diff --git a/scripts/setup-jetson.sh b/scripts/setup-jetson.sh
index 68cb04379d1..6b054780d06 100755
--- a/scripts/setup-jetson.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup-jetson.sh
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ info() {
   printf "[INFO]  %s\n" "$*"
 }
 
+warn() {
+  printf "[WARN]  %s\n" "$*" >&2
+}
+
 error() {
   printf "[ERROR] %s\n" "$*" >&2
   exit 1
@@ -52,6 +56,13 @@ apply_br_netfilter_setup() {
   echo "net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables=1" | "${SUDO[@]}" tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-nemoclaw.conf >/dev/null
 }
 
+warn_host_setup_skipped() {
+  warn "Skipped Jetson host setup: iptables legacy mode and the Docker daemon.json adjustment (L4T 36.x only), and br_netfilter with net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables=1 (every release)."
+  warn "Without br_netfilter, k3s inside the OpenShell gateway cannot NAT sandbox pod traffic to ClusterIP services, so sandbox pods cannot reach CoreDNS."
+  warn "Recognized L4T releases: 36.x (JetPack 6), 38.x (JetPack 7), and 39.x or later (JetPack 7)."
+  warn "Installation continues in an untested configuration."
+}
+
 get_jetpack_version() {
   local release_line release revision l4t_version
 
@@ -62,8 +73,9 @@ get_jetpack_version() {
   revision="$(printf '%s\n' "$release_line" | sed -n 's/^.*REVISION: \([0-9][0-9]*\)\..*$/\1/p')"
   l4t_version="${release}.${revision}"
 
-  if [[ -z "$release" ]]; then
-    info "Jetson detected but could not parse L4T release — skipping host setup" >&2
+  if [[ -z "$release" || -z "$revision" ]]; then
+    warn "Jetson detected but the L4T release could not be parsed from /etc/nv_tegra_release."
+    warn_host_setup_skipped
     return 0
   fi
 
@@ -104,7 +116,8 @@ get_jetpack_version() {
       printf "%s" "jp7-r38"
       ;;
     *)
-      info "Jetson detected (L4T $l4t_version) but version is not recognized — skipping host setup" >&2
+      warn "Jetson detected (L4T $l4t_version) but this L4T release is not recognized."
+      warn_host_setup_skipped
       ;;
   esac
 }
diff --git a/test/helpers/vitest-watch-triggers.ts b/test/helpers/vitest-watch-triggers.ts
index e6880297107..7499b7c7390 100644
--- a/test/helpers/vitest-watch-triggers.ts
+++ b/test/helpers/vitest-watch-triggers.ts
@@ -71,6 +71,10 @@ export const vitestWatchTriggerPatterns: VitestWatchTriggerPattern[] = [
     pattern: /(?:^|\/)test\/e2e\/lib\/ci-compatible-inference\.sh$/,
     testsToRun: runTests("test/e2e/support/hosted-inference.test.ts"),
   },
+  {
+    pattern: /(?:^|\/)scripts\/setup-jetson\.sh$/,
+    testsToRun: runTests("test/setup-jetson.test.ts"),
+  },
   {
     pattern: /(?:^|\/)scripts\/e2e\/sanitize-trace-timing\.py$/,
     testsToRun: runTests(
diff --git a/test/setup-jetson.test.ts b/test/setup-jetson.test.ts
index b1a9f7874c9..67ea13c5a0a 100644
--- a/test/setup-jetson.test.ts
+++ b/test/setup-jetson.test.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,16 @@
 // SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { execFileSync } from "node:child_process";
-import { chmodSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, statSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { execFileSync, spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import {
+  chmodSync,
+  mkdirSync,
+  mkdtempSync,
+  readFileSync,
+  rmSync,
+  statSync,
+  writeFileSync,
+} from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
 
