diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b5ca7b9e69b8..b65ab8bcf090 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+### ⚠️ Breaking changes to non-stable APIs
+
+- `GrpcRequest.getMethod()` now returns `@Nullable` to support unregistered-service requests where
+  no `MethodDescriptor` is available
+  ([#16214](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java-instrumentation/pull/16214))
+
 ## Version 2.25.0 (2026-02-13)
 
 ### ⚠️ Breaking changes to non-stable APIs
diff --git a/instrumentation-api-incubator/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/api/incubator/semconv/rpc/RpcAttributesGetter.java b/instrumentation-api-incubator/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/api/incubator/semconv/rpc/RpcAttributesGetter.java
index 397cd3711fcf..8d821179afa4 100644
--- a/instrumentation-api-incubator/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/api/incubator/semconv/rpc/RpcAttributesGetter.java
+++ b/instrumentation-api-incubator/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/api/incubator/semconv/rpc/RpcAttributesGetter.java
@@ -68,6 +68,15 @@ default String getRpcMethod(REQUEST request) {
     return null;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Returns the original method name when the method reported via {@link #getRpcMethod(REQUEST)} is
+   * set to {@code _OTHER} because the method is not recognized by the RPC framework.
+   */
+  @Nullable
+  default String getRpcMethodOriginal(REQUEST request) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Returns a description of a class of error the operation ended with.
    *
diff --git a/instrumentation-api-incubator/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/api/incubator/semconv/rpc/RpcCommonAttributesExtractor.java b/instrumentation-api-incubator/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/api/incubator/semconv/rpc/RpcCommonAttributesExtractor.java
index 724738af2196..84c849fc8cda 100644
--- a/instrumentation-api-incubator/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/api/incubator/semconv/rpc/RpcCommonAttributesExtractor.java
+++ b/instrumentation-api-incubator/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/api/incubator/semconv/rpc/RpcCommonAttributesExtractor.java
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ abstract class RpcCommonAttributesExtractor<REQUEST, RESPONSE>
     implements AttributesExtractor<REQUEST, RESPONSE> {
 
   static final AttributeKey<String> RPC_METHOD = AttributeKey.stringKey("rpc.method");
+  static final AttributeKey<String> RPC_METHOD_ORIGINAL =
+      AttributeKey.stringKey("rpc.method_original");
 
   // Stable semconv keys
   static final AttributeKey<String> RPC_SYSTEM_NAME = AttributeKey.stringKey("rpc.system.name");
@@ -42,6 +44,7 @@ public final void onStart(AttributesBuilder attributes, Context parentContext, R
     if (emitStableRpcSemconv()) {
       attributes.put(RPC_SYSTEM_NAME, getter.getRpcSystemName(request));
       attributes.put(RPC_METHOD, getter.getRpcMethod(request));
+      attributes.put(RPC_METHOD_ORIGINAL, getter.getRpcMethodOriginal(request));
     }
 
     if (emitOldRpcSemconv()) {
diff --git a/instrumentation/armeria/armeria-grpc-1.14/javaagent/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/javaagent/instrumentation/armeria/grpc/v1_14/ArmeriaGrpcServiceBuilderInstrumentation.java b/instrumentation/armeria/armeria-grpc-1.14/javaagent/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/javaagent/instrumentation/armeria/grpc/v1_14/ArmeriaGrpcServiceBuilderInstrumentation.java
index 8c97742ade8e..48921b203f2f 100644
--- a/instrumentation/armeria/armeria-grpc-1.14/javaagent/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/javaagent/instrumentation/armeria/grpc/v1_14/ArmeriaGrpcServiceBuilderInstrumentation.java
+++ b/instrumentation/armeria/armeria-grpc-1.14/javaagent/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/javaagent/instrumentation/armeria/grpc/v1_14/ArmeriaGrpcServiceBuilderInstrumentation.java
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 import com.linecorp.armeria.server.grpc.GrpcServiceBuilder;
 import io.opentelemetry.api.GlobalOpenTelemetry;
 import io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.grpc.v1_6.GrpcTelemetry;
+import io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.grpc.v1_6.internal.Internal;
 import io.opentelemetry.javaagent.extension.instrumentation.TypeInstrumentation;
 import io.opentelemetry.javaagent.extension.instrumentation.TypeTransformer;
 import net.bytebuddy.asm.Advice;
@@ -36,7 +37,8 @@ public static class BuildAdvice {
 
