diff --git a/Sources/Meeting/MeetingSessionController.swift b/Sources/Meeting/MeetingSessionController.swift
index 744196f5..00fa4504 100644
--- a/Sources/Meeting/MeetingSessionController.swift
+++ b/Sources/Meeting/MeetingSessionController.swift
@@ -1433,6 +1433,7 @@ final class MeetingSessionController: ObservableObject {
                 context: baseDiagnosticsContext(
                     extra: [
                         "error": message,
+                        "failure_kind": analyticsFailureKind(from: message),
                         "queue_depth": "\(queuedTranscriptionJobs.count)",
                         "trigger": transcriptionTrigger.rawValue
                     ]
diff --git a/Sources/Speech/ParakeetEngine.swift b/Sources/Speech/ParakeetEngine.swift
index 551d8a3b..dc6d856d 100644
--- a/Sources/Speech/ParakeetEngine.swift
+++ b/Sources/Speech/ParakeetEngine.swift
@@ -1184,6 +1184,7 @@ class ParakeetEngine: ObservableObject {
 
             self.configRecoveryTimeoutTask = nil
             self.publishRecoveryState()
+            let failureAction = ParakeetDeviceRecoveryFailurePolicy.action(wasRecording: wasRecording)
             AnalyticsReporter.track(
                 "dictation_audio_route_recovery_timeout",
                 properties: self.dictationRouteAnalyticsContext(
@@ -1196,11 +1197,18 @@ class ParakeetEngine: ObservableObject {
                     ]
                 )
             )
+            let diagnosticsEvent = failureAction.reportSentryFailure
+                ? "device_change_recovery_timeout"
+                : "device_change_recovery_deferred"
+            let diagnosticsLevel: EventLevel = failureAction.reportSentryFailure ? .error : .warning
+            let diagnosticsMessage = failureAction.reportSentryFailure
+                ? "Audio device recovery timed out"
+                : "Idle audio route still settling after device change"
             EventReporter.shared.capture(
-                level: .error,
+                level: diagnosticsLevel,
                 engine: "parakeet",
-                event: "device_change_recovery_timeout",
-                message: "Audio device recovery timed out",
+                event: diagnosticsEvent,
+                message: diagnosticsMessage,
                 context: self.dictationRouteDiagnosticsContext(
                     selection: Self.loadDictationInputDeviceSelection(),
                     extra: [
@@ -1211,7 +1219,7 @@ class ParakeetEngine: ObservableObject {
                     ]
                 )
             )
-            if wasRecording {
+            if failureAction.markRecordingInterrupted {
                 self.recordingInterrupted = true
                 EventReporter.shared.capture(
                     level: .error,
@@ -1228,8 +1236,10 @@ class ParakeetEngine: ObservableObject {
                 )
             }
             await self.rebuildAudioEngine(reason: "device_change_recovery_timeout")
-            self.prewarmRetryCount = 0
-            self.schedulePrewarmRetry()
+            if failureAction.schedulePrewarmRetry {
+                self.prewarmRetryCount = 0
+                self.schedulePrewarmRetry()
+            }
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/Sources/TranscriptedCore/Audio/AudioLevelMonitor.swift b/Sources/TranscriptedCore/Audio/AudioLevelMonitor.swift
index 0e7d3071..068b6e62 100644
--- a/Sources/TranscriptedCore/Audio/AudioLevelMonitor.swift
+++ b/Sources/TranscriptedCore/Audio/AudioLevelMonitor.swift
@@ -11,18 +11,7 @@ extension Audio {
     // MARK: - Mic Audio Level
 
     func calculateLevel(buffer: AVAudioPCMBuffer) {
-        guard let data = buffer.floatChannelData else { return }
-
-        let channelData = data.pointee
-        let frameLength = Int(buffer.frameLength)
-        guard frameLength > 0 else { return }
-
-        var sum: Float = 0
-        vDSP_dotpr(channelData, 1, channelData, 1, &sum, vDSP_Length(frameLength))
-
-        let rms = sqrt(sum / Float(frameLength))
-        let power = 20 * log10(max(rms, 0.00001))
-        let level = max(0.0, min(1.0, (power + 60) / 60))
+        let level = normalizedRMSLevel(buffer: buffer)
 
         DispatchQueue.main.async { [weak self] in
             guard let self = self else { return }
@@ -61,6 +50,38 @@ extension Audio {
         return peak.isFinite ? peak : 0
     }
 
