diff --git a/lib/connector/meshcore_connector.dart b/lib/connector/meshcore_connector.dart
index 71e57f3..0adf65d 100644
--- a/lib/connector/meshcore_connector.dart
+++ b/lib/connector/meshcore_connector.dart
@@ -6148,19 +6148,52 @@ class MeshCoreConnector extends ChangeNotifier {
     return 'Channel $channelIndex';
   }
 
-  /// True when [text] carries a canonical mention of this node: the `@[Name]`
+  /// Case-fold ASCII `A-Z` only, leaving every other code unit byte-exact.
+  ///
+  /// Deliberately NOT `String.toLowerCase()`, which applies full Unicode case
+  /// mapping. Firmware #510 implements the same match rule with a byte-wise
+  /// fold that does not do Unicode mapping, so a node name carrying any
+  /// non-ASCII character would get one self-mention verdict on the client and
+  /// the opposite on the device for the SAME message: a silent wrong answer,
+  /// not a visible failure. Owner decision 2026-07-31 (#475): both sides fold
+  /// ASCII only, so non-ASCII names compare case-sensitively. (#486)
+  static String _foldAscii(String s) {
+    final units = s.codeUnits;
+    final folded = List<int>.filled(units.length, 0);
+    for (var i = 0; i < units.length; i++) {
+      final unit = units[i];
+      folded[i] = (unit >= 0x41 && unit <= 0x5A) ? unit + 0x20 : unit;
+    }
+    return String.fromCharCodes(folded);
+  }
+
+  /// True when [text] carries a canonical mention of [selfName]: the `@[Name]`
   /// form the composer inserts and the chat renders as a chip (#235).
   ///
-  /// Matched case-insensitively, since a hand-typed mention need not match the
-  /// advert's casing. Bare `@Name` is deliberately NOT matched: it false-
-  /// positives on ordinary text and cannot be delimited for names containing
-  /// spaces.
-  bool _mentionsSelf(String text) {
-    final name = _selfName?.trim();
+  /// ⚠ CROSS-REPO CONTRACT (client #475, firmware #510). The firmware
+  /// implements this exact rule against `NodePrefs::node_name` so that both
+  /// sides agree on what "Self" means for the device notification scope.
+  /// Changing it in any way (accepting a bare `@name`, restoring Unicode
+  /// folding, anchoring the match at a word boundary) is a BREAKING cross-repo
+  /// change that ships only in an aligned client + firmware build pair, never
+  /// unilaterally.
+  ///
+  /// The three properties firmware must match, none obvious from the rule name:
+  /// the name is trimmed and an empty name matches nothing (it does not fall
+  /// through to matching everything); the match is a plain substring `contains`,
+  /// neither anchored nor word-boundary aware; folding is ASCII-only per
+  /// [_foldAscii].
+  ///
+  /// Bare `@Name` is deliberately NOT matched: it false-positives on ordinary
+  /// text and cannot be delimited for names containing spaces.
+  static bool mentionsName(String text, String? selfName) {
+    final name = selfName?.trim();
     if (name == null || name.isEmpty) return false;
-    return text.toLowerCase().contains('@[${name.toLowerCase()}]');
+    return _foldAscii(text).contains('@[${_foldAscii(name)}]');
   }
 
+  bool _mentionsSelf(String text) => mentionsName(text, _selfName);
+
   void _maybeNotifyChannelMessage(
     ChannelMessage message, {
     String? channelName,
diff --git a/test/connector/mention_contract_test.dart b/test/connector/mention_contract_test.dart
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a9844ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/connector/mention_contract_test.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+import 'package:flutter_test/flutter_test.dart';
+import 'package:meshcore_open/connector/meshcore_connector.dart';
+
+/// Cross-repo contract tests for the `@[name]` self-mention rule (client #486,
+/// firmware #510). Firmware implements the identical rule, so any change that
+/// breaks one of these breaks agreement with the device and must ship in an
+/// aligned build pair.
+void main() {
+  group('@[name] matching', () {
+    test('matches the canonical bracketed form', () {
+      expect(
+        MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('hey @[Ben] you there', 'Ben'),
+        isTrue,
+      );
+    });
+
+    test('bare @name does not match', () {
+      expect(
+        MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('hey @Ben you there', 'Ben'),
+        isFalse,
+      );
+    });
+
+    test('matches as a plain substring, not anchored or word-bounded', () {
+      // Deliberate: the rule is `contains`, and firmware must agree.
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('x@[Ben]y', 'Ben'), isTrue);
+    });
+
+    test('name is trimmed before matching', () {
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[Ben]', '  Ben  '), isTrue);
+    });
+
+    test('empty or whitespace-only self-name matches nothing', () {
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[Ben]', ''), isFalse);
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[Ben]', '   '), isFalse);
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[Ben]', null), isFalse);
+    });
+
+    test('a name that is not mentioned does not match', () {
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[Alice]', 'Ben'), isFalse);
+      expect(
+        MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('no mentions here', 'Ben'),
+        isFalse,
+      );
+    });
+  });
+
+  group('ASCII-only case folding (owner decision 2026-07-31, #486)', () {
+    test('ASCII names match case-insensitively in both directions', () {
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[BEN]', 'ben'), isTrue);
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[ben]', 'BEN'), isTrue);
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[BeN]', 'bEn'), isTrue);
+    });
+
+    test('non-ASCII names compare case-sensitively', () {
+      // The deliberate divergence from String.toLowerCase(): firmware folds
+      // bytes and cannot do Unicode case mapping, so the client must not
+      // either, or the two sides disagree on the same message.
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[Érik]', 'Érik'), isTrue);
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[érik]', 'Érik'), isFalse);
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[ÉRIK]', 'érik'), isFalse);
+    });
+
+    test('ASCII folding still applies around non-ASCII characters', () {
+      // "Ben-Érik": the ASCII half folds, the accented character does not.
+      expect(
+        MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[BEN-Érik]', 'ben-Érik'),
+        isTrue,
+      );
+      expect(
+        MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[BEN-érik]', 'ben-Érik'),
+        isFalse,
+      );
+    });
+
+    test('non-letter ASCII is untouched by the fold', () {
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[Node_7]', 'node_7'), isTrue);
+      expect(MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[N0DE-7]', 'n0de-7'), isTrue);
+    });
+
+    test(
+      'names containing spaces work, which bare @name could not delimit',
+      () {
+        expect(
+          MeshCoreConnector.mentionsName('yo @[Base Station]', 'base station'),
+          isTrue,
+        );
+      },
+    );
+  });
+}