diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 5a95b0e..999c45a 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/cloudnative-pg/api v1.30.0
 	github.com/cloudnative-pg/barman-cloud v0.5.2-0.20260709152604-43158c204df1
 	github.com/cloudnative-pg/cloudnative-pg v1.30.0
-	github.com/cloudnative-pg/cnpg-i v0.5.0
+	github.com/cloudnative-pg/cnpg-i v0.5.1-0.20260716144117-db806aee0db1
 	github.com/cloudnative-pg/cnpg-i-machinery v0.4.2
 	github.com/cloudnative-pg/machinery v0.5.0
 	github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2 v2.32.0
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index ada804d..f0fc676 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ github.com/cloudnative-pg/cloudnative-pg v1.30.0 h1:fnhVq44xXx97MNiuvJsPrX1vSjYb
 github.com/cloudnative-pg/cloudnative-pg v1.30.0/go.mod h1:QkolwBOWZ+GvAiJt6KpDSymwkpf0K19/p4Q6MQlTM8U=
 github.com/cloudnative-pg/cnpg-i v0.5.0 h1:/TOzpNT6cwNgrpftTtrnLKdoHgMwd+88vZgXjlVgXeE=
 github.com/cloudnative-pg/cnpg-i v0.5.0/go.mod h1:7Gh4+UzhBpGhr4DreB1GN9wGYfvxwXCXZUyVt3zE/3I=
+github.com/cloudnative-pg/cnpg-i v0.5.1-0.20260716144117-db806aee0db1 h1:HO7S6jJ21DhSS6oQg7Ok1+uT23hF6I58im1IIRMPufk=
+github.com/cloudnative-pg/cnpg-i v0.5.1-0.20260716144117-db806aee0db1/go.mod h1:4kcpLAj+feMTnh0TVadXRASdVnEhBytNSm/BvktLgmI=
 github.com/cloudnative-pg/cnpg-i-machinery v0.4.2 h1:0reS9MtyLYINHXQ/MfxJ9jp39hhBf8e3Qdj+T5Nsq6I=
 github.com/cloudnative-pg/cnpg-i-machinery v0.4.2/go.mod h1:gvrKabgxXq0zGthXGucemDdsxakLEQDMxn43M4HLW30=
 github.com/cloudnative-pg/machinery v0.5.0 h1:hhTnkzn+AiN3NmbjCQ6RXj5rfqV3K6arzq6kdXAzcnQ=
diff --git a/internal/cnpgi/common/wal.go b/internal/cnpgi/common/wal.go
index bb7d3e0..a7d66e6 100644
--- a/internal/cnpgi/common/wal.go
+++ b/internal/cnpgi/common/wal.go
@@ -155,13 +155,23 @@ func (w WALServiceImplementation) Archive(
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	// Step 2: Check if the archive location is safe to perform archiving
-	checkFileExisting, err := fileutils.FileExists(emptyWalArchiveFile)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("while checking for empty wal archive check file %q: %w", emptyWalArchiveFile, err)
+	// Step 2: Check if the archive location is safe to perform archiving.
+	// The operator owns the marker file's lifecycle, so a non-nil decision
+	// already accounts for it and is obeyed as-is. A nil value means an
+	// operator that predates this field; fall back to checking the marker
+	// file and Cluster annotation directly.
+	var checkEmptyWalArchive bool
+	if request.CheckEmptyWalArchive != nil {
+		checkEmptyWalArchive = *request.CheckEmptyWalArchive
+	} else {
+		checkFileExisting, err := fileutils.FileExists(emptyWalArchiveFile)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("while checking for empty wal archive check file %q: %w", emptyWalArchiveFile, err)
+		}
+		checkEmptyWalArchive = utils.IsEmptyWalArchiveCheckEnabled(&configuration.Cluster.ObjectMeta) && checkFileExisting
 	}
 
-	if utils.IsEmptyWalArchiveCheckEnabled(&configuration.Cluster.ObjectMeta) && checkFileExisting {
+	if checkEmptyWalArchive {
 		if err := CheckBackupDestination(
 			ctx,
 			&objectStore.Spec.Configuration,
diff --git a/internal/cnpgi/restore/restore.go b/internal/cnpgi/restore/restore.go
index f286565..0b46f44 100644
--- a/internal/cnpgi/restore/restore.go
+++ b/internal/cnpgi/restore/restore.go
@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ func (impl JobHookImpl) Restore(
 			configuration.Cluster,
 			&targetObjectStore.Spec.Configuration,
 			targetObjectStore.Name,
+			req.CheckEmptyWalArchive,
 		); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
@@ -250,6 +251,7 @@ func (impl *JobHookImpl) checkBackupDestination(
 	cluster *cnpgv1.Cluster,
 	barmanConfiguration *cnpgv1.BarmanObjectStoreConfiguration,
 	objectStoreName string,
+	operatorCheckEmptyWalArchive *bool,
 ) error {
 	// Get environment from cache
 	env, err := barmanCredentials.EnvSetCloudCredentialsAndCertificates(ctx,
@@ -288,8 +290,18 @@ func (impl *JobHookImpl) checkBackupDestination(
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Check if we're ok to archive in the desired destination
-	if utils.IsEmptyWalArchiveCheckEnabled(&cluster.ObjectMeta) {
+	// Check if we're ok to restore from the desired destination. Unlike
+	// archiving, restore is a one-shot operation that has never been gated
+	// on the first-archive marker file, so the only fallback needed here
+	// (for an operator that predates this field) is the Cluster annotation.
+	var checkEmptyWalArchive bool
+	if operatorCheckEmptyWalArchive != nil {
+		checkEmptyWalArchive = *operatorCheckEmptyWalArchive
+	} else {
+		checkEmptyWalArchive = utils.IsEmptyWalArchiveCheckEnabled(&cluster.ObjectMeta)
+	}
+
+	if checkEmptyWalArchive {
 		return common.CheckBackupDestination(ctx, barmanConfiguration, walArchiver, serverName)
 	}