diff --git a/src-tauri/src/commands.rs b/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
index 270c6bf..6efe312 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
@@ -83,19 +83,24 @@ pub struct TierInfo {
     /// The caps that this tier maps to. The user's current Settings may
     /// differ if they tuned manually.
     pub recommended_caps: Caps,
+    /// Diagnostic: the candidate `.claude/` directories that were probed.
+    /// Useful for users on novel setups (multi-distro, custom $HOME, etc.).
+    pub searched: Vec<String>,
 }
 
 #[tauri::command]
 pub async fn detect_plan_tier(
     state: tauri::State<'_, SharedState>,
 ) -> Result<TierInfo, String> {
-    // Each resolved root is a `<base>/.claude/projects` path. The tier
-    // file lives in the parent (`<base>/.claude/`) — so check those, plus
-    // the native home as a fallback, so this works whether Claude Code
-    // runs in WSL (UNC paths) or natively.
-    let mut candidates: Vec<PathBuf> = state
+    // Resolve roots fresh — `state.roots` may be empty if this command is
+    // invoked before the cold-start refresh finishes (which IS what happens
+    // when the user opens Settings shortly after launch).
+    let s = state.settings.read().clone();
+    let resolved =
+        resolve_roots(s.wsl_distro_override.as_deref(), s.include_native);
+
+    let mut candidates: Vec<PathBuf> = resolved
         .roots
-        .read()
         .iter()
         .filter_map(|r| r.parent().map(PathBuf::from))
         .collect();
@@ -109,5 +114,9 @@ pub async fn detect_plan_tier(
     let tier = detect_tier_in(&candidates);
     let label = tier.label();
     let recommended_caps = tier.caps();
-    Ok(TierInfo { tier, label, recommended_caps })
+    Ok(TierInfo { tier, label, recommended_caps, searched: paths_to_strings(&candidates) })
+}
+
+fn paths_to_strings(paths: &[PathBuf]) -> Vec<String> {
+    paths.iter().map(|p| p.display().to_string()).collect()
 }
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/tier.rs b/src-tauri/src/tier.rs
index c88288a..fe7c8c2 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/tier.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/tier.rs
@@ -131,6 +131,7 @@ pub fn detect_in(claude_dirs: &[PathBuf]) -> PlanTier {
 
 /// Native-only fallback path. Most callers should prefer `detect_in` with
 /// the resolved-roots' parents so the WSL case works.
+#[allow(dead_code)]
 pub fn detect() -> PlanTier {
     let Some(home) = dirs::home_dir() else {
         return PlanTier::NotFound;
diff --git a/src/components/Settings.svelte b/src/components/Settings.svelte
index 30fd69d..a961efa 100644
--- a/src/components/Settings.svelte
+++ b/src/components/Settings.svelte
@@ -93,6 +93,14 @@
             Approximate — Anthropic doesn't publish exact caps. Tune below
             once you actually hit a limit.
           </div>
+          {#if tier.label.startsWith("Unknown") && tier.searched.length > 0}
+            <details class="muted hint">
+              <summary>Searched paths</summary>
+              <ul class="paths">
+                {#each tier.searched as p (p)}<li><code>{p}</code></li>{/each}
+              </ul>
+            </details>
+          {/if}
         </div>
       {/if}
 
@@ -194,6 +202,9 @@
     gap: 4px;
   }
   .hint { font-size: 10px; line-height: 1.3; }
+  details summary { cursor: pointer; font-size: 10px; }
+  ul.paths { margin: 4px 0 0; padding-left: 14px; max-height: 70px; overflow: auto; }
+  ul.paths code { font-size: 10px; word-break: break-all; }
   .error {
     background: rgba(255, 107, 107, 0.15);
     border: 1px solid var(--danger);
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index af093b0..d05b2bf 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -67,4 +67,5 @@ export interface TierInfo {
   tier: unknown;
   label: string;
   recommended_caps: Caps;
+  searched: string[];
 }