diff --git a/canvas/src/components/__tests__/TestConnectionButton.test.tsx b/canvas/src/components/__tests__/TestConnectionButton.test.tsx
index 15f1dd9cf..207a37a8f 100644
--- a/canvas/src/components/__tests__/TestConnectionButton.test.tsx
+++ b/canvas/src/components/__tests__/TestConnectionButton.test.tsx
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ describe("TestConnectionButton — state machine", () => {
     expect(screen.getByText("Permission denied")).toBeTruthy();
   });
 
-  it("shows generic error message on unexpected exception", async () => {
+  it("shows honest network error on unexpected exception", async () => {
     vi.mocked(validateSecret).mockRejectedValue(new Error("timeout"));
     render(<TestConnectionButton provider={toGroup("anthropic")} secretValue="sk-..." />);
 
@@ -110,8 +110,9 @@ describe("TestConnectionButton — state machine", () => {
     await act(async () => { /* flush */ });
 
     expect(screen.getByRole("alert")).toBeTruthy();
-    // The error detail is hardcoded to "Connection timed out. Service may be down."
-    expect(document.body.querySelector('[role="alert"]')?.textContent).toMatch(/timed out/i);
+    // The new error detail distinguishes network/abort errors (no server answer)
+    // from server-answered ApiErrors (404 = not available, other = status code).
+    expect(document.body.querySelector('[role="alert"]')?.textContent).toMatch(/Could not reach/i);
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/canvas/src/components/settings/SecretRow.tsx b/canvas/src/components/settings/SecretRow.tsx
index 92bb633ea..10339e869 100644
--- a/canvas/src/components/settings/SecretRow.tsx
+++ b/canvas/src/components/settings/SecretRow.tsx
@@ -3,16 +3,24 @@ import { useState, useCallback, useRef, useEffect } from 'react';
 import type { Secret, SecretGroup } from '@/types/secrets';
 import { useSecretsStore } from '@/stores/secrets-store';
 import { StatusBadge } from '@/components/ui/StatusBadge';
-import { RevealToggle } from '@/components/ui/RevealToggle';
 import { KeyValueField } from '@/components/ui/KeyValueField';
 import { ValidationHint } from '@/components/ui/ValidationHint';
 import { TestConnectionButton } from '@/components/ui/TestConnectionButton';
 import { validateSecretValue } from '@/lib/validation/secret-formats';
 import { SERVICES } from '@/lib/services';
 
-const AUTO_HIDE_MS = 30_000;
 const VALIDATION_DEBOUNCE_MS = 400;
 
+// Secret values are write-only from the browser: the server List endpoint
+// "Never exposes values", there is no per-secret decrypt route, and the
+// only decrypted path (GET /secrets/values) is bulk + token-gated for
+// remote agents. The old eye/RevealToggle was a dead affordance — it
+// flipped its own icon but could never reveal anything, which read as
+// "this doesn't work" (esp. once clicked → eye-with-slash). We show an
+// honest static indicator instead; rotation is via Edit.
+const WRITE_ONLY_TITLE =
+  'Value is write-only and cannot be revealed — use Edit to replace/rotate it';
+
 interface SecretRowProps {
   secret: Secret;
   workspaceId: string;
@@ -31,28 +39,12 @@ export function SecretRow({ secret, workspaceId }: SecretRowProps) {
   const setSecretStatus = useSecretsStore((s) => s.setSecretStatus);
 
   const isEditing = editingKey === secret.name;
-  const [revealed, setRevealed] = useState(false);
   const [editValue, setEditValue] = useState('');
   const [validationError, setValidationError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [isSaving, setIsSaving] = useState(false);
   const [saveError, setSaveError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const debounceRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>>(undefined);
   const editBtnRef = useRef<HTMLButtonElement>(null);
-  const revealTimerRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout>>(undefined);
-
-  // Auto-hide revealed value after 30s
-  useEffect(() => {
-    if (revealed) {
-      clearTimeout(revealTimerRef.current);
-      revealTimerRef.current = setTimeout(() => setRevealed(false), AUTO_HIDE_MS);
-      return () => clearTimeout(revealTimerRef.current);
-    }
-  }, [revealed]);
-
-  // Reset revealed state when panel closes (session-only)
-  useEffect(() => {
-    return () => setRevealed(false);
-  }, []);
 
   // Debounced validation
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -133,11 +125,15 @@ export function SecretRow({ secret, workspaceId }: SecretRowProps) {
           {secret.masked_value}
         </span>
         <div className="secret-row__actions">
-          <RevealToggle
-            revealed={revealed}
-            onToggle={() => setRevealed((r) => !r)}
-            label={`Toggle reveal ${secret.name}`}
-          />
+          <span
+            data-testid="write-only-indicator"
+            className="secret-row__write-only"
+            role="img"
+            aria-label={`${secret.name} value is write-only and cannot be revealed; use Edit to replace it`}
+            title={WRITE_ONLY_TITLE}
+          >
+            🔒
+          </span>
           <StatusBadge status={secret.status} />
           <button
             type="button"
diff --git a/canvas/src/components/settings/__tests__/SecretRow.test.tsx b/canvas/src/components/settings/__tests__/SecretRow.test.tsx
index 1db10a82b..4352fd9e6 100644
--- a/canvas/src/components/settings/__tests__/SecretRow.test.tsx
+++ b/canvas/src/components/settings/__tests__/SecretRow.test.tsx
@@ -138,9 +138,10 @@ describe("SecretRow — display mode", () => {
     expect(document.querySelector('[role="row"]')).toBeTruthy();
   });
 
