diff --git a/internal/app/auth/email_signup_test.go b/internal/app/auth/email_signup_test.go
index 8316b7a2..872884b2 100644
--- a/internal/app/auth/email_signup_test.go
+++ b/internal/app/auth/email_signup_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package auth
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"testing"
 
 	"telesrv/internal/domain"
@@ -126,3 +127,40 @@ func TestEmailSignupSendCodeIgnoredWhenPhoneIsNotEncoded(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("delivery.Kind = Email, want a non-email fallback for a real phone number")
 	}
 }
+
+// This server has no real SMS delivery, so a real phone number is only
+// reachable via the client's explicit "log in by phone number" fallback
+// (see EmailSignupWidget). That account must get a login email bound
+// immediately: EmailSignupEnable alone must force the setup-required gate
+// even though neither LOGIN_EMAIL_ENABLE nor LOGIN_EMAIL_REQUIRE_SETUP is on.
+func TestEmailSignupForcesLoginEmailSetupForRealPhoneNumbers(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	users := memory.NewUserStore()
+	authz := memory.NewAuthorizationStore()
+	sender := &testMailSender{}
+	svc := NewService(users, authz, memory.NewCodeStore(), nil, nil, "12345",
+		WithLoginEmail(LoginEmailOptions{Store: &testLoginEmailStore{emails: map[string]string{}}, Sender: sender}),
+		WithEmailSignup(true))
+
+	hash, err := svc.SendCode(ctx, "+15550029999")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("SendCode: %v", err)
+	}
+	if sender.to != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("sender.to = %q, want empty (setup-required never sends a code itself)", sender.to)
+	}
+	delivery, found, err := svc.CodeDelivery(ctx, hash)
+	if err != nil || !found {
+		t.Fatalf("CodeDelivery found=%v err=%v", found, err)
+	}
+	if delivery.Kind != domain.AuthCodeDeliveryEmailSetupRequired {
+		t.Fatalf("delivery.Kind = %v, want AuthCodeDeliveryEmailSetupRequired", delivery.Kind)
+	}
+
+	// Signing up straight off this code without ever completing email setup
+	// (the account.sendVerifyEmailCode/verifyEmail round trip) must be
+	// rejected: the hash was never marked SignUpVerified.
+	if _, _, err := svc.SignUp(ctx, domain.Authorization{}, "+15550029999", hash, "No", "Email"); !errors.Is(err, ErrCodeInvalid) {
+		t.Fatalf("SignUp err = %v, want ErrCodeInvalid (email setup was never completed)", err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/app/auth/service.go b/internal/app/auth/service.go
index 49002bf4..7fdc009f 100644
--- a/internal/app/auth/service.go
+++ b/internal/app/auth/service.go
@@ -330,7 +330,13 @@ func (s *Service) SendCode(ctx context.Context, phone string) (string, error) {
 			return s.createEmailLoginCode(ctx, phone, email, issuedUserID)
 		}
 	}
-	if s.loginEmailEnabled && s.loginEmails != nil {
+	// A real (non-encoded) phone number reaching here on an email-signup
+	// server is someone using the client's explicit "log in by phone number"
+	// fallback (see EmailSignupWidget) — a real phone is otherwise
+	// unreachable from the intro flow. This server never sends real SMS, so
+	// that account must get a login email bound immediately: force the setup
+	// gate on regardless of the raw TELESRV_LOGIN_EMAIL_REQUIRE_SETUP config.
+	if (s.loginEmailEnabled || s.emailSignupEnabled) && s.loginEmails != nil {
 		email, found, err := s.loginEmails.LoginEmailByPhone(ctx, phone)
 		if err != nil {
 			return "", err
@@ -338,13 +344,22 @@ func (s *Service) SendCode(ctx context.Context, phone string) (string, error) {
 		if found && strings.TrimSpace(email) != "" {
 			return s.createEmailLoginCode(ctx, phone, email, issuedUserID)
 		}
-		if s.loginEmailRequireSetup {
+		if s.requireLoginEmailSetup() {
 			return s.createSetupRequiredCode(ctx, phone, issuedUserID)
 		}
 	}
 	return s.createPhoneCode(ctx, phone, issuedUserID)
 }
 
+// requireLoginEmailSetup reports whether a phone-number account without a
+// bound login email must set one up before it can finish signing in/up. This
+// is forced on for every real phone number once email-signup is enabled —
+// see SendCode — independent of the raw TELESRV_LOGIN_EMAIL_REQUIRE_SETUP
+// config value, since this server has no real SMS delivery to fall back to.
+func (s *Service) requireLoginEmailSetup() bool {
+	return s.loginEmailRequireSetup || s.emailSignupEnabled
+}
+
 // currentPhoneOwner resolves the account currently identified by a wire
 // phone value. For email-signup phones (see domain.EncodeEmailPhone) the
 // account's real users.phone is a short, unrelated "888" display number
@@ -972,7 +987,7 @@ func (s *Service) SignUp(ctx context.Context, auth domain.Authorization, phone,
 	// email via the legacy VerifiedEmail/PendingEmail flow; it does not apply
 	// here and would otherwise permanently block SignUp for every
 	// email-signup account.
-	if s.loginEmailRequireSetup && !rec.VerifiedEmail && strings.TrimSpace(rec.PendingEmail) == "" && !domain.IsEmailSignupPhone(phone) {
+	if s.requireLoginEmailSetup() && !rec.VerifiedEmail && strings.TrimSpace(rec.PendingEmail) == "" && !domain.IsEmailSignupPhone(phone) {
 		return domain.User{}, domain.Message{}, ErrCodeInvalid
 	}
 	if current, currentFound, err := s.currentPhoneOwner(ctx, phone); err != nil {