diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/buildAutoRouterCompression.test.ts b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/buildAutoRouterCompression.test.ts
index ea6eaf99106..20d6af50d18 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/buildAutoRouterCompression.test.ts
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/buildAutoRouterCompression.test.ts
@@ -96,6 +96,21 @@ describe("hydrateAutoRouterCompression", () => {
     expect(rebuilt.auto_router_model_compression).not.toBe("headroom-a");
   });
 
+  it("surfaces a stored model-only policy instead of reading as untouched", () => {
+    // Regression: the backend treats either key alone as an authoritative policy, so a
+    // model-only config that hydrated to the inherit state was invisible in the form,
+    // and the next save overwrote the stored model hop with the routing value.
+    const state = hydrateAutoRouterCompression({ auto_router_model_compression: "headroom-b" });
+    expect(state).toEqual({ routing: "none", sameAsRouting: false, model: "headroom-b" });
+  });
+
+  it("round-trips a model-only policy without changing either hop", () => {
+    const stored = { auto_router_model_compression: "headroom-b" };
+    const rebuilt = buildAutoRouterCompressionParams(hydrateAutoRouterCompression(stored));
+    expect(rebuilt.auto_router_model_compression).toBe("headroom-b");
+    expect(rebuilt.auto_router_routing_compression).toBe("none");
+  });
+
   it("round-trips through buildAutoRouterCompressionParams", () => {
     const original = { auto_router_routing_compression: "headroom-a", auto_router_model_compression: "none" };
     const rebuilt = buildAutoRouterCompressionParams(hydrateAutoRouterCompression(original));
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/buildAutoRouterCompression.ts b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/buildAutoRouterCompression.ts
index 47d0e3db7e4..6f401a12865 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/buildAutoRouterCompression.ts
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/add_model/buildAutoRouterCompression.ts
@@ -50,14 +50,20 @@ export const hydrateAutoRouterCompression = (litellmParams: {
   auto_router_routing_compression?: string | null;
   auto_router_model_compression?: string | null;
 }): AutoRouterCompressionState => {
-  const routing = litellmParams.auto_router_routing_compression ?? undefined;
-  if (routing === undefined) return DEFAULT_AUTO_ROUTER_COMPRESSION;
+  const storedRouting = litellmParams.auto_router_routing_compression ?? undefined;
+  const storedModel = litellmParams.auto_router_model_compression ?? undefined;
 
-  // An absent model key is no model-hop compression, not same-as-routing: the backend
-  // reads it as None (policy_from_litellm_params). Hydrating it as same-as-routing
-  // would make re-saving an unrelated edit write the routing guardrail onto the model
-  // hop and silently start compressing the model call.
-  const model = litellmParams.auto_router_model_compression ?? NO_COMPRESSION;
+  // Only neither key set means the section was never touched. The backend treats
+  // either key on its own as an authoritative policy (policy_from_litellm_params), so
+  // reading a model-only config as untouched would hide it from the form and let the
+  // next save overwrite the stored model hop.
+  if (storedRouting === undefined && storedModel === undefined) return DEFAULT_AUTO_ROUTER_COMPRESSION;
+
+  // An absent key on either hop is no compression for that hop, not same-as-the-other:
+  // the backend reads it as None. Hydrating it as same-as-routing would make re-saving
+  // an unrelated edit write one hop's guardrail onto the other.
+  const routing = storedRouting ?? NO_COMPRESSION;
+  const model = storedModel ?? NO_COMPRESSION;
   const sameAsRouting = model === routing;
   return { routing, sameAsRouting, model: sameAsRouting ? undefined : model };
 };