diff --git a/src/core/webview/ClineProvider.ts b/src/core/webview/ClineProvider.ts
index 1106d340050..dbaab430a1e 100644
--- a/src/core/webview/ClineProvider.ts
+++ b/src/core/webview/ClineProvider.ts
@@ -431,11 +431,15 @@ export class ClineProvider
 				await this.updateGlobalState("listApiConfigMeta", await this.providerSettingsManager.listConfig())
 
 				if (result.activeProfileChanged && result.activeProfileId) {
-					// Reload full settings for new active profile.
-					const profile = await this.providerSettingsManager.getProfile({
-						id: result.activeProfileId,
-					})
-					await this.activateProviderProfile({ name: profile.name })
+					// Only switch the active profile if the user hasn't locked it across modes.
+					const lockApiConfig = this.context.workspaceState.get("lockApiConfigAcrossModes", true)
+					if (!lockApiConfig) {
+						// Reload full settings for new active profile.
+						const profile = await this.providerSettingsManager.getProfile({
+							id: result.activeProfileId,
+						})
+						await this.activateProviderProfile({ name: profile.name })
+					}
 				}
 
 				await this.postStateToWebviewWithoutClineMessages()
@@ -996,7 +1000,7 @@ export class ClineProvider
 			// Load the saved API config for the restored mode if it exists.
 			// Skip mode-based profile activation if historyItem.apiConfigName exists,
 			// since the task's specific provider profile will override it anyway.
-			const lockApiConfigAcrossModes = this.context.workspaceState.get("lockApiConfigAcrossModes", false)
+			const lockApiConfigAcrossModes = this.context.workspaceState.get("lockApiConfigAcrossModes", true)
 
 			if (!historyItem.apiConfigName && !lockApiConfigAcrossModes && !skipProfileRestoreFromHistory) {
 				const savedConfigId = await this.providerSettingsManager.getModeConfigId(historyItem.mode)
@@ -1427,7 +1431,7 @@ export class ClineProvider
 		this.emit(RooCodeEventName.ModeChanged, newMode)
 
 		// If workspace lock is on, keep the current API config — don't load mode-specific config
-		const lockApiConfigAcrossModes = this.context.workspaceState.get("lockApiConfigAcrossModes", false)
+		const lockApiConfigAcrossModes = this.context.workspaceState.get("lockApiConfigAcrossModes", true)
 		if (lockApiConfigAcrossModes) {
 			await this.postStateToWebview()
 			return
@@ -2341,7 +2345,7 @@ export class ClineProvider
 			profileThresholds: profileThresholds ?? {},
 			cloudApiUrl: getRooCodeApiUrl(),
 			hasOpenedModeSelector: this.getGlobalState("hasOpenedModeSelector") ?? false,
-			lockApiConfigAcrossModes: lockApiConfigAcrossModes ?? false,
+			lockApiConfigAcrossModes: lockApiConfigAcrossModes ?? true,
 			alwaysAllowFollowupQuestions: alwaysAllowFollowupQuestions ?? false,
 			followupAutoApproveTimeoutMs: followupAutoApproveTimeoutMs ?? 60000,
 			includeDiagnosticMessages: includeDiagnosticMessages ?? true,
@@ -2562,7 +2566,7 @@ export class ClineProvider
 					stateValues.codebaseIndexConfig?.codebaseIndexOpenRouterSpecificProvider,
 			},
 			profileThresholds: stateValues.profileThresholds ?? {},
-			lockApiConfigAcrossModes: this.context.workspaceState.get("lockApiConfigAcrossModes", false),
+			lockApiConfigAcrossModes: this.context.workspaceState.get("lockApiConfigAcrossModes", true),
 			includeDiagnosticMessages: stateValues.includeDiagnosticMessages ?? true,
 			maxDiagnosticMessages: stateValues.maxDiagnosticMessages ?? 50,
 			includeTaskHistoryInEnhance: stateValues.includeTaskHistoryInEnhance ?? true,
diff --git a/src/core/webview/__tests__/ClineProvider.lockApiConfig.spec.ts b/src/core/webview/__tests__/ClineProvider.lockApiConfig.spec.ts
index 2cf9d4cae8b..5e9fc84a6ee 100644
--- a/src/core/webview/__tests__/ClineProvider.lockApiConfig.spec.ts
+++ b/src/core/webview/__tests__/ClineProvider.lockApiConfig.spec.ts
@@ -320,6 +320,27 @@ describe("ClineProvider - Lock API Config Across Modes", () => {
 			await provider.resolveWebviewView(mockWebviewView)
 		})
 
+		it("skips mode-specific config lookup/load by default (lockApiConfigAcrossModes defaults to true)", async () => {
+			// Do NOT set lockApiConfigAcrossModes - verify default behavior is locked
+			const getModeConfigIdSpy = vi
+				.spyOn(provider.providerSettingsManager, "getModeConfigId")
+				.mockResolvedValue("architect-profile-id")
+			const listConfigSpy = vi
+				.spyOn(provider.providerSettingsManager, "listConfig")
+				.mockResolvedValue([
+					{ name: "architect-profile", id: "architect-profile-id", apiProvider: "anthropic" },
+				])
+			const activateProviderProfileSpy = vi
+				.spyOn(provider, "activateProviderProfile")
+				.mockResolvedValue(undefined)
+
+			await provider.handleModeSwitch("architect")
+
+			expect(getModeConfigIdSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+			expect(listConfigSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+			expect(activateProviderProfileSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+		})
+
 		it("skips mode-specific config lookup/load when lockApiConfigAcrossModes is true", async () => {
 			await mockContext.workspaceState.update("lockApiConfigAcrossModes", true)
 
diff --git a/src/core/webview/__tests__/ClineProvider.spec.ts b/src/core/webview/__tests__/ClineProvider.spec.ts
index da0fb2003fb..b492b786ae5 100644
--- a/src/core/webview/__tests__/ClineProvider.spec.ts
+++ b/src/core/webview/__tests__/ClineProvider.spec.ts
@@ -1451,6 +1451,8 @@ describe("ClineProvider", () => {
 		beforeEach(async () => {
 			// Set up webview for each test
 			await provider.resolveWebviewView(mockWebviewView)
+			// Unlock API config across modes so mode-specific configs are loaded
+			await mockContext.workspaceState.update("lockApiConfigAcrossModes", false)
 		})
 
 		it("loads saved API config when switching modes", async () => {
diff --git a/webview-ui/src/context/ExtensionStateContext.tsx b/webview-ui/src/context/ExtensionStateContext.tsx
index ce7a607d9a8..899803a9f2b 100644
--- a/webview-ui/src/context/ExtensionStateContext.tsx
+++ b/webview-ui/src/context/ExtensionStateContext.tsx
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ export const ExtensionStateContextProvider: React.FC<{ children: React.ReactNode
 		openRouterImageGenerationSelectedModel: "",
 		includeCurrentTime: true,
 		includeCurrentCost: true,
-		lockApiConfigAcrossModes: false,
+		lockApiConfigAcrossModes: true,
 	})
 
 	const [didHydrateState, setDidHydrateState] = useState(false)