diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 1a46bcfa..2129518e 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -146,6 +146,21 @@ disable_debug_flags() {
   fi
 }
 
+get_firmware_build_date() {
+  local env_name="$1"
+  local header="examples/simple_repeater/MyMesh.h"
+
+  if [[ "$env_name" == *companion_radio* ]]; then
+    header="examples/companion_radio/MyMesh.h"
+  elif [[ "$env_name" == *room_server* ]]; then
+    header="examples/simple_room_server/MyMesh.h"
+  elif [[ "$env_name" == *sensor* ]]; then
+    header="examples/simple_sensor/SensorMesh.h"
+  fi
+
+  sed -n 's/^[[:space:]]*#define[[:space:]][[:space:]]*FIRMWARE_BUILD_DATE[[:space:]][[:space:]]*"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p' "$header" | head -n 1
+}
+
 # build firmware for the provided pio env in $1
 build_firmware() {
   # get env platform for post build actions
@@ -154,8 +169,12 @@ build_firmware() {
   # get git commit sha
   COMMIT_HASH=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)
 
-  # set firmware build date
-  FIRMWARE_BUILD_DATE=$(date '+%d-%b-%Y')
+  # use the same fallback build date as direct PlatformIO builds
+  FIRMWARE_BUILD_DATE=$(get_firmware_build_date "$1")
+  if [ -z "$FIRMWARE_BUILD_DATE" ]; then
+    echo "FIRMWARE_BUILD_DATE could not be read for $1"
+    exit 1
+  fi
 
   # get FIRMWARE_VERSION, which should be provided by the environment
   if [ -z "$FIRMWARE_VERSION" ]; then
diff --git a/docs/custom-cli.md b/docs/custom-cli.md
index 0da69ef0..84421883 100644
--- a/docs/custom-cli.md
+++ b/docs/custom-cli.md
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ It does not try to repeat the full upstream MeshCore CLI surface.
 
 These commands are available on `*_repeater_mqtt` firmware targets.
 
+No-argument `get` commands must be entered exactly as shown.
+
 ### MQTT Status And Routing
 
 - `get mqtt.status`: shows WiFi, NTP, IATA, endpoint status, status publishing state, and TX state.
@@ -50,6 +52,8 @@ Notes:
 - new repeater MQTT installs default `mqtt.iata` to `UNSET`
 - `letsmesh-eu` and `letsmesh-us` remain off by default unless already configured in saved prefs
 - if `mqtt.iata` is `UNSET`, `eastmesh-au`, `letsmesh-eu`, and `letsmesh-us` will not connect even if they are toggled on
+- turning off a connected broker publishes a retained MQTT status update with `"status":"offline"` before the client disconnects
+- changing `mqtt.iata` away from a configured value also publishes retained offline status to the old status topic, restarts connected broker clients, and reconnects under the new topic path
 
 Legacy dotted aliases are also accepted:
 
diff --git a/docs/web-panel.md b/docs/web-panel.md
index dea1ac2d..33185a5b 100644
--- a/docs/web-panel.md
+++ b/docs/web-panel.md
@@ -221,6 +221,8 @@ Notes:
 - while `mqtt.iata` is `UNSET`, enabled MQTT brokers do not attempt to connect
 - the current MQTT server states are loaded when the page opens
 - you can toggle each MQTT server on or off from this panel
+- turning off a connected MQTT server publishes retained offline status before the client disconnects
+- changing `mqtt.iata` away from a configured value publishes retained offline status to the old status topic, restarts connected broker clients, and reconnects under the new topic path
 - if all three servers are enabled at once, the panel shows a warning recommending two at most
 
 ## `/stats` Overview
diff --git a/examples/simple_repeater/MyMesh.cpp b/examples/simple_repeater/MyMesh.cpp
index 4b2a0714..5df5387b 100644
--- a/examples/simple_repeater/MyMesh.cpp
+++ b/examples/simple_repeater/MyMesh.cpp
@@ -2233,11 +2233,11 @@ void MyMesh::handleCommand(uint32_t sender_timestamp, char *command, char *reply
     }
 #endif
 #if defined(ESP_PLATFORM)
-  } else if (memcmp(command, "get wifi.status", 15) == 0) {
+  } else if (strcmp(command, "get wifi.status") == 0) {
     network.formatWifiStatusReply(reply, 160);
-  } else if (memcmp(command, "get wifi.ssid", 13) == 0) {
+  } else if (strcmp(command, "get wifi.ssid") == 0) {
     sprintf(reply, "> %s", network.getWifiSSID()[0] ? network.getWifiSSID() : "-");
-  } else if (memcmp(command, "get wifi.powersaving", 20) == 0) {
+  } else if (strcmp(command, "get wifi.powersaving") == 0) {
     sprintf(reply, "> %s", network.getWifiPowerSave());
 #endif
 #if defined(ESP_PLATFORM) && WITH_WEB_PANEL
@@ -2308,23 +2308,23 @@ void MyMesh::handleCommand(uint32_t sender_timestamp, char *command, char *reply
     mqtt.formatStatusReply(reply, 160);
   } else if (strcmp(command, "get mqtt.client_version") == 0) {
     sprintf(reply, "> %s", mqtt.getClientVersion());
-  } else if (memcmp(command, "get mqtt.iata", 13) == 0) {
+  } else if (strcmp(command, "get mqtt.iata") == 0) {
     sprintf(reply, "> %s", mqtt.getIata());
-  } else if (memcmp(command, "get mqtt.owner", 14) == 0) {
+  } else if (strcmp(command, "get mqtt.owner") == 0) {
     sprintf(reply, "> %s", mqtt.getOwnerPublicKey()[0] ? mqtt.getOwnerPublicKey() : "-");
-  } else if (memcmp(command, "get mqtt.email", 14) == 0) {
+  } else if (strcmp(command, "get mqtt.email") == 0) {
     sprintf(reply, "> %s", mqtt.getOwnerEmail()[0] ? mqtt.getOwnerEmail() : "-");
-  } else if (memcmp(command, "get mqtt.packets", 16) == 0) {
+  } else if (strcmp(command, "get mqtt.packets") == 0) {
     sprintf(reply, "> %s", mqtt.isPacketsEnabled() ? "on" : "off");
-  } else if (memcmp(command, "get mqtt.raw", 12) == 0) {
+  } else if (strcmp(command, "get mqtt.raw") == 0) {
     sprintf(reply, "> %s", mqtt.isRawEnabled() ? "on" : "off");
-  } else if (memcmp(command, "get mqtt.tx", 11) == 0) {
+  } else if (strcmp(command, "get mqtt.tx") == 0) {
     sprintf(reply, "> %s", mqtt.isTxEnabled() ? "on" : "off");
-  } else if (memcmp(command, "get mqtt.eastmesh-au", 20) == 0 || memcmp(command, "get mqtt.eastmesh.au", 20) == 0) {
+  } else if (strcmp(command, "get mqtt.eastmesh-au") == 0 || strcmp(command, "get mqtt.eastmesh.au") == 0) {
     sprintf(reply, "> %s", mqtt.isEndpointEnabled(0x01) ? "on" : "off");
-  } else if (memcmp(command, "get mqtt.letsmesh-eu", 21) == 0 || memcmp(command, "get mqtt.letsmesh.eu", 21) == 0) {
+  } else if (strcmp(command, "get mqtt.letsmesh-eu") == 0 || strcmp(command, "get mqtt.letsmesh.eu") == 0) {
     sprintf(reply, "> %s", mqtt.isEndpointEnabled(0x02) ? "on" : "off");
-  } else if (memcmp(command, "get mqtt.letsmesh-us", 21) == 0 || memcmp(command, "get mqtt.letsmesh.us", 21) == 0) {
+  } else if (strcmp(command, "get mqtt.letsmesh-us") == 0 || strcmp(command, "get mqtt.letsmesh.us") == 0) {
     sprintf(reply, "> %s", mqtt.isEndpointEnabled(0x04) ? "on" : "off");
   } else if (memcmp(command, "set mqtt.tx ", 12) == 0) {
     mqtt.setTxEnabled(memcmp(&command[12], "on", 2) == 0);
diff --git a/release-notes.yml b/release-notes.yml
index 854b0504..1e61e9fa 100644
--- a/release-notes.yml
+++ b/release-notes.yml
@@ -557,3 +557,27 @@ releases:
         area: web-panel
         text: "Documented no-PSRAM `/stats` history behavior, stale browser-token recovery, and the lightweight `/api/session` endpoint used by the web panel."
     breaking_changes: []
+
+  - track: repeater-mqtt
+    version: "1.3.15"
+    tag: "repeater-mqtt-eastmesh-v1.3.15"
+    date: "2026-04-30"
+    previous_version: "1.3.14"
+    summary: "Publishes retained offline status for clean MQTT broker disables and IATA topic changes so operator-driven disconnects do not leave stale online status behind."
+    changes:
+      - type: fixed
+        area: mqtt
+        text: "Published explicit retained offline status before a connected broker is toggled off, matching operator expectations without relying on last-will behavior that only fires on unclean disconnects."
+      - type: fixed
+        area: mqtt
+        text: "Published retained offline status to the old status topic before `mqtt.iata` changes, then restarted connected broker clients so they reconnect and publish online status under the new IATA path."
+      - type: docs
+        area: mqtt
+        text: "Updated the CLI and web-panel docs to describe retained offline status publishing for broker toggles and IATA changes."
+      - type: fixed
+        area: cli
+        text: "Matched no-argument MQTT and Wi-Fi `get` commands exactly so malformed commands with trailing text no longer execute as valid getters."
+      - type: changed
+        area: build
+        text: "Aligned release-style builds with direct PlatformIO builds by using the firmware source build date instead of stamping the current build day into `ver` output."
+    breaking_changes: []
diff --git a/src/helpers/mqtt/MQTTUplink.cpp b/src/helpers/mqtt/MQTTUplink.cpp
index f7a37ae4..59e3ea4c 100644
--- a/src/helpers/mqtt/MQTTUplink.cpp
+++ b/src/helpers/mqtt/MQTTUplink.cpp
@@ -695,12 +695,12 @@ int MQTTUplink::buildRawJson(char* buffer, size_t buffer_size, const mesh::Packe
   return len;
 }
 
