diff --git a/sdk/cosmos/azure-cosmos-tests/src/test/java/com/azure/cosmos/implementation/directconnectivity/GlobalEndPointManagerTest.java b/sdk/cosmos/azure-cosmos-tests/src/test/java/com/azure/cosmos/implementation/directconnectivity/GlobalEndPointManagerTest.java
index 43a9e237e5bb..57429fa25bbf 100644
--- a/sdk/cosmos/azure-cosmos-tests/src/test/java/com/azure/cosmos/implementation/directconnectivity/GlobalEndPointManagerTest.java
+++ b/sdk/cosmos/azure-cosmos-tests/src/test/java/com/azure/cosmos/implementation/directconnectivity/GlobalEndPointManagerTest.java
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ public void refreshLocationAsyncForWriteForbidden() throws Exception {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Test for background refresh disable for multimaster
+     * Test for background refresh in multi-master: timer must keep running
      */
     @Test(groups = {"unit"}, timeOut = TIMEOUT)
     public void backgroundRefreshForMultiMaster() throws Exception {
@@ -236,8 +236,57 @@ public void backgroundRefreshForMultiMaster() throws Exception {
         GlobalEndpointManager globalEndPointManager = new GlobalEndpointManager(databaseAccountManagerInternal, connectionPolicy, new Configs());
         globalEndPointManager.init();
 
+        // Background refresh timer must keep running even for multi-master accounts where
+        // shouldRefreshEndpoints() returns false. This ensures topology changes (e.g.,
+        // multi-write <-> single-write transitions) are detected.
         AtomicBoolean isRefreshInBackground = getRefreshInBackground(globalEndPointManager);
-        Assert.assertFalse(isRefreshInBackground.get());
+        Assert.assertTrue(isRefreshInBackground.get());
+        LifeCycleUtils.closeQuietly(globalEndPointManager);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Validates that a multi-master account's background refresh timer detects a topology
+     * change from multi-write to single-write. Without the fix in refreshLocationPrivateAsync,
+     * the timer stops after init and the transition is never detected.
+     */
+    @Test(groups = {"unit"}, timeOut = TIMEOUT)
+    public void backgroundRefreshDetectsTopologyChangeForMultiMaster() throws Exception {
+        // Start with a multi-writer account (dbAccountJson4: MW, East US + East Asia)
+        ConnectionPolicy connectionPolicy = new ConnectionPolicy(DirectConnectionConfig.getDefaultConfig());
+        connectionPolicy.setEndpointDiscoveryEnabled(true);
+        connectionPolicy.setMultipleWriteRegionsEnabled(true);
+        DatabaseAccount multiWriterAccount = new DatabaseAccount(dbAccountJson4);
+        Mockito.when(databaseAccountManagerInternal.getDatabaseAccountFromEndpoint(ArgumentMatchers.any()))
+            .thenReturn(Flux.just(multiWriterAccount));
+        Mockito.when(databaseAccountManagerInternal.getServiceEndpoint())
+            .thenReturn(new URI("https://testaccount.documents.azure.com:443"));
+
+        GlobalEndpointManager globalEndPointManager = new GlobalEndpointManager(
+            databaseAccountManagerInternal, connectionPolicy, new Configs());
+        setBackgroundRefreshLocationTimeIntervalInMS(globalEndPointManager, 500);
+        globalEndPointManager.init();
+
+        // Verify multi-writer state: 2 write regions available
+        LocationCache locationCache = this.getLocationCache(globalEndPointManager);
+        Map<String, RegionalRoutingContext> availableWriteEndpoints = this.getAvailableWriteEndpointByLocation(locationCache);
+        Assert.assertEquals(availableWriteEndpoints.size(), 2, "Expected 2 write regions for multi-writer account");
+        Assert.assertTrue(availableWriteEndpoints.containsKey("East US"));
+        Assert.assertTrue(availableWriteEndpoints.containsKey("East Asia"));
+
+        // Transition to single-writer account (dbAccountJson1: SW, East US only for writes)
+        DatabaseAccount singleWriterAccount = new DatabaseAccount(dbAccountJson1);
+        Mockito.when(databaseAccountManagerInternal.getDatabaseAccountFromEndpoint(ArgumentMatchers.any()))
+            .thenReturn(Flux.just(singleWriterAccount));
+
+        // Wait for background refresh to detect the topology change
+        Thread.sleep(2000);
+
+        // Verify single-writer state: write endpoints updated to reflect single-writer topology
+        locationCache = this.getLocationCache(globalEndPointManager);
+        availableWriteEndpoints = this.getAvailableWriteEndpointByLocation(locationCache);
+        Assert.assertEquals(availableWriteEndpoints.size(), 1, "Expected 1 write region after transition to single-writer");
+        Assert.assertTrue(availableWriteEndpoints.containsKey("East US"));
+
         LifeCycleUtils.closeQuietly(globalEndPointManager);
     }
 
diff --git a/sdk/cosmos/azure-cosmos/src/main/java/com/azure/cosmos/implementation/GlobalEndpointManager.java b/sdk/cosmos/azure-cosmos/src/main/java/com/azure/cosmos/implementation/GlobalEndpointManager.java
index a580582c07a9..87735baf0225 100644
--- a/sdk/cosmos/azure-cosmos/src/main/java/com/azure/cosmos/implementation/GlobalEndpointManager.java
+++ b/sdk/cosmos/azure-cosmos/src/main/java/com/azure/cosmos/implementation/GlobalEndpointManager.java
@@ -302,6 +302,16 @@ private Mono<Void> refreshLocationPrivateAsync(DatabaseAccount databaseAccount)
                 return Mono.empty();
             } else {
                 logger.debug("shouldRefreshEndpoints: false, nothing to do.");
+
+                // Even when no endpoint refresh is needed right now, we must keep the
+                // background refresh timer running so that future topology changes
+                // (e.g., multi-write <-> single-write transitions) are detected.
+                // This aligns with the .NET SDK behavior where the background loop
+                // continues unconditionally as long as the client is alive.
+                if (!this.refreshInBackground.get()) {
+                    this.startRefreshLocationTimerAsync();
+                }
+
                 this.isRefreshing.set(false);
                 return Mono.empty();
             }