diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/bidi/Connection.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/bidi/Connection.java
index 45376716bec5c..48d244f800676 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/bidi/Connection.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/bidi/Connection.java
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 package org.openqa.selenium.bidi;
 
 import static java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS;
-import static org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug.getDebugLogLevel;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.json.Json.MAP_TYPE;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.HttpMethod.GET;
 
@@ -47,6 +46,7 @@
 import org.jspecify.annotations.Nullable;
 import org.openqa.selenium.Beta;
 import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriverException;
+import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
 import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Either;
 import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Require;
 import org.openqa.selenium.json.Json;
@@ -78,6 +78,11 @@ public class Connection implements Closeable {
   private final AtomicBoolean underlyingSocketClosed = new AtomicBoolean(false);
 
   public Connection(HttpClient client, String url) {
+    // Reflect the current debug switches before this connection starts logging its wire
+    // diagnostics at FINE -- callers that construct a Connection directly (never going through
+    // RemoteWebDriver or DriverFinder) would otherwise never trigger the raise. Idempotent and
+    // cheap, same pattern as DriverFinder.getBinaryPaths().
+    Debug.configureLogger();
     Require.nonNull("HTTP client", client);
     Require.nonNull("URL to connect to", url);
 
@@ -147,7 +152,7 @@ public String toString() {
     try (JsonOutput out = JSON.newOutput(json).writeClassName(false)) {
       out.write(serialized);
     }
-    LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "-> {0}", json);
+    LOG.log(Level.FINE, "-> {0}", json);
     socket.sendText(json);
 
     if (!command.getSendsResponse()) {
@@ -302,7 +307,7 @@ private void handle(CharSequence data) {
     // TODO: decode once, and once only
 
     String asString = String.valueOf(data);
-    LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "<- {0}", asString);
+    LOG.log(Level.FINE, "<- {0}", asString);
 
     Map<String, Object> raw = JSON.toType(asString, MAP_TYPE);
     if (raw.get("id") instanceof Number
@@ -346,7 +351,7 @@ private void handleResponse(String rawDataString, Map<String, Object> rawDataMap
 
   private void handleEventResponse(Map<String, Object> rawDataMap) {
     LOG.log(
-        getDebugLogLevel(),
+        Level.FINE,
         () ->
             String.format(
                 "Method %s called with %s callbacks available",
@@ -365,7 +370,7 @@ private void handleEventResponse(Map<String, Object> rawDataMap) {
           .filter(
               event -> {
                 LOG.log(
-                    getDebugLogLevel(),
+                    Level.FINE,
                     "Matching {0} with {1}",
                     new Object[] {rawDataMap.get("method"), event.getKey().getMethod()});
                 return rawDataMap.get("method").equals(event.getKey().getMethod());
@@ -387,7 +392,7 @@ private void handleEventResponse(Map<String, Object> rawDataMap) {
                   @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
                   Consumer<Object> obj = (Consumer<Object>) action;
                   LOG.log(
-                      getDebugLogLevel(),
+                      Level.FINE,
                       "Calling callback for {0} using {1} being passed {2}",
                       new Object[] {event.getKey(), obj, finalValue});
                   obj.accept(finalValue);
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/devtools/Connection.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/devtools/Connection.java
index 9a91094d85b8f..98b9621d55a0c 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/devtools/Connection.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/devtools/Connection.java
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 package org.openqa.selenium.devtools;
 
 import static java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS;
-import static org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug.getDebugLogLevel;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.json.Json.MAP_TYPE;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.HttpMethod.GET;
 
@@ -51,6 +50,7 @@
 import org.jspecify.annotations.Nullable;
 import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriverException;
 import org.openqa.selenium.devtools.idealized.target.model.SessionID;
+import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
 import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Either;
 import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Require;
 import org.openqa.selenium.json.Json;
@@ -92,6 +92,12 @@ public Connection(HttpClient client, String url) {
   }
 
   public Connection(HttpClient client, String url, ClientConfig clientConfig) {
+    // Reflect the current debug switches before this connection starts logging its wire
+    // diagnostics at FINE -- callers that construct a Connection directly (never going through
+    // RemoteWebDriver or DriverFinder) would otherwise never trigger the raise. Idempotent and
+    // cheap, same pattern as DriverFinder.getBinaryPaths(). The deprecated 2-arg constructor
+    // delegates here, so this single call point covers both.
+    Debug.configureLogger();
     this.client = Require.nonNull("HTTP client", client);
     this.wsConfig = wsClientConfig(clientConfig, url);
     this.socket = this.client.openSocket(new HttpRequest(GET, wsConfig.baseUri()), new Listener());
@@ -182,7 +188,7 @@ public <X> CompletableFuture<X> send(@Nullable SessionID sessionId, Command<X> c
     try (JsonOutput out = JSON.newOutput(json).writeClassName(false)) {
       out.write(Map.copyOf(serialized));
     }
-    LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "-> {0}", json);
+    LOG.log(Level.FINE, "-> {0}", json);
     socket.sendText(json);
 
     if (!command.getSendsResponse()) {
@@ -267,7 +273,7 @@ private void handle(long sequence, CharSequence data) {
     // TODO: decode once, and once only
 
     String asString = String.valueOf(data);
-    LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "<- {0}", asString);
+    LOG.log(Level.FINE, "<- {0}", asString);
 
     Map<String, Object> raw = JSON.toType(asString, MAP_TYPE);
     if (raw.get("id") instanceof Number
@@ -300,7 +306,7 @@ private void handle(long sequence, CharSequence data) {
       }
     } else if (raw.get("method") instanceof String && raw.get("params") instanceof Map) {
       LOG.log(
-          getDebugLogLevel(),
+          Level.FINE,
           "Method {0} called with {1} callbacks available",
           new Object[] {raw.get("method"), eventCallbacks.size()});
       Lock lock = callbacksLock.readLock();
@@ -320,7 +326,7 @@ private void handle(long sequence, CharSequence data) {
             .peek(
                 event ->
                     LOG.log(
-                        getDebugLogLevel(),
+                        Level.FINE,
                         "Matching {0} with {1}",
                         new Object[] {raw.get("method"), event.getKey().getMethod()}))
             .filter(event -> raw.get("method").equals(event.getKey().getMethod()))
@@ -358,7 +364,7 @@ private void handle(long sequence, CharSequence data) {
                       @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
                       BiConsumer<Long, Object> obj = (BiConsumer<Long, Object>) action;
                       LOG.log(
-                          getDebugLogLevel(),
+                          Level.FINE,
                           "Calling callback for {0} using {1} being passed {2}",
                           new Object[] {event.getKey(), obj, params});
                       obj.accept(sequence, params);
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalDistributor.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalDistributor.java
index 65715330c0a65..d522d80e6240e 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalDistributor.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalDistributor.java
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 package org.openqa.selenium.grid.distributor.local;
 
 import static org.openqa.selenium.concurrent.ExecutorServices.shutdownGracefully;
-import static org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug.getDebugLogLevel;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteTags.CAPABILITIES;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteTags.CAPABILITIES_EVENT;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteTags.SESSION_ID;
@@ -464,7 +463,7 @@ private SlotId reserveSlot(RequestId requestId, Capabilities caps) {
 
     if (slotIds.isEmpty()) {
       LOG.log(
-          getDebugLogLevel(),
+          Level.FINE,
           String.format("No slots found for request %s and capabilities %s", requestId, caps));
       return null;
     }
@@ -574,7 +573,7 @@ public void run() {
                   sessionCreatorExecutor.execute(() -> handleNewSessionRequest(req));
                 } catch (RejectedExecutionException e) {
                   LOG.log(
-                      getDebugLogLevel(),
+                      Level.FINE,
                       "Dropping session creation task while shutting down distributor",
                       e);
                 }
@@ -632,9 +631,7 @@ private void handleNewSessionRequest(SessionRequest sessionRequest) {
 
         if (response.isLeft() && response.left() instanceof RetrySessionRequestException) {
           try (Span childSpan = span.createSpan("distributor.retry")) {
-            if (LOG.isLoggable(getDebugLogLevel())) {
-              LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "Retrying {0}", sessionRequest.getDesiredCapabilities());
-            }
+            LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Retrying {0}", sessionRequest.getDesiredCapabilities());
             boolean retried = sessionQueue.retryAddToQueue(sessionRequest);
 
             attributeMap.put("request.retry_add", retried);
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalGridModel.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalGridModel.java
index da497a794c5f5..3608e9547ea34 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalGridModel.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalGridModel.java
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.Lock;
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReadWriteLock;
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReentrantReadWriteLock;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 import org.jspecify.annotations.Nullable;
 import org.openqa.selenium.events.EventBus;
@@ -49,7 +50,6 @@
 import org.openqa.selenium.grid.data.SlotId;
 import org.openqa.selenium.grid.distributor.GridModel;
 import org.openqa.selenium.grid.server.EventBusOptions;
-import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
 import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Require;
 import org.openqa.selenium.remote.SessionId;
 
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ public void add(NodeStatus node) {
             && next.getExternalUri().equals(node.getExternalUri())) {
           iterator.remove();
 
-          LOG.log(Debug.getDebugLogLevel(), "Refreshing node with id {0}", node.getNodeId());
+          LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Refreshing node with id {0}", node.getNodeId());
           NodeStatus refreshed = rewrite(node, next.getAvailability());
           nodes.add(refreshed);
           nodePurgeTimes.put(refreshed.getNodeId(), Instant.now());
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ public void add(NodeStatus node) {
 
       // Nodes are initially added in the "down" state until something changes their availability
       LOG.log(
-          Debug.getDebugLogLevel(),
+          Level.FINE,
           "Adding node with id {0} and URI {1}",
           new Object[] {node.getNodeId(), node.getExternalUri()});
       NodeStatus refreshed = rewrite(node, DOWN);
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalNodeRegistry.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalNodeRegistry.java
index bcd21fc1675d0..42a38c54c4826 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalNodeRegistry.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalNodeRegistry.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 import static org.openqa.selenium.grid.data.Availability.DOWN;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.grid.data.Availability.DRAINING;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.grid.data.Availability.UP;
-import static org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug.getDebugLogLevel;
 
 import java.net.URI;
 import java.time.Duration;
@@ -228,7 +227,7 @@ public void add(Node node) {
       }
     } catch (Exception e) {
       LOG.log(
-          getDebugLogLevel(), String.format("Exception while adding Node %s", node.getUri()), e);
+          Level.WARNING, String.format("Exception while adding Node %s", node.getUri()), e);
       return;
     }
 
@@ -298,7 +297,7 @@ public void updateNodeAvailability(URI nodeUri, NodeId id, Availability availabi
     writeLock.lock();
     try {
       LOG.log(
-          getDebugLogLevel(),
+          Level.FINE,
           String.format("Health check result for %s was %s", nodeUri, availability));
       model.setAvailability(id, availability);
       model.updateHealthCheckCount(id, availability);
@@ -310,7 +309,7 @@ public void updateNodeAvailability(URI nodeUri, NodeId id, Availability availabi
   @Override
   public void runHealthChecks() {
     if (!healthChecksInProgress.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
-      LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "Skipping health checks because previous cycle is still running");
+      LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Skipping health checks because previous cycle is still running");
       return;
     }
 
@@ -335,7 +334,7 @@ public void runHealthChecks() {
               futures.add(nodeHealthCheckExecutor.submit(() -> runHealthCheck(nodeId, check)));
             } catch (RejectedExecutionException e) {
               LOG.log(
-                  getDebugLogLevel(),
+                  Level.FINE,
                   String.format(
                       "Unable to schedule health check for node %s, running in caller thread",
                       nodeId),
@@ -351,7 +350,7 @@ public void runHealthChecks() {
           Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
           break;
         } catch (Exception e) {
-          LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "Error waiting for health check execution", e);
+          LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Error waiting for health check execution", e);
         }
       }
     } finally {
@@ -452,7 +451,7 @@ private void runHealthCheck(NodeId nodeId, Runnable check) {
     try {
       check.run();
     } catch (Throwable t) {
-      LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "Health check execution failed for node " + nodeId, t);
+      LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Health check execution failed for node " + nodeId, t);
     }
   }
 
@@ -462,7 +461,7 @@ private Runnable asRunnableHealthCheck(Node node) {
     return () -> {
       boolean checkFailed = false;
       Exception failedCheckException = null;
-      LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "Running healthcheck for Node " + node.getUri());
+      LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Running healthcheck for Node " + node.getUri());
 
       HealthCheck.Result result;
       try {
@@ -500,7 +499,7 @@ public boolean reserve(SlotId slotId) {
       NodeId nodeId = slotId.getOwningNodeId();
       Node node = nodes.get(nodeId);
       if (node == null) {
-        LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), String.format("Unable to find node with id %s", slotId));
+        LOG.log(Level.FINE, String.format("Unable to find node with id %s", slotId));
         return false;
       }
 
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedDistributor.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedDistributor.java
index 72bc8c2e02139..69ea7622622ab 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedDistributor.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedDistributor.java
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 package org.openqa.selenium.grid.distributor.redis;
 
 import static org.openqa.selenium.concurrent.ExecutorServices.shutdownGracefully;
-import static org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug.getDebugLogLevel;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteTags.CAPABILITIES;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteTags.CAPABILITIES_EVENT;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteTags.SESSION_ID;
@@ -506,7 +505,7 @@ private SlotId reserveSlot(RequestId requestId, Capabilities caps) {
 
     if (slotIds.isEmpty()) {
       LOG.log(
-          getDebugLogLevel(),
+          Level.FINE,
           String.format("No slots found for request %s and capabilities %s", requestId, caps));
       return null;
     }
@@ -629,7 +628,7 @@ public void run() {
                   sessionCreatorExecutor.execute(() -> handleNewSessionRequest(req));
                 } catch (RejectedExecutionException e) {
                   LOG.log(
-                      getDebugLogLevel(),
+                      Level.FINE,
                       "Dropping session creation task while shutting down distributor",
                       e);
                 }
@@ -684,9 +683,7 @@ private void handleNewSessionRequest(SessionRequest sessionRequest) {
 
         if (response.isLeft() && response.left() instanceof RetrySessionRequestException) {
           try (Span childSpan = span.createSpan("distributor.retry")) {
-            if (LOG.isLoggable(getDebugLogLevel())) {
-              LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "Retrying {0}", sessionRequest.getDesiredCapabilities());
-            }
+            LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Retrying {0}", sessionRequest.getDesiredCapabilities());
             boolean retried = sessionQueue.retryAddToQueue(sessionRequest);
             attributeMap.put("request.retry_add", retried);
             childSpan.addEvent("Retry adding to front of queue. No slot available.", attributeMap);
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedGridModel.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedGridModel.java
index 8977d95a29c42..fc0b5eafc02cb 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedGridModel.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedGridModel.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.UUID;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 import org.jspecify.annotations.Nullable;
 import org.openqa.selenium.events.EventBus;
@@ -40,7 +41,6 @@
 import org.openqa.selenium.grid.data.Slot;
 import org.openqa.selenium.grid.data.SlotId;
 import org.openqa.selenium.grid.distributor.GridModel;
-import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
 import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Require;
 import org.openqa.selenium.json.Json;
 import org.openqa.selenium.redis.GridRedisClient;
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ public void add(NodeStatus node) {
       if (existing.getNodeId().equals(node.getNodeId())
           && existing.getExternalUri().equals(node.getExternalUri())) {
         // Same node refreshing — keep existing availability.
-        LOG.log(Debug.getDebugLogLevel(), "Refreshing node with id {0}", node.getNodeId());
+        LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Refreshing node with id {0}", node.getNodeId());
         NodeStatus refreshed = rewrite(node, existing.getAvailability());
         writeNodeBlob(refreshed);
         redis.set(lastTouchKey(node.getNodeId()), String.valueOf(Instant.now().toEpochMilli()));
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ public void add(NodeStatus node) {
 
     // Add as DOWN until health check promotes it.
     LOG.log(
-        Debug.getDebugLogLevel(),
+        Level.FINE,
         "Adding node with id {0} and URI {1}",
         new Object[] {node.getNodeId(), node.getExternalUri()});
     NodeStatus asDown = rewrite(node, DOWN);
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedNodeRegistry.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedNodeRegistry.java
index d4d8119f510b7..2177e06a05c15 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedNodeRegistry.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedNodeRegistry.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 import static org.openqa.selenium.grid.data.Availability.DOWN;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.grid.data.Availability.DRAINING;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.grid.data.Availability.UP;
-import static org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug.getDebugLogLevel;
 
 import java.net.URI;
 import java.time.Duration;
@@ -292,7 +291,7 @@ public void add(Node node) {
       }
     } catch (Exception e) {
       LOG.log(
-          getDebugLogLevel(), String.format("Exception while adding Node %s", node.getUri()), e);
+          Level.WARNING, String.format("Exception while adding Node %s", node.getUri()), e);
       return;
     }
 
@@ -361,7 +360,7 @@ public void updateNodeAvailability(URI nodeUri, NodeId id, Availability availabi
     writeLock.lock();
     try {
       LOG.log(
-          getDebugLogLevel(),
+          Level.FINE,
           String.format("Health check result for %s was %s", nodeUri, availability));
       model.setAvailability(id, availability);
       model.updateHealthCheckCount(id, availability);
@@ -373,7 +372,7 @@ public void updateNodeAvailability(URI nodeUri, NodeId id, Availability availabi
   @Override
   public void runHealthChecks() {
     if (!healthChecksInProgress.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
-      LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "Skipping health checks because previous cycle is still running");
+      LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Skipping health checks because previous cycle is still running");
       return;
     }
 
@@ -400,7 +399,7 @@ public void runHealthChecks() {
                 redis.setIfAbsent("grid:healthcheck:lock:" + nodeId, instanceId, lockTtlMillis);
             if (!won) {
               LOG.log(
-                  getDebugLogLevel(),
+                  Level.FINE,
                   "Another replica is handling health check for node {0}, skipping",
                   nodeId);
               return;
@@ -409,7 +408,7 @@ public void runHealthChecks() {
               futures.add(nodeHealthCheckExecutor.submit(() -> runHealthCheck(nodeId, check)));
             } catch (RejectedExecutionException e) {
               LOG.log(
-                  getDebugLogLevel(),
+                  Level.FINE,
                   String.format(
                       "Unable to schedule health check for node %s, running in caller thread",
                       nodeId),
@@ -425,7 +424,7 @@ public void runHealthChecks() {
           Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
           break;
         } catch (Exception e) {
-          LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "Error waiting for health check execution", e);
+          LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Error waiting for health check execution", e);
         }
       }
     } finally {
@@ -521,7 +520,7 @@ private void runHealthCheck(NodeId nodeId, Runnable check) {
     try {
       check.run();
     } catch (Throwable t) {
-      LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "Health check execution failed for node " + nodeId, t);
+      LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Health check execution failed for node " + nodeId, t);
     }
   }
 
@@ -531,7 +530,7 @@ private Runnable asRunnableHealthCheck(Node node) {
     return () -> {
       boolean checkFailed = false;
       Exception failedCheckException = null;
-      LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), "Running healthcheck for Node " + node.getUri());
+      LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Running healthcheck for Node " + node.getUri());
 
       HealthCheck.Result result;
       try {
@@ -560,7 +559,7 @@ public boolean reserve(SlotId slotId) {
       NodeId nodeId = slotId.getOwningNodeId();
       Node node = nodes.get(nodeId);
       if (node == null) {
-        LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), String.format("Unable to find node with id %s", slotId));
+        LOG.log(Level.FINE, String.format("Unable to find node with id %s", slotId));
         return false;
       }
       try {
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/BUILD.bazel b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/BUILD.bazel
index 68c796f96396b..78b93d5c555ae 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/BUILD.bazel
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ java_library(
     visibility = [
         "//java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid:__subpackages__",
         "//java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/server:__subpackages__",
+        "//java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log:__pkg__",
     ],
     deps = [
         "//java:auto-service",
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/LoggingOptions.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/LoggingOptions.java
index b812bac69f186..b9158dc7fc664 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/LoggingOptions.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/LoggingOptions.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 import java.util.Enumeration;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Locale;
+import java.util.logging.Filter;
 import java.util.logging.Handler;
 import java.util.logging.Level;
 import java.util.logging.LogManager;
@@ -85,11 +86,21 @@ public String getLogEncoding() {
     return config.get(LOGGING_SECTION, "log-encoding").orElse(null);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Resolves the Grid log level from the {@code log-level} entry of the logging config section
+   * and stores it for {@link #configureLogging()}. Any active Selenium debug switch ({@code
+   * SE_DEBUG}, {@code -Dselenium.debug=true}, {@code -Dselenium.webdriver.verbose=true})
+   * overrides the configured value and forces {@link Level#FINE}. An unparseable configured
+   * value falls back to the default ({@code INFO}).
+   *
+   * @return this instance, for method chaining
+   */
   public LoggingOptions setLoggingLevel() {
     String configLevel = config.get(LOGGING_SECTION, "log-level").orElse(DEFAULT_LOG_LEVEL);
-    if (Debug.isDebugAll()) {
+    if (Debug.isDebugAll() || Debug.isDebugging()) {
       System.err.println(
-          "WARNING: Environment Variable `SE_DEBUG` is set; forcing Grid log level to FINE and"
+          "WARNING: Selenium debug logging is enabled (`SE_DEBUG`, `-Dselenium.debug=true`, or"
+              + " `-Dselenium.webdriver.verbose=true`); forcing Grid log level to FINE and"
               + " overriding configured log level.");
       configLevel = Level.FINE.getName();
     }
@@ -128,6 +139,15 @@ public void configureLogging() {
       return;
     }
 
+    // Reflect the current debug switches onto the shared org.openqa.selenium logger before
+    // anything else below -- in particular, before the external-JUL-config early return just
+    // below hands the rest of logging setup off entirely. Without this, Selenium's own FINE-level
+    // wire diagnostics (RequestConverter, the BiDi/CDP Connection classes) stay invisible under
+    // -Dselenium.debug=true whenever an external `java.util.logging.config.*` property is set,
+    // since nothing else on Grid's startup path would ever call this. Idempotent and cheap, same
+    // chokepoint pattern as DriverFinder.getBinaryPaths().
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+
     String configClass = System.getProperty("java.util.logging.config.class");
     String configFile = System.getProperty("java.util.logging.config.file");
 
@@ -137,11 +157,21 @@ public void configureLogging() {
       return;
     }
 
-    // Remove all handlers from existing loggers
+    // Remove all handlers from existing loggers, except org.openqa.selenium: Debug.configureLogger()
+    // above may have just installed a handler there for debug-mode output, and this loop would
+    // otherwise strip it moments later (Debug holds a strong static reference so that logger stays
+    // registered here too). Debug's own installed-handler bookkeeping has no way to learn a handler
+    // was removed out from under it, so once stripped its idempotency guard would prevent ever
+    // reinstalling one until the debug switch is toggled off and back on.
     LogManager logManager = LogManager.getLogManager();
     Enumeration<String> names = logManager.getLoggerNames();
     while (names.hasMoreElements()) {
-      Logger logger = logManager.getLogger(names.nextElement());
+      String name = names.nextElement();
+      if ("org.openqa.selenium".equals(name)) {
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      Logger logger = logManager.getLogger(name);
       if (logger == null) {
         continue;
       }
@@ -160,6 +190,7 @@ public void configureLogging() {
       Handler handler = new FlushingHandler(out);
       handler.setFormatter(new TerseFormatter(getLogTimestampFormat()));
       handler.setLevel(level);
+      handler.setFilter(rootHandlerFilter());
       configureLogEncoding(logger, encoding, handler);
     }
 
@@ -167,10 +198,33 @@ public void configureLogging() {
       Handler handler = new FlushingHandler(out);
       handler.setFormatter(new JsonFormatter());
       handler.setLevel(level);
+      handler.setFilter(rootHandlerFilter());
       configureLogEncoding(logger, encoding, handler);
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Records that Debug.configureLogger()'s own handler on {@code org.openqa.selenium} already
+   * prints (FINE/CONFIG-range records from that logger or a descendant, while its handler is
+   * installed) must not also print through this root handler, PROVIDED this root handler's
+   * destination is the one Debug's handler also writes to -- that handler's own
+   * useParentHandlers is never disabled, so the same record reaches both. That's only true when
+   * no {@code log-file} is configured: {@link #getOutputStream()} then defaults this handler to
+   * {@code System.out}/{@code System.err}, the same visible destination as Debug's own {@code
+   * ConsoleHandler} (fixed to {@code System.err}) in every realistic deployment. A configured
+   * log-file is a genuinely separate destination Debug never writes to, so suppressing there
+   * would silently drop the record from the operator's chosen sink instead of de-duplicating it
+   * -- worse than the problem this filter exists to solve. INFO-and-above {@code
+   * org.openqa.selenium} records, and everything from every other logger, are untouched either
+   * way: Debug's handler never covered those in the first place.
+   */
+  private Filter rootHandlerFilter() {
+    boolean logFileConfigured = config.get(LOGGING_SECTION, "log-file").isPresent();
+    return record ->
+        logFileConfigured
+            || !Debug.isHandledBySeleniumDebugHandler(record.getLoggerName(), record.getLevel());
+  }
+
   private void configureLogEncoding(Logger logger, @Nullable String encoding, Handler handler) {
     String message;
     try {
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/ProxyNodeWebsockets.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/ProxyNodeWebsockets.java
index d6b9b34696fcc..6a4222b294bd8 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/ProxyNodeWebsockets.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/ProxyNodeWebsockets.java
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@
 
 package org.openqa.selenium.grid.node;
 
-import static org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug.getDebugLogLevel;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.HttpMethod.GET;
 
 import io.netty.buffer.Unpooled;
@@ -181,7 +180,7 @@ private Optional<Consumer<Message>> findCdpEndpoint(
       }
 
       if (cdpUri.isPresent()) {
-        LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), String.format("Endpoint found in %s", cdpEndpointCap));
+        LOG.log(Level.FINE, String.format("Endpoint found in %s", cdpEndpointCap));
         return cdpUri.map(cdp -> createWsEndPoint(cdp, downstream, sessionConsumer, sessionId));
       } else {
         try {
@@ -246,7 +245,7 @@ private Optional<Consumer<Message>> findVncEndpoint(
       LOG.warning("Invalid URI for endpoint " + vncLocalAddress);
       return Optional.empty();
     }
-    LOG.log(getDebugLogLevel(), String.format("Endpoint found in %s", "se:vncLocalAddress"));
+    LOG.log(Level.FINE, String.format("Endpoint found in %s", "se:vncLocalAddress"));
     return vncUri.map(vnc -> createWsEndPoint(vnc, downstream, sessionConsumer, sessionId));
   }
 
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/local/LocalNode.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/local/LocalNode.java
index 06b78eaa89405..d2198e9668987 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/local/LocalNode.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/local/LocalNode.java
@@ -114,7 +114,6 @@
 import org.openqa.selenium.grid.node.config.NodeOptions;
 import org.openqa.selenium.grid.node.docker.DockerSession;
 import org.openqa.selenium.grid.security.Secret;
-import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
 import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Either;
 import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Require;
 import org.openqa.selenium.io.FileHandler;
@@ -407,7 +406,7 @@ private void stopTimedOutSession(
           }
         }
       } else {
-        LOG.log(Debug.getDebugLogLevel(), "Received stop session notification with null values");
+        LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Received stop session notification with null values");
         span.setStatus(Status.INVALID_ARGUMENT);
         span.addEvent("Received stop session notification with null values", attributeMap);
       }
@@ -1412,7 +1411,7 @@ private boolean decrementSessionCount() {
     if (this.drainAfterSessions) {
       int remainingSessions = this.sessionCount.decrementAndGet();
       LOG.log(
-          Debug.getDebugLogLevel(),
+          Level.FINE,
           "{0} remaining sessions before draining Node",
           remainingSessions);
       return remainingSessions >= 0;
@@ -1428,7 +1427,7 @@ private void restoreSessionCount() {
     if (this.drainAfterSessions) {
       int remainingSessions = this.sessionCount.incrementAndGet();
       LOG.log(
-          Debug.getDebugLogLevel(),
+          Level.FINE,
           "Session creation failed, restored count. {0} remaining sessions before draining Node",
           remainingSessions);
     }
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/relay/RelaySessionFactory.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/relay/RelaySessionFactory.java
index 949d96f9ca311..f715c9302bb43 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/relay/RelaySessionFactory.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/relay/RelaySessionFactory.java
@@ -49,7 +49,6 @@
 import org.openqa.selenium.grid.node.ActiveSession;
 import org.openqa.selenium.grid.node.DefaultActiveSession;
 import org.openqa.selenium.grid.node.SessionFactory;
-import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
 import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Either;
 import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Require;
 import org.openqa.selenium.remote.CapabilityType;
@@ -244,7 +243,7 @@ public boolean isServiceUp() {
     try (HttpClient client = clientFactory.createClient(clientConfig)) {
       HttpResponse response =
           client.execute(new HttpRequest(HttpMethod.GET, serviceStatusUrl.toString()));
-      LOG.log(Debug.getDebugLogLevel(), response::contentAsString);
+      LOG.log(Level.FINE, response::contentAsString);
       return response.getStatus() == 200;
     } catch (Exception e) {
       LOG.log(
@@ -252,7 +251,7 @@ public boolean isServiceUp() {
           () ->
               String.format(
                   "Error checking service status %s. %s", serviceStatusUrl, e.getMessage()));
-      LOG.log(Debug.getDebugLogLevel(), "Error checking service status " + serviceStatusUrl, e);
+      LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Error checking service status " + serviceStatusUrl, e);
     }
     return false;
   }
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/internal/Debug.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/internal/Debug.java
index 0b012f180f59e..ee5846d1a4877 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/internal/Debug.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/internal/Debug.java
@@ -17,37 +17,107 @@
 
 package org.openqa.selenium.internal;
 
