diff --git a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/GUI-AUTOMATION-NOTES.md b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/GUI-AUTOMATION-NOTES.md
index 798bb7d..f909ead 100644
--- a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/GUI-AUTOMATION-NOTES.md
+++ b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/GUI-AUTOMATION-NOTES.md
@@ -245,13 +245,14 @@ Scripts **today** implement Android only; they should honour:
 
 | Variant | Source | Severity | Purpose |
 |---------|--------|----------|---------|
-| **stable-self** | tag `wallet-1.6.1` rebuilt here | **WARN only** | Same release tree, our Gradle — never hard-blocks |
-| **published** | F-Droid APK URL | **BLOCKER** | What users install; FAIL_FAST stops here |
-| **master** | `origin/master` | **WARN only** | Tip of mainline — never hard-blocks |
-| **fix** (optional) | inference fix branch | soft fail | GOA automation fixes |
+| **stable-self** | tag `wallet-1.6.1` rebuilt | WARN | Our rebuild of stable — never hard-blocks |
+| **published** | F-Droid current APK | **≤14d → BLOCKER**, else WARN | What users install |
+| **older-pub / older-self** | previous `wallet-*` tags | **≤14d → BLOCKER**, else WARN | Regression on recent releases only |
+| **master** | `origin/master` | WARN | Tip — never hard-blocks |
+| **fix** (optional) | inference branch | soft | GOA automation fixes |
 
-Default matrix order: `stable-self,published,master`.  
-`./run-android-variant-matrix.sh` — see README.
+**Two-week window:** `BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS=14` (git tag age). Older apps are still tried; only young releases hard-block.  
+Default matrix: `stable-self,published,older,master`. See README.
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/README.md b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/README.md
index 595a187..8e0263f 100644
--- a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/README.md
+++ b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/README.md
@@ -38,17 +38,22 @@ Runs several smokes so a single odd developer build cannot be the only sample:
 |---------|------|
 | Order | Variant | Severity | What |
 |------|---------|----------|------|
-| **1** | **stable-self** | **WARN only** | Rebuild tag `wallet-1.6.1` on this host |
-| **2** | **published** | **BLOCKER** | F-Droid stable APK (`net.taler.wallet.fdroid` 1.6.1 / 854) |
-| **3** | **master** | **WARN only** | Rebuild `origin/master` |
+| **1** | **stable-self** | WARN | Rebuild tag `wallet-1.6.1` on this host |
+| **2** | **published** | **age rule** | Current F-Droid APK |
+| **3** | **older-*** | **age rule** | Previous `wallet-*` tags (APK if on F-Droid, else self-build) |
+| **4** | **master** | WARN | Rebuild `origin/master` |
 
-**Default:** `FAIL_FAST=1` only stops on **blocker** failures (`published`).  
-`stable-self` / `master` failure → warning in `SUMMARY.txt`, matrix continues, exit code unaffected by those warns alone.
+**Age rule (released apps):** if git-tag age **≤ 14 days** (`BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS`) → fail is **BLOCKER** + `FAIL_FAST`.  
+Older releases are still smoked, but fail only as **WARN**.  
+Self-build of tip/stable-self is never a hard blocker.
 
 ```bash
 ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
 STACK=goa ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
-VARIANTS=stable-self,published FAIL_FAST=1 ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
+# without older history:
+INCLUDE_OLDER=0 VARIANTS=stable-self,published,master ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
+# force current published always blocker:
+PUBLISHED_FORCE_BLOCKER=1 ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
 ```
 