     @Advice.OnMethodEnter
     public static void onEnter(@Advice.This GrpcServiceBuilder builder) {
-      builder.intercept(GrpcTelemetry.create(GlobalOpenTelemetry.get()).createServerInterceptor());
+      GrpcTelemetry telemetry = GrpcTelemetry.create(GlobalOpenTelemetry.get());
+      builder.intercept(Internal.createServerInterceptor(telemetry));
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/javaagent/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/javaagent/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcServerBuilderInstrumentation.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/javaagent/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/javaagent/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcServerBuilderInstrumentation.java
index 022f48885fd6..a35bf76a6c73 100644
--- a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/javaagent/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/javaagent/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcServerBuilderInstrumentation.java
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/javaagent/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/javaagent/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcServerBuilderInstrumentation.java
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ public static CallDepth onEnter(@Advice.This ServerBuilder<?> serverBuilder) {
         return callDepth;
       }
       if (!Boolean.TRUE.equals(SERVER_BUILDER_INSTRUMENTED.get(serverBuilder))) {
-        serverBuilder.intercept(GrpcSingletons.SERVER_INTERCEPTOR);
+        GrpcSingletons.configureServerBuilder(serverBuilder);
         SERVER_BUILDER_INSTRUMENTED.set(serverBuilder, true);
       }
       return callDepth;
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/javaagent/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/javaagent/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcSingletons.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/javaagent/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/javaagent/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcSingletons.java
index a28f136fa76b..2ce252d56328 100644
--- a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/javaagent/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/javaagent/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcSingletons.java
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/javaagent/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/javaagent/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcSingletons.java
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
 import io.grpc.Context;
 import io.grpc.ManagedChannelBuilder;
 import io.grpc.ServerBuilder;
-import io.grpc.ServerInterceptor;
 import io.opentelemetry.api.GlobalOpenTelemetry;
 import io.opentelemetry.api.incubator.config.DeclarativeConfigProperties;
 import io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.api.incubator.config.internal.DeclarativeConfigUtil;
@@ -33,7 +32,7 @@ public final class GrpcSingletons {
 
   public static final ClientInterceptor CLIENT_INTERCEPTOR;
 
-  public static final ServerInterceptor SERVER_INTERCEPTOR;
+  private static final GrpcTelemetry GRPC_TELEMETRY;
 
   private static final AtomicReference<Context.Storage> STORAGE_REFERENCE = new AtomicReference<>();
 
@@ -56,7 +55,7 @@ public final class GrpcSingletons {
             .get("server")
             .getScalarList("request", String.class, emptyList());
 
-    GrpcTelemetry telemetry =
+    GRPC_TELEMETRY =
         GrpcTelemetry.builder(GlobalOpenTelemetry.get())
             .setEmitMessageEvents(emitMessageEvents)
             .setCaptureExperimentalSpanAttributes(experimentalSpanAttributes)
@@ -64,8 +63,7 @@ public final class GrpcSingletons {
             .setCapturedServerRequestMetadata(serverRequestMetadata)
             .build();
 
-    CLIENT_INTERCEPTOR = telemetry.createClientInterceptor();
-    SERVER_INTERCEPTOR = telemetry.createServerInterceptor();
+    CLIENT_INTERCEPTOR = GRPC_TELEMETRY.createClientInterceptor();
   }
 
   public static Context.Storage getStorage() {
@@ -77,5 +75,9 @@ public static Context.Storage setStorage(Context.Storage storage) {
     return getStorage();
   }
 
+  public static void configureServerBuilder(ServerBuilder<?> serverBuilder) {
+    GRPC_TELEMETRY.configureServerBuilder(serverBuilder);
+  }
+
   private GrpcSingletons() {}
 }
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/README.md b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/README.md
index 09674fbb97a5..513baf22cf7e 100644
--- a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/README.md
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/README.md
@@ -37,9 +37,9 @@ void configureClientInterceptor(OpenTelemetry openTelemetry, NettyChannelBuilder
   nettyChannelBuilder.intercept(grpcTelemetry.createClientInterceptor());
 }
 