+import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
+import java.util.logging.ConsoleHandler;
+import java.util.logging.Filter;
+import java.util.logging.Handler;
 import java.util.logging.Level;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
-import java.util.logging.SimpleFormatter;
-import java.util.logging.StreamHandler;
 
 /** Used to provide information about whether Selenium is running under debug mode. */
 public class Debug {
 
-  private static final boolean IS_DEBUG;
   private static final AtomicBoolean DEBUG_WARNING_LOGGED = new AtomicBoolean(false);
   private static final Logger SELENIUM_LOGGER = Logger.getLogger("org.openqa.selenium");
-  private static boolean loggerConfigured = false;
 
-  static {
-    IS_DEBUG =
-        Boolean.getBoolean("selenium.debug") || Boolean.getBoolean("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
-  }
+  private static boolean loggerConfigured = false;
+  private static Handler installedHandler = null;
+  private static Level previousLevel = null;
+  private static boolean levelRaisedByDebug = false;
 
   private Debug() {
     // Utility class
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Reports whether Selenium debug logging has been requested via the {@code selenium.debug} or
+   * the legacy {@code selenium.webdriver.verbose} system property. Read live on every call, so a
+   * property change made at runtime is reflected immediately.
+   *
+   * @return true when either the {@code selenium.debug} or the {@code selenium.webdriver.verbose}
+   *     system property is set to {@code true}; false otherwise
+   */
   public static boolean isDebugging() {
-    return IS_DEBUG;
+    return Boolean.getBoolean("selenium.debug") || Boolean.getBoolean("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Returns the log level that debug output should be reported at: {@link Level#INFO} when {@link
+   * #isDebugging()} is true, {@link Level#FINE} otherwise.
+   *
+   * @deprecated Individual log statements no longer change what severity they report at based on
+   *     this switch; {@link #configureLogger()} raises the real {@code org.openqa.selenium} logger
+   *     to {@link Level#FINE} instead, which is the ordinary way to see Selenium's debug output.
+   *     Enable it with {@code -Dselenium.debug=true}, the {@code SE_DEBUG} environment variable, or
+   *     directly via {@code Logger.getLogger("org.openqa.selenium").setLevel(Level.FINE)}. This
+   *     method's own behavior is unchanged and kept only for existing call sites still comparing
+   *     against it.
+   * @return {@link Level#INFO} when debugging is enabled; {@link Level#FINE} otherwise
+   */
+  @Deprecated(forRemoval = true)
   public static Level getDebugLogLevel() {
     return isDebugging() ? Level.INFO : Level.FINE;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Reports whether {@link #configureLogger()}'s handler is attached to {@code
+   * org.openqa.selenium} right now. Unlike {@link #isDebugging()} or {@link #isDebugAll()}, which
+   * read the live system property/environment variable, this reflects the handler's actual,
+   * current installation state -- the two can genuinely diverge for however long it takes some
+   * caller to next invoke {@link #configureLogger()} after a switch changes, since nothing installs
+   * or removes the handler except that call. This checks the logger's real handler list rather
+   * than trusting the {@code loggerConfigured} bookkeeping flag alone, since something outside
+   * this class can remove the handler without ever going through {@link #configureLogger()} --
+   * e.g. {@code LogManager.getLogManager().reset()} (routine in embedding scenarios: Spring Boot's
+   * {@code JavaLoggingSystem}, a Log4j-JUL bridge, a container shutdown hook) or a direct {@code
+   * removeHandler()} call by unrelated code -- which would otherwise leave the flag stale-true.
+   *
+   * @return true when a handler installed by {@link #configureLogger()} is currently attached
+   */
+  public static synchronized boolean isHandlerCurrentlyInstalled() {
+    return installedHandler != null
+        && Arrays.asList(SELENIUM_LOGGER.getHandlers()).contains(installedHandler);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Reports whether a log record from {@code loggerName} at {@code level} would already be
+   * emitted by the handler {@link #configureLogger()} installs directly on {@code
+   * org.openqa.selenium} -- that handler and its filter together cover exactly {@link
+   * Level#FINE}- and {@link Level#CONFIG}-range records from that logger and its descendants,
+   * whenever that handler is {@linkplain #isHandlerCurrentlyInstalled() currently installed}. A
+   * caller further up the logger hierarchy (e.g. a handler on the root logger, which receives the
+   * same record too via normal handler propagation) can use this to avoid printing it a second
+   * time, without disabling propagation itself -- which would instead silently drop every {@link
+   * Level#INFO}-and-above {@code org.openqa.selenium} record that caller would otherwise print.
+   *
+   * @param loggerName the originating logger's name; {@code null} is never covered
+   * @param level the record's level
+   * @return true when {@link #configureLogger()}'s own handler already covers this record
+   */
+  public static boolean isHandledBySeleniumDebugHandler(String loggerName, Level level) {
+    if (!isHandlerCurrentlyInstalled()) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    boolean withinSeleniumHierarchy =
+        loggerName != null
+            && (loggerName.equals("org.openqa.selenium")
+                || loggerName.startsWith("org.openqa.selenium."));
+    return withinSeleniumHierarchy
+        && level.intValue() >= Level.FINE.intValue()
+        && level.intValue() < Level.INFO.intValue();
+  }
+
   public static boolean isDebugAll() {
     boolean everything = Boolean.parseBoolean(System.getenv("SE_DEBUG"));
     if (everything && DEBUG_WARNING_LOGGED.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
@@ -59,16 +129,74 @@ public static boolean isDebugAll() {
     return everything;
   }
 
-  public static void configureLogger() {
-    if (!isDebugAll() || loggerConfigured) {
+  /**
+   * Reflects the current debug switches ({@code -Dselenium.debug=true}, {@code
+   * -Dselenium.webdriver.verbose=true}, {@code SE_DEBUG}) onto the real {@code org.openqa.selenium}
+   * logger: raises it to {@link Level#FINE} when it is currently less verbose than {@link
+   * Level#FINE}; a level already at {@link Level#FINE} or more verbose is left untouched. It also
+   * attaches a handler Selenium owns, filtered to leave {@link Level#INFO} and above to the
+   * caller's own handlers so output they already print is never duplicated. Idempotent: repeated
+   * calls while the switches are unchanged do nothing. Reversible: once every switch is off, the
+   * next call removes exactly the handler this method installed and restores the logger's level to
+   * what it was before debugging turned on, only when this method was the one that raised it and
+   * unless something else changed the level in the meantime -- that change is left alone rather
+   * than clobbered. This can't distinguish an external override that happens to also set exactly
+   * {@link Level#FINE}: since JUL has no level-change listener to tell the two apart, that specific
+   * case still restores the pre-debug level. Safe to call from concurrent driver construction.
+   *
+   * <p>Cross-binding note: the Python binding does the analogous thing at import time (the
+   * {@code SE_DEBUG} block at the top of {@code py/selenium/webdriver/__init__.py}): when the
+   * {@code SE_DEBUG} environment variable is set it puts the {@code selenium} logger at
+   * {@code DEBUG} and attaches an unfiltered {@code StreamHandler} if the logger has none of
+   * its own. Two deliberate differences here: Java only raises the level when the logger is
+   * currently less verbose than {@link Level#FINE} (Python sets {@code DEBUG} unconditionally),
+   * and Java's handler is filtered to records below {@link Level#INFO} so output the caller's
+   * own handlers already print is never duplicated.
+   */
+  public static synchronized void configureLogger() {
+    boolean shouldDebug = isDebugging() || isDebugAll();
+    if (shouldDebug == loggerConfigured) {
       return;
     }
 
-    SELENIUM_LOGGER.setLevel(Level.FINE);
+    if (shouldDebug) {
+      Level currentLevel = SELENIUM_LOGGER.getLevel();
+      // Only raise the level when the logger is currently LESS verbose than FINE (higher
+      // intValue). A null level inherits the parent's (default INFO), so raising applies then
+      // too. An already more-verbose level (FINER, FINEST, ALL) is left alone: lowering it
+      // would make records like W3CHttpResponseCodec's FINER diagnostics unloggable while
+      // "debugging". This reads the logger's own level, not its effective level -- a
+      // more-verbose level inherited from a parent while this logger's own level is unset is
+      // still pinned to FINE, since JUL offers no way to read the effective level.
+      levelRaisedByDebug = currentLevel == null || currentLevel.intValue() > Level.FINE.intValue();
+      if (levelRaisedByDebug) {
+        previousLevel = currentLevel;
+        SELENIUM_LOGGER.setLevel(Level.FINE);
+      } else {
+        previousLevel = null;
+      }
+
+      Handler handler = new ConsoleHandler();
+      handler.setLevel(Level.FINE);
+      Filter belowInfo = record -> record.getLevel().intValue() < Level.INFO.intValue();
+      handler.setFilter(belowInfo);
+      SELENIUM_LOGGER.addHandler(handler);
+      installedHandler = handler;
+    } else {
+      SELENIUM_LOGGER.removeHandler(installedHandler);
+      installedHandler.close();
+      installedHandler = null;
+      // Restore only when Debug itself raised the level AND nothing else changed it since. The
+      // FINE-equality guard keeps the existing "external override while debugging" protection;
+      // levelRaisedByDebug additionally covers the case where Debug never touched the level at
+      // all and so has nothing to restore.
+      if (levelRaisedByDebug && Level.FINE.equals(SELENIUM_LOGGER.getLevel())) {
+        SELENIUM_LOGGER.setLevel(previousLevel);
+      }
+      levelRaisedByDebug = false;
+      previousLevel = null;
+    }
 
