diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index f4cf1855..7691df50 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 TC_HOST='root@192.168.1.101'
 TC_PASSWORD=''
-TC_SSH_OPTS='-o HostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa -o PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa -o KexAlgorithms=+diffie-hellman-group14-sha1 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null'
+TC_SSH_OPTS='-o HostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa -o PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa -o KexAlgorithms=+diffie-hellman-group14-sha1 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new -o UserKnownHostsFile=~/.tcapsule_known_hosts'
 TC_INTERNAL_SHARE_USE_DISK_ROOT='false'
 TC_SMB_BROWSE_COMPATIBILITY='false'
 TC_ANY_PROTOCOL='false'
diff --git a/DETAIL.md b/DETAIL.md
index 9daa94a7..6dd5a565 100644
--- a/DETAIL.md
+++ b/DETAIL.md
@@ -893,7 +893,7 @@ Current defaults:
 - `TC_INTERNAL_SHARE_USE_DISK_ROOT=false`
 - `TC_ATA_IDLE_SECONDS=300`
 - `TC_ATA_STANDBY=` leaves the standby timer unchanged; set `0` to disable standby
-- `TC_SSH_OPTS` includes the legacy SSH algorithms required by AirPort firmware
+- `TC_SSH_OPTS` includes the legacy SSH algorithms required by AirPort firmware and pins the device host key on first use in `~/.tcapsule_known_hosts`
 - docs and examples use SMB username `admin`
 - the managed payload directory is fixed at `.samba4`
 
@@ -902,7 +902,7 @@ Samba NetBIOS, Samba server string, Bonjour instance, and Bonjour host labels ar
 Current validation behavior:
 - `TC_HOST`: must be non-empty.
 - `TC_PASSWORD`: must be present for commands that authenticate to the device.
-- `TC_SSH_OPTS`: is written by `configure` with the legacy SSH options needed for AirPort firmware.
+- `TC_SSH_OPTS`: is written by `configure` with the legacy SSH options needed for AirPort firmware. It now pins the device host key on first use (`StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new`) in `~/.tcapsule_known_hosts` instead of disabling host-key checking, so a later key change is detected. `doctor` warns if a saved `.env` still uses `StrictHostKeyChecking=no`. If the device is factory-reset and its key legitimately changes, remove its entry from `~/.tcapsule_known_hosts` (or delete the file) and rerun.
 - `TC_INTERNAL_SHARE_USE_DISK_ROOT`: hidden boolean; internal disks use `ShareRoot` by default, and external disks always use the disk root.
 - `TC_ATA_IDLE_SECONDS`: optional non-negative integer; default `300`, and `0` disables the ATA idle timer through `atactl setidle 0`.
 - `TC_ATA_STANDBY`: optional non-negative integer; blank leaves standby unchanged, and `0` disables standby through `atactl setstandby 0`.
diff --git a/src/timecapsulesmb/checks/doctor_steps.py b/src/timecapsulesmb/checks/doctor_steps.py
index 1a83e36e..5844e940 100644
--- a/src/timecapsulesmb/checks/doctor_steps.py
+++ b/src/timecapsulesmb/checks/doctor_steps.py
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@
     parse_xattr_tdb_paths,
 )
 from timecapsulesmb.checks.smb_targets import doctor_smb_servers
-from timecapsulesmb.core.config import AppConfig, DEFAULT_SAMBA_AUTH_USER, validate_app_config
+from timecapsulesmb.core.config import AppConfig, DEFAULT_SAMBA_AUTH_USER, ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking, validate_app_config
 from timecapsulesmb.core.release import CLI_VERSION_CODE, RELEASE_TAG
 from timecapsulesmb.core.net import endpoint_host
 from timecapsulesmb.device.compat import is_netbsd4_payload_family, is_netbsd6_payload_family, render_compatibility_message
@@ -343,6 +343,13 @@ def _add_config_validation_results(
 
     add_result(CheckResult("PASS", f"{config.path} contains all required settings"))
 
+    if ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking(config.get("TC_SSH_OPTS")):
+        add_result(CheckResult(
+            "WARN",
+            "TC_SSH_OPTS disables SSH host-key checking (StrictHostKeyChecking=no / "
+            "UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null); rerun `tcapsule configure` to pin the device host key",
+        ))
+
     for result in check_required_local_tools():
         add_result(result)
     for result in check_required_artifacts(repo_root):
diff --git a/src/timecapsulesmb/core/config.py b/src/timecapsulesmb/core/config.py
index 4f56bdae..ccdf40c1 100644
--- a/src/timecapsulesmb/core/config.py
+++ b/src/timecapsulesmb/core/config.py
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ class AirportDeviceIdentity:
 