-  it("has Reveal, Copy, Edit, Delete buttons", () => {
+  it("has write-only indicator, Copy, Edit, Delete buttons", () => {
     render(<SecretRow secret={GITHUB_SECRET} workspaceId="ws-1" />);
-    expect(screen.getByTestId("reveal-toggle")).toBeTruthy();
+    // Secret values are write-only — no RevealToggle; honest 🔒 indicator instead
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("write-only-indicator")).toBeTruthy();
     expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /copy/i })).toBeTruthy();
     expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /edit/i })).toBeTruthy();
     expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: /delete/i })).toBeTruthy();
diff --git a/canvas/src/components/ui/TestConnectionButton.tsx b/canvas/src/components/ui/TestConnectionButton.tsx
index 940c06e49..bd4060127 100644
--- a/canvas/src/components/ui/TestConnectionButton.tsx
+++ b/canvas/src/components/ui/TestConnectionButton.tsx
@@ -55,9 +55,28 @@ export function TestConnectionButton({
       }
       onResult?.(result.valid);
       resetTimerRef.current = setTimeout(() => setState('idle'), RESET_DELAYS[nextState]!);
-    } catch {
+    } catch (err) {
+      // Distinguish a real failure shape rather than always claiming a
+      // timeout. A reachable server that answered with an HTTP status
+      // (ApiError) did NOT time out — most commonly the validation route
+      // is not available (404/501), which must not masquerade as
+      // "service down". Only an actual thrown network/abort error is a
+      // connectivity failure.
       setState('failure');
-      setErrorDetail('Connection timed out. Service may be down.');
+      // Duck-type ApiError: { status: number } — avoids class-identity issues
+      // when the module is mocked in tests (instanceof may not cross mock boundary).
+      const isApiError = (e: unknown): e is { status: number; message: string } =>
+        typeof e === 'object' && e !== null && 'status' in e;
+
+      if (isApiError(err)) {
+        setErrorDetail(
+          err.status === 404 || err.status === 501
+            ? 'Key validation is not available for this service yet. The key was not tested.'
+            : `Could not verify key (server returned ${err.status}). Saving is unaffected.`,
+        );
+      } else {
+        setErrorDetail('Could not reach the validation service. Check your connection and try again.');
+      }
       onResult?.(false);
       resetTimerRef.current = setTimeout(() => setState('idle'), RESET_DELAYS.failure);
     }
diff --git a/canvas/src/components/ui/__tests__/TestConnectionButton.test.tsx b/canvas/src/components/ui/__tests__/TestConnectionButton.test.tsx
index 62d61ff11..a71a8d51c 100644
--- a/canvas/src/components/ui/__tests__/TestConnectionButton.test.tsx
+++ b/canvas/src/components/ui/__tests__/TestConnectionButton.test.tsx
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ describe("TestConnectionButton — failure path", () => {
 });
 
 describe("TestConnectionButton — catch path", () => {
-  it("shows 'Connection timed out' on network error", async () => {
+  it("shows honest network error on network error", async () => {
     mockValidateSecret.mockRejectedValue(new Error("timeout"));
     render(
       <TestConnectionButton provider="github" secretValue="ghp_xxx" />,
@@ -210,7 +210,9 @@ describe("TestConnectionButton — catch path", () => {
     await act(async () => {
       await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(0);
     });
-    expect(document.body.textContent).toContain("Connection timed out");
+    // The new error detail distinguishes network/abort errors (no server answer)
+    // from server-answered ApiErrors (404 = not available, other = status code).
+    expect(document.body.textContent).toContain("Could not reach");
   });
 
   it("calls onResult(false) on network error", async () => {
diff --git a/canvas/src/styles/settings-panel.css b/canvas/src/styles/settings-panel.css
index 5d4be4514..f948d7c8b 100644
--- a/canvas/src/styles/settings-panel.css
+++ b/canvas/src/styles/settings-panel.css
@@ -239,6 +239,15 @@
 .secret-row__action-btn:focus-visible { outline: var(--focus-ring); outline-offset: var(--focus-ring-offset); }
 .secret-row__action-btn--delete:hover { color: var(--status-invalid); }
 
+.secret-row__write-only {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  padding: 4px;
+  font-size: 14px;
+  color: #a1a1aa; /* zinc-400 */
+  user-select: none;
+}
+
 /* Secret row — edit form */
 
 .secret-row__edit-form {