diff --git a/src/sse/handlers/chat.ts b/src/sse/handlers/chat.ts
index aadf7d29d3..4c4d589a0c 100644
--- a/src/sse/handlers/chat.ts
+++ b/src/sse/handlers/chat.ts
@@ -2294,7 +2294,14 @@ async function handleSingleModelChat(
             }
           );
 
-      if (shouldFallback) {
+      // An explicit pin (combo step `connectionId` / `x-omniroute-connection`) is an
+      // operator instruction, not a suggestion: the account cooldown above is still
+      // recorded, but selection must NOT silently rotate to a sibling account of the
+      // same provider. Pinned steps fall through to combo orchestration, which moves
+      // to the next target — with ITS own pin. Same rule the antigravity
+      // stream-readiness / pre-response-timeout and account-semaphore paths above
+      // already apply.
+      if (shouldFallback && !hasForcedConnection) {
         if (Number.isFinite(cooldownMs) && cooldownMs > 0) {
           lastCooldownMs = cooldownMs;
           requestRetryLastCooldownMs = cooldownMs;