-void MQTTUplink::publishOnlineStatus(BrokerState& broker) {
+void MQTTUplink::publishBrokerStatus(BrokerState& broker, bool online) {
   char* payload = allocScratchBuffer(768);
   if (payload == nullptr) {
     return;
   }
-  int len = buildStatusJson(payload, 768, true);
+  int len = buildStatusJson(payload, 768, online);
   if (len > 0 && static_cast<size_t>(len) < 768) {
     queuePublish(broker, broker.status_topic, payload, true);
   }
@@ -999,7 +999,7 @@ void MQTTUplink::loop(const MQTTStatusSnapshot& snapshot) {
       connect_started = true;
     }
     if (broker.connected && !broker.connect_announced) {
-      publishOnlineStatus(broker);
+      publishBrokerStatus(broker, true);
       broker.connect_announced = true;
       _last_status_publish = millis();
     } else if (!broker.connected) {
@@ -1116,6 +1116,12 @@ bool MQTTUplink::setEndpointEnabled(uint8_t bit, bool enabled) {
       return false;
     }
   } else {
+    for (BrokerState& broker : _brokers) {
+      if (broker.spec != nullptr && broker.spec->bit == bit && broker.connected && broker.client != nullptr) {
+        publishBrokerStatus(broker, false);
+        break;
+      }
+    }
     next_mask &= ~bit;
   }
   _prefs.enabled_mask = next_mask;
@@ -1158,14 +1164,30 @@ bool MQTTUplink::setIata(const char* iata) {
   for (size_t i = 0; cleaned[i] != 0; ++i) {
     cleaned[i] = toupper(static_cast<unsigned char>(cleaned[i]));
   }
+  bool changed = strcmp(cleaned, _prefs.iata) != 0;
+  if (changed && !isUnsetIataValue(_prefs.iata)) {
+    publishStatus(false);
+  }
   if (strcmp(cleaned, MQTT_UNSET_IATA) == 0) {
     StrHelper::strncpy(_prefs.iata, MQTT_UNSET_IATA, sizeof(_prefs.iata));
     refreshIdentityStrings();
-    return savePrefs();
+    bool saved = savePrefs();
+    if (changed) {
+      for (BrokerState& broker : _brokers) {
+        destroyBroker(broker);
+      }
+    }
+    return saved;
   }
   StrHelper::strncpy(_prefs.iata, cleaned, sizeof(_prefs.iata));
   refreshIdentityStrings();
-  return savePrefs();
+  bool saved = savePrefs();
+  if (changed) {
+    for (BrokerState& broker : _brokers) {
+      destroyBroker(broker);
+    }
+  }
+  return saved;
 }
 
 bool MQTTUplink::setOwnerPublicKey(const char* owner_public_key) {
diff --git a/src/helpers/mqtt/MQTTUplink.h b/src/helpers/mqtt/MQTTUplink.h
index 33a1ff56..915726f0 100644
--- a/src/helpers/mqtt/MQTTUplink.h
+++ b/src/helpers/mqtt/MQTTUplink.h
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ private:
   void destroyBroker(BrokerState& broker, bool reset_retry_state = true);
   bool refreshToken(BrokerState& broker);
   void publishStatus(bool online);
-  void publishOnlineStatus(BrokerState& broker);
+  void publishBrokerStatus(BrokerState& broker, bool online);
   void queuePublish(BrokerState& broker, const char* topic, const char* payload, bool retain);
   int buildStatusJson(char* buffer, size_t buffer_size, bool online) const;
   int buildPacketJson(char* buffer, size_t buffer_size, const mesh::Packet& packet, bool is_tx, int rssi, float snr,