-// For server-side, attatch the interceptor to your service.
-ServerServiceDefinition configureServerInterceptor(OpenTelemetry openTelemetry, ServerServiceDefinition serviceDefinition) {
+// For server-side, configure the server builder.
+void configureServer(OpenTelemetry openTelemetry, ServerBuilder<?> serverBuilder) {
   GrpcTelemetry grpcTelemetry = GrpcTelemetry.create(openTelemetry);
-  return ServerInterceptors.intercept(serviceDefinition, grpcTelemetry.createServerInterceptor());
+  grpcTelemetry.configureServerBuilder(serverBuilder);
 }
 ```
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcRequest.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcRequest.java
index 926799191bb2..9d22bb58d281 100644
--- a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcRequest.java
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcRequest.java
@@ -12,7 +12,9 @@
 
 public final class GrpcRequest {
 
-  private final MethodDescriptor<?, ?> method;
+  @Nullable private volatile MethodDescriptor<?, ?> method;
+  private final String fullMethodName;
+  @Nullable private final String originalFullMethodName;
 
   @Nullable private volatile Metadata metadata;
 
@@ -29,11 +31,19 @@ public final class GrpcRequest {
       @Nullable SocketAddress peerSocketAddress,
       @Nullable String authority) {
     this.method = method;
+    this.fullMethodName = method.getFullMethodName();
+    this.originalFullMethodName = null;
     this.metadata = metadata;
     this.peerSocketAddress = peerSocketAddress;
     setLogicalAddress(authority);
   }
 
+  GrpcRequest(String fullMethodName, @Nullable String originalFullMethodName, Metadata metadata) {
+    this.fullMethodName = fullMethodName;
+    this.originalFullMethodName = originalFullMethodName;
+    this.metadata = metadata;
+  }
+
   private void setLogicalAddress(@Nullable String authority) {
     if (authority == null) {
       return;
@@ -51,10 +61,20 @@ private void setLogicalAddress(@Nullable String authority) {
     }
   }
 
+  @Nullable
   public MethodDescriptor<?, ?> getMethod() {
     return method;
   }
 
+  String getFullMethodName() {
+    return fullMethodName;
+  }
+
+  @Nullable
+  String getOriginalFullMethodName() {
+    return originalFullMethodName;
+  }
+
   @Nullable
   public Metadata getMetadata() {
     return metadata;
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcRpcAttributesGetter.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcRpcAttributesGetter.java
index 99f5d4fba3e1..3e87df9bdf3d 100644
--- a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcRpcAttributesGetter.java
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcRpcAttributesGetter.java
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ public String getSystem(GrpcRequest request) {
   @Override
   @Nullable
   public String getService(GrpcRequest request) {
-    String fullMethodName = request.getMethod().getFullMethodName();
+    String fullMethodName = request.getFullMethodName();
     int slashIndex = fullMethodName.lastIndexOf('/');
     if (slashIndex == -1) {
       return null;
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ public String getService(GrpcRequest request) {
   @Override
   @Nullable
   public String getMethod(GrpcRequest request) {
-    String fullMethodName = request.getMethod().getFullMethodName();
+    String fullMethodName = request.getFullMethodName();
     int slashIndex = fullMethodName.lastIndexOf('/');
     if (slashIndex == -1) {
       return null;
@@ -47,8 +47,9 @@ public String getMethod(GrpcRequest request) {
   }
 
   @Override
+  @Nullable
   public String getRpcMethod(GrpcRequest request) {
-    return request.getMethod().getFullMethodName();
+    return request.getFullMethodName();
   }
 
   @Override
@@ -63,6 +64,12 @@ public Long getResponseSize(GrpcRequest request) {
     return request.getResponseSize();
   }
 
+  @Override
+  @Nullable
+  public String getRpcMethodOriginal(GrpcRequest request) {
+    return request.getOriginalFullMethodName();
+  }
+
   List<String> metadataValue(GrpcRequest request, String key) {
     if (request.getMetadata() == null) {
       return emptyList();
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcSpanNameExtractor.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcSpanNameExtractor.java
index 35a08ba0fb16..c44310c5e6ee 100644
--- a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcSpanNameExtractor.java
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcSpanNameExtractor.java
@@ -11,6 +11,6 @@
 final class GrpcSpanNameExtractor implements SpanNameExtractor<GrpcRequest> {
   @Override
   public String extract(GrpcRequest request) {
-    return request.getMethod().getFullMethodName();
+    return request.getFullMethodName();
