diff --git a/dora_ulite6/control.py b/dora_ulite6/control.py
index ba45db7..8cc93c5 100644
--- a/dora_ulite6/control.py
+++ b/dora_ulite6/control.py
@@ -232,10 +232,13 @@ class Control:
             self._preempt_motions("jog")
             self._set_state(MOVING)
         with self._lock:
-            self._jogging = moving
+            was_jogging, self._jogging = self._jogging, moving
             self._last_jog = time.monotonic()
-        if not moving:
-            self._set_state(READY)
+        # Only a jog that was in fact jogging ends one. A zero velocity from a
+        # teleop source that is merely idling says nothing about a motion that
+        # owns the arm, and must not answer for it.
+        if not moving and was_jogging:
+            self._idle_unless_busy()
         self._jobs.put(Jog(velocity=velocity))
 
     def start_motion(self, call: ServiceCall) -> None:
@@ -403,8 +406,7 @@ class Control:
             self._finish_motion(call, PREEMPTED, False, f"preempted by {preempted_by}")
         else:
             self._finish_motion(call, DONE if ok else FAILED, ok, fields.get("message", ""), fields)
-        if self._state == MOVING:
-            self._set_state(READY)
+        self._idle_unless_busy()
 
     def _leave_jog(self) -> bool:
         """Clear the jogging flag, reporting whether the arm was in fact jogging."""
@@ -515,6 +517,23 @@ class Control:
             self._state_changes.append(state)
         log(f"state: {state}")
 
+    def _idle_unless_busy(self) -> None:
+        """Report the arm idle, but only when nothing is still driving it.
+
+        One thing ending is not the arm stopping. A motion may still be winding
+        down inside the SDK after the jog that preempted it went quiet; a jog may
+        have taken the arm over from the motion that just finished. Either way
+        `ready` published over it is the false idle the state exists to rule out.
+
+        The state also stops being ours to set once it has left `moving` — that
+        is `unavailable` or `recovering` reporting something this does not know
+        about, and it must not be overwritten with `ready`.
+        """
+        with self._lock:
+            if self._running_motion is not None or self._jogging or self._state != MOVING:
+                return
+        self._set_state(READY)
+
     # --- the reporter thread ---
 
     def _expire_jog(self) -> None:
@@ -528,7 +547,7 @@ class Control:
             if not self._jogging or time.monotonic() - self._last_jog < self.config.motion.velocity_command_ttl_s:
                 return
             self._jogging = False
-        self._set_state(READY)
+        self._idle_unless_busy()
 
     def _run_reporter(self) -> None:
         """Publish telemetry, whatever the control thread is doing.
diff --git a/tests/test_lifecycle.py b/tests/test_lifecycle.py
index 044b585..ba66ab7 100644
--- a/tests/test_lifecycle.py
+++ b/tests/test_lifecycle.py
@@ -130,6 +130,29 @@ def test_a_zero_velocity_jog_puts_the_arm_back_to_ready(monkeypatch):
         control.shutdown()
 
 
+def test_a_zero_velocity_jog_does_not_make_a_running_motion_look_idle(monkeypatch):
+    # A teleop source streaming zero velocity says nothing about a motion that
+    # owns the arm, and must not answer for it: an arm that is travelling must
+    # never look idle, and a `ready` here would also stop the motion's own end
+    # from ever being published.
+    control = build(monkeypatch)
+    control.arms[0].block = threading.Event()
+    try:
+        wait_for(lambda: READY in control.take_state_changes())
+        control.submit(ServiceCall(request_id="m1", row={"service": "home"}))
+        wait_for(lambda: MOVING in control.take_state_changes())
+
+        for _ in range(5):
+            control.start_jog([0.0] * 6)
+
+        assert control.take_state_changes() == []
+
+        control.arms[0].block.set()
+        wait_for(lambda: READY in control.take_state_changes())
+    finally:
+        control.shutdown()
+
+
 def test_a_sender_that_goes_quiet_stops_being_called_jogging(monkeypatch):
     # The controller expires the command on its own; nothing tells us, so the
     # clock has to.