diff --git a/custom_components/localthings/entity.py b/custom_components/localthings/entity.py
index b15d166..cbdbca1 100644
--- a/custom_components/localthings/entity.py
+++ b/custom_components/localthings/entity.py
@@ -24,10 +24,15 @@ def _is_included(bound: BoundEntity, coordinator: 'LocalThingsCoordinator') -> b
 
     A stub rep (is_stub_rep — /device/0's "resource exists, no data fetched
     yet" marker) is included anyway so it can be populated by sub-polls. A
-    genuinely empty {} rep is the device's confirmed (if empty) answer, not
-    a stub, and gates the entity off like any other missing field — else a
-    resource this model never populates would spawn a phantom always-
-    "unknown" entity every session (issue #127).
+    genuinely empty {} rep is included too by this default gate -- whether
+    empty means "not populated yet" or "permanently unsupported" needs
+    per-field domain knowledge this generic gate doesn't have: /alarms/vs/0's
+    {} is fridge.py's documented *normal* no-alarm state (see
+    _active_alarm_codes), not an absence signal, and it's far from the only
+    resource like that. Only a capability whose author has actually verified
+    a field is genuinely never populated on unsupported hardware opts into
+    stricter gating with its own is_stub_rep-based exists_fn (see
+    common.ENERGY_METER, issue #127) -- this default stays permissive.
     """
     rep = coordinator.last_resources.get(bound.href)
     if rep is None:
@@ -35,7 +40,7 @@ def _is_included(bound: BoundEntity, coordinator: 'LocalThingsCoordinator') -> b
     if bound.desc.exists_fn is not None:
         return bound.desc.exists_fn(rep, coordinator.last_resources)
     if bound.desc.field:
-        if is_stub_rep(rep):
+        if not rep or is_stub_rep(rep):
             return True
         return bound.desc.field in rep
     return True  # rep_fn or no-field entities (ButtonDesc) are always included
diff --git a/custom_components/localthings/registry/capabilities/common.py b/custom_components/localthings/registry/capabilities/common.py
index 775a318..ac60523 100644
--- a/custom_components/localthings/registry/capabilities/common.py
+++ b/custom_components/localthings/registry/capabilities/common.py
@@ -503,7 +503,7 @@ AI_ENERGY_LEVEL = Capability(
     href='/energy/ailevel/vs/0',
     poll_tier='cold',
     entities=(
-        # No `not rep` stub carve-out on either side, unlike most exists_fn
+        # No is_stub_rep carve-out on either side, unlike most exists_fn
         # gates in this file -- entity creation only ever runs once, against
         # whichever snapshot happens to be current the moment platforms are
         # set up (see entity._is_included / __init__.py's
diff --git a/tests/test_common_capabilities.py b/tests/test_common_capabilities.py
index 5a834a1..2050a70 100644
--- a/tests/test_common_capabilities.py
+++ b/tests/test_common_capabilities.py
@@ -399,13 +399,20 @@ class TestAiEnergyLevelStubDoesNotDecideThePlatform:
     if a stub carve-out let one of them win at setup time while the other
     wins once real data lands, flatten() would feed the already-instantiated
     entity a value shaped for the other platform (e.g. a bool into a Select
-    expecting a string option). Neither side gets a `not rep` carve-out, so
-    an unfetched stub can never win entity creation for either platform --
+    expecting a string option). Neither side gets an is_stub_rep carve-out,
+    so an unfetched stub can never win entity creation for either platform --
     the entity simply doesn't appear until a reload happens with real data,
     same as any other exists_fn-gated entity in this codebase that's unlucky
     on first-poll timing, instead of appearing as the wrong widget type."""
