diff --git a/src/client/api.ts b/src/client/api.ts
index 317542891..582db0f5f 100644
--- a/src/client/api.ts
+++ b/src/client/api.ts
@@ -128,6 +128,7 @@ export interface SyncResponse {
   success: boolean;
   message?: string;
   lastSync?: string;
+  debug?: object;
   error?: string;
   details?: string;
 }
diff --git a/src/persistence.ts b/src/persistence.ts
index 2279a1f4a..a17de144a 100644
--- a/src/persistence.ts
+++ b/src/persistence.ts
@@ -136,9 +136,10 @@ export async function createSnapshot(
 }
 
 /**
- * Get the last stored backup handle (for status reporting).
+ * Get the timestamp of the last sync (for status reporting).
  */
-export async function getLastBackupId(bucket: R2Bucket): Promise<string | null> {
-  const handle = await getStoredHandle(bucket);
-  return handle?.id ?? null;
+export async function getLastSync(bucket: R2Bucket): Promise<string | null> {
+  const obj = await bucket.get(HANDLE_KEY);
+  if (!obj) return null;
+  return obj.uploaded.toISOString();
 }
diff --git a/src/routes/api.ts b/src/routes/api.ts
index 0bdc41905..20536dbb3 100644
--- a/src/routes/api.ts
+++ b/src/routes/api.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@ import { Hono } from 'hono';
 import type { AppEnv } from '../types';
 import { createAccessMiddleware } from '../auth';
 import { ensureGateway, findExistingGatewayProcess, killGateway, waitForProcess } from '../gateway';
-import { createSnapshot, getLastBackupId, signalRestoreNeeded } from '../persistence';
+import { createSnapshot, getLastSync, signalRestoreNeeded } from '../persistence';
+import type { StorageStatusResponse, SyncResponse } from '../client/api';
 
 // CLI commands can take 10-15 seconds to complete due to WebSocket connection overhead
 const CLI_TIMEOUT_MS = 20000;
@@ -203,16 +204,16 @@ adminApi.get('/storage', async (c) => {
   if (!c.env.R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY) missing.push('R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY');
   if (!c.env.CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID) missing.push('CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID');
 
-  const lastBackupId = hasCredentials ? await getLastBackupId(c.env.BACKUP_BUCKET) : null;
+  const lastSync = hasCredentials ? await getLastSync(c.env.BACKUP_BUCKET) : null;
 
   return c.json({
     configured: hasCredentials,
     missing: missing.length > 0 ? missing : undefined,
-    lastBackupId,
+    lastSync,
     message: hasCredentials
       ? 'R2 storage is configured. Your data will persist across container restarts via SDK snapshots.'
       : 'R2 storage is not configured. Paired devices and conversations will be lost when the container restarts.',
-  });
+  } satisfies StorageStatusResponse);
 });
 
 // POST /api/admin/storage/sync - Create a new snapshot
@@ -235,9 +236,9 @@ adminApi.post('/storage/sync', async (c) => {
     return c.json({
       success: true,
       message: 'Snapshot created successfully',
-      backupId: handle.id,
-      debug: { mountState, dirContents },
-    });
+      lastSync: new Date().toISOString(),
+      debug: { mountState, dirContents, handle },
+    } satisfies SyncResponse);
   } catch (error) {
     const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Unknown error';
     const status =
diff --git a/test/e2e/r2_persistence.txt b/test/e2e/r2_persistence.txt
index e8120f907..1b2e7679e 100644
--- a/test/e2e/r2_persistence.txt
+++ b/test/e2e/r2_persistence.txt
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ where
 * result.success == true
 
 ===
-storage status shows last backup id
+storage status shows last sync time
 %require
 ===
 WORKER_URL=$(cat "$CCTR_FIXTURE_DIR/worker-url.txt")
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ WORKER_URL=$(cat "$CCTR_FIXTURE_DIR/worker-url.txt")
 ---
 where
 * result.configured == true
-* result.lastBackupId matches /^[0-9a-f-]+$/
+* result.lastSync matches /^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}T\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}\.\d{3}Z$/
 
 ===
 third sync also succeeds