diff --git a/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md b/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md
index b04d4cf2e..d9721b2a3 100644
--- a/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md
+++ b/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md
@@ -6269,7 +6269,7 @@ and unreachable upstream (502/504) separately from road geometry.
 
 `GEV MIC` button (bottom UI) starts an OpenAI Realtime session over WebRTC:
 
-- **Token flow**: browser fetches a short-lived client secret from `/api/realtime/token`; the Vite middleware uses `OPENAI_API_KEY` by default, or the signed-in local ChatGPT/Codex OAuth access token when OAuth was explicitly selected in Provider Settings, and posts the full session config (instructions, tool schemas, VAD, truncation) to `api.openai.com/v1/realtime/client_secrets`. Both long-lived credentials stay server-side; OAuth minting is loopback-only. SDP exchange goes directly to `api.openai.com/v1/realtime/calls` with the ephemeral token.
+- **Token flow**: browser fetches a short-lived client secret from `/api/realtime/token`; the Vite middleware uses `OPENAI_API_KEY` by default, or the signed-in local ChatGPT/Codex OAuth access token when OAuth was explicitly selected in Provider Settings, and posts the full session config (instructions, tool schemas, VAD, truncation) to `api.openai.com/v1/realtime/client_secrets`. Both long-lived credentials stay server-side; OAuth minting is loopback-only. SDP exchange goes directly to `api.openai.com/v1/realtime/calls` with the ephemeral token. With no OpenAI key the token route answers `503` with code `API_KEY_MISSING`, and the voice control shows `Needs OPENAI_API_KEY — add it in Provider Settings` in the interface language, reworded on a language change, without the microphone-permission hint.
 - **Session defaults** (env-tunable): model `gpt-realtime-2` (or `gpt-realtime-2.1-mini` when the MINI tier is selected — see the model-tier entry below), voice `marin`, reasoning effort `low`, semantic VAD with low eagerness, no response interruption, context window truncated to ~3,000 post-instruction tokens with 0.5 retention ratio — the conversational window stays short because map state is fetched live per turn.
 - **Thirty tools** (argument schemas in `src/voice/actionSchemas.js`, served with their descriptions by `server/providers/openai/tools.js`, executed client-side in `src/voice/gevActions.js`): `fly_to_location`, `select_nearest_aircraft`, `adjust_camera_zoom`, `zoom_to_globe`, `set_layer_visibility`, `show_data_layers_menu`, `set_panel_open`, `set_visual_style`, `get_entity_context`, `get_current_view_state`, `set_hud`, `set_cyber_sonar`, `set_detection`, `set_map_stack`, `set_post_processing`, `control_scene`, `control_cctv`, `set_context_mode`, `control_cockpit`, `control_radio`, `track_entity`, `stop_tracking`, `frame_overhead`, `annotate_map`, `clear_annotations`, `move_camera`, `fly_route`, `analyst_query`, `next_iss_pass`, and `next_satellite_pass`.
 
diff --git a/src/voice/gevRealtime.test.mjs b/src/voice/gevRealtime.test.mjs
index 859932e08..426a15f5c 100644
--- a/src/voice/gevRealtime.test.mjs
+++ b/src/voice/gevRealtime.test.mjs
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import {
 } from './gevRealtime.js';
 import { createVoiceCostTracker } from './voiceCost.js';
 import { createTestVoiceUi } from '../testSupport/voiceUi.mjs';
+import { setLocale } from '../i18n/index.js';
 
 test('push-to-talk recognizes Space by code or key', () => {
   assert.equal(PUSH_TO_TALK_HOLD_DELAY_MS, 500);
@@ -3734,3 +3735,32 @@ test('the controller forwards viewport escalation diagnostics to its debug log',
     }],
   );
 });
+
+test('a missing server key says where to add it, without the microphone hint, in every language', () => {
+  const ui = createTestVoiceUi();
+  const controller = new GevRealtimeController({
+    ui,
+    runner: async () => ({ ok: true }),
+    radioLayer: { subscribePlaybackControls: () => () => {}, setVoiceDucked() {} },
+  });
+  try {
+    controller.reportError(
+      'Realtime connection',
+      Object.assign(new Error('OPENAI_API_KEY is not set'), { code: 'API_KEY_MISSING' }),
+    );
+    assert.equal(ui.state.error.text, 'Needs OPENAI_API_KEY — add it in Provider Settings');
+    assert.equal(ui.state.error.hint, false);
+
+    setLocale('es');
+    assert.notEqual(ui.state.error.text, 'Needs OPENAI_API_KEY — add it in Provider Settings');
+    assert.match(ui.state.error.text, /OPENAI_API_KEY/);
+    assert.equal(ui.state.error.hint, false);
+    setLocale('en');
+
+    controller.reportError('Realtime connection', new Error('ICE failed'));
+    assert.match(ui.state.error.text, /ICE failed/);
+    assert.equal(ui.state.error.hint, true);
+  } finally {
+    setLocale('en');
+  }
+});
diff --git a/src/voice/realtimeController.js b/src/voice/realtimeController.js
index a7dd07021..56f501f95 100644
--- a/src/voice/realtimeController.js
+++ b/src/voice/realtimeController.js
@@ -407,7 +407,14 @@ export class GevRealtimeController extends RealtimeFacade {
     }
   }
 
-  setStatus(status, detail) {
+  /**
+   * @param {string} status
+   * @param {string} [detail]
+   * @param {{missingKey?: boolean}} [options] True when the error is a
+   *   missing server key: it is worded in the current language and shown
+   *   without the microphone hint.
+   */
+  setStatus(status, detail, { missingKey = false } = {}) {
     this.status = status;
     this.emitSessionEvent({ type: 'state', state: status, detail });
     this.ui.update('root', {
@@ -435,11 +442,12 @@ export class GevRealtimeController extends RealtimeFacade {
     this.ui.update('error', {
       text: () =>
         status === 'error'
-          ? resolvedDetail() || t('Voice session could not be started.')
+          ? (missingKey && missingVoiceKeyText()) ||
+            resolvedDetail() ||
+            t('Voice session could not be started.')
           : '',
       // "Check microphone permission" is wrong advice for a missing key.
-      hint: () =>
-        !(status === 'error' && resolvedDetail() === missingVoiceKeyText()),
+      hint: () => !(status === 'error' && missingKey),
     });
     if (status === 'idle' || status === 'connecting' || status === 'error') {
       this.setVoiceSpeaker('idle');
diff --git a/src/voice/realtimeDiagnostics.js b/src/voice/realtimeDiagnostics.js
index dcdacf08e..6efa71dfc 100644
--- a/src/voice/realtimeDiagnostics.js
+++ b/src/voice/realtimeDiagnostics.js
@@ -183,7 +183,11 @@ export class RealtimeDiagnostics {
     storeErrors(this.errors);
     console.error('[GEV Realtime]', record);
     this.debugLog('error', record);
-    this.setStatus('error', formatErrorForDisplay(record));
+    this.setStatus(
+      'error',
+      formatErrorForDisplay(record),
+      record.code === 'API_KEY_MISSING' ? { missingKey: true } : undefined,
+    );
     return record;
   }