diff --git a/frontend/src/__tests__/helpers/multiBoardSetup.ts b/frontend/src/__tests__/helpers/multiBoardSetup.ts
index 49b6397f..930164d0 100644
--- a/frontend/src/__tests__/helpers/multiBoardSetup.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/__tests__/helpers/multiBoardSetup.ts
@@ -44,6 +44,11 @@ export function resetStore(useSimulatorStore: any): void {
  * current board list. Required between tests so that the same-state
  * short-circuit in PinManager.triggerPinChange doesn't suppress fresh
  * events.
+ *
+ * Uses hardResetPinStates (clear cache + classifications), not the
+ * stopBoard-flavored resetPinStates (classifications only) which
+ * leaves cached pin states intact so the display can resume after a
+ * pause.
  */
 export function clearAllPinManagerState(
   useSimulatorStore: any,
@@ -52,7 +57,11 @@ export function clearAllPinManagerState(
   const state = useSimulatorStore.getState();
   for (const b of state.boards ?? []) {
     const pm = getBoardPinManager(b.id);
-    pm?.resetPinStates?.();
+    if (pm?.hardResetPinStates) {
+      pm.hardResetPinStates();
+    } else {
+      pm?.resetPinStates?.();
+    }
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/simulation/PinManager.ts b/frontend/src/simulation/PinManager.ts
index 38728243..4d159270 100644
--- a/frontend/src/simulation/PinManager.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/simulation/PinManager.ts
@@ -139,22 +139,30 @@ export class PinManager {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Clear cached pin states + output-pin classifications. Called by
-   * stopBoard / resetBoard so the next Run starts without stale output
-   * classifications from a previous session forcing premature V-source
-   * emission.
-   *
-   * Also notifies every listener that its pin returned to LOW when the
-   * previously-cached state was HIGH. Without this notification,
-   * stateful display components (7-segment, dot-matrix, NeoPixel, LCD
-   * backlight) keep the last lit pattern frozen on screen after the
-   * user presses Reset / Stop — their visual state only updates when a
-   * pinChange callback fires, and resetPinStates was clearing the
-   * cache silently. Listeners that ignore the synthetic LOW (analog
-   * sensors, buttons) are unaffected; their next external write
-   * overrides the false anyway.
+   * Soft cleanup for stopBoard: drop the MCU-output classification so
+   * the next Run doesn't keep emitting stale V-sources on the SPICE
+   * side from a pin the previous program had driven. The cached pin
+   * STATES (`pinStates`) stay put — components that hold visual state
+   * (7-segment, NeoPixel, LCD, dot-matrix) keep showing the last
+   * pattern, which is what users expect from a pause/stop. On resume,
+   * avr8js's port-listener fires only for bits that CHANGED relative
+   * to its internal oldValue, so blanking the cache here would race:
+   * if the sketch's port register matches what it was pre-stop, no
+   * pinChange fires and the display would never recover.
    */
   resetPinStates(): void {
+    this.outputPins.clear();
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Hard reset for resetBoard / firmware reload: wipe every cached
+   * state AND notify listeners that previously-HIGH pins are now LOW,
+   * so stateful displays redraw cleanly to all-off. Reset implies the
+   * MCU is restarting from 0 — there's no "resume" race to worry
+   * about; the firmware will re-drive every pin from setup() once it
+   * boots.
+   */
+  hardResetPinStates(): void {
     const wereHigh: number[] = [];
     for (const [pin, state] of this.pinStates) {
       if (state) wereHigh.push(pin);
diff --git a/frontend/src/store/useSimulatorStore.ts b/frontend/src/store/useSimulatorStore.ts
index e7aaf700..611f76d6 100644
--- a/frontend/src/store/useSimulatorStore.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/store/useSimulatorStore.ts
@@ -1629,14 +1629,16 @@ export const useSimulatorStore = create<SimulatorState>((set, get) => {
         const sim = getBoardSimulator(boardId);
         if (sim) {
           sim.reset();
-          // Drop MCU-output classification so the new program starts
-          // clean — no stale V-sources from the previous run. The
-          // resetPinStates call also notifies listeners that pins which
-          // were HIGH are now LOW, so visual components (7-segment,
-          // NeoPixel, LCD backlight) clear their stale state instead of
-          // freezing on whatever pattern they had at the moment of
-          // Reset.
-          getBoardPinManager(boardId)?.resetPinStates();
+          // Reset is a hard reboot — the CPU starts at PC=0, every pin
+          // goes back to floating, every output classification is
+          // dropped. The hardResetPinStates call also notifies
+          // listeners that previously-HIGH pins are now LOW, so visual
+          // components (7-segment, NeoPixel, LCD) clear their stale
+          // pattern instead of freezing on whatever was lit at the
+          // moment of Reset. The Stop path uses the lighter
+          // resetPinStates() that ONLY drops the output classification
+          // (preserves the display so it can resume) — see PinManager.
+          getBoardPinManager(boardId)?.hardResetPinStates();
           // NOTE: do NOT reassign sim.onSerialData here. sim.reset()
           // recreates the USART but the new usart.onByteTransmit
           // already chains through `this.onSerialData`, which is the