@@ -10,6 +18,95 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
 const SCRIPT_PATH = path.join(import.meta.dirname, "..", "scripts", "setup-jetson.sh");
 
+const HOST_MUTATION_COMMANDS = [
+  "sudo",
+  "modprobe",
+  "sysctl",
+  "tee",
+  "update-alternatives",
+  "systemctl",
+  "python3",
+];
+
+type SetupJetsonRun = {
+  status: number | null;
+  stdout: string;
+  stderr: string;
+  headArgs: string;
+};
+
+function withJetsonReleaseSandbox<T>(
+  run: (paths: { headArgsPath: string; releasePath: string; stubDir: string }) => T,
+): T {
+  const tempDir = mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpdir(), "nemoclaw-jetson-release-"));
+
+  try {
+    const stubDir = path.join(tempDir, "bin");
+    const headArgsPath = path.join(tempDir, "head-args");
+    const releasePath = path.join(tempDir, "nv_tegra_release");
+    mkdirSync(stubDir);
+    for (const command of HOST_MUTATION_COMMANDS) {
+      const stubPath = path.join(stubDir, command);
+      writeFileSync(stubPath, "#!/usr/bin/env bash\nexit 0\n");
+      chmodSync(stubPath, 0o755);
+    }
+
+    const headStubPath = path.join(stubDir, "head");
+    writeFileSync(
+      headStubPath,
+      [
+        "#!/usr/bin/env bash",
+        "set -euo pipefail",
+        `printf '%s\\n' "$*" > ${JSON.stringify(headArgsPath)}`,
+        `if [[ -f ${JSON.stringify(releasePath)} ]]; then`,
+        `  cat ${JSON.stringify(releasePath)}`,
+        "fi",
+        "",
+      ].join("\n"),
+    );
+    chmodSync(headStubPath, 0o755);
+
+    return run({ headArgsPath, releasePath, stubDir });
+  } finally {
+    rmSync(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+}
+
+function spawnSetupJetson(
+  stubDir: string,
+  headArgsPath: string,
+  extraEnv: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = {},
+): SetupJetsonRun {
+  const result = spawnSync("bash", [SCRIPT_PATH], {
+    encoding: "utf-8",
+    env: {
+      ...process.env,
+      ...extraEnv,
+      PATH: `${stubDir}${path.delimiter}${process.env.PATH ?? ""}`,
+    },
+  });
+
+  return {
+    status: result.status,
+    stdout: result.stdout,
+    stderr: result.stderr,
+    headArgs: readFileSync(headArgsPath, "utf-8").trim(),
+  };
+}
+
+function runSetupJetson(releaseLine: string): SetupJetsonRun {
+  return withJetsonReleaseSandbox(({ headArgsPath, releasePath, stubDir }) => {
+    writeFileSync(releasePath, `${releaseLine}\n`);
+    return spawnSetupJetson(stubDir, headArgsPath);
+  });
+}
+
+function runSetupJetsonWithoutReleaseFile(): SetupJetsonRun {
+  return withJetsonReleaseSandbox(({ headArgsPath, stubDir }) =>
+    spawnSetupJetson(stubDir, headArgsPath),
+  );
+}
+
 function extractDaemonJsonPatcher(): string {
   const script = readFileSync(SCRIPT_PATH, "utf-8");
   const match = script.match(/<<'PYEOF'\n([\s\S]*?)\nPYEOF/);
@@ -147,3 +244,82 @@ describe("setup-jetson daemon.json patcher", () => {
     }
   });
 });
+
+describe("setup-jetson host setup on an unrecognized L4T release (#7612)", () => {
+  it("names the skipped host setup, its consequence, the recognized releases, and that installation continues", () => {
+    const result = runSetupJetson("# R35 (release), REVISION: 4.1, GCID: 12345678, BOARD: t186ref");
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain(
+      "Jetson detected (L4T 35.4) but this L4T release is not recognized.",
+    );
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("Skipped Jetson host setup");
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("iptables legacy mode");
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("br_netfilter");
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("sandbox pods cannot reach CoreDNS");
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain(
+      "Recognized L4T releases: 36.x (JetPack 6), 38.x (JetPack 7), and 39.x or later (JetPack 7).",