   }
 }
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcTelemetry.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcTelemetry.java
index d4c97c451144..34f2f66470c0 100644
--- a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcTelemetry.java
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcTelemetry.java
@@ -6,15 +6,21 @@
 package io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.grpc.v1_6;
 
 import io.grpc.ClientInterceptor;
+import io.grpc.ServerBuilder;
 import io.grpc.ServerInterceptor;
 import io.grpc.Status;
 import io.opentelemetry.api.OpenTelemetry;
 import io.opentelemetry.context.propagation.ContextPropagators;
 import io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.api.instrumenter.Instrumenter;
+import io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.grpc.v1_6.internal.Internal;
 
 /** Entrypoint for instrumenting gRPC servers or clients. */
 public final class GrpcTelemetry {
 
+  static {
+    Internal.setServerInterceptorFactory(GrpcTelemetry::buildServerInterceptor);
+  }
+
   /** Returns a new {@link GrpcTelemetry} configured with the given {@link OpenTelemetry}. */
   public static GrpcTelemetry create(OpenTelemetry openTelemetry) {
     return builder(openTelemetry).build();
@@ -53,11 +59,30 @@ public ClientInterceptor createClientInterceptor() {
         clientInstrumenter, propagators, captureExperimentalSpanAttributes, emitMessageEvents);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Configures a {@link ServerBuilder} with both the server interceptor and the stream tracer
+   * factory. The interceptor handles registered service methods, while the stream tracer factory
+   * creates spans for requests to unregistered services that are not seen by server interceptors.
+   */
+  public void configureServerBuilder(ServerBuilder<?> serverBuilder) {
+    serverBuilder.intercept(buildServerInterceptor());
+    serverBuilder.addStreamTracerFactory(
+        new TracingServerStreamTracerFactory(serverInstrumenter, propagators));
+  }
+
   /**
    * Returns a new {@link ServerInterceptor} for use with methods like {@link
    * io.grpc.ServerBuilder#intercept(ServerInterceptor)}.
+   *
+   * @deprecated Use {@link #configureServerBuilder(ServerBuilder)} instead, which also registers
+   *     the stream tracer factory needed to capture requests to unregistered services.
    */
+  @Deprecated
   public ServerInterceptor createServerInterceptor() {
+    return buildServerInterceptor();
+  }
+
+  ServerInterceptor buildServerInterceptor() {
     return new TracingServerInterceptor(
         serverInstrumenter, captureExperimentalSpanAttributes, emitMessageEvents);
   }
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/TracingServerInterceptor.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/TracingServerInterceptor.java
index 5440d9ba34db..2cc9b80b7a1f 100644
--- a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/TracingServerInterceptor.java
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/TracingServerInterceptor.java
@@ -70,6 +70,14 @@ public <REQUEST, RESPONSE> ServerCall.Listener<REQUEST> interceptCall(
       // field.
       authority = GrpcAuthorityStorage.getAuthority(call);
     }
+
+    // If a ServerStreamTracer is active, mark it as handled so it won't create a span for this
+    // request in streamClosed().
+    TracingServerStreamTracer streamTracer = TracingServerStreamTracer.STREAM_TRACER_KEY.get();
+    if (streamTracer != null) {
+      streamTracer.markInterceptorHandled();
+    }
+
     GrpcRequest request =
         new GrpcRequest(
             call.getMethodDescriptor(),
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/TracingServerStreamTracer.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/TracingServerStreamTracer.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..b77b0b3dd07e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/TracingServerStreamTracer.java
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+package io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.grpc.v1_6;
+
+import static io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.api.internal.SemconvStability.emitStableRpcSemconv;
+
+import io.grpc.Grpc;
+import io.grpc.Metadata;
+import io.grpc.ServerCall;
+import io.grpc.ServerStreamTracer;
+import io.grpc.Status;
+import io.opentelemetry.context.Context;
+import io.opentelemetry.context.propagation.ContextPropagators;
+import io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.api.instrumenter.Instrumenter;
+import io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.api.internal.InstrumenterUtil;
+import java.net.SocketAddress;
+import java.time.Instant;
+import javax.annotation.Nullable;
+
+/**
