diff --git a/.github/workflows/update-changelog.yml b/.github/workflows/update-changelog.yml
index 4d904e619f..c50a301ecf 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/update-changelog.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/update-changelog.yml
@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
 name: Update Changelog
 
+# Manual only: promote.yml stamps the released section at release time on its
+# own. Dispatch this to refresh the [Unreleased] section between releases.
 on:
-  push:
-    branches:
-      - main
-    paths-ignore:
-      - 'CHANGELOG.md'
+  workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions:
   contents: write
@@ -18,6 +16,9 @@ concurrency:
 
 jobs:
   update-changelog:
+    # The content comes from main whatever ref was dispatched; refuse the rest so a
+    # stale-branch dispatch cannot open a PR built against a different tip.
+    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
     # ubuntu-slim: git + gh + coreutils + stdlib python3 is the whole toolchain here. Note this job checks out
     # full history below and slim is single-CPU, so the clone is slower than on a VM — and
     # slim's 15-minute platform cap is hard, matching the timeout already set here. A run that
@@ -37,6 +38,8 @@ jobs:
           # Find the latest production tag (vX.Y.Z)
           PROD=$(git tag --list 'v[0-9]*.[0-9]*.[0-9]*' --sort=-v:refname | grep -E '^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$' | head -1)
           echo "prod=${PROD:-}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          # The tip of the checked-out main; github.sha is the dispatched ref's tip.
+          echo "head=$(git rev-parse HEAD)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
           if [ -z "$PROD" ]; then
             echo "No production tag found. Skipping."
@@ -83,7 +86,7 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
           REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
-          HEAD_SHA: ${{ github.sha }}
+          HEAD_SHA: ${{ steps.tags.outputs.head }}
           PROD_TAG: ${{ steps.tags.outputs.prod }}
           INTERNAL_TAG: ${{ steps.tags.outputs.internal }}
           CLOSED_TAG: ${{ steps.tags.outputs.closed }}
@@ -284,7 +287,7 @@ jobs:
           else
             gh pr create \
               --title "docs: update CHANGELOG.md" \
-              --body "Automated changelog update from push to main." \
+              --body "Automated changelog refresh, dispatched from main." \
               --head "$BRANCH" \
               --base main \
               --label "automation" \
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 22d57ef09c..6405211d7f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 # Changelog
 
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
-The `[Unreleased]` section is automatically updated on every push to `main`.
+The `[Unreleased]` section is refreshed by running the `Update Changelog` workflow by hand;
+a production release stamps its own section here automatically.
 See [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/meshtastic/Meshtastic-Android/releases) for the full history.
 
 <!-- UNRELEASED_START -->
diff --git a/RELEASE_PROCESS.md b/RELEASE_PROCESS.md
index 39b335173e..9995088c0a 100644
--- a/RELEASE_PROCESS.md
+++ b/RELEASE_PROCESS.md
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ The entire release process is managed by a single GitHub Action: **`Create or Pr
         already in flight. Internal releases and dry runs are exempt (Play internal testing
         skips full review).
 -   **Automation:** The workflow handles everything automatically:
-    -   **Generates Changelog:** Categorizes merged PRs by their labels (per `.github/release.yml`) into GitHub's auto-generated release notes; a separate automation workflow opens a PR to fold the same notes into `CHANGELOG.md`.
+    -   **Generates Changelog:** Categorizes merged PRs by their labels (per `.github/release.yml`) into GitHub's auto-generated release notes; a production release also opens a PR folding the same notes into `CHANGELOG.md`. Between releases that file is only refreshed by dispatching the `Update Changelog` workflow by hand.
     -   **Tags & Builds** *(internal releases)*: Pushes the incremental tag first — there is no lint/test gate in this workflow, that's the separate PR/CI pipeline — then builds the Android bundle/APK and Desktop installers from that tag; if the build fails, an automatic cleanup job deletes the tag so a retry starts clean. Promotions skip this entirely and retag the already-built artifact (see below).
     -   **Deploys Android:** Uploads the build to the correct Google Play track and attaches artifacts (`.aab`/`.apk`) to a GitHub Release.
     -   **Deploys Desktop** *(internal releases)*: Builds native installers (DMG, MSI, EXE, DEB, RPM, AppImage) and Flatpak sources on a matrix of runners and attaches them to the GitHub Release.