."
     }
 }
diff --git a/client/ui/i18n/locales/zh-CN/common.json b/client/ui/i18n/locales/zh-CN/common.json
index 68fea8eb9..ef98f1220 100644
--- a/client/ui/i18n/locales/zh-CN/common.json
+++ b/client/ui/i18n/locales/zh-CN/common.json
@@ -1404,5 +1404,8 @@
     },
     "error.not_profile_owner": {
         "message": "此配置文件属于其他用户。"
+    },
+    "error.profile_unowned": {
+        "message": "此配置文件尚未设置所有者。"
     }
 }
diff --git a/client/ui/services/errors.go b/client/ui/services/errors.go
index 0d88ff53e..ea19395e9 100644
--- a/client/ui/services/errors.go
+++ b/client/ui/services/errors.go
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ func denialCode(reason string) (string, bool) {
 		return "session_held", true
 	case ipcauth.ErrorReasonNotProfileOwner:
 		return "not_profile_owner", true
+	case ipcauth.ErrorReasonProfileUnowned:
+		return "profile_unowned", true
 	default:
 		return "permission_denied", false
 	}
diff --git a/client/ui/services/errors_test.go b/client/ui/services/errors_test.go
index ab86e08df..93cc4e6f0 100644
--- a/client/ui/services/errors_test.go
+++ b/client/ui/services/errors_test.go
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ func TestClassifyMapsEveryDaemonReason(t *testing.T) {
 		{"privilege", ipcauth.PrivilegeError("Claiming a profile requires root.", "sudo netbird profile claim"), "privilege_required", true},
 		{"session held", ipcauth.SessionHeldError("switching profile"), "session_held", true},
 		{"not owner", ipcauth.NotOwnerError("reading the profile configuration"), "not_profile_owner", false},
+		{"unowned", ipcauth.UnownedError("connecting", "default", false), "profile_unowned", true},
 	} {
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			got := c.classify(tc.err)
@@ -116,6 +117,12 @@ func TestDenialHeadlinesResolveInTheShippedBundle(t *testing.T) {
 			"This profile belongs to another user.",
 			"Reading the profile configuration is refused because the profile it addresses belongs to another user.",
 		},
+		{
+			"unowned",
+			ipcauth.UnownedError("connecting", "default", false),
+			"This profile has no owner yet.",
+			"Connecting is refused because the profile it addresses has no owner on record.",
+		},
 	} {
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			got := c.classify(tc.err)