diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index ba644fa0..f66a7a43 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         "marked": "^18.0.2",
         "multer": "^1.4.5-lts.1",
         "node-pg-migrate": "^7.7.0",
-        "nodemailer": "9.0.1",
+        "nodemailer": "^9.1.1",
         "openai": "^4.73.0",
         "openid-client": "^6.8.2",
         "pdf-parse": "^1.1.1",
@@ -5958,9 +5958,9 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/nodemailer": {
-      "version": "9.0.1",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/nodemailer/-/nodemailer-9.0.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-Gwv8SQewT616ZM/URn0H54b8PWo/Wum7md3EW2aWy1lO27+WZCX+Xyak3J+NlmHUjDh5ME+uesJUDRbR3Ye8Bw==",
+      "version": "9.1.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/nodemailer/-/nodemailer-9.1.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-izw9mVKFix6YSnC9eLgV6g1opl9DUlRio9ZNcq+Wu9Ujn2UwF+8Nl0B8nz22kEC+CTZCvinkxwJ0DeFbb6NwcQ==",
       "license": "MIT-0",
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=6.0.0"
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index da48cf04..f64f2985 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
     "marked": "^18.0.2",
     "multer": "^1.4.5-lts.1",
     "node-pg-migrate": "^7.7.0",
-    "nodemailer": "9.0.1",
+    "nodemailer": "^9.1.1",
     "openai": "^4.73.0",
     "openid-client": "^6.8.2",
     "pdf-parse": "^1.1.1",
diff --git a/src/routes/userPreferences.js b/src/routes/userPreferences.js
index 08e12c4c..7c2b0a47 100644
--- a/src/routes/userPreferences.js
+++ b/src/routes/userPreferences.js
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ var express = require('express');
 var router = express.Router();
 var db = require('../db/database');
 var { authMiddleware } = require('../middleware/auth');
-var { getSTTModelLists, getSTTProvider } = require('../utils/sttProvider');
+var { getSTTModelLists, getSTTProvider, discoverSTTModels } = require('../utils/sttProvider');
 var { getLiteLLMTTSVoicesForModel, getTTSProvider } = require('../utils/ttsProvider');
 
 router.use(authMiddleware);
@@ -57,7 +57,16 @@ router.get('/preferences/options', async function(req, res) {
     var dbModel = await db.getSetting('tts.model') || '';
     var dbVoice = await db.getSetting('tts.voice') || '';
     var ttsModel = dbModel || process.env.LITELLM_TTS_MODEL || '';
-    var sttModels = getSTTModelLists().litellm.map(function(model) { return { value: model, label: model }; });
+    // Offer what the gateway really has. The built-in list is a last resort:
+    // its ids do not resolve on every deployment, and a user who picked one got
+    // "Invalid model name" on every recording, because the user's choice wins
+    // over the admin default in /api/transcribe.
+    var sttIds = await discoverSTTModels();
+    if (!sttIds.length) sttIds = getSTTModelLists().litellm.slice();
+    var adminSttModel = await db.getSetting('stt.model') || process.env.LITELLM_STT_MODEL || '';
+    var sttModels = sttIds.map(function(model) {
+      return { value: model, label: model + (model === adminSttModel ? ' (default)' : '') };
+    });
     var ttsVoices = getLiteLLMTTSVoicesForModel(ttsModel, { currentVoice: dbVoice }).map(function(voice) { return { value: voice, label: voice }; });
 
     res.json({
diff --git a/src/utils/sttProvider.js b/src/utils/sttProvider.js
index 0569f4a2..f22e5dd4 100644
--- a/src/utils/sttProvider.js
+++ b/src/utils/sttProvider.js
@@ -33,8 +33,35 @@ function getLiteLLMSTTModels(models) {
     .map(function(model) { return model && (model.id || model.model_name) ? (model.id || model.model_name) : String(model || ''); });
 }
 
+// What the gateway actually offers, so Settings cannot present a user with a
+// model that does not exist. The hardcoded list above is only a last resort:
+// on this deployment none of its six ids resolve, and picking one returns
+// "Invalid model name" from /audio/transcriptions.
+var sttDiscoveryCache = { at: 0, models: [] };
+var STT_DISCOVERY_TTL_MS = 5 * 60 * 1000;
+
+async function discoverSTTModels(options) {
+  var now = Date.now();
+  var fresh = !(options && options.force) && (now - sttDiscoveryCache.at) < STT_DISCOVERY_TTL_MS;
+  if (fresh && sttDiscoveryCache.models.length) return sttDiscoveryCache.models.slice();
+  if (getSTTProvider() !== 'litellm' || !process.env.LITELLM_API_BASE) return [];
+  try {
+    var axios = require('axios');
+    var { getLiteLLMAdminHeaders } = require('./litellm');
+    var base = String(process.env.LITELLM_API_BASE || '').replace(/\/+$/, '').replace(/\/v1\/?$/, '');
+    var resp = await axios.get(base + '/model/info', { headers: getLiteLLMAdminHeaders(), timeout: 10000 });
+    var ids = getLiteLLMSTTModels(resp.data && resp.data.data);
+    if (ids.length) sttDiscoveryCache = { at: now, models: ids };
+    return ids;
+  } catch (e) {
+    // A gateway hiccup must not empty the picker; the caller falls back.
+    return sttDiscoveryCache.models.slice();
+  }
+}
+
 module.exports = {
   LITELLM_STT_MODELS,
+  discoverSTTModels,
   getSTTDependencies,
   getLiteLLMSTTModels,
   getSTTModelLists,
diff --git a/test/transcription-memory-policy.test.js b/test/transcription-memory-policy.test.js
index 243c7903..80953db6 100644
--- a/test/transcription-memory-policy.test.js
+++ b/test/transcription-memory-policy.test.js
@@ -75,3 +75,21 @@ test('audio backup settings render without dynamic HTML templates', () => {
   assert.match(renderer, /document\.createElement\('button'\)/);
   assert.match(renderer, /textContent =/);
 });
+
+// The Settings picker offered six hardcoded ids. On this gateway none of them
+// resolve, and /api/transcribe prefers the user's choice over the admin
+// default — so choosing one broke every recording with "Invalid model name".
+test('the STT picker offers what the gateway has, not a hardcoded list', () => {
+  const stt = read('src/utils/sttProvider.js');
+  const prefs = read('src/routes/userPreferences.js');
+
+  assert.match(stt, /async function discoverSTTModels\(options\)/);
+  assert.match(stt, /getLiteLLMSTTModels\(resp\.data && resp\.data\.data\)/, 'filtered by audio_transcription mode');
+  assert.match(stt, /STT_DISCOVERY_TTL_MS = 5 \* 60 \* 1000;/, 'cached, so a user-facing page does not hit the gateway every load');
+  assert.match(stt, /module\.exports = \{[\s\S]{0,80}discoverSTTModels,/);
+
+  assert.match(prefs, /var sttIds = await discoverSTTModels\(\);/);
+  assert.match(prefs, /if \(!sttIds\.length\) sttIds = getSTTModelLists\(\)\.litellm\.slice\(\);/,
+    'the built-in list survives only as a fallback');
+  assert.match(prefs, /model === adminSttModel \? ' \(default\)' : ''/, 'the admin default is marked');
+});