+    func normalizedRMSLevel(buffer: AVAudioPCMBuffer) -> Float {
+        let frameCount = vDSP_Length(buffer.frameLength)
+        guard frameCount > 0,
+              let channelData = buffer.floatChannelData else {
+            return 0
+        }
+
+        let channelCount = Int(buffer.format.channelCount)
+        guard channelCount > 0 else { return 0 }
+
+        var sum: Float = 0
+        if buffer.format.isInterleaved {
+            let totalLength = frameCount * vDSP_Length(channelCount)
+            vDSP_dotpr(channelData[0], 1, channelData[0], 1, &sum, totalLength)
+        } else {
+            for channel in 0..<channelCount {
+                var channelSum: Float = 0
+                vDSP_dotpr(channelData[channel], 1, channelData[channel], 1, &channelSum, frameCount)
+                sum += channelSum
+            }
+        }
+
+        guard sum.isFinite, sum > 0 else { return 0 }
+        let sampleCount = Float(Int(frameCount) * channelCount)
+        guard sampleCount > 0 else { return 0 }
+
+        let rms = sqrt(sum / sampleCount)
+        let power = 20 * log10(max(rms, 0.00001))
+        let level = max(0.0, min(1.0, (power + 60) / 60))
+        return level.isFinite ? level : 0
+    }
+
     // MARK: - Silence Detection
 
     /// Updates silence tracking based on current audio level
@@ -108,18 +129,7 @@ extension Audio {
         }
         guard shouldProcess else { return }
 
-        guard let data = buffer.floatChannelData else { return }
-
-        let channelData = data.pointee
-        let frameLength = Int(buffer.frameLength)
-        guard frameLength > 0 else { return }
-
-        var sum: Float = 0
-        vDSP_dotpr(channelData, 1, channelData, 1, &sum, vDSP_Length(frameLength))
-
-        let rms = sqrt(sum / Float(frameLength))
-        let power = 20 * log10(max(rms, 0.00001))
-        let level = max(0.0, min(1.0, (power + 60) / 60))
+        let level = normalizedRMSLevel(buffer: buffer)
 
         // Track system audio silence for warning indicator
         updateSystemAudioSilenceTracking(peakLevel: level)
diff --git a/Tests/TranscriptedCoreTests/AudioDiagnosticsSnapshotTests.swift b/Tests/TranscriptedCoreTests/AudioDiagnosticsSnapshotTests.swift
index 75fbb38f..ca52e57a 100644
--- a/Tests/TranscriptedCoreTests/AudioDiagnosticsSnapshotTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/TranscriptedCoreTests/AudioDiagnosticsSnapshotTests.swift
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import XCTest
+@preconcurrency import AVFoundation
 @testable import TranscriptedCore
 
 @available(macOS 14.0, *)
@@ -63,4 +64,39 @@ final class AudioDiagnosticsSnapshotTests: XCTestCase {
         XCTAssertNotNil(context["default_output_volume_after"])
         XCTAssertNotNil(context["default_system_output_volume_after"])
     }
+
+    func testNormalizedSystemLevelUsesAllChannels() throws {
+        let audio = makeAudio()
+        let buffer = try makeStereoBuffer(left: 0, right: 0.5)
+
+        let level = audio.normalizedRMSLevel(buffer: buffer)
+
+        XCTAssertGreaterThan(level, 0.8)
+    }
+
+    private func makeStereoBuffer(left: Float, right: Float) throws -> AVAudioPCMBuffer {
+        let frameCount = 512
+        let format = try XCTUnwrap(AVAudioFormat(
+            commonFormat: .pcmFormatFloat32,
+            sampleRate: 48_000,
+            channels: 2,
+            interleaved: false
+        ))
+        let buffer = try XCTUnwrap(AVAudioPCMBuffer(
+            pcmFormat: format,
+            frameCapacity: AVAudioFrameCount(frameCount)
+        ))
+        buffer.frameLength = AVAudioFrameCount(frameCount)
+
+        guard let channelData = buffer.floatChannelData else {
+            XCTFail("Missing channel data")
+            return buffer
+        }
+
+        for index in 0..<frameCount {
+            channelData[0][index] = left
+            channelData[1][index] = right
+        }
+        return buffer
+    }
 }