 Artifacts + `SUMMARY.txt` under `out-matrix-<timestamp>/`.
diff --git a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/lib_release_age.sh b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/lib_release_age.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..52fa2ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/lib_release_age.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+# shellcheck shell=bash
+# Release age helpers for Android wallet matrix.
+# Source after ROOT/lib_android_env.sh (optional).
+#
+# BLOCKER only when a *released* app is within BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS (default 14).
+# Older releases: try them, but failures are WARN only.
+
+: "${BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS:=14}"
+: "${TALER_ANDROID_SRC:=$HOME/taler/taler-android}"
+
+# Days since git tag (tagger/committer date). Empty if unknown.
+# Usage: release_age_days wallet-1.6.1  → e.g. 28
+release_age_days() {
+  local tag="$1"
+  local src="${2:-$TALER_ANDROID_SRC}"
+  [ -d "$src/.git" ] || return 1
+  local epoch
+  epoch=$(git -C "$src" log -1 --format=%ct "refs/tags/${tag}" 2>/dev/null || true)
+  [ -n "$epoch" ] || epoch=$(git -C "$src" log -1 --format=%ct "$tag" 2>/dev/null || true)
+  [ -n "$epoch" ] || return 1
+  local now
+  now=$(date +%s)
+  echo $(( (now - epoch) / 86400 ))
+}
+
+# severity from age: blocker if age_days <= BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS, else warn
+# Unknown age → warn (never accidental hard fail on mystery builds)
+severity_from_age_days() {
+  local days="${1:-}"
+  if [ -z "$days" ] || ! [[ "$days" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+    echo warn
+    return
+  fi
+  if [ "$days" -le "${BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS}" ]; then
+    echo blocker
+  else
+    echo warn
+  fi
+}
+
+severity_for_tag() {
+  local tag="$1"
+  local days
+  days=$(release_age_days "$tag" 2>/dev/null || true)
+  severity_from_age_days "$days"
+}
+
+# List wallet-* release tags newest first (exclude rc/dev).
+# Args: max count (default 5)
+list_wallet_release_tags() {
+  local n="${1:-5}"
+  local src="${TALER_ANDROID_SRC:-$HOME/taler/taler-android}"
+  [ -d "$src/.git" ] || return 1
+  git -C "$src" fetch --tags origin 2>/dev/null || true
+  git -C "$src" for-each-ref --sort=-creatordate --format='%(refname:short)' refs/tags \
+    | grep -E '^wallet-[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)?$' \
+    | head -n "$n"
+}
+
+# Guess F-Droid APK URL for a wallet version name (e.g. 1.6.1).
+# Uses versionCode from tag's build.gradle if possible, else STABLE mapping.
+# Prints: versionCode apk_url  or returns 1
+fdroid_apk_for_version_name() {
+  local vn="$1"   # 1.6.1
+  local src="${TALER_ANDROID_SRC:-$HOME/taler/taler-android}"
+  local tag="wallet-${vn}"
+  local vc=""
+  if git -C "$src" cat-file -e "refs/tags/${tag}:wallet/build.gradle" 2>/dev/null; then
+    vc=$(git -C "$src" show "refs/tags/${tag}:wallet/build.gradle" 2>/dev/null \
+      | sed -n 's/^[[:space:]]*versionCode[[:space:]]\+\([0-9]\+\).*/\1/p' | head -1)
+  fi
+  # ABI x86_64 → +4 in override scheme 10*vc+abi (common F-Droid multi-apk)
+  # Prefer universal-style code used by F-Droid: for 1.6.1 → 854 = 10*85+4
+  local apk_vc=""
+  if [ -n "$vc" ]; then
+    apk_vc=$((10 * vc + 4))
+  fi
+  # Known overrides / suggested
+  case "$vn" in
+    1.6.1) apk_vc=854 ;;
+  esac
+  [ -n "$apk_vc" ] || return 1
+  echo "${apk_vc}|https://f-droid.org/repo/net.taler.wallet.fdroid_${apk_vc}.apk"
+}
+
+# Check HTTP HEAD/GET that APK exists (0 = ok)
+fdroid_apk_exists() {
+  local url="$1"
+  curl -sfS -m 15 -o /dev/null -r 0-0 "$url" 2>/dev/null \
+    || curl -sfS -m 15 -o /dev/null -I "$url" 2>/dev/null
+}
diff --git a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/run-android-variant-matrix.sh b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/run-android-variant-matrix.sh
index baabbf3..c658096 100755
--- a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/run-android-variant-matrix.sh
+++ b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/run-android-variant-matrix.sh
@@ -1,51 +1,49 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
-# Run Android wallet smoke against **several build variants** so a single
-# "weird" developer tree or a bad local build cannot be the only sample.
+# Run Android wallet smoke against several build / published variants.
 #
-# Default matrix order:
-#   1) **stable-self** — rebuild release **tag** (same source as published)
-#        Failure → **WARN only** (not a hard blocker; continue matrix)
-#   2) **published**   — F-Droid stable APK (what users install)
-#        Failure → **BLOCKER** (matrix exit ≠ 0; FAIL_FAST stops here)
-#   3) **master**      — rebuild origin/master
-#        Failure → **WARN only** (tip breakage / ANR must not block stable gate)
+# Default order:
+#   1) stable-self     — rebuild STABLE_TAG (always WARN on fail)
+#   2) published       — current F-Droid suggested APK
+#   3) older-*         — previous release tags (APK and/or self-build) if available
+#   4) master          — tip (always WARN on fail)
 #
-# Why self-builds in addition to published?
-#   Isolates "our toolchain rebuild" vs "F-Droid binary". Rebuild issues
-#   (signing flavor, dirty host, low-RAM ANR on debug) must not block the
-#   published-stable gate — hence warn-only for stable-self **and** master.
-#
-# Usage:
-#   ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
-#   STACK=goa ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
-#   VARIANTS=master,stable-self ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
-#   STABLE_TAG=wallet-1.6.1 MASTER_BRANCH=master ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
+# Severity (released apps):
+#   Age ≤ BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS (default **14**) → **BLOCKER** on fail (FAIL_FAST)
+#   Age  > 14 days (or unknown)                → **WARN** only
+#   master / pure self-builds without release age → WARN
 #
 # Env:
-#   STABLE_TAG       default wallet-1.6.1 (must match published F-Droid release)
-#   STABLE_APK_URL   published APK (same as pay-smoke default)
-#   MASTER_BRANCH    default master
-#   FIX_BRANCH       inference fix branch (variant "fix")
-#   VARIANTS         comma list: published,stable-self,master,fix
-#   GUI=1            use gui-smoke instead of pay-smoke after each build
-#   FAIL_FAST=1      stop on first **blocker** failure (default 1)
-#   MATRIX_OUT       summary dir (default out-matrix-<timestamp>)
+#   STABLE_TAG, STABLE_APK_URL, STABLE_APK_NAME
+#   MASTER_BRANCH, FIX_BRANCH
+#   VARIANTS          default: stable-self,published,older,master
+#   INCLUDE_OLDER=1   expand token "older" (default 1)
+#   OLDER_TAG_COUNT   how many recent wallet-* tags to consider (default 4)
+#   BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS  default 14
+#   PUBLISHED_FORCE_BLOCKER=1  always treat current published as blocker (default 0 = age rule)
+#   FAIL_FAST=1, GUI=0, STACK=…
 #
 set -euo pipefail
 ROOT=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)
 # shellcheck source=lib_android_env.sh
 . "$ROOT/lib_android_env.sh"
+# shellcheck source=lib_release_age.sh
+. "$ROOT/lib_release_age.sh"
 
