diff --git a/hosts/van.conf b/hosts/van.conf
index 03580d5..6c0b0e7 100644
--- a/hosts/van.conf
+++ b/hosts/van.conf
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 # /etc/vanlink.conf -> this file. See hosts/vanlink.conf.example for the variable list.
 
 WIFI_5G_IFACE=wlp1s0            # MediaTek MT7925E (PCIe); 2.4GHz AP is the separate USB dongle below
-WIFI_2G_IFACE=wlx3c3332002066   # D-Link USB dongle
+WIFI_2G_IFACE=wlxf4f26d1760a7   # D-Link USB dongle (2.4GHz AP; the same dongle is listed in hosts/wan.conf — it moves between the hosts)
 LAN_IFACE=enP1p17s0
 STARLINK_IFACE=enP2p33s0
-WIFI_WAN_IFACE=                 # none: no spare radio (the R5C's two radios are both APs)
+WIFI_WAN_IFACE=wlx200bd04dc756   # Wi-Fi uplink test dongle (RTL8821CU); not always attached — van-failover treats an absent device as "not present"
 ONBOARD_LAN_IFACE=
 
 GATEWAY_IP="10.42.1.1"
@@ -34,12 +34,13 @@ ENABLE_NVME_WATCH=0             # no NVMe on this board
 ENABLE_HA=1
 ENABLE_FRIGATE=1
 ENABLE_NM_WAN=1
-ENABLE_LEDS=1                   # R5C front LEDs (van-leds)
 
+CELLULAR_CONN_NAME=Koodo
+CELLULAR_APN=sp.koodo.com
+
+# Front LEDs
+ENABLE_LEDS=1                   # R5C front LEDs (van-leds)
 LED_POWER=red:power
 LED_LAN=green:lan
 LED_WAN=green:wan
 LED_WLAN=green:wlan
-
-CELLULAR_CONN_NAME=Koodo
-CELLULAR_APN=sp.koodo.com
diff --git a/tests/check-templates.sh b/tests/check-templates.sh
index 0ba4c26..b01dd7d 100755
--- a/tests/check-templates.sh
+++ b/tests/check-templates.sh
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ done
 
