diff --git a/src/lerobot/policies/smolvla2/inference/steps.py b/src/lerobot/policies/smolvla2/inference/steps.py
index 9e624c87c..ec9acd485 100644
--- a/src/lerobot/policies/smolvla2/inference/steps.py
+++ b/src/lerobot/policies/smolvla2/inference/steps.py
@@ -463,8 +463,16 @@ class HighLevelSubtaskFwd(InferenceStep):
         # of 30/sec and the robot barely moves. Tying it to the same
         # "queue empty" condition as the chunk refresh produces a
         # clean sense → think → act cycle.
+        #
+        # Rearm the trigger when skipping so a low-hz schedule
+        # (e.g. ``--high_level_hz=0.2`` = once per 5 s) doesn't lose
+        # the slot: the trigger fires once on the timer but the brief
+        # queue-empty window almost never coincides, so without rearm
+        # HL would effectively never run.
         queue = state.get("action_queue") or []
         if len(queue) > 0:
+            if hasattr(self.trigger, "rearm"):
+                self.trigger.rearm()
             return None
         ctx = _msgs_for_subtask(state)
         observation = _maybe_observation(self.observation_provider)
diff --git a/src/lerobot/policies/smolvla2/inference/triggers.py b/src/lerobot/policies/smolvla2/inference/triggers.py
index 612cb8492..b4646261b 100644
--- a/src/lerobot/policies/smolvla2/inference/triggers.py
+++ b/src/lerobot/policies/smolvla2/inference/triggers.py
@@ -82,7 +82,15 @@ class Trigger(Protocol):
 
 @dataclass
 class HzTrigger:
-    """Fire at most ``hz`` times per second."""
+    """Fire at most ``hz`` times per second.
+
+    A step that gates further (e.g. ``HighLevelSubtaskFwd`` skipping
+    when the action queue is non-empty) and wants the trigger to
+    retry next tick instead of waiting a full period can call
+    :meth:`rearm` from inside ``run``. Without this, a low-hz trigger
+    (e.g. ``hz=0.2`` = once per 5 s) almost never coincides with the
+    brief queue-empty window and the step never fires at all.
+    """
 
     hz: float
     _last_seconds: float | None = field(default=None, init=False)
@@ -94,6 +102,15 @@ class HzTrigger:
             return True
         return False
 
+    def rearm(self) -> None:
+        """Mark the trigger as not having fired, so the next tick re-evaluates.
+
+        Used by a step that decided to skip after ``should_fire`` already
+        committed the firing — keeps the cadence honest without losing
+        the slot.
+        """
+        self._last_seconds = None
+
 
 @dataclass
 class EventTrigger:
diff --git a/src/lerobot/scripts/lerobot_smolvla2_runtime.py b/src/lerobot/scripts/lerobot_smolvla2_runtime.py
index cc5097a06..67dc7256d 100644
--- a/src/lerobot/scripts/lerobot_smolvla2_runtime.py
+++ b/src/lerobot/scripts/lerobot_smolvla2_runtime.py
@@ -772,6 +772,11 @@ def _build_robot_observation_provider(
                 import cv2 as _cv2  # noqa: PLC0415
                 import numpy as _np  # noqa: PLC0415
 
+                # Snapshot the gate state at the start of the call: the
+                # camera info and startup-state warnings are meant to fire
+                # exactly once (operator sanity check), so gate them on
+                # the *previous* value rather than the post-loop value.
+                first_call = not _resize_logged["done"]
                 for cam_key, (target_h, target_w) in target_image_shapes.items():
                     img = raw.get(cam_key)
                     if img is None or not isinstance(img, _np.ndarray):
@@ -779,7 +784,7 @@ def _build_robot_observation_provider(
                     if img.ndim != 3:
                         continue
                     cur_h, cur_w = img.shape[:2]
-                    if not _resize_logged["done"]:
+                    if first_call:
                         logger.warning(
                             "camera %s: live=%dx%d, training=%dx%d (resize=%s)",
                             cam_key,
@@ -793,13 +798,14 @@ def _build_robot_observation_provider(
                         continue
                     raw[cam_key] = _cv2.resize(img, (target_w, target_h), interpolation=_cv2.INTER_AREA)
                 _resize_logged["done"] = True
-                # Also print the state vector once so the operator
-                # can eyeball it against the dataset's stats. State
-                # OOD is a real failure mode for VLAs — the prefix
-                # carries state via the projection layer, and a
-                # neutral home pose can easily sit a couple σ off
-                # the supervised support region.
-                if "observation.state" in (ds_features or {}):
+                # Print the state vector once so the operator can eyeball
+                # it against the dataset's stats. State OOD is a real
+                # failure mode for VLAs — the prefix carries state via
+                # the projection layer, and a neutral home pose can
+                # easily sit a couple σ off the supervised support
+                # region. Gated on ``first_call`` so this doesn't spam
+                # every observation tick.
+                if first_call and "observation.state" in (ds_features or {}):
                     state_names = ds_features["observation.state"].get("names") or []
                     state_vals = [raw.get(n) for n in state_names]
                     logger.warning(