diff --git a/src/vs/sessions/SESSIONS_LIST.md b/src/vs/sessions/SESSIONS_LIST.md
index 9f9f54485345c..c830170a0ebe7 100644
--- a/src/vs/sessions/SESSIONS_LIST.md
+++ b/src/vs/sessions/SESSIONS_LIST.md
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ Pinned sessions appear in a dedicated "Pinned" section at the top. Pin state is
 - Sessions start as **unread**
 - A session becomes **read** when the user opens it or explicitly marks it
 - A session becomes **unread** when it completes in the background (transitions from InProgress to a terminal status while not active)
+- Pin and read state are cleaned up when a provider reports a real session removal; remote agent host disconnects hide cached sessions without reporting them as removed
 
 ### Navigation
 
diff --git a/src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/agentHost/browser/baseAgentHostSessionsProvider.ts b/src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/agentHost/browser/baseAgentHostSessionsProvider.ts
index 18f2c211a85cf..8e2320b65bf1d 100644
--- a/src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/agentHost/browser/baseAgentHostSessionsProvider.ts
+++ b/src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/agentHost/browser/baseAgentHostSessionsProvider.ts
@@ -2040,7 +2040,7 @@ export abstract class BaseAgentHostSessionsProvider extends Disposable implement
 		this._refreshSessions();
 	}
 
-	protected async _refreshSessions(): Promise<void> {
+	protected async _refreshSessions(announceExistingAsAdded = false): Promise<void> {
 		const connection = this.connection;
 		if (!connection) {
 			return;
@@ -2057,6 +2057,9 @@ export abstract class BaseAgentHostSessionsProvider extends Disposable implement
 
 				const existing = this._sessionCache.get(rawId);
 				if (existing) {
+					if (announceExistingAsAdded) {
+						added.push(existing);
+					}
 					if (existing.update(meta)) {
 						changed.push(existing);
 					}
diff --git a/src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/remoteAgentHost/browser/remoteAgentHostSessionsProvider.ts b/src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/remoteAgentHost/browser/remoteAgentHostSessionsProvider.ts
index 510af4f81dee0..fcb481b46b6b0 100644
--- a/src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/remoteAgentHost/browser/remoteAgentHostSessionsProvider.ts
+++ b/src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/remoteAgentHost/browser/remoteAgentHostSessionsProvider.ts
@@ -375,6 +375,7 @@ export class RemoteAgentHostSessionsProvider extends BaseAgentHostSessionsProvid
 			return;
 		}
 
+		const wasUnpublished = this._unpublished;
 		this._connectionListeners.clear();
 		this._sessionStateSubscriptions.clearAndDisposeAll();
 		this._connection = connection;
@@ -396,7 +397,7 @@ export class RemoteAgentHostSessionsProvider extends BaseAgentHostSessionsProvid
 
 		// Always refresh sessions when a connection is (re)established
 		this._cacheInitialized = true;
-		this._refreshSessions();
+		this._refreshSessions(wasUnpublished);
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -450,9 +451,8 @@ export class RemoteAgentHostSessionsProvider extends BaseAgentHostSessionsProvid
 			return;
 		}
 		this._unpublished = true;
-		const removed: ISession[] = Array.from(this._sessionCache.values());
-		if (removed.length > 0) {
-			this._onDidChangeSessions.fire({ added: [], removed, changed: [] });
+		if (this._sessionCache.size > 0) {
+			this._onDidChangeSessions.fire({ added: [], removed: [], changed: [] });
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/remoteAgentHost/test/browser/remoteAgentHostSessionsProvider.test.ts b/src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/remoteAgentHost/test/browser/remoteAgentHostSessionsProvider.test.ts
index 6547363e08d03..c63a268b00beb 100644
--- a/src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/remoteAgentHost/test/browser/remoteAgentHostSessionsProvider.test.ts
+++ b/src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/remoteAgentHost/test/browser/remoteAgentHostSessionsProvider.test.ts
@@ -838,9 +838,10 @@ suite('RemoteAgentHostSessionsProvider', () => {
 		assert.deepStrictEqual(
 			{
 				sessionCount: provider.getSessions().length,
+				eventCount: events.length,
 				eventRemovedTitles: events.flatMap(e => e.removed.map(s => s.title.get())),
 			},
-			{ sessionCount: 0, eventRemovedTitles: ['Keep Me'] },
+			{ sessionCount: 0, eventCount: 1, eventRemovedTitles: [] },
 		);
 
 		// Flush triggers onWillSaveState; the metadata must survive so the
@@ -862,18 +863,30 @@ suite('RemoteAgentHostSessionsProvider', () => {
 
 		provider.unpublishCachedSessions();
 		assert.strictEqual(provider.getSessions().length, 0);
+		const events: ISessionChangeEvent[] = [];
+		disposables.add(provider.onDidChangeSessions(e => events.push(e)));
 
 		// Simulate the host coming back online with a fresh connection that
-		// still reports the same session.
+		// still reports the same session with updated metadata.
 		const reconnected = new MockAgentConnection();
 		disposables.add(toDisposable(() => reconnected.dispose()));
-		reconnected.addSession(createSession('restore-me', { summary: 'Restore Me' }));
+		reconnected.addSession(createSession('restore-me', { summary: 'Restored' }));
 		provider.setConnection(reconnected);
 		await timeout(0);
 
 		assert.deepStrictEqual(
-			provider.getSessions().map(s => s.title.get()),
-			['Restore Me'],
+			{
+				sessions: provider.getSessions().map(s => s.title.get()),
+				added: events.flatMap(e => e.added.map(s => s.title.get())),
+				changed: events.flatMap(e => e.changed.map(s => s.title.get())),
+				removed: events.flatMap(e => e.removed.map(s => s.title.get())),
+			},
+			{
+				sessions: ['Restored'],
+				added: ['Restored'],
+				changed: ['Restored'],
+				removed: [],
+			},
 		);
 	}));