diff --git a/devices.py b/devices.py
index 5521388..f62ae58 100644
--- a/devices.py
+++ b/devices.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import subprocess
 import threading
 import time
 from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor, as_completed
-from datetime import datetime, timedelta
+from datetime import datetime
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import config
@@ -152,12 +152,11 @@ def _get_budget(device: str) -> float:
 
 
 def _set_budget(device: str, budget_seconds: float):
-    """Set budget and track last check time for accurate elapsed calculation."""
+    """Persist the remaining budget for a device."""
     state = _load_state()
     if device not in state:
         state[device] = {"budget": float(BUDGET_S)}
     state[device]["budget"] = budget_seconds
-    state[device]["last_check"] = time.time()  # track for elapsed calculation
     _save_state(state)
 
 
@@ -270,17 +269,31 @@ def _shutdown_devices(device_ids: list[str]):
 
 _timer_running = False
 _timer_lock = threading.Lock()
+_last_check_times: dict[str, float] = {}  # in-memory only, not persisted
+
+
+def _reset_budgets_if_new_day():
+    """Reset all budgets if today's 7 AM daily reset was missed.
+
+    The state file is only written while the server is running, so its
+    mtime is the last time the server did anything. If that's before
+    today's 7 AM (and it's now past 7 AM), the server was stopped across
+    the daily reset — give every device a fresh budget.
+    """
+    if not STATE_FILE.exists():
+        return
+    now = datetime.now()
+    today_reset = now.replace(hour=7, minute=0, second=0)
+    mtime = datetime.fromtimestamp(STATE_FILE.stat().st_mtime)
+    if mtime < today_reset <= now:
+        for dev_id in DEVICES:
+            _reset_budget(dev_id)
 
 
 def _budget_tick():
     """Called every 10 seconds by the background timer."""
-    now = datetime.now()
-    reset_time = now.replace(hour=7, minute=0, second=0)
-
-    # Reset all budgets at 7:00 AM each day
-    if now >= reset_time and now < reset_time + timedelta(minutes=2):
-        for dev_id in DEVICES:
-            _reset_budget(dev_id)
+    # New day and we were offline at 7 AM? Reset all budgets to full.
+    _reset_budgets_if_new_day()
 
     # Check all devices in parallel
     online_status = {}
@@ -299,20 +312,29 @@ def _budget_tick():
 
     # Process results sequentially (budget operations need to be thread-safe)
     with _timer_lock:
+        current_time = time.time()  # float timestamp for precise elapsed calculation
+        
+        # Initialize last check times on first run (server restart)
+        if not _last_check_times:
+            for dev_id in DEVICES:
+                _last_check_times[dev_id] = current_time
+
         if not is_curfew_allowed():
             # Curfew in effect — turn off all online devices in parallel
             online_devices = [dev_id for dev_id, online in online_status.items() if online]
             _shutdown_devices(online_devices)
+            # Update last check times even during curfew
+            for dev_id in DEVICES:
+                _last_check_times[dev_id] = current_time
             return
 
-        current_time = time.time()  # float timestamp for precise elapsed calculation
         devices_to_shutdown = []
 
         for dev_id, online in online_status.items():
             dev_info = DEVICES[dev_id]
             state = _load_state()
             current_budget = state.get(dev_id, {}).get("budget", float(BUDGET_S))
-            last_check = state.get(dev_id, {}).get("last_check", current_time)
+            last_check = _last_check_times.get(dev_id, current_time)
 
             # Expired budget + device back online → shut it down
             if current_budget <= 0 and online:
@@ -331,8 +353,11 @@ def _budget_tick():
                 if new_budget <= 0:
                     devices_to_shutdown.append(dev_id)
             else:
-                # Always update last_check even when offline
-                _set_budget(dev_id, current_budget)
+                # Always update last_check even when offline (in-memory only)
+                pass
+
+            # Update last check time for next interval
+            _last_check_times[dev_id] = current_time
 
         # Shutdown all devices that hit zero budget in parallel
         if devices_to_shutdown: