diff --git a/app/igneum-app/ui/ui-ota.test.mjs b/app/igneum-app/ui/ui-ota.test.mjs
index a19a9747..cde3aa70 100644
--- a/app/igneum-app/ui/ui-ota.test.mjs
+++ b/app/igneum-app/ui/ui-ota.test.mjs
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ test('the embedded interface says built in; an over-the-air one says so with its
   assert.equal(w.eyebrow, 'over the air');
   assert.equal(w.help, 'Built in: 1.0.0.');
   assert.equal(V.interfaceWords({}).line, '');
-  assert.equal(readFileSync(join(here, 'VERSION'), 'utf8').trim(), '1.0.0', 'the embedded interface version is three-part and in ui/VERSION');
+  assert.equal(readFileSync(join(here, 'VERSION'), 'utf8').trim(), '1.0.2', 'the embedded interface version is three-part and in ui/VERSION (1.0.2: the 0.3.22 tree, 7 October 2026)');
 });
 
 test('the help line says what is pending, refused, held back by the switch, or skipped', () => {
diff --git a/packaging/ota/publish-manifest.sh b/packaging/ota/publish-manifest.sh
index 811422a0..cd4d4499 100755
--- a/packaging/ota/publish-manifest.sh
+++ b/packaging/ota/publish-manifest.sh
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
     --drivers) DRIVERS_FILE="$2"; shift 2 ;;
     --no-drivers) NO_DRIVERS=1; shift ;;
     --ui) UI_FILE="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+    --ui-pair-override) UI_PAIR_OVERRIDE="$2"; shift 2 ;;   # ship an interface from another UI tree knowingly, with the reason logged (7 Oct 2026: 1.0.2 to 0.3.21 apps)
     --no-ui) NO_UI=1; shift ;;
     --base-url) BASE="$2"; shift 2 ;;
     --dest) DEST="$2"; shift 2 ;;
@@ -290,7 +291,10 @@ open(out, "w").write(json.dumps(m, sort_keys=True, separators=(",", ":"), ensure
 PY
 # the version pair (7 October 2026): the interface bundle and every app entry must come from one UI tree; a carried-over
 # ui object against a newer tree, or an entry without its interface version, refuses the publish here
-node "$ROOT/tools/ui-ota/pair-check.mjs" "$NEW" || { echo "refused: the manifest's interface and its app entries are not one UI tree (tools/ui-ota/pair-check.mjs); cut the interface from this tree with tools/ui-ota/publish.mjs --version $UI_TREE_VERSION, or --no-ui" >&2; exit 2; }
+if ! node "$ROOT/tools/ui-ota/pair-check.mjs" "$NEW"; then
+  if [ -n "${UI_PAIR_OVERRIDE:-}" ]; then echo "the interface is not from this manifest's UI tree; published anyway on --ui-pair-override: $UI_PAIR_OVERRIDE" >&2
+  else echo "refused: the manifest's interface and its app entries are not one UI tree (tools/ui-ota/pair-check.mjs); cut the interface from this tree with tools/ui-ota/publish.mjs --version $UI_TREE_VERSION, or --no-ui, or say why with --ui-pair-override \"<reason>\"" >&2; exit 2; fi
+fi
 "$SIGNER" sign "$KEY" "$NEW" > "$NEW.sig"
 "$SIGNER" verify "$PUB" "$NEW" "$NEW.sig"
 mv "$NEW" "$DEST/igneum-app-latest.json"