 : "${STABLE_TAG:=wallet-1.6.1}"
 : "${STABLE_APK_URL:=https://f-droid.org/repo/net.taler.wallet.fdroid_854.apk}"
 : "${STABLE_APK_NAME:=net.taler.wallet.fdroid_854.apk}"
 : "${MASTER_BRANCH:=master}"
 : "${FIX_BRANCH:=dev/hernani-inference/fix-bank-withdraw-auto-exchange}"
-# Order: stable-self (warn) → published (blocker) → master.
-: "${VARIANTS:=stable-self,published,master}"
+: "${VARIANTS:=stable-self,published,older,master}"
+: "${INCLUDE_OLDER:=1}"
+: "${OLDER_TAG_COUNT:=4}"
+: "${BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS:=14}"
+: "${PUBLISHED_FORCE_BLOCKER:=0}"
 : "${FAIL_FAST:=1}"
 : "${GUI:=0}"
 : "${STACK:=auto}"
+: "${TALER_ANDROID_SRC:=$HOME/taler/taler-android}"
+export TALER_ANDROID_SRC BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS
 
 TS=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)
 MATRIX_OUT="${MATRIX_OUT:-$ROOT/out-matrix-$TS}"
@@ -55,11 +53,9 @@ SUMMARY="$MATRIX_OUT/SUMMARY.txt"
 
 echo "=== Android variant matrix ===" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
 echo "STACK=$STACK  GUI=$GUI  headless=${EMULATOR_HEADLESS}  variants=$VARIANTS" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
-echo "STABLE_TAG=$STABLE_TAG  MASTER_BRANCH=$MASTER_BRANCH" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
-echo "severity: stable-self=WARN  published=BLOCKER  master=WARN" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+echo "STABLE_TAG=$STABLE_TAG  BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS=$BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS  OLDER_TAG_COUNT=$OLDER_TAG_COUNT" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
 echo "out: $MATRIX_OUT" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
 
