diff --git a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/README.md b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/README.md
index 16be18c..fc02faf 100644
--- a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/README.md
+++ b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/README.md
@@ -36,15 +36,19 @@ Runs several smokes so a single odd developer build cannot be the only sample:
 
 | Variant | What |
 |---------|------|
-| **published** | F-Droid stable APK (`net.taler.wallet.fdroid` 1.6.1 / 854) |
-| **stable-self** | Rebuild tag `wallet-1.6.1` on this host (same source as stable) |
-| **master** | Rebuild `origin/master` |
+| Order | Variant | What |
+|------|---------|------|
+| **1 (gate)** | **stable-self** | Rebuild tag `wallet-1.6.1` on this host |
+| **2 (gate)** | **published** | F-Droid stable APK (`net.taler.wallet.fdroid` 1.6.1 / 854) |
+| **3** | **master** | Rebuild `origin/master` (only if gates pass when `FAIL_FAST=1`) |
+
+**Default:** `FAIL_FAST=1` — first non-zero gate stops the matrix (no master if stable fails).
 
 ```bash
 ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
 STACK=goa ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
-VARIANTS=master,stable-self ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
-VARIANTS=published,stable-self,master,fix GUI=0 ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
+# only the hard gates:
+VARIANTS=stable-self,published FAIL_FAST=1 ./run-android-variant-matrix.sh
 ```
 
 Artifacts + `SUMMARY.txt` under `out-matrix-<timestamp>/`.
diff --git a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/lib_android_env.sh b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/lib_android_env.sh
index ad209de..670d796 100644
--- a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/lib_android_env.sh
+++ b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/lib_android_env.sh
@@ -68,8 +68,9 @@ export EMULATOR_GPU
 : "${EMULATOR_CORES:=2}"
 # If no adb device: start headless AVD (0 = require phone/manual emulator)
 : "${AUTO_START_EMULATOR:=1}"
-: "${EMULATOR_BOOT_TIMEOUT:=180}"
+: "${EMULATOR_BOOT_TIMEOUT:=360}"
 : "${EMULATOR_LOG:=/tmp/taler-android-emulator.log}"
+: "${EMULATOR_NO_SNAPSHOT:=1}"
 
 android_adb_serial() {
   adb devices 2>/dev/null | awk '/\tdevice$/{print $1; exit}'
@@ -89,6 +90,10 @@ android_emulator_args() {
     # Avoid Qt trying to open a display on servers
     export QT_QPA_PLATFORM="${QT_QPA_PLATFORM:-offscreen}"
   fi
+  # Broken default_boot snapshots leave adb offline forever — cold boot by default.
+  if [ "${EMULATOR_NO_SNAPSHOT:-1}" = "1" ]; then
+    args+=( -no-snapshot -no-snapshot-load -no-snapshot-save )
+  fi
   if [ -n "${EMULATOR_MEMORY:-}" ]; then
     args+=( -memory "$EMULATOR_MEMORY" )
   fi
diff --git a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/run-android-variant-matrix.sh b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/run-android-variant-matrix.sh
index 50d31a8..a92d739 100755
--- a/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/run-android-variant-matrix.sh
+++ b/scripts/taler-monitoring/android-test/run-android-variant-matrix.sh
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 # Run Android wallet smoke against **several build variants** so a single
 # "weird" developer tree or a bad local build cannot be the only sample.
 #
-# Default matrix:
-#   1) **published**   — F-Droid stable APK (bit-for-bit what users install)
-#   2) **stable-self** — rebuild the same release **tag** as published (self-build)
-#   3) **master**      — rebuild origin/master (tip / CI-style)
+# Default matrix (gate order — fail → hard stop when FAIL_FAST=1):
+#   1) **stable-self** — rebuild release **tag** (same source as published)
+#   2) **published**   — F-Droid stable APK (what users install)
+#   3) **master**      — rebuild origin/master (only if 1–2 pass with FAIL_FAST)
 #
 # Why stable-self in addition to published?
 #   Rare, but a published APK *or* a one-off developer build can be odd
@@ -40,8 +40,9 @@ ROOT=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)
 : "${STABLE_APK_NAME:=net.taler.wallet.fdroid_854.apk}"
 : "${MASTER_BRANCH:=master}"
 : "${FIX_BRANCH:=dev/hernani-inference/fix-bank-withdraw-auto-exchange}"
-: "${VARIANTS:=published,stable-self,master}"
-: "${FAIL_FAST:=0}"
+# Gate: stable self-build → published F-Droid; then master. FAIL_FAST default on.
+: "${VARIANTS:=stable-self,published,master}"
+: "${FAIL_FAST:=1}"
 : "${GUI:=0}"
 : "${STACK:=auto}"