+ * A {@link ServerStreamTracer} that detects whether a gRPC server request was handled by the {@link
+ * TracingServerInterceptor}. If the interceptor does not fire (unregistered method), {@link
+ * #streamClosed(Status)} creates a span for the unhandled request.
+ */
+final class TracingServerStreamTracer extends ServerStreamTracer {
+
+  static final io.grpc.Context.Key<TracingServerStreamTracer> STREAM_TRACER_KEY =
+      io.grpc.Context.key("otel-grpc-stream-tracer");
+
+  private static final String UNKNOWN_METHOD_SPAN_NAME = "_OTHER";
+
+  private final Instrumenter<GrpcRequest, Status> instrumenter;
+  private final ContextPropagators propagators;
+  private final String fullMethodName;
+  private final Metadata headers;
+  private final Context parentContext;
+  private final Instant startTime;
+
+  private volatile boolean interceptorHandled;
+  @Nullable private volatile SocketAddress peerAddress;
+
+  TracingServerStreamTracer(
+      Instrumenter<GrpcRequest, Status> instrumenter,
+      ContextPropagators propagators,
+      String fullMethodName,
+      Metadata headers,
+      Context parentContext) {
+    this.instrumenter = instrumenter;
+    this.propagators = propagators;
+    this.fullMethodName = fullMethodName;
+    this.headers = headers;
+    this.parentContext = parentContext;
+    this.startTime = Instant.now();
+  }
+
+  void markInterceptorHandled() {
+    interceptorHandled = true;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public io.grpc.Context filterContext(io.grpc.Context context) {
+    return context.withValue(STREAM_TRACER_KEY, this);
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public void serverCallStarted(ServerCall<?, ?> call) {
+    if (peerAddress == null) {
+      SocketAddress addr = call.getAttributes().get(Grpc.TRANSPORT_ATTR_REMOTE_ADDR);
+      if (addr != null) {
+        peerAddress = addr;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public void streamClosed(Status status) {
+    if (interceptorHandled || !emitStableRpcSemconv()) {
+      return;
+    }
+    // Interceptor did not fire — this is an unregistered method
+    GrpcRequest request = new GrpcRequest(UNKNOWN_METHOD_SPAN_NAME, fullMethodName, headers);
+    if (peerAddress != null) {
+      request.setPeerSocketAddress(peerAddress);
+    }
+    // Extract trace context from incoming headers (e.g. W3C traceparent)
+    Context extracted =
+        propagators
+            .getTextMapPropagator()
+            .extract(parentContext, request, GrpcRequestGetter.INSTANCE);
+    if (instrumenter.shouldStart(extracted, request)) {
+      InstrumenterUtil.startAndEnd(
+          instrumenter, extracted, request, status, status.getCause(), startTime, Instant.now());
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/TracingServerStreamTracerFactory.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/TracingServerStreamTracerFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e79cdd3fb81b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/TracingServerStreamTracerFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+package io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.grpc.v1_6;
+
+import io.grpc.Metadata;
+import io.grpc.ServerStreamTracer;
+import io.grpc.Status;
+import io.opentelemetry.context.Context;
+import io.opentelemetry.context.propagation.ContextPropagators;
+import io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.api.instrumenter.Instrumenter;
+
+final class TracingServerStreamTracerFactory extends ServerStreamTracer.Factory {
+
+  private final Instrumenter<GrpcRequest, Status> instrumenter;
+  private final ContextPropagators propagators;
+
+  TracingServerStreamTracerFactory(
+      Instrumenter<GrpcRequest, Status> instrumenter, ContextPropagators propagators) {
+    this.instrumenter = instrumenter;
+    this.propagators = propagators;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public ServerStreamTracer newServerStreamTracer(String fullMethodName, Metadata headers) {
+    return new TracingServerStreamTracer(
+        instrumenter, propagators, fullMethodName, headers, Context.current());
+  }
+}
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/internal/Internal.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/internal/Internal.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..6bc096798134
--- /dev/null
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/internal/Internal.java
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+package io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.grpc.v1_6.internal;
+
+import io.grpc.ServerInterceptor;
+import io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.grpc.v1_6.GrpcTelemetry;
+import java.util.function.Function;
+
+/**
