diff --git a/crates/clawhdf5-agent/src/schema.rs b/crates/clawhdf5-agent/src/schema.rs
index 432b2d8..9f33a0a 100644
--- a/crates/clawhdf5-agent/src/schema.rs
+++ b/crates/clawhdf5-agent/src/schema.rs
@@ -477,10 +477,34 @@ fn write_string_dataset(
     }
 }
 
+/// `/meta`'s attributes, failing if any of them cannot be read.
+///
+/// `Group::attrs` leaves out an attribute it cannot decode. For the store's
+/// settings that would silently fall back to defaults (e.g. `float16`, the
+/// WAL mark), so an unreadable attribute is an error here, as it was before
+/// `attrs` became tolerant.
+fn meta_attrs(
+    file: &clawhdf5::File,
+) -> Result<std::collections::HashMap<String, AttrValue>, MemoryError> {
+    let meta = file
+        .group("meta")
+        .map_err(|e| MemoryError::Schema(format!("missing /meta group: {e}")))?;
+    let (attrs, errors) = meta
+        .attrs_with_errors()
+        .map_err(|e| MemoryError::Schema(format!("cannot read /meta attrs: {e}")))?;
+    if let Some(e) = errors.first() {
+        return Err(MemoryError::Schema(format!(
+            "cannot read /meta attrs: {} unreadable, first: {e}",
+            errors.len()
+        )));
+    }
+    Ok(attrs)
+}
+
 /// Validate an HDF5 file has the correct schema and load all data.
 /// Read the checkpoint's [`WalMark`] from `/meta`, if it has one.
 pub fn read_wal_mark(file: &clawhdf5::File) -> Option<WalMark> {
-    let attrs = file.group("meta").ok()?.attrs().ok()?;
+    let attrs = meta_attrs(file).ok()?;
     let len = match attrs.get(WAL_APPLIED_LEN_ATTR)? {
         AttrValue::I64(v) => u64::try_from(*v).ok()?,
         _ => return None,
@@ -498,10 +522,7 @@ pub fn read_signature(
     file: &clawhdf5::File,
 ) -> Result<Option<crate::signing::StoredSignature>, MemoryError> {
     use crate::signing::{Manifest, StoredSignature, from_hex};
-    let attrs = file
-        .group("meta")
-        .and_then(|g| g.attrs())
-        .map_err(|e| MemoryError::Schema(format!("cannot read /meta attrs: {e}")))?;
+    let attrs = meta_attrs(file)?;
     let version = match attrs.get(SIG_VERSION_ATTR) {
         None => return Ok(None),
         Some(AttrValue::I64(v)) => *v,
@@ -552,18 +573,14 @@ pub fn read_signature(
 
 /// Read the checkpoint bookkeeping from `/meta`.
 pub fn read_checkpoint_meta(file: &clawhdf5::File) -> CheckpointMeta {
-    let ann_generation = file
-        .group("meta")
-        .ok()
-        .and_then(|g| g.attrs().ok())
-        .and_then(|attrs| match attrs.get(ANN_GENERATION_ATTR) {
-            Some(AttrValue::I64(v)) => Some(*v as u64),
-            _ => None,
-        });
-    let signed = file
-        .group("meta")
-        .and_then(|g| g.attrs())
-        .is_ok_and(|attrs| attrs.contains_key(SIG_VERSION_ATTR));
+    let ann_generation =
+        meta_attrs(file)
+            .ok()
+            .and_then(|attrs| match attrs.get(ANN_GENERATION_ATTR) {
+                Some(AttrValue::I64(v)) => Some(*v as u64),
+                _ => None,
+            });
+    let signed = meta_attrs(file).is_ok_and(|attrs| attrs.contains_key(SIG_VERSION_ATTR));
     CheckpointMeta {
         wal_applied: read_wal_mark(file),
         ann_generation,
@@ -575,12 +592,7 @@ pub fn validate_and_load(
     file: &clawhdf5::File,
 ) -> Result<(MemoryConfig, MemoryCache, SessionCache, KnowledgeCache), MemoryError> {
     // Read /meta group attributes
-    let meta = file
-        .group("meta")
-        .map_err(|e| MemoryError::Schema(format!("missing /meta group: {e}")))?;
-    let attrs = meta
-        .attrs()
-        .map_err(|e| MemoryError::Schema(format!("cannot read /meta attrs: {e}")))?;
+    let attrs = meta_attrs(file)?;
 
     let schema_version = match attrs.get("schema_version") {
         Some(AttrValue::String(s)) => s.clone(),
diff --git a/crates/clawhdf5-agent/tests/float16_store.rs b/crates/clawhdf5-agent/tests/float16_store.rs
index 0c20d62..9bc3168 100644
--- a/crates/clawhdf5-agent/tests/float16_store.rs
+++ b/crates/clawhdf5-agent/tests/float16_store.rs
@@ -258,3 +258,43 @@ fn an_existing_f32_store_stays_f32() {
     assert_eq!(&values[..before.1.len()], before.1.as_slice());
     assert_eq!(&values[before.1.len()..], odd.as_slice());
 }
+
+/// `Group::attrs` leaves out an attribute it cannot decode. A store whose
+/// `float16` setting is unreadable must not open as `float16 = false` (or with
+/// any other default in place of a setting it has): it is an error.
+#[test]
+fn unreadable_meta_attribute_fails_open_instead_of_defaulting() {
+    let dir = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+    let path = dir.path().join("store.h5");
+    {
+        let mut m = HDF5Memory::create(config(&dir, "store.h5", true)).unwrap();
+        m.save(entry(1)).unwrap();
+        m.flush_wal().unwrap();
+    }
+    assert!(HDF5Memory::open_read_only(&path).is_ok());
+
+    // Give the `float16` attribute message an unknown version (the name is
+    // at +8 in a version-1 message and +9 in a version-3 one).
+    let mut bytes = std::fs::read(&path).unwrap();
+    let name = b"float16\0";
+    let mut hit = false;
+    let positions: Vec<usize> = (9..bytes.len() - name.len())
+        .filter(|&p| &bytes[p..p + name.len()] == name)
+        .collect();
+    for pos in positions {
+        for (back, version) in [(8, 1u8), (9, 3u8)] {
+            if bytes[pos - back] == version {
+                bytes[pos - back] = 0x7f;
+                hit = true;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    assert!(hit, "float16 attribute message not found");
+    std::fs::write(&path, &bytes).unwrap();
+
+    match HDF5Memory::open_read_only(&path) {
+        Err(MemoryError::Schema(msg)) => assert!(msg.contains("/meta"), "{msg}"),
+        Err(e) => panic!("unexpected error: {e}"),
+        Ok(_) => panic!("store opened with an unreadable float16 setting"),
+    }
+}