-    StreamHandler handler = new StreamHandler(System.err, new SimpleFormatter());
-    handler.setLevel(Level.FINE);
-    SELENIUM_LOGGER.addHandler(handler);
-    loggerConfigured = true;
+    loggerConfigured = shouldDebug;
   }
 }
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/netty/server/RequestConverter.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/netty/server/RequestConverter.java
index 4b98fe4ffa1f6..6084536a91c7a 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/netty/server/RequestConverter.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/netty/server/RequestConverter.java
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@
 import io.netty.util.ReferenceCountUtil;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicLong;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 import org.jspecify.annotations.Nullable;
-import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
 import org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.Contents;
 import org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.HttpMethod;
 import org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.HttpRequest;
@@ -58,10 +58,10 @@ class RequestConverter extends SimpleChannelInboundHandler<HttpObject> {
 
   @Override
   protected void channelRead0(ChannelHandlerContext ctx, HttpObject msg) throws Exception {
-    LOG.log(Debug.getDebugLogLevel(), "Incoming message: {0}", msg);
+    LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Incoming message: {0}", msg);
 
     if (msg instanceof io.netty.handler.codec.http.HttpRequest) {
-      LOG.log(Debug.getDebugLogLevel(), "Start of http request: {0}", msg);
+      LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Start of http request: {0}", msg);
 
       io.netty.handler.codec.http.HttpRequest nettyRequest =
           (io.netty.handler.codec.http.HttpRequest) msg;
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ protected void channelRead0(ChannelHandlerContext ctx, HttpObject msg) throws Ex
       }
 
       if (msg instanceof LastHttpContent) {
-        LOG.log(Debug.getDebugLogLevel(), "End of http request: {0}", msg);
+        LOG.log(Level.FINE, "End of http request: {0}", msg);
 
         if (buffer != null) {
           request.setContent(
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ protected void channelRead0(ChannelHandlerContext ctx, HttpObject msg) throws Ex
 
   @Override
   public void channelInactive(ChannelHandlerContext ctx) throws Exception {
-    LOG.log(Debug.getDebugLogLevel(), "Channel became inactive.");
+    LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Channel became inactive.");
     super.channelInactive(ctx);
   }
 
@@ -172,8 +172,7 @@ private HttpRequest createRequest(
     } catch (Exception ignore) {
       ctx.writeAndFlush(
           new DefaultFullHttpResponse(HttpVersion.HTTP_1_1, HttpResponseStatus.BAD_REQUEST));
-      LOG.log(
-          Debug.getDebugLogLevel(), "Not possible to decode parameters. {0}", nettyRequest.uri());
+      LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Not possible to decode parameters. {0}", nettyRequest.uri());
       return null;
     }
   }
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriver.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriver.java
index 4573903e94daf..8d3442a5acb90 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriver.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriver.java
@@ -122,8 +122,15 @@ public class RemoteWebDriver
         PrintsPage,
         TakesScreenshot {
 
+  // Guarantees (JLS 12.4.2) that debug logging is configured before ANY subclass constructor
+  // body runs -- including argument expressions passed to a subclass's own super(...) call, e.g.
+  // ChromeDriver/FirefoxDriver's DriverFinder/SeleniumManager discovery, which logs at FINE
+  // before super(...) is ever reached. configureLogger() is idempotent, so this and the call in
+  // the canonical instance constructor below are both safe to keep: this one covers logging that
+  // happens before an instance exists, the other picks up a property changed after this class
+  // already loaded.
   static {
-    org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug.configureLogger();
+    Debug.configureLogger();
   }
 
   private static final Logger LOG = Logger.getLogger(RemoteWebDriver.class.getName());
@@ -203,14 +210,30 @@ public RemoteWebDriver(CommandExecutor executor, Capabilities capabilities) {
     this(executor, capabilities, ClientConfig.defaultConfig());
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Creates a new driver that runs its commands through the given executor, requesting a new
+   * session with the given capabilities. Before the session starts, the current Selenium debug
+   * switches are reflected onto the {@code org.openqa.selenium} logger via {@link
+   * Debug#configureLogger()}, so a debug property changed at runtime takes effect for every
+   * driver constructed afterwards.
+   *
+   * @param executor the command executor used to communicate with the remote end; must not be
+   *     null
+   * @param capabilities the capabilities requested for the new session; null is treated as an
+   *     empty set of capabilities
+   * @param clientConfig the HTTP client configuration for the connection; must not be null
+   */
   public RemoteWebDriver(
       CommandExecutor executor, Capabilities capabilities, ClientConfig clientConfig) {
+    // Instance-time (not class-load-time) so a property change made after this class has already
+    // loaded still takes effect for drivers constructed afterwards.
+    Debug.configureLogger();
     this.clientConfig = Require.nonNull("Client config", clientConfig);
     this.executor = Require.nonNull("Command executor", executor);
     this.capabilities = requireNonNullElseGet(capabilities, () -> new ImmutableCapabilities());
 
     try {
-      startSession(capabilities);
+      startSession(this.capabilities);
     } catch (RuntimeException e) {
       try {
         quit();
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriverBuilder.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriverBuilder.java
index 036d441f1d733..ebf1e14ebe2d7 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriverBuilder.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriverBuilder.java
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 package org.openqa.selenium.remote;
 
 import static java.util.logging.Level.WARNING;
-import static org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug.getDebugLogLevel;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.remote.DriverCommand.QUIT;
 import static org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.HttpMethod.DELETE;
 
@@ -37,6 +36,7 @@
 import java.util.TreeMap;
 import java.util.function.Function;
 import java.util.function.Supplier;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 import java.util.stream.StreamSupport;
@@ -114,8 +114,7 @@ public RemoteWebDriverBuilder oneOf(Capabilities maybeThis, Capabilities... orOn
     Require.nonNull("Capabilities to use", maybeThis);
 
     if (!requestedCapabilities.isEmpty()) {
-      LOG.log(
-          getDebugLogLevel(), "Removing existing requested capabilities: " + requestedCapabilities);
+      LOG.log(Level.FINE, "Removing existing requested capabilities: " + requestedCapabilities);
       requestedCapabilities.clear();
     }
 
@@ -155,7 +154,7 @@ public RemoteWebDriverBuilder addMetadata(String key, Object value) {
     Object previous = metadata.put(key, value);
     if (previous != null) {
       LOG.log(
-          getDebugLogLevel(),
+          Level.FINE,
           String.format(
               "Overwriting metadata %s. Previous value %s, new value %s", key, previous, value));
     }
@@ -176,7 +175,7 @@ public RemoteWebDriverBuilder setCapability(String capabilityName, Object value)
     Object previous = additionalCapabilities.put(capabilityName, value);
     if (previous != null) {
       LOG.log(
-          getDebugLogLevel(),
+          Level.FINE,
           () ->
               String.format(
                   "Overwriting capability %s. Previous value %s, new value %s",
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/http/RetryRequest.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/http/RetryRequest.java
index 17a3f7e0ed25c..f9957eb1facf4 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/http/RetryRequest.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/http/RetryRequest.java
@@ -23,12 +23,10 @@
 import java.net.ConnectException;
 import java.util.logging.Level;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
-import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
 
 public class RetryRequest implements Filter {
 
   private static final Logger LOG = Logger.getLogger(RetryRequest.class.getName());
-  private static final Level LOG_LEVEL = Debug.getDebugLogLevel();
 
   private static final int RETRIES_ON_CONNECTION_FAILURE = 3;
   private static final int RETRIES_ON_SERVER_ERROR = 2;
@@ -50,7 +48,7 @@ public HttpHandler apply(HttpHandler next) {
 
           // must be a connection failure and check whether we have retries left for this
           if (isConnectionFailure && i < RETRIES_ON_CONNECTION_FAILURE) {
-            LOG.log(LOG_LEVEL, "Retry #" + (i + 1) + " on ConnectException", ex);
+            LOG.log(Level.WARNING, "Retry #" + (i + 1) + " on ConnectException", ex);
             continue;
           }
 
@@ -65,7 +63,7 @@ public HttpHandler apply(HttpHandler next) {
 
         // must be a server error and check whether we have retries left for this
         if (isServerError && i < RETRIES_ON_SERVER_ERROR) {
-          LOG.log(LOG_LEVEL, "Retry #" + (i + 1) + " on ServerError: " + response.getStatus());
+          LOG.log(Level.WARNING, "Retry #" + (i + 1) + " on ServerError: " + response.getStatus());
           continue;
         }
 
diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/service/DriverFinder.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/service/DriverFinder.java
index 60ba25060b98a..6a8131c032e6c 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/service/DriverFinder.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/service/DriverFinder.java
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 import org.openqa.selenium.Capabilities;
 import org.openqa.selenium.Proxy;
 import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriverException;
+import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
 import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Require;
 import org.openqa.selenium.manager.SeleniumManager;
 import org.openqa.selenium.manager.SeleniumManagerOutput.Result;
@@ -91,6 +92,12 @@ public boolean hasBrowserPath() {
   }
 
   private Result getBinaryPaths() {
+    // Discovery logging (this class and SeleniumManager) can run before any RemoteWebDriver
+    // constructor -- e.g. as an argument to a browser driver's super(...) call, or with no
+    // RemoteWebDriver involved at all (InternetExplorerDriver, DriverService's lazy lookup, the
+    // DriverInfo classes). Reflect the current debug switches before that logging happens;
+    // configureLogger() is idempotent, so repeated calls are cheap.
+    Debug.configureLogger();
     if (result == null) {
       try {
         String driverName = service.getDriverName();
diff --git a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/devtools/BUILD.bazel b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/devtools/BUILD.bazel
index 7c0b8f68509b9..e1a402a87424e 100644
--- a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/devtools/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/devtools/BUILD.bazel
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ load("//java:defs.bzl", "JUNIT5_DEPS", "java_library", "java_selenium_test_suite
 SMALL_TESTS = [
     "CdpEndpointFinderTest.java",
     "CdpVersionFinderTest.java",
+    "ConnectionTest.java",
 ]
 