 
-    def test_neither_widget_exists_on_empty_stub_rep(self):
+    def test_neither_widget_exists_on_true_stub_rep(self):
+        switch = _ai_energy_level_desc('SwitchDesc')
+        select = _ai_energy_level_desc('SelectDesc')
+        stub = {'href': '/energy/ailevel/vs/0'}
+        assert switch.exists_fn(stub, {}) is False
+        assert select.exists_fn(stub, {}) is False
+
+    def test_neither_widget_exists_on_genuinely_empty_rep(self):
         switch = _ai_energy_level_desc('SwitchDesc')
         select = _ai_energy_level_desc('SelectDesc')
         assert switch.exists_fn({}, {}) is False
diff --git a/tests/test_entity.py b/tests/test_entity.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1e0538b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_entity.py
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+"""Tests for entity._is_included -- the one-time entity-creation gate run
+per platform at async_setup_entry (see sensor.py etc.), separate from
+adapter.flatten()'s per-poll state values. issue #127 review: this default
+gate has to stay permissive on a genuinely empty {} rep, not just a true
+is_stub_rep stub -- a resource like /alarms/vs/0 is validly empty in its
+normal, no-alarm state (fridge._active_alarm_codes), so excluding the
+entity there would silently drop working sensors on first-poll timing,
+not just fix phantom ones.
+"""
+from custom_components.localthings.entity import _is_included
+from custom_components.localthings.registry.capability import Capability
+from custom_components.localthings.registry.discovery import BoundEntity
+from custom_components.localthings.registry.entities import SensorDesc
+
+
+class _FakeCoordinator:
+    def __init__(self, last_resources):
+        self.last_resources = last_resources
+
+
+def _bound(desc, href):
+    capability = Capability(href=href, entities=(desc,))
+    return BoundEntity(href=href, capability=capability, desc=desc)
+
+
+class TestDefaultFieldGate:
+    """No explicit exists_fn -- the field-presence default in entity.py."""
+
+    def _bound(self):
+        return _bound(SensorDesc(key='x', field='x.com.samsung.da.value'), '/x/vs/0')
+
+    def test_included_when_field_present(self):
+        bound = self._bound()
+        coord = _FakeCoordinator({'/x/vs/0': {'x.com.samsung.da.value': '1'}})
+        assert _is_included(bound, coord) is True
+
+    def test_excluded_when_field_absent_from_populated_rep(self):
+        bound = self._bound()
+        coord = _FakeCoordinator({'/x/vs/0': {'x.com.samsung.da.other': '1'}})
+        assert _is_included(bound, coord) is False
+
+    def test_included_on_true_stub(self):
+        bound = self._bound()
+        coord = _FakeCoordinator({'/x/vs/0': {'href': '/x/vs/0'}})
+        assert _is_included(bound, coord) is True
+
+    def test_included_on_genuinely_empty_rep(self):
+        """The default gate stays permissive on a real {} -- see
+        /alarms/vs/0, whose empty rep is the normal no-alarm state, not a
+        signal the hardware is unsupported. Only a capability-specific
+        exists_fn (e.g. common.ENERGY_METER) opts into excluding on
+        confirmed-empty, after verifying that's actually safe for its field."""
+        bound = self._bound()
+        coord = _FakeCoordinator({'/x/vs/0': {}})
+        assert _is_included(bound, coord) is True
+
+    def test_excluded_when_href_missing_from_resources(self):
+        bound = self._bound()
+        coord = _FakeCoordinator({})
+        assert _is_included(bound, coord) is False
+
+
+class TestExplicitExistsFnGate:
+    def test_explicit_exists_fn_overrides_default_field_gate(self):
+        desc = SensorDesc(key='x', field='x.com.samsung.da.value',
+                           exists_fn=lambda rep, resources: rep.get('flag') is True)
+        bound = _bound(desc, '/x/vs/0')
+        coord = _FakeCoordinator({'/x/vs/0': {'flag': True}})
+        assert _is_included(bound, coord) is True
+        coord = _FakeCoordinator({'/x/vs/0': {'flag': False, 'x.com.samsung.da.value': '1'}})
+        assert _is_included(bound, coord) is False
+
+
+class TestNoFieldEntities:
+    def test_rep_fn_entity_always_included(self):
+        desc = SensorDesc(key='x', rep_fn=lambda rep: rep.get('x.com.samsung.da.value'))
+        bound = _bound(desc, '/x/vs/0')
+        coord = _FakeCoordinator({'/x/vs/0': {}})
+        assert _is_included(bound, coord) is True