-# Ensure device once (headless AVD by default)
 android_ensure_device || {
   echo "no adb device — start ./start-android-emulator.sh --wait" >&2
   exit 3
@@ -67,63 +63,114 @@ android_ensure_device || {
 export SERIAL ANDROID_SERIAL
 echo "device: $SERIAL" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
 
-IFS=',' read -r -a VLIST <<<"$VARIANTS"
+# --- expand VARIANTS (token "older" → concrete older-pub / older-self entries) ---
+expand_variants() {
+  local raw="$1"
+  local -a out=()
+  local v tag vn age sev stable_vn
+  stable_vn="${STABLE_TAG#wallet-}"
+
+  IFS=',' read -r -a toks <<<"$raw"
+  for v in "${toks[@]}"; do
+    v=$(echo "$v" | tr -d '[:space:]')
+    [ -n "$v" ] || continue
+    if [ "$v" = "older" ] || [ "$v" = "older-releases" ]; then
+      [ "$INCLUDE_OLDER" = "1" ] || continue
+      local -a tags=()
+      mapfile -t tags < <(list_wallet_release_tags "$OLDER_TAG_COUNT" 2>/dev/null || true)
+      local t
+      for t in "${tags[@]}"; do
+        [ -n "$t" ] || continue
+        # skip current stable tag (already covered by published / stable-self)
+        [ "$t" = "$STABLE_TAG" ] && continue
+        vn="${t#wallet-}"
+        age=$(release_age_days "$t" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+        sev=$(severity_from_age_days "$age")
+        echo "  older candidate $t age_days=${age:-?} severity=$sev" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+        # Prefer published APK when downloadable; always also allow self-build token
+        local meta apk_vc apk_url
+        meta=$(fdroid_apk_for_version_name "$vn" 2>/dev/null || true)
+        if [ -n "$meta" ]; then
+          apk_vc="${meta%%|*}"
+          apk_url="${meta#*|}"
+          if fdroid_apk_exists "$apk_url"; then
+            out+=("older-pub:${vn}:${apk_vc}:${sev}")
+          else
+            echo "  (no F-Droid APK for $vn at $apk_url — self-build only)" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+            out+=("older-self:${t}:${sev}")
+          fi
+        else
+          out+=("older-self:${t}:${sev}")
+        fi
+      done
+    else
+      out+=("$v")
+    fi
+  done
+  printf '%s\n' "${out[@]}"
+}
+
+mapfile -t VLIST < <(expand_variants "$VARIANTS")
+echo "expanded variants: ${VLIST[*]}" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+
 declare -a RESULTS=()
 declare -a WARNINGS=()
 overall=0
 
-# Severity: warn | blocker | soft
-#   warn     — log WARN, never FAIL_FAST, never overall≠0
-#   blocker  — FAIL_FAST eligible; overall≠0
-#   soft     — overall≠0 on fail, but FAIL_FAST only if FAIL_FAST=1 and not warn
-variant_severity() {
-  case "$1" in
-    stable-self|stable|self-stable|release-self) echo warn ;;
-    master|main) echo warn ;;
-    published|fdroid|stable-published) echo blocker ;;
-    # optional fix branch etc.: soft fail (counts) unless overridden
-    *) echo soft ;;
-  esac
+severity_for_published_current() {
+  if [ "${PUBLISHED_FORCE_BLOCKER}" = "1" ]; then
+    echo blocker
+    return
+  fi
+  local days
+  days=$(release_age_days "$STABLE_TAG" 2>/dev/null || true)
+  severity_from_age_days "$days"
 }
 