 java_test_suite(
diff --git a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/devtools/ConnectionTest.java b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/devtools/ConnectionTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..1dd317dfd588c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/devtools/ConnectionTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+// Licensed to the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) under one
+// or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+// distributed with this work for additional information
+// regarding copyright ownership.  The SFC licenses this file
+// to you 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.
+
+package org.openqa.selenium.devtools;
+
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Tag;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
+import org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.ClientConfig;
+import org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.HttpClient;
+import org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.HttpRequest;
+import org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.HttpResponse;
+import org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.Message;
+import org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.WebSocket;
+
+@Tag("UnitTests")
+class ConnectionTest {
+
+  private String oldDebugProperty;
+  private Level oldLoggerLevel;
+
+  @BeforeEach
+  void storeSystemProperty() {
+    oldDebugProperty = System.getProperty("selenium.debug");
+    oldLoggerLevel = seleniumLogger().getLevel();
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+  }
+
+  @AfterEach
+  void restoreSystemProperty() {
+    if (oldDebugProperty != null) {
+      System.setProperty("selenium.debug", oldDebugProperty);
+    } else {
+      System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    }
+    // Re-sync configureLogger's internal state/handler with the now-restored property so a
+    // handler installed by this test never leaks into the next.
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+    seleniumLogger().setLevel(oldLoggerLevel);
+  }
+
+  private static Logger seleniumLogger() {
+    return Logger.getLogger("org.openqa.selenium");
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void constructingConnectionDirectlyConfiguresTheSeleniumLoggerWhenDebugging() {
+    // devtools.Connection is sometimes constructed directly rather than through RemoteWebDriver or
+    // DriverFinder -- neither of which would run in that path to trigger Debug.configureLogger()
+    // otherwise. No test previously constructed a Connection directly and checked that its own
+    // constructor actually configures the shared org.openqa.selenium logger.
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+
+    try (Connection connection =
+        new Connection(
+            new NoOpHttpClient(),
+            "ws://localhost:9222/devtools/page/1",
+            ClientConfig.defaultConfig())) {
+      assertThat(seleniumLogger().getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.FINE);
+    }
+  }
+
+  /** Minimal real (not mocked) {@link HttpClient} whose socket never talks to the network. */
+  private static class NoOpHttpClient implements HttpClient {
+    @Override
+    public HttpResponse execute(HttpRequest request) {
+      throw new UnsupportedOperationException("execute");
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public WebSocket openSocket(HttpRequest request, WebSocket.Listener listener) {
+      return new WebSocket() {
+        @Override
+        public WebSocket send(Message message) {
+          return this;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void close() {}
+      };
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public <T> java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture<java.net.http.HttpResponse<T>>
+        sendAsyncNative(
+            java.net.http.HttpRequest request, java.net.http.HttpResponse.BodyHandler<T> handler) {
+      throw new UnsupportedOperationException("sendAsyncNative");
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public <T> java.net.http.HttpResponse<T> sendNative(
+        java.net.http.HttpRequest request, java.net.http.HttpResponse.BodyHandler<T> handler) {
+      throw new UnsupportedOperationException("sendNative");
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalNodeRegistryTest.java b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalNodeRegistryTest.java
index 35e479d9160a1..d59ed0bd809b8 100644
--- a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalNodeRegistryTest.java
+++ b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/local/LocalNodeRegistryTest.java
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 import java.lang.reflect.Field;
 import java.net.URI;
 import java.time.Duration;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.UUID;
@@ -33,6 +35,10 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
+import java.util.logging.Handler;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.LogRecord;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
@@ -185,6 +191,58 @@ void shouldRunHealthChecksForMultipleNodesConcurrently() throws Exception {
     }
   }
 
+  @Test
+  void addLogsAtWarningWhenNodeStatusThrows() {
+    // An exception here aborts registration entirely (see the catch block in add()) -- that's an
+    // actionable failure, not routine diagnostics, so it must be visible at WARNING by default.
+    NodeId nodeId = new NodeId(UUID.randomUUID());
+    RuntimeException statusFailure = new RuntimeException("node heartbeat started before ready");
+    Node node =
+        new TestNode(
+            tracer,
+            nodeId,
+            URI.create("http://example:4444"),
+            registrationSecret,
+            () -> {
+              throw new AssertionError("health check must not run for a node that failed add()");
+            }) {
+          @Override
+          public NodeStatus getStatus() {
+            throw statusFailure;
+          }
+        };
+
+    Logger log = Logger.getLogger(LocalNodeRegistry.class.getName());
+    List<LogRecord> records = new ArrayList<>();
+    Handler capture =
+        new Handler() {
+          @Override
+          public void publish(LogRecord record) {
+            records.add(record);
+          }
+
+          @Override
+          public void flush() {}
+
+          @Override
+          public void close() {}
+        };
+    capture.setLevel(Level.ALL);
+    Level oldLevel = log.getLevel();
+    log.setLevel(Level.ALL);
+    log.addHandler(capture);
+    try {
+      registry.add(node);
+
+      assertThat(records).hasSize(1);
+      assertThat(records.get(0).getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.WARNING);
+      assertThat(records.get(0).getThrown()).isSameAs(statusFailure);
+    } finally {
+      log.removeHandler(capture);
+      log.setLevel(oldLevel);
+    }
+  }
+
   @Test
   void closeShouldShutdownNodeHealthCheckWorkerPool() throws Exception {
     ExecutorService nodeHealthCheckExecutor = getNodeHealthCheckExecutor(registry);
diff --git a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedNodeRegistryTest.java b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedNodeRegistryTest.java
index 22e80836bd54c..f579e30661f34 100644
--- a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedNodeRegistryTest.java
+++ b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/distributor/redis/RedisBackedNodeRegistryTest.java
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
 import java.net.URISyntaxException;
 import java.time.Duration;
 import java.time.Instant;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.UUID;
@@ -33,6 +35,10 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
 import java.util.concurrent.Future;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
+import java.util.logging.Handler;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.LogRecord;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
@@ -238,6 +244,60 @@ void isReadyReturnsTrueWhenBusIsReady() {
     assertThat(registry.isReady()).isTrue();
   }
 
+  @Test
+  void addLogsAtWarningWhenNodeStatusThrows() {
+    // An exception here aborts registration entirely (see the catch block in add()) -- that's an
+    // actionable failure, not routine diagnostics, so it must be visible at WARNING by default.
+    // Mirrors LocalNodeRegistryTest.addLogsAtWarningWhenNodeStatusThrows: RedisBackedNodeRegistry's
+    // add() has the identical catch-and-warn path but had no test of its own.
+    NodeId nodeId = new NodeId(UUID.randomUUID());
+    RuntimeException statusFailure = new RuntimeException("node heartbeat started before ready");
+    TestNode node =
+        new TestNode(
+            tracer,
+            nodeId,
+            uri(PortProber.findFreePort()),
+            secret,
+            () -> {
+              throw new AssertionError("health check must not run for a node that failed add()");
+            }) {
+          @Override
+          public NodeStatus getStatus() {
+            throw statusFailure;
+          }
+        };
+
+    Logger log = Logger.getLogger(RedisBackedNodeRegistry.class.getName());
+    List<LogRecord> records = new ArrayList<>();
+    Handler capture =
+        new Handler() {
+          @Override
+          public void publish(LogRecord record) {
+            records.add(record);
+          }
+
+          @Override
+          public void flush() {}
+
+          @Override
+          public void close() {}
+        };
+    capture.setLevel(Level.ALL);
+    Level oldLevel = log.getLevel();
+    log.setLevel(Level.ALL);
+    log.addHandler(capture);
+    try {
+      registry.add(node);
+
+      assertThat(records).hasSize(1);
+      assertThat(records.get(0).getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.WARNING);
+      assertThat(records.get(0).getThrown()).isSameAs(statusFailure);
+    } finally {
+      log.removeHandler(capture);
+      log.setLevel(oldLevel);
+    }
+  }
+
   private static class TestNode extends Node {
 
