diff --git a/cmd/server/tests/sync_integration_test.go b/cmd/server/tests/sync_integration_test.go
index 6b90f661..f0228c70 100644
--- a/cmd/server/tests/sync_integration_test.go
+++ b/cmd/server/tests/sync_integration_test.go
@@ -37,7 +37,10 @@ func setupSyncTestDB(t *testing.T) *database.Queries {
 		// here silently destroyed a live reader's stats data on every
 		// suite run (2026-10-14). Sync-test sessions belong to the
 		// test-sync users; deleting those users cascades their rows.
-		_, _ = dbPool.Exec(ctx, "DELETE FROM sync_queue WHERE true")
+		// Same rule for sync_queue: a `WHERE true` wipe could discard a
+		// REAL device's pending offline entries — scope to the test
+		// devices (their cascade covers the rest).
+		_, _ = dbPool.Exec(ctx, "DELETE FROM sync_queue WHERE device_id IN (SELECT id FROM devices WHERE device_name LIKE 'Test %')")
 		_, _ = dbPool.Exec(ctx, "DELETE FROM users WHERE email LIKE 'test-sync%'")
 		_, _ = dbPool.Exec(ctx, "DELETE FROM media_items WHERE title LIKE 'Test %'")
 		_, _ = dbPool.Exec(ctx, "DELETE FROM libraries WHERE name LIKE 'Test %'")