+    );
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("Installation continues in an untested configuration.");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the warning off stdout so the resolved version stays empty", () => {
+    const result = runSetupJetson("# R35 (release), REVISION: 4.1, GCID: 12345678, BOARD: t186ref");
+
+    expect(result.stdout).toBe("");
+  });
+
+  it("warns with the same detail when the release line cannot be parsed", () => {
+    const result = runSetupJetson("not a tegra release line");
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("Jetson detected but the L4T release could not be parsed");
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("Skipped Jetson host setup");
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("Installation continues in an untested configuration.");
+    expect(result.stdout).toBe("");
+  });
+
+  it("treats a missing revision as a parse failure instead of selecting a release family", () => {
+    const result = runSetupJetson("# R36 (release), GCID: 12345678, BOARD: t186ref");
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("Jetson detected but the L4T release could not be parsed");
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("Skipped Jetson host setup");
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("Installation continues in an untested configuration.");
+    expect(result.stdout).toBe("");
+  });
+
+  it("stays silent on a host that is not a Jetson", () => {
+    const result = runSetupJetsonWithoutReleaseFile();
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toBe("");
+    expect(result.stderr).toBe("");
+  });
+
+  it("ignores an inherited test release-path override during normal installation", () => {
+    const result = withJetsonReleaseSandbox(({ headArgsPath, releasePath, stubDir }) => {
+      const inheritedOverridePath = path.join(path.dirname(releasePath), "inherited-release");
+      writeFileSync(
+        inheritedOverridePath,
+        "# R36 (release), REVISION: 5.1, GCID: 12345678, BOARD: t186ref\n",
+      );
+      return spawnSetupJetson(stubDir, headArgsPath, {
+        NEMOCLAW_TEST_NV_TEGRA_RELEASE_PATH: inheritedOverridePath,
+      });
+    });
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toBe("");
+    expect(result.stderr).toBe("");
+    expect(result.headArgs).toBe("-n1 /etc/nv_tegra_release");
+  });
+
+  it("resolves a recognized release to its host configuration without warning", () => {
+    const result = runSetupJetson("# R36 (release), REVISION: 5.1, GCID: 12345678, BOARD: t186ref");
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("Jetson detected (jp6)");
+    expect(result.stderr).not.toContain("Skipped Jetson host setup");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/test/vitest-watch-triggers.test.ts b/test/vitest-watch-triggers.test.ts
index 8517b474caa..aea6c1324ad 100644
--- a/test/vitest-watch-triggers.test.ts
+++ b/test/vitest-watch-triggers.test.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ const OPAQUE_INPUTS = [
   "agents/hermes/runtime-config-guard.py",
   "agents/hermes/mcp-config-transaction.py",
   "test/e2e/lib/ci-compatible-inference.sh",
+  "scripts/setup-jetson.sh",
   "scripts/e2e/sanitize-trace-timing.py",
   "test/e2e/manifests/openclaw-nvidia.yaml",
   "test/e2e/docs/parity-inventory.generated.json",
@@ -99,6 +100,7 @@ describe("Vitest opaque-input watch triggers", () => {
     expect(triggeredBy("test/e2e/lib/ci-compatible-inference.sh")).toEqual([
       "test/e2e/support/hosted-inference.test.ts",
     ]);
+    expect(triggeredBy("scripts/setup-jetson.sh")).toEqual(["test/setup-jetson.test.ts"]);
     expect(triggeredBy("scripts/e2e/sanitize-trace-timing.py")).toEqual([
       "test/e2e/support/e2e-scorecard.test.ts",
       "test/e2e/support/sanitize-trace-timing.test.ts",