     private final NodeStatus status;
diff --git a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/BUILD.bazel b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/BUILD.bazel
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..9b80074266ceb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/BUILD.bazel
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+load("@rules_jvm_external//:defs.bzl", "artifact")
+load("//java:defs.bzl", "JUNIT5_DEPS", "java_test_suite")
+
+java_test_suite(
+    name = "SmallTests",
+    size = "small",
+    srcs = glob(["*Test.java"]),
+    deps = [
+        "//java/src/org/openqa/selenium:core",
+        "//java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/config",
+        "//java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log",
+        artifact("org.assertj:assertj-core"),
+        artifact("org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api"),
+    ] + JUNIT5_DEPS,
+)
diff --git a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/LoggingOptionsTest.java b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/LoggingOptionsTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..0382dafe0f65b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/grid/log/LoggingOptionsTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,259 @@
+// Licensed to the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) under one
+// or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+// distributed with this work for additional information
+// regarding copyright ownership.  The SFC licenses this file
+// to you 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.
+
+package org.openqa.selenium.grid.log;
+
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+
+import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.PrintStream;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.UUID;
+import java.util.logging.Handler;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.LogManager;
+import java.util.logging.LogRecord;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Tag;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.openqa.selenium.grid.config.MapConfig;
+import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
+
+@Tag("UnitTests")
+class LoggingOptionsTest {
+
+  private String oldDebugProperty;
+  // Legacy alias for selenium.debug -- Debug.isDebugging() honors either, so a test JVM that
+  // happens to have this set externally must not leak into the "no switch" baseline assertions.
+  private String oldVerboseProperty;
+  private Level oldSeleniumLoggerLevel;
+
+  @BeforeEach
+  void storeSystemProperty() {
+    oldDebugProperty = System.getProperty("selenium.debug");
+    oldVerboseProperty = System.getProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
+    oldSeleniumLoggerLevel = Logger.getLogger("org.openqa.selenium").getLevel();
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
+  }
+
+  @AfterEach
+  void restoreSystemProperty() {
+    if (oldDebugProperty != null) {
+      System.setProperty("selenium.debug", oldDebugProperty);
+    } else {
+      System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    }
+    if (oldVerboseProperty != null) {
+      System.setProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose", oldVerboseProperty);
+    } else {
+      System.clearProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
+    }
+    // Reverts whatever configureLogging() may have done to the shared org.openqa.selenium logger
+    // via Debug.configureLogger() during the test, now that the properties are back to their
+    // original values.
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+    Logger.getLogger("org.openqa.selenium").setLevel(oldSeleniumLoggerLevel);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void setLoggingLevelForcesFineWhenSeleniumDebugPropertyIsSet() {
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+
+    String output = captureStderrDuring(() -> new LoggingOptions(emptyConfig()).setLoggingLevel());
+
+    // Before this change, only the SE_DEBUG environment variable (isDebugAll()) forced Grid's log
+    // level to FINE; -Dselenium.debug=true had no effect on Grid at all. Grid operators using that
+    // property must not silently lose Grid diagnostic output now that RemoteWebDriver's
+    // configureLogger() reacts to it too.
+    assertThat(output).contains("forcing Grid log level to FINE");
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void setLoggingLevelDoesNotForceFineWhenNoDebugSwitchIsSet() {
+    String output = captureStderrDuring(() -> new LoggingOptions(emptyConfig()).setLoggingLevel());
+
+    assertThat(output).doesNotContain("forcing Grid log level to FINE");
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void configureLoggingRaisesSeleniumLoggerEvenWithExternalJulConfigSet() {
+    // configureLogging() early-returns once an external java.util.logging.config.* property is
+    // detected, handing the rest of logging setup off entirely. Debug.configureLogger() must still
+    // run before that early return, or Selenium's own FINE-level wire diagnostics stay invisible
+    // under -Dselenium.debug=true whenever an operator has such a property set.
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+    String oldConfigFile = System.getProperty("java.util.logging.config.file");
+    System.setProperty("java.util.logging.config.file", "does-not-need-to-exist.properties");
+    try {
+      new LoggingOptions(emptyConfig()).configureLogging();
+
+      assertThat(Logger.getLogger("org.openqa.selenium").getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.FINE);
+    } finally {
+      if (oldConfigFile != null) {
+        System.setProperty("java.util.logging.config.file", oldConfigFile);
+      } else {
+        System.clearProperty("java.util.logging.config.file");
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void configureLoggingPreservesDebugHandlerWhenNoExternalJulConfigIsSet() {
+    // configureLogging() enumerates every registered logger and strips its handlers so Grid's own
+    // console setup starts from a clean slate. org.openqa.selenium stays registered throughout
+    // (Debug holds a strong static reference to it), so the handler Debug.configureLogger() just
+    // installed one line above used to get swept up in that too: removed before configureLogging()
+    // returned, leaving debug mode silently broken since Debug's bookkeeping has no way to learn
+    // its handler was removed out from under it.
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+
+    new LoggingOptions(emptyConfig()).configureLogging();
+
+    Logger seleniumLogger = Logger.getLogger("org.openqa.selenium");
+    Handler[] handlers = seleniumLogger.getHandlers();
+    assertThat(handlers).hasSize(1);
+    assertThat(handlers[0].getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.FINE);
+
+    LogRecord infoRecord = new LogRecord(Level.INFO, "info message");
+    LogRecord fineRecord = new LogRecord(Level.FINE, "fine message");
+    assertThat(handlers[0].isLoggable(infoRecord)).isFalse();
+    assertThat(handlers[0].isLoggable(fineRecord)).isTrue();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void configureLoggingDoesNotDuplicateSeleniumDebugRecordsWhenNoLogFileIsConfigured() {
+    // Debug.configureLogger() (called one line into configureLogging()) installs a handler
+    // directly on org.openqa.selenium that already prints FINE/CONFIG-range records to stderr --
+    // it never disables useParentHandlers, so those same records also propagate up to whatever
+    // handler(s) configureLogging() itself then attaches to the ROOT logger a few lines later.
+    // With no log-file configured, getOutputStream() defaults that root handler to System.out (no
+    // SE_DEBUG here) -- a different JUL handler/stream than Debug's stderr one, but the same
+    // visible destination in every realistic deployment (Grid's primary real-world usage is
+    // containerized, where the container log driver merges stdout+stderr into one stream a human
+    // actually reads), so nothing stopped a FINE record from org.openqa.selenium(.*) printing
+    // twice, once from each handler. INFO-and-above records must be unaffected -- Debug's own
+    // handler already excludes those, so they only ever reached Grid's root handler in the first
+    // place.
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+    String marker = "duplicate-check-" + UUID.randomUUID();
+
+    Captured captured =
+        captureStdOutAndErrDuring(
+            () -> {
+              new LoggingOptions(emptyConfig()).configureLogging();
+              Logger.getLogger("org.openqa.selenium.grid.log.LoggingOptionsTest").fine(marker);
+            });
+
+    // Debug's own handler on org.openqa.selenium must still print it -- unchanged behavior.
+    assertThat(captured.err()).contains(marker);
+    // Grid's root handler (defaulting to stdout here) must not ALSO print it.
+    assertThat(captured.out()).doesNotContain(marker);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void configureLoggingLetsSeleniumDebugRecordsReachAConfiguredLogFileAlongsideDebugsHandler()
+      throws IOException {
+    // A configured log-file is a destination genuinely separate from anything Debug touches --
+    // Debug's own handler always targets stderr (java.util.logging.ConsoleHandler's fixed
+    // target), regardless of Grid's own logging config. Suppressing FINE/CONFIG-range
+    // org.openqa.selenium records from that file the same way they're suppressed from the
+    // stdout/stderr default (above) would silently drop them from the operator's chosen sink and
+    // its plain/structured formatting -- worse than the duplicate this suppression exists to fix.
+    // Debug's stderr trace legitimately coexists with the file here; both must fire.
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+    Path logFile = Files.createTempFile("logging-options-test", ".log");
+    String marker = "log-file-check-" + UUID.randomUUID();
+    try {
+      String seleniumErr =
+          captureStderrDuring(
+              () -> {
+                new LoggingOptions(
+                        new MapConfig(
+                            Map.of(
+                                "logging",
+                                Map.of("log-file", logFile.toAbsolutePath().toString()))))
+                    .configureLogging();
+                Logger.getLogger("org.openqa.selenium.grid.log.LoggingOptionsTest").fine(marker);
+              });
+
+      assertThat(seleniumErr).contains(marker);
+      assertThat(Files.readString(logFile)).contains(marker);
+    } finally {
+      for (Handler handler : LogManager.getLogManager().getLogger("").getHandlers()) {
+        handler.close();
+      }
+      Files.deleteIfExists(logFile);
+    }
+  }
+
+  private static MapConfig emptyConfig() {
+    return new MapConfig(Map.of());
+  }
+
+  private static String captureStderrDuring(Runnable action) {
+    PrintStream originalErr = System.err;
+    ByteArrayOutputStream captured = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
+    try {
+      System.setErr(new PrintStream(captured));
+      action.run();
+    } finally {
+      System.setErr(originalErr);
+    }
+    return captured.toString();
+  }
+
+  private static Captured captureStdOutAndErrDuring(Runnable action) {
+    PrintStream originalOut = System.out;
+    PrintStream originalErr = System.err;
+    ByteArrayOutputStream capturedOut = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
+    ByteArrayOutputStream capturedErr = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
+    try {
+      System.setOut(new PrintStream(capturedOut));
+      System.setErr(new PrintStream(capturedErr));
+      action.run();
+    } finally {
+      System.setOut(originalOut);
+      System.setErr(originalErr);
+    }
+    return new Captured(capturedOut.toString(), capturedErr.toString());
+  }
+
+  /** Plain holder, not a record: this test target still compiles at source level 11. */
+  private static class Captured {
+    private final String out;
+    private final String err;
+
+    Captured(String out, String err) {
+      this.out = out;
+      this.err = err;
+    }
+
+    String out() {
+      return out;
+    }
+
+    String err() {
+      return err;
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/internal/DebugTest.java b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/internal/DebugTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..5f29e7bb6006f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/internal/DebugTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,331 @@
+// Licensed to the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) under one
+// or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+// distributed with this work for additional information
+// regarding copyright ownership.  The SFC licenses this file
+// to you 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.
+
+package org.openqa.selenium.internal;
+
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+
+import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
+import java.io.PrintStream;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.UUID;
+import java.util.logging.ConsoleHandler;
+import java.util.logging.Handler;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.LogRecord;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Tag;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+@Tag("UnitTests")
+class DebugTest {
+
+  /**
+   * The shared {@code org.openqa.selenium} logger whose state {@link Debug#configureLogger()}
+   * manages -- deliberately not this test class's own logger, because the behavior under test
+   * lives on the shared category.
+   */
+  private static Logger seleniumLogger() {
+    return Logger.getLogger("org.openqa.selenium");
+  }
+