 # 5. host-specific values land in the rendered output
 r() { VANLINK_CONF="hosts/$1.conf" ./deploy.sh render "$2"; }
+hv() { ( . "hosts/$1.conf"; printf %s "${!2-}" ); }   # hv <host> <VAR>: a value from a host file (so hardware changes need no test edits)
 expect() {  # expect <host> <file> <fixed string that must appear>
     if r "$1" "$2" | grep -qF -- "$3"; then ok "$1: $2 has '$3'"; else bad "$1: $2 lacks '$3'"; fi
 }
@@ -63,9 +64,9 @@ expect van ap/nftables.conf            'ip saddr 10.42.1.0/24'
 expect wan ap/nftables.conf            'ip saddr 10.42.0.0/24'
 expect van ap/van-br0-setup.service    'brctl addif br0 enP1p17s0'
 expect wan ap/van-br0-setup.service    'brctl addif br0 enx00e04c331140'
-expect van failover/config.json        '"device": ""'
+expect van failover/config.json        "\"device\": \"$(hv van WIFI_WAN_IFACE)\""
 expect wan failover/config.json        '"device": "wlan0"'
-expect van router-status/config.json   '"wifi_wan_iface": ""'
+expect van router-status/config.json   "\"wifi_wan_iface\": \"$(hv van WIFI_WAN_IFACE)\""
 expect van failover/van-wlan-watchdog.service 'ExecStart=/usr/local/sbin/van-wlan-watchdog'
 expect wan failover/van-wlan-watchdog.service 'van-wlan-watchdog wlan0'
 expect van ap/van-ap-unmanaged.conf    'interface-name:enP1p17s0'
@@ -75,7 +76,7 @@ expect van power/nvme-watch-config.json '"nvme_device": ""'
 expect wan ap/hostapd.conf    'interface=wlxc83a35a4ee55'
 expect van ap/hostapd.conf    'interface=wlp1s0'
 expect wan ap/hostapd-2g.conf 'interface=wlxf4f26d1760a7'
-expect van ap/hostapd-2g.conf 'interface=wlx3c3332002066'
+expect van ap/hostapd-2g.conf "interface=$(hv van WIFI_2G_IFACE)"
 expect_line wan ap/hostapd.conf    'ssid=VanLink'
 expect_line van ap/hostapd.conf    'ssid=VanLink2'
 expect_line wan ap/hostapd-2g.conf 'ssid=VanLink'
@@ -216,7 +217,17 @@ tmpw=$(mktemp)
 VANLINK_CONF=hosts/wan.conf ./deploy.sh --render-wan-netplan > "$tmpw"
 if [ "$want" = "$(cat "$tmpw")" ]; then ok "wan.conf: split netplan renders identical to the old single template"; else bad "wan.conf: netplan render changed by the split"; diff <(echo "$want") "$tmpw" | head -10 | sed 's/^/       /' || true; fi
 if grep -qF '/etc/vanlink.conf' "$tmpw"; then bad "wan.conf: rendered netplan mentions /etc/vanlink.conf (a comment was re-edited; live hosts would report differs)"; else ok "wan.conf: rendered netplan keeps the original comments (no /etc/vanlink.conf)"; fi
-if VANLINK_CONF=hosts/van.conf ./deploy.sh --render-wan-netplan | grep -q '^  wifis:'; then bad "van.conf: wifis stanza must be omitted (WIFI_WAN_IFACE empty)"; else ok "van.conf: no wifis stanza"; fi
+# van's Wi-Fi uplink (if any) is whatever its host file names; the "no Wi-Fi WAN" path is covered with a synthetic conf
+vw=$(hv van WIFI_WAN_IFACE)
+vnp=$(VANLINK_CONF=hosts/van.conf ./deploy.sh --render-wan-netplan)
+if [ -n "$vw" ]; then
+    if [[ $vnp == *"    ${vw}:"* ]]; then ok "van.conf: wifis stanza names $vw"; else bad "van.conf: wifis stanza lacks $vw"; fi
+else
+    if [[ $vnp == *"  wifis:"* ]]; then bad "van.conf: wifis stanza must be omitted (WIFI_WAN_IFACE empty)"; else ok "van.conf: no wifis stanza"; fi
+fi
+nw=$(mktemp); sed -E 's/^WIFI_WAN_IFACE=[^[:space:]#]*/WIFI_WAN_IFACE=/' hosts/van.conf > "$nw"
+nnp=$(VANLINK_CONF="$nw" ./deploy.sh --render-wan-netplan)
+if [[ $nnp == *"  wifis:"* ]]; then bad "empty WIFI_WAN_IFACE: wifis stanza must be omitted"; else ok "empty WIFI_WAN_IFACE: no wifis stanza"; fi
 rm -f "$tmpw" "$old"
 
 # 15. cellular connection name comes from the host config
@@ -237,7 +248,10 @@ for h in van wan; do
     echo "$p" | grep -q '^wan-plan: ENABLE_NM_WAN=1$' && ok "$h: wan-plan header" || bad "$h: wan-plan header"
     echo "$p" | grep -q 'cellular profile: Koodo apn=sp.koodo.com' && ok "$h: wan-plan cellular" || bad "$h: wan-plan cellular"
 done
-p=$(VANLINK_CONF=hosts/van.conf ./deploy.sh --wan-plan); echo "$p" | grep -q 'wifi WAN: none' && ok "van: wan-plan says no Wi-Fi WAN" || bad "van: wan-plan Wi-Fi WAN"
+want_wp="wifi WAN: ${vw:-none}"
+p=$(VANLINK_CONF=hosts/van.conf ./deploy.sh --wan-plan); [[ $p == *"$want_wp"* ]] && ok "van: wan-plan says '$want_wp'" || bad "van: wan-plan Wi-Fi WAN (want '$want_wp')"
+p=$(VANLINK_CONF="$nw" ./deploy.sh --wan-plan); [[ $p == *"wifi WAN: none"* ]] && ok "empty WIFI_WAN_IFACE: wan-plan says no Wi-Fi WAN" || bad "empty WIFI_WAN_IFACE: wan-plan Wi-Fi WAN"
+rm -f "$nw"
 p=$(VANLINK_CONF=hosts/wan.conf ./deploy.sh --wan-plan); echo "$p" | grep -q 'wifi WAN: wlan0' && ok "wan: wan-plan Wi-Fi WAN wlan0" || bad "wan: wan-plan Wi-Fi WAN"
 # CELLULAR_UUID is derived in pure bash (no uuidgen dependency) and stable
 u1=$(VANLINK_CONF=hosts/van.conf ./deploy.sh render ap/cellular.nmconnection | grep '^uuid=')