diff --git a/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/deployment-installability.md b/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/deployment-installability.md
index 8cefb9c28e..52b3113a52 100644
--- a/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/deployment-installability.md
+++ b/docs/release-control/v6/internal/subsystems/deployment-installability.md
@@ -4048,6 +4048,10 @@ running architecture and tag. A missing exact archive leaves the download URL
 empty and the update unavailable; it must not fall back to another component,
 architecture or version. This keeps an incomplete release visible as metadata
 without presenting an unusable or wrong installation path.
+ARMv6 and ARMv7 are separate server archives despite both binaries reporting
+`GOARCH=arm`; the updater uses the release binary's embedded `GOARM` build
+setting to choose between them, and offers neither if that setting is missing
+or unrecognised. It must not assume ARMv7 for every ARM installation.
 Malformed metadata stays a hard error and only the typed over-limit condition
 may fall through to the feed. Proof:
 `internal/updates/issue2282_release_metadata_stream_test.go`.
diff --git a/internal/updates/manager.go b/internal/updates/manager.go
index 19705b18b8..dc1ecb3734 100644
--- a/internal/updates/manager.go
+++ b/internal/updates/manager.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"regexp"
 	"runtime"
+	"runtime/debug"
 	"sort"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
@@ -112,12 +113,20 @@ func updateReleaseDownloadPrefix() string {
 }
 
 func updateReleaseAssetForRuntime(tagName string) (ReleaseAsset, bool) {
-	targetArch, ok := map[string]string{
-		"amd64": "amd64",
-		"arm64": "arm64",
-		"arm":   "armv7",
-		"386":   "386",
-	}[runtime.GOARCH]
+	armVariant := ""
+	if runtime.GOARCH == "arm" {
+		// GOARCH alone cannot distinguish the separately published ARMv6 and
+		// ARMv7 server binaries. Release builds record their GOARM setting.
+		if info, ok := debug.ReadBuildInfo(); ok {
+			for _, setting := range info.Settings {
+				if setting.Key == "GOARM" {
+					armVariant = setting.Value
+					break
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	targetArch, ok := updateReleaseArchitecture(runtime.GOARCH, armVariant)
 	if !ok {
 		return ReleaseAsset{}, false
 	}
@@ -132,6 +141,20 @@ func updateReleaseAssetForRuntime(tagName string) (ReleaseAsset, bool) {
 	return ReleaseAsset{Name: assetName, BrowserDownloadURL: downloadURL}, true
 }
 
+func updateReleaseArchitecture(goarch, goarm string) (string, bool) {
+	switch goarch {
+	case "amd64", "arm64", "386":
+		return goarch, true
+	case "arm":
+		// GOARM=5 has no server archive. An absent or unknown variant must not
+		// silently select ARMv7, which may not run on an ARMv6 host.
+		if goarm == "6" || goarm == "7" {
+			return "armv" + goarm, true
+		}
+	}
+	return "", false
+}
+
 func updateReleaseAPIPath() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("/repos/%s/releases", updateReleaseRepo())
 }
diff --git a/internal/updates/manager_runtime_arch_test.go b/internal/updates/manager_runtime_arch_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..387e07fd82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/updates/manager_runtime_arch_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+package updates
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestUpdateReleaseArchitectureRequiresMatchingARMVariant(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		goarch, goarm, want string
+		ok                  bool
+	}{
+		{goarch: "amd64", want: "amd64", ok: true},
+		{goarch: "arm64", want: "arm64", ok: true},
+		{goarch: "386", want: "386", ok: true},
+		{goarch: "arm", goarm: "6", want: "armv6", ok: true},
+		{goarch: "arm", goarm: "7", want: "armv7", ok: true},
+		{goarch: "arm", goarm: "5"},
+		{goarch: "arm"},
+		{goarch: "arm", goarm: "unknown"},
+		{goarch: "riscv64"},
+	} {
+		got, ok := updateReleaseArchitecture(tc.goarch, tc.goarm)
+		if got != tc.want || ok != tc.ok {
+			t.Errorf("updateReleaseArchitecture(%q, %q) = (%q, %t), want (%q, %t)", tc.goarch, tc.goarm, got, ok, tc.want, tc.ok)
+		}
+	}
+}