-run_published() {
-  local out="$MATRIX_OUT/published"
+run_published_apk() {
+  local label="$1"
+  local apk_url="$2"
+  local apk_name="$3"
+  local sev="$4"
+  local out="$MATRIX_OUT/$label"
   mkdir -p "$out"
   echo "" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
-  echo "-------- variant: published (F-Droid stable binary) [BLOCKER] --------" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+  echo "-------- variant: $label (F-Droid APK) [$(echo "$sev" | tr 'a-z' 'A-Z')] --------" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+  echo "  url=$apk_url" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
   local smoke="$ROOT/run-android-pay-smoke.sh"
   [ "$GUI" = "1" ] && smoke="$ROOT/run-android-gui-smoke.sh"
+  local strict=1
+  [ "$sev" = "warn" ] && strict="${SMOKE_STRICT_WARN:-0}"
+  [ "$sev" = "blocker" ] && strict="${SMOKE_STRICT:-1}"
   set +e
   env STACK="$STACK" \
-    APK_URL="$STABLE_APK_URL" \
-    APK_NAME="$STABLE_APK_NAME" \
+    APK_URL="$apk_url" \
+    APK_NAME="$apk_name" \
     APK_PATH="" \
     PKG=net.taler.wallet.fdroid \
     OUT_DIR="$out" \
     SERIAL="$SERIAL" \
     AUTO_START_EMULATOR=0 \
-    SMOKE_STRICT="${SMOKE_STRICT:-1}" \
+    SMOKE_STRICT="$strict" \
     "$smoke"
   local rc=$?
   set -e
-  echo "published exit=$rc" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
-  echo "published $rc blocker" >>"$MATRIX_OUT/results.tsv"
+  echo "$label exit=$rc severity=$sev" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+  echo "$label $rc $sev $apk_url" >>"$MATRIX_OUT/results.tsv"
   return "$rc"
 }
 
 run_selfbuild() {
   local label="$1"
   local ref="$2"
-  local sev="${3:-soft}"
+  local sev="${3:-warn}"
   local out="$MATRIX_OUT/$label"
   mkdir -p "$out"
   echo "" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
   echo "-------- variant: $label (self-build ref=$ref) [$(echo "$sev" | tr 'a-z' 'A-Z')] --------" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
-  # Warn-only self-build: still collect evidence; SMOKE_STRICT optional (default off for warn)
   local strict="${SMOKE_STRICT:-1}"
-  if [ "$sev" = "warn" ]; then
-    strict="${SMOKE_STRICT_SELF:-0}"
-  fi
+  [ "$sev" = "warn" ] && strict="${SMOKE_STRICT_SELF:-0}"
+  [ "$sev" = "blocker" ] && strict="${SMOKE_STRICT:-1}"
   set +e
   env STACK="$STACK" \
     BRANCH="$ref" \
@@ -135,6 +182,7 @@ run_selfbuild() {
     AUTO_START_EMULATOR=0 \
     PKG=net.taler.wallet.fdroid.debug \
     SMOKE_STRICT="$strict" \
+    TALER_ANDROID_SRC="$TALER_ANDROID_SRC" \
     "$ROOT/run-android-build-and-smoke.sh"
   local rc=$?
   set -e
@@ -147,63 +195,108 @@ run_selfbuild() {
   return "$rc"
 }
 