+  private String oldDebugProperty;
+  private String oldVerboseProperty;
+  private Level oldLoggerLevel;
+
+  @BeforeEach
+  void storeSystemProperties() {
+    oldDebugProperty = System.getProperty("selenium.debug");
+    oldVerboseProperty = System.getProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
+    oldLoggerLevel = seleniumLogger().getLevel();
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
+  }
+
+  @AfterEach
+  void restoreSystemProperties() {
+    if (oldDebugProperty != null) {
+      System.setProperty("selenium.debug", oldDebugProperty);
+    } else {
+      System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    }
+    if (oldVerboseProperty != null) {
+      System.setProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose", oldVerboseProperty);
+    } else {
+      System.clearProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
+    }
+    // Re-sync configureLogger's internal state/handler with the now-restored properties so a
+    // handler installed by one test never leaks into the next.
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+    // A test may have changed the logger's level directly (simulating code other than Debug
+    // touching it); put it back exactly as found so tests stay isolated regardless of what
+    // configureLogger()'s own restore logic decided to do.
+    seleniumLogger().setLevel(oldLoggerLevel);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void isDebuggingReflectsPropertySetAfterClassLoad() {
+    assertThat(Debug.isDebugging()).isFalse();
+
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+
+    assertThat(Debug.isDebugging()).isTrue();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void isDebuggingHonoursTheLegacyVerboseProperty() {
+    assertThat(Debug.isDebugging()).isFalse();
+
+    System.setProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose", "true");
+
+    assertThat(Debug.isDebugging()).isTrue();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void configureLoggerRaisesSeleniumLoggerToFine() {
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+
+    assertThat(seleniumLogger().getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.FINE);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void configureLoggerDoesNotClobberALevelChangedWhileDebuggingWasOn() {
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+    assertThat(seleniumLogger().getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.FINE);
+
+    // Something other than Debug changes the level while debugging is still on -- e.g. the user's
+    // own logging config.
+    seleniumLogger().setLevel(Level.WARNING);
+
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+
+    // The externally-set WARNING must survive. Debug must not clobber it with the level that was
+    // ambient before IT turned debugging on -- that snapshot is stale the moment anything else
+    // changes the level in between.
+    assertThat(seleniumLogger().getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.WARNING);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void configureLoggerRestoresPreDebugLevelAndRemovesHandlerWhenTurnedOff() {
+    Level preDebugLevel = seleniumLogger().getLevel();
+    List<Handler> handlersBeforeDebug = new ArrayList<>(List.of(seleniumLogger().getHandlers()));
+
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+
+    List<Handler> handlersWhileDebugging = new ArrayList<>(List.of(seleniumLogger().getHandlers()));
+    handlersWhileDebugging.removeAll(handlersBeforeDebug);
+    assertThat(handlersWhileDebugging).hasSize(1);
+    Handler installedHandler = handlersWhileDebugging.get(0);
+
+    // No external override happens in between -- this is the plain turn-on/turn-off round trip.
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+
+    assertThat(seleniumLogger().getLevel()).isEqualTo(preDebugLevel);
+    assertThat(seleniumLogger().getHandlers()).doesNotContain(installedHandler);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void configureLoggerIsIdempotent() {
+    int before = seleniumLogger().getHandlers().length;
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+
+    for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
+      Debug.configureLogger();
+    }
+
+    assertThat(seleniumLogger().getHandlers().length - before).isEqualTo(1);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void configureLoggerLeavesUserHandlersAlone() {
+    Handler userHandler = new ConsoleHandler();
+    seleniumLogger().addHandler(userHandler);
+    try {
+      System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+      Debug.configureLogger();
+      assertThat(seleniumLogger().getHandlers()).contains(userHandler);
+
+      System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+      Debug.configureLogger();
+      assertThat(seleniumLogger().getHandlers()).contains(userHandler);
+    } finally {
+      seleniumLogger().removeHandler(userHandler);
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void infoRecordsAreNotDuplicatedWhenDebuggingIsEnabled() {
+    List<LogRecord> userHandlerRecords = new ArrayList<>();
+    Handler userHandler =
+        new Handler() {
+          @Override
+          public void publish(LogRecord record) {
+            userHandlerRecords.add(record);
+          }
+
+          @Override
+          public void flush() {}
+
+          @Override
+          public void close() {}
+        };
+    // Simulates a handler the caller already has attached directly to this logger (e.g. their
+    // own handler at INFO) that already prints INFO-and-above records on its own.
+    userHandler.setLevel(Level.INFO);
+    seleniumLogger().addHandler(userHandler);
+
+    boolean oldUseParentHandlers = seleniumLogger().getUseParentHandlers();
+    // Isolate this check to handlers attached directly to org.openqa.selenium. Propagation to the
+    // JVM's own root logger handler is a separate, legitimate print channel this test isn't
+    // about, and it would otherwise be indistinguishable from a real duplicate here.
+    seleniumLogger().setUseParentHandlers(false);
+
+    PrintStream originalErr = System.err;
+    ByteArrayOutputStream capturedErr = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
+    String marker = "duplicate-check-" + UUID.randomUUID();
+    try {
+      System.setErr(new PrintStream(capturedErr));
+      System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+      Debug.configureLogger();
+
+      seleniumLogger().log(Level.INFO, marker);
+      for (Handler handler : seleniumLogger().getHandlers()) {
+        handler.flush();
+      }
+    } finally {
+      System.setErr(originalErr);
+      seleniumLogger().setUseParentHandlers(oldUseParentHandlers);
+      seleniumLogger().removeHandler(userHandler);
+    }
+
+    // The caller's own handler must still see the record: Selenium never suppresses records for
+    // handlers it doesn't own.
+    assertThat(userHandlerRecords).extracting(LogRecord::getMessage).containsExactly(marker);
+    // Selenium's own handler must not ALSO print it to stderr -- otherwise the exact same line
+    // the caller's handler just printed would appear a second time, straight from Selenium's own
+    // console handler.
+    assertThat(capturedErr.toString()).doesNotContain(marker);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void configureLoggerDoesNotLowerAnAlreadyMoreVerboseLevel() {
+    // The application already asked for MORE verbosity than the debug switch provides, e.g. to
+    // see W3CHttpResponseCodec's FINER response-decoding diagnostics.
+    seleniumLogger().setLevel(Level.FINER);
+
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+    // Turning debug on must never make the logger LESS verbose than it already was.
+    assertThat(seleniumLogger().getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.FINER);
+
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+    assertThat(seleniumLogger().getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.FINER);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void configureLoggerDoesNotRestoreALevelItNeverChanged() {
+    seleniumLogger().setLevel(Level.FINER);
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+    Debug.configureLogger(); // debug on, level untouched (already more verbose than FINE)
+
+    // Something else deliberately drops verbosity to FINE while debugging is on.
+    seleniumLogger().setLevel(Level.FINE);
+
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+
+    // Debug never changed the level (it was already more verbose when debug turned on), so
+    // turning debug off must not "restore" a pre-debug snapshot it never took either.
+    assertThat(seleniumLogger().getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.FINE);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  @SuppressWarnings({"deprecation", "removal"})
+  void getDebugLogLevelStillReportsInfoWhileDeprecated() {
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+    assertThat(Debug.getDebugLogLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.INFO);
+
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    assertThat(Debug.getDebugLogLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.FINE);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void isHandledBySeleniumDebugHandlerReflectsActualHandlerInstallationNotLiveProperty() {
+    // isHandledBySeleniumDebugHandler() exists so a caller further up the logger hierarchy (e.g.
+    // Grid's root handler) can tell whether THIS handler will actually also print a given record,
+    // to avoid a duplicate. That question is about the handler's real, current installation
+    // state, not the live system property: a property change takes effect only once something
+    // calls configureLogger() again to react to it, and the two can genuinely diverge for however
+    // long that takes -- checking the live property instead would answer "yes, handled" the
+    // instant the property flips, even though the handler that must actually be there to back
+    // that answer hasn't been installed (or removed) yet.
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+    assertThat(Debug.isHandledBySeleniumDebugHandler("org.openqa.selenium", Level.FINE)).isTrue();
+
+    // The property flips off, but nothing has called configureLogger() again yet -- the handler
+    // installed above is still attached and will still print a FINE record published right now.
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    assertThat(Debug.isHandledBySeleniumDebugHandler("org.openqa.selenium", Level.FINE))
+        .as("the handler installed while debugging was on is still attached and still handling")
+        .isTrue();
+
+    // Only once configureLogger() actually reacts does the handler come off, and only then must
+    // callers stop treating this range as already handled.
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+    assertThat(Debug.isHandledBySeleniumDebugHandler("org.openqa.selenium", Level.FINE)).isFalse();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void isHandlerCurrentlyInstalledReflectsExternalHandlerRemoval() {
+    // isHandlerCurrentlyInstalled() must answer whether Debug's handler is REALLY still attached
+    // to org.openqa.selenium, not just whether Debug's own bookkeeping thinks it installed one and
+    // was never told otherwise. Something outside Debug entirely can remove that handler without
+    // going through configureLogger() -- e.g. LogManager.getLogManager().reset() (routine in
+    // embedding scenarios: Spring Boot's JavaLoggingSystem, a Log4j-JUL bridge, a container
+    // shutdown hook) or a direct removeHandler() call by unrelated code -- and Debug has no way to
+    // be told when that happens.
+    List<Handler> handlersBeforeDebug = new ArrayList<>(List.of(seleniumLogger().getHandlers()));
+
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+    assertThat(Debug.isHandlerCurrentlyInstalled()).isTrue();
+
+    List<Handler> handlersWhileDebugging = new ArrayList<>(List.of(seleniumLogger().getHandlers()));
+    handlersWhileDebugging.removeAll(handlersBeforeDebug);
+    assertThat(handlersWhileDebugging).hasSize(1);
+    Handler installedHandler = handlersWhileDebugging.get(0);
+
+    // Simulates the external-actor scenario: something other than Debug removes the handler
+    // directly, without ever calling configureLogger().
+    seleniumLogger().removeHandler(installedHandler);
+
+    assertThat(Debug.isHandlerCurrentlyInstalled())
+        .as("the handler was removed out from under Debug's bookkeeping by something else")
+        .isFalse();
+  }
+}
diff --git a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriverInitializationTest.java b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriverInitializationTest.java
index 5759b4f253ea8..25e4291499e5e 100644
--- a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriverInitializationTest.java
+++ b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebDriverInitializationTest.java
@@ -41,7 +41,12 @@
 import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.UUID;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
 import org.jspecify.annotations.NullMarked;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Tag;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import org.mockito.ArgumentCaptor;
@@ -49,6 +54,7 @@
 import org.openqa.selenium.ImmutableCapabilities;
 import org.openqa.selenium.Platform;
 import org.openqa.selenium.SessionNotCreatedException;
+import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
 import org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.ClientConfig;
 import org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.Contents;
 import org.openqa.selenium.remote.http.HttpClient;
@@ -58,7 +64,66 @@
 
 @Tag("UnitTests")
 class RemoteWebDriverInitializationTest {
+  /**