+ * This class is internal and is hence not for public use. Its APIs are unstable and can change at
+ * any time.
+ */
+public final class Internal {
+
+  private static volatile Function<GrpcTelemetry, ServerInterceptor> serverInterceptorFactory;
+
+  public static void setServerInterceptorFactory(
+      Function<GrpcTelemetry, ServerInterceptor> factory) {
+    serverInterceptorFactory = factory;
+  }
+
+  public static ServerInterceptor createServerInterceptor(GrpcTelemetry telemetry) {
+    return serverInterceptorFactory.apply(telemetry);
+  }
+
+  private Internal() {}
+}
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/test/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcStreamingTest.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/test/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcStreamingTest.java
index f7323d13e043..ecd04f307b6b 100644
--- a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/test/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcStreamingTest.java
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/test/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcStreamingTest.java
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ class GrpcStreamingTest extends AbstractGrpcStreamingTest {
 
   @Override
   protected ServerBuilder<?> configureServer(ServerBuilder<?> server) {
-    return server.intercept(
-        GrpcTelemetry.create(testing.getOpenTelemetry()).createServerInterceptor());
+    GrpcTelemetry.create(testing.getOpenTelemetry()).configureServerBuilder(server);
+    return server;
   }
 
   @Override
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/test/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcTest.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/test/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcTest.java
index d24b5c170c02..1789e634651a 100644
--- a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/test/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcTest.java
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/library/src/test/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/GrpcTest.java
@@ -44,11 +44,12 @@ class GrpcTest extends AbstractGrpcTest {
 
   @Override
   protected ServerBuilder<?> configureServer(ServerBuilder<?> server) {
-    return server.intercept(
+    GrpcTelemetry telemetry =
         GrpcTelemetry.builder(testing.getOpenTelemetry())
             .setCapturedServerRequestMetadata(singletonList(SERVER_REQUEST_METADATA_KEY))
-            .build()
-            .createServerInterceptor());
+            .build();
+    telemetry.configureServerBuilder(server);
+    return server;
   }
 
   @Override
@@ -84,17 +85,14 @@ public void sayHello(
           }
         };
 
-    Server server =
-        ServerBuilder.forPort(0)
-            .addService(greeter)
-            .intercept(
-                GrpcTelemetry.builder(testing.getOpenTelemetry())
-                    .addAttributesExtractor(new CustomAttributesExtractor())
-                    .addServerAttributeExtractor(new CustomAttributesExtractorV2("serverSideValue"))
-                    .build()
-                    .createServerInterceptor())
-            .build()
-            .start();
+    GrpcTelemetry serverTelemetry =
+        GrpcTelemetry.builder(testing.getOpenTelemetry())
+            .addAttributesExtractor(new CustomAttributesExtractor())
+            .addServerAttributeExtractor(new CustomAttributesExtractorV2("serverSideValue"))
+            .build();
+    ServerBuilder<?> serverBuilder = ServerBuilder.forPort(0).addService(greeter);
+    serverTelemetry.configureServerBuilder(serverBuilder);
+    Server server = serverBuilder.build().start();
 
     ManagedChannel channel =
         createChannel(
diff --git a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/testing/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/AbstractGrpcTest.java b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/testing/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/AbstractGrpcTest.java
index 493936506493..13e0b751f3c8 100644
--- a/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/testing/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/AbstractGrpcTest.java
+++ b/instrumentation/grpc-1.6/testing/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/instrumentation/grpc/v1_6/AbstractGrpcTest.java
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 import static io.opentelemetry.semconv.incubating.MessageIncubatingAttributes.MESSAGE_TYPE;
 import static io.opentelemetry.semconv.incubating.RpcIncubatingAttributes.RPC_GRPC_STATUS_CODE;
 import static io.opentelemetry.semconv.incubating.RpcIncubatingAttributes.RPC_METHOD;
+import static io.opentelemetry.semconv.incubating.RpcIncubatingAttributes.RPC_METHOD_ORIGINAL;