+record_result() {
+  local v="$1" rc="$2" sev="$3"
+  if [ "$rc" -eq 0 ]; then
+    RESULTS+=("$v:OK($sev)")
+    return
+  fi
+  case "$sev" in
+    warn)
+      echo "WARN: $v failed rc=$rc — not a blocker; continuing" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+      WARNINGS+=("$v:$rc")
+      RESULTS+=("$v:WARN($rc)")
+      ;;
+    blocker)
+      echo "BLOCKER: $v failed rc=$rc (release within ${BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS}d window)" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+      RESULTS+=("$v:BLOCKER($rc)")
+      overall=1
+      if [ "$FAIL_FAST" = "1" ]; then
+        echo "FAIL_FAST: stopping after blocker $v" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+        return 2
+      fi
+      ;;
+    soft)
+      echo "FAIL: $v rc=$rc" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+      RESULTS+=("$v:FAIL($rc)")
+      overall=1
+      if [ "$FAIL_FAST" = "1" ]; then
+        echo "FAIL_FAST: stopping after $v" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+        return 2
+      fi
+      ;;
+  esac
+  return 0
+}
+
 for raw in "${VLIST[@]}"; do
   v=$(echo "$raw" | tr -d '[:space:]')
   [ -n "$v" ] || continue
   rc=0
-  sev=$(variant_severity "$v")
+  sev=warn
+  stop=0
+
   case "$v" in
     published|fdroid|stable-published)
-      run_published || rc=$?
+      sev=$(severity_for_published_current)
+      age=$(release_age_days "$STABLE_TAG" 2>/dev/null || echo "?")
+      echo "published current: tag=$STABLE_TAG age_days=$age → severity=$sev" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+      run_published_apk "published" "$STABLE_APK_URL" "$STABLE_APK_NAME" "$sev" || rc=$?
       ;;
     stable-self|stable|self-stable|release-self)
+      # rebuild of stable: always warn (toolchain), age does not make self-build a blocker
+      sev=warn
       run_selfbuild "stable-self" "$STABLE_TAG" warn || rc=$?
       ;;
     master|main)
+      sev=warn
       run_selfbuild "master" "$MASTER_BRANCH" warn || rc=$?
       ;;
     fix|fix-branch|inference)
+      sev=soft
       run_selfbuild "fix" "$FIX_BRANCH" soft || rc=$?
       ;;
+    older-pub:*)
+      # older-pub:VERSION:VC:SEV
+      IFS=':' read -r _ vn apk_vc sev <<<"$v"
+      : "${sev:=warn}"
+      label="older-pub-${vn}"
+      url="https://f-droid.org/repo/net.taler.wallet.fdroid_${apk_vc}.apk"
+      name="net.taler.wallet.fdroid_${apk_vc}.apk"
+      age=$(release_age_days "wallet-${vn}" 2>/dev/null || echo "?")
+      echo "older published $vn age_days=$age severity=$sev" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+      run_published_apk "$label" "$url" "$name" "$sev" || rc=$?
+      v="$label"
+      ;;
+    older-self:*)
+      # older-self:TAG:SEV  or older-self:TAG
+      IFS=':' read -r _ tag sev <<<"$v"
+      : "${sev:=$(severity_for_tag "$tag")}"
+      label="older-self-${tag}"
+      age=$(release_age_days "$tag" 2>/dev/null || echo "?")
+      echo "older self-build $tag age_days=$age severity=$sev" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+      run_selfbuild "$label" "$tag" "$sev" || rc=$?
+      v="$label"
+      ;;
     *)
-      run_selfbuild "ref-${v//\//-}" "$v" soft || rc=$?
+      # raw git ref — warn unless looks like wallet-X.Y and young
+      if [[ "$v" =~ ^wallet-[0-9] ]]; then
+        sev=$(severity_for_tag "$v")
+        run_selfbuild "ref-${v}" "$v" "$sev" || rc=$?
+      else
+        sev=warn
+        run_selfbuild "ref-${v//\//-}" "$v" warn || rc=$?
+      fi
       ;;
   esac
 
-  if [ "$rc" -ne 0 ]; then
-    case "$sev" in
-      warn)
-        echo "WARN: variant $v failed rc=$rc — self-build, NOT a blocker; continuing" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
-        WARNINGS+=("$v:$rc")
-        RESULTS+=("$v:WARN($rc)")
-        # do not set overall; do not FAIL_FAST
-        ;;
-      blocker)
-        echo "BLOCKER: variant $v failed rc=$rc" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
-        RESULTS+=("$v:BLOCKER($rc)")
-        overall=1
-        if [ "$FAIL_FAST" = "1" ]; then
-          echo "FAIL_FAST: stopping after blocker $v" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
-          break
-        fi
-        ;;
-      soft)
-        echo "FAIL: variant $v rc=$rc (counts toward overall)" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
-        RESULTS+=("$v:FAIL($rc)")
-        overall=1
-        if [ "$FAIL_FAST" = "1" ]; then
-          echo "FAIL_FAST: stopping after $v rc=$rc" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
-          break
-        fi
-        ;;
-    esac
-  else
-    RESULTS+=("$v:OK")
-  fi
+  record_result "$v" "$rc" "$sev" || stop=$?
+  [ "$stop" = "2" ] && break
 done
 
 echo "" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
 echo "=== matrix done (overall=$overall) ===" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
+echo "rule: released app age ≤ ${BLOCKER_MAX_AGE_DAYS}d → BLOCKER on fail; older → WARN" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
 for r in "${RESULTS[@]}"; do
   echo "  $r" | tee -a "$SUMMARY"
 done
@@ -214,6 +307,5 @@ if [ "${#WARNINGS[@]}" -gt 0 ]; then
   done
 fi
 echo ""
-echo "Compare OUT_DIR trees under $MATRIX_OUT"
-echo "stable-self / master failure = WARN only; published failure = BLOCKER."
+echo "Artifacts: $MATRIX_OUT"
 exit "$overall"