 DEFAULTS = {
     "TC_HOST": DEFAULT_SSH_TARGET_PLACEHOLDER,
-    "TC_SSH_OPTS": "-o HostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa -o PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa -o KexAlgorithms=+diffie-hellman-group14-sha1 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null",
+    "TC_SSH_OPTS": "-o HostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa -o PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa -o KexAlgorithms=+diffie-hellman-group14-sha1 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new -o UserKnownHostsFile=~/.tcapsule_known_hosts",
     "TC_INTERNAL_SHARE_USE_DISK_ROOT": "false",
     "TC_SMB_BIND_LAN_ONLY": "false",
     "TC_SMB_BROWSE_COMPATIBILITY": "false",
@@ -648,6 +648,13 @@ def preserved_env_file_values(values: dict[str, str]) -> dict[str, str]:
     return {key: value for key, value in values.items() if key not in ENV_FILE_OMIT_KEYS}
 
 
+def ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking(ssh_opts: str | None) -> bool:
+    if not ssh_opts:
+        return False
+    normalized = "".join(ssh_opts.lower().split()).replace('"', "").replace("'", "")
+    return "stricthostkeychecking=no" in normalized or "userknownhostsfile=/dev/null" in normalized
+
+
 def write_env_file(path: Path, values: dict[str, str]) -> None:
     text = render_env_text(values)
     tmp_name: str | None = None
diff --git a/tests/test_checks.py b/tests/test_checks.py
index 66788497..82f1b3a9 100644
--- a/tests/test_checks.py
+++ b/tests/test_checks.py
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
     DOCTOR_STARTUP_GRACE_SECONDS,
     STARTUP_GRACE_DETAIL_KEY,
     STARTUP_GRACE_MASK,
+    _add_config_validation_results,
     _apply_startup_grace,
 )
 from timecapsulesmb.checks.local_tools import check_required_local_tools
@@ -478,6 +479,16 @@ def test_run_doctor_checks_stops_invalid_config_before_remote_checks(self) -> No
         bonjour.assert_not_called()
         smb_listing.assert_not_called()
 
+    def test_config_validation_warns_when_ssh_host_key_checking_disabled(self) -> None:
+        config = self.doctor_config(
+            self.valid_doctor_values(TC_SSH_OPTS="-o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null"),
+            exists=True,
+        )
+        results: list[CheckResult] = []
+        _add_config_validation_results(config, repo_root=REPO_ROOT, add_result=results.append)
+        warnings = [r for r in results if r.status == "WARN" and "host-key checking" in r.message]
+        self.assertTrue(warnings)
+
     def test_run_doctor_checks_passes_when_deployed_version_matches_current_cli(self) -> None:
         run = self.run_doctor_with_mocks(
             ssh_login=mock.Mock(status="PASS", message="ssh ok"),
diff --git a/tests/test_config.py b/tests/test_config.py
index d1b23277..9c772e06 100644
--- a/tests/test_config.py
+++ b/tests/test_config.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
     parse_env_file,
     parse_env_value,
     preserved_env_file_values,
+    ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking,
     require_valid_app_config,
     render_env_text,
     validate_app_config,
@@ -151,6 +152,24 @@ def test_render_env_text_contains_config_keys(self) -> None:
         self.assertIn("TC_ATA_STANDBY=''", rendered)
         self.assertIn("TC_CONFIGURE_ID=12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012", rendered)
 
+    def test_default_ssh_opts_pin_host_key(self) -> None:
+        opts = DEFAULTS["TC_SSH_OPTS"]
+        self.assertIn("StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new", opts)
+        self.assertIn("UserKnownHostsFile=~/.tcapsule_known_hosts", opts)
+        self.assertNotIn("StrictHostKeyChecking=no", opts)
+        self.assertNotIn("/dev/null", opts)
+
+    def test_ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking_detection(self) -> None:
+        self.assertTrue(ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking("-o StrictHostKeyChecking=no"))
+        self.assertTrue(ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking("-o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null"))
+        self.assertTrue(ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking("-o StrictHostKeyChecking\t=\tno"))
+        self.assertTrue(ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking('-o UserKnownHostsFile="/dev/null"'))
+        self.assertTrue(ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking("-o StrictHostKeyChecking='no'"))
+        self.assertFalse(ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking(None))
+        self.assertFalse(ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking(""))
+        self.assertFalse(ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking(DEFAULTS["TC_SSH_OPTS"]))
+        self.assertFalse(ssh_opts_disable_host_key_checking("-o ProxyJump=bastion"))
+
     def test_render_env_text_preserves_custom_settings_but_omits_deprecated_keys(self) -> None:
         values = dict(DEFAULTS)
         values.update({