diff --git a/src/lerobot/teleoperators/phone/teleop_phone.py b/src/lerobot/teleoperators/phone/teleop_phone.py
index f1af248e4..19eac8178 100644
--- a/src/lerobot/teleoperators/phone/teleop_phone.py
+++ b/src/lerobot/teleoperators/phone/teleop_phone.py
@@ -171,7 +171,13 @@ class IOSPhone(BasePhone, Teleoperator):
         # HEBI provides orientation in w, x, y, z format.
         # Scipy's Rotation expects x, y, z, w.
         quat_xyzw = np.concatenate((ar_quat[1:], [ar_quat[0]]))  # wxyz to xyzw
-        rot = Rotation.from_quat(quat_xyzw)
+        # ARKit can emit zero/NaN quaternions before tracking is ready or on a
+        # dropped packet. Rotation.from_quat now rejects those; degrade the same
+        # way as a missing pose so teleop stays alive mid-session.
+        try:
+            rot = Rotation.from_quat(quat_xyzw)
+        except ValueError:
+            return False, None, None, None
         pos = ar_pos - rot.apply(self.config.camera_offset)
         return True, pos, rot, pose
 
diff --git a/src/lerobot/utils/rotation.py b/src/lerobot/utils/rotation.py
index 41b652947..280d33bf0 100644
--- a/src/lerobot/utils/rotation.py
+++ b/src/lerobot/utils/rotation.py
@@ -29,10 +29,13 @@ class Rotation:
     def __init__(self, quat: np.ndarray) -> None:
         """Initialize rotation from quaternion [x, y, z, w]."""
         self._quat = np.asarray(quat, dtype=float)
-        # Normalize quaternion
+        if self._quat.shape != (4,):
+            raise ValueError(f"Quaternion must have shape (4,), got {self._quat.shape}")
+        # Normalize quaternion. Reject the zero vector — it has no orientation.
         norm = np.linalg.norm(self._quat)
-        if norm > 0:
-            self._quat = self._quat / norm
+        if norm <= 0.0 or not np.isfinite(norm):
+            raise ValueError(f"Quaternion must be a non-zero finite vector; got {self._quat} (norm={norm})")
+        self._quat = self._quat / norm
 
     @classmethod
     def from_rotvec(cls, rotvec: np.ndarray) -> "Rotation":
diff --git a/tests/utils/test_rotation.py b/tests/utils/test_rotation.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dc982097c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/utils/test_rotation.py
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+# Copyright 2026 The HuggingFace Inc. team. All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import numpy as np
+import pytest
+
+from lerobot.utils.rotation import Rotation
+
+
+def test_zero_quaternion_rejected():
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="non-zero"):
+        Rotation(np.zeros(4))
+
+
+def test_non_finite_quaternion_rejected():
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="non-zero|finite"):
+        Rotation(np.array([np.nan, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0]))
+
+
+def test_wrong_shape_rejected():
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="shape"):
+        Rotation(np.array([1.0, 0.0, 0.0]))
+
+
+def test_identity_roundtrip():
+    r = Rotation.from_rotvec(np.zeros(3))
+    assert np.allclose(r.as_rotvec(), 0.0)
+    assert np.allclose(r.as_matrix(), np.eye(3))
+
+
+def test_rotvec_roundtrip():
+    rotvec = np.array([0.1, -0.2, 0.3])
+    r = Rotation.from_rotvec(rotvec)
+    assert np.allclose(r.as_rotvec(), rotvec, atol=1e-6)