 import static io.opentelemetry.semconv.incubating.RpcIncubatingAttributes.RPC_RESPONSE_STATUS_CODE;
 import static io.opentelemetry.semconv.incubating.RpcIncubatingAttributes.RPC_SERVICE;
 import static io.opentelemetry.semconv.incubating.RpcIncubatingAttributes.RPC_SYSTEM;
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@
 import io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.testing.junit.InstrumentationExtension;
 import io.opentelemetry.instrumentation.testing.util.ThrowingRunnable;
 import io.opentelemetry.sdk.testing.assertj.AttributeAssertion;
+import io.opentelemetry.sdk.testing.assertj.SpanDataAssert;
 import io.opentelemetry.sdk.trace.data.StatusData;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -78,6 +80,7 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
+import java.util.function.Consumer;
 import java.util.stream.Stream;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
@@ -809,6 +812,82 @@ private static Stream<Arguments> provideErrorArguments() {
         arguments(Status.NOT_FOUND.withDescription("some description")));
   }
 
+  @Test
+  void unknownService() throws Exception {
+    // Create a server without GreeterService registered
+    Server server = configureServer(ServerBuilder.forPort(0)).build().start();
+    ManagedChannel channel = createChannel(server);
+    closer.add(() -> channel.shutdownNow().awaitTermination(10, SECONDS));
+    closer.add(() -> server.shutdownNow().awaitTermination());
+
+    GreeterGrpc.GreeterBlockingStub client = GreeterGrpc.newBlockingStub(channel);
+
+    Helloworld.Request request = Helloworld.Request.newBuilder().setName("test").build();
+    assertThatThrownBy(() -> client.sayHello(request))
+        .isInstanceOfSatisfying(
+            StatusRuntimeException.class,
+            t -> assertThat(t.getStatus().getCode()).isEqualTo(Status.Code.UNIMPLEMENTED));
+
+    List<Consumer<SpanDataAssert>> spanAsserts = new ArrayList<>();
+    spanAsserts.add(
+        span ->
+            span.hasName("example.Greeter/SayHello")
+                .hasKind(SpanKind.CLIENT)
+                .hasNoParent()
+                .hasStatus(StatusData.error())
+                .hasAttributesSatisfyingExactly(
+                    addExtraClientAttributes(
+                        experimentalSatisfies(
+                            GRPC_RECEIVED_MESSAGE_COUNT,
+                            v -> assertThat(v).isEqualTo(0)),
+                        experimentalSatisfies(
+                            GRPC_SENT_MESSAGE_COUNT,
+                            v -> assertThat(v).isGreaterThan(0)),
+                        equalTo(RPC_SYSTEM, emitOldRpcSemconv() ? "grpc" : null),
+                        equalTo(
+                            RPC_SYSTEM_NAME, emitStableRpcSemconv() ? "grpc" : null),
+                        equalTo(
+                            RPC_SERVICE,
+                            emitOldRpcSemconv() ? "example.Greeter" : null),
+                        equalTo(
+                            RPC_METHOD,
+                            emitStableRpcSemconv()
+                                ? "example.Greeter/SayHello"
+                                : "SayHello"),
+                        equalTo(
+                            RPC_GRPC_STATUS_CODE,
+                            emitOldRpcSemconv()
+                                ? (long) Status.Code.UNIMPLEMENTED.value()
+                                : null),
+                        equalTo(
+                            RPC_RESPONSE_STATUS_CODE,
+                            emitStableRpcSemconv()
+                                ? Status.Code.UNIMPLEMENTED.name()
+                                : null),
+                        equalTo(SERVER_ADDRESS, "localhost"),
+                        equalTo(SERVER_PORT, (long) server.getPort()))));
+    if (emitStableRpcSemconv()) {
+      spanAsserts.add(
+          span ->
+              span.hasName("_OTHER")
+                  .hasKind(SpanKind.SERVER)
+                  .hasParent(trace.getSpan(0))
+                  .hasStatus(StatusData.error())
+                  .hasAttributesSatisfyingExactly(
+                      equalTo(RPC_SYSTEM_NAME, "grpc"),
+                      equalTo(RPC_METHOD, "_OTHER"),
+                      equalTo(
+                          RPC_METHOD_ORIGINAL, "example.Greeter/SayHello"),
+                      equalTo(
+                          RPC_RESPONSE_STATUS_CODE,
+                          Status.Code.UNIMPLEMENTED.name())));
+    }
+
+    testing()
+        .waitAndAssertTraces(
+            trace -> trace.hasSpansSatisfyingExactly(spanAsserts));
+  }
+
   @Test
   void userContextPreserved() throws Exception {
     Context.Key<String> key = Context.key("cat");