diff --git a/tests/e2e/CONTRIBUTING.md b/tests/e2e/CONTRIBUTING.md
index b4379425854..b05f462c7ae 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/tests/e2e/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ The suites run against a live proxy, so bring one up first by running the litell
 
    They also need a proxy whose bundled UI contains the change under test, so run the proxy from your branch (an editable install serves the UI your checkout builds)
 
-Some suites need extra services the bare proxy does not start. The `logging/` OTEL trace-completeness tests read spans back from a jaeger query API at `http://localhost:16686` (override with `E2E_OTEL_QUERY_URL`); run a `jaegertracing/all-in-one` and point `PHOENIX_COLLECTOR_HTTP_ENDPOINT` at its OTLP ingest. The `mcp/` suite needs the deterministic upstream MCP server in `mcp_tests/mcp_e2e_upstream_server.py` reachable by the proxy. The presidio guardrail tests need a running Presidio analyzer and anonymizer the proxy can reach, addressed by `PRESIDIO_ANALYZER_API_BASE` / `PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZER_API_BASE`
+Some suites need extra services the bare proxy does not start. The `logging/` OTEL trace-completeness tests read spans back from a jaeger query API at `http://localhost:16686` (override with `E2E_OTEL_QUERY_URL`); run a `jaegertracing/all-in-one` and start the proxy with `LITELLM_OTEL_V2=true`, the `otel` callback, and `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT` pointing at its OTLP ingest. The `mcp/` suite needs the deterministic upstream MCP server in `mcp_tests/mcp_e2e_upstream_server.py` reachable by the proxy. The presidio guardrail tests need a running Presidio analyzer and anonymizer the proxy can reach, addressed by `PRESIDIO_ANALYZER_API_BASE` / `PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZER_API_BASE`
 
 The Presidio spend-log audit test also requires prompt storage on the proxy, because its assertions inspect the detected entities and their scores. Add the following to the proxy config before starting it:
 
diff --git a/tests/e2e/gateway/stage_mirror_ci_config.yml b/tests/e2e/gateway/stage_mirror_ci_config.yml
index 02a131f60ae..ff783984e8b 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/gateway/stage_mirror_ci_config.yml
+++ b/tests/e2e/gateway/stage_mirror_ci_config.yml
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ litellm_settings:
       - host: 127.0.0.1
         port: 6379
     ssl: true
-  callbacks: ["arize_phoenix", "datadog", "smtp_email", "prometheus", "otel", "websearch_interception"]
+  callbacks: ["datadog", "smtp_email", "prometheus", "otel", "websearch_interception"]
   websearch_interception_params:
     enabled_providers: ["bedrock"]
     search_tool_name: e2e-search
diff --git a/tests/e2e/logging/test_otel_trace_e2e.py b/tests/e2e/logging/test_otel_trace_e2e.py
index a5be868bc00..81a6407f642 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/logging/test_otel_trace_e2e.py
+++ b/tests/e2e/logging/test_otel_trace_e2e.py
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ def _assert_otel_destination_configured(client: LoggingClient) -> None:
     details = _ReadinessDetails.model_validate_json(readiness_details_body(client))
     assert OTEL_V2_LOGGER_NAME in details.success_callbacks, (
         f"the proxy must report the {OTEL_V2_LOGGER_NAME} callback active "
-        f"(LITELLM_OTEL_V2 + arize_phoenix preset in the compose config); got: {details.success_callbacks}"
+        f"(LITELLM_OTEL_V2=true + the otel callback in the stack config); got: {details.success_callbacks}"
     )