diff --git a/core/src/sht3x.rs b/core/src/sht3x.rs
index 50e3114..4f4c931 100644
--- a/core/src/sht3x.rs
+++ b/core/src/sht3x.rs
@@ -77,6 +77,15 @@ pub const SOFT_RESET_MAX_MS: u32 = 2;
 /// Worst-case power-up time (data sheet: 1.5 ms).
 pub const POWER_UP_MAX_MS: u32 = 2;
 
+/// Quiet time to leave between two consecutive commands.
+///
+/// The data sheet gives durations for individual commands but no general
+/// inter-command gap, and the sensor NACKs a command that arrives while it is
+/// still busy with the previous one. Sending a measurement immediately after a
+/// status-register write is enough to trigger it. 5 ms is far more than any
+/// non-measurement command needs and only ever costs us during bring-up.
+pub const COMMAND_SETTLE_MS: u32 = 5;
+
 /// Split a 16-bit command into the wire byte order (MSB first).
 pub const fn command_bytes(cmd: u16) -> [u8; 2] {
     cmd.to_be_bytes()
diff --git a/firmware/src/main.rs b/firmware/src/main.rs
index 225d6c2..4cb6527 100644
--- a/firmware/src/main.rs
+++ b/firmware/src/main.rs
@@ -488,6 +488,17 @@ mod app {
 
         Mono::delay(board::Duration::millis(u64::from(sht3x::POWER_UP_MAX_MS))).await;
 
+        // Bring-up. Every command is followed by quiet time, because the sensor
+        // NACKs anything arriving while it is still busy with the previous one.
+        // Without the settle after `clear_status` the first measurement below
+        // failed on every boot, leaving a permanent i2c_errors=1 that a master
+        // polling READ_STATUS could not distinguish from a real fault.
+        //
+        // Failures here are logged but deliberately not counted: the counters
+        // describe operational health, and an unreadable serial already shows up
+        // as a zero in READ_INFO.
+        let settle = board::Duration::millis(u64::from(sht3x::COMMAND_SETTLE_MS));
+
         // Clear whatever state a warm reset left behind, so the sensor's
         // configuration is known regardless of how we got here.
         let _ = sensor.soft_reset();
@@ -500,7 +511,10 @@ mod app {
             }
             Err(e) => defmt::warn!("SHT31 serial read failed: {}", e),
         }
+        Mono::delay(settle).await;
+
         let _ = sensor.clear_status();
+        Mono::delay(settle).await;
 
         let period = board::Duration::millis(u64::from(board::SENSOR_PERIOD_MS));
         let mut next = Mono::now();
@@ -561,15 +575,32 @@ mod app {
 
             // Read the status register so an unexpected sensor reset shows up in
             // READ_STATUS instead of silently reverting the configuration.
-            if let Ok(status) = sensor.read_status() {
-                let saw_reset = status & sht3x::status::SYSTEM_RESET_DETECTED != 0;
-                cx.shared.state.lock(|s| {
-                    s.sensor_status = status;
-                    s.sensor_reset_seen |= saw_reset;
-                });
-                if saw_reset {
-                    defmt::warn!("SHT31 reported a reset (status {=u16:#06x})", status);
-                    let _ = sensor.clear_status();
+            //
+            // Failures are counted rather than discarded. Swallowing them made a
+            // persistently unreadable status indistinguishable from a genuinely
+            // clean one, since both leave `sensor_status` at zero. They are kept
+            // out of the consecutive-failure count so only the measurement path
+            // drives the fault and reset logic.
+            match sensor.read_status() {
+                Ok(status) => {
+                    let saw_reset = status & sht3x::status::SYSTEM_RESET_DETECTED != 0;
+                    cx.shared.state.lock(|s| {
+                        s.sensor_status = status;
+                        s.sensor_reset_seen |= saw_reset;
+                    });
+                    if saw_reset {
+                        defmt::warn!("SHT31 reported a reset (status {=u16:#06x})", status);
+                        let _ = sensor.clear_status();
+                    }
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    defmt::warn!("SHT31 status read failed: {}", e);
+                    cx.shared.state.lock(|s| match e {
+                        crate::sensor::Error::I2c => s.i2c_errors = s.i2c_errors.saturating_add(1),
+                        crate::sensor::Error::Crc => {
+                            s.sensor_crc_errors = s.sensor_crc_errors.saturating_add(1)
+                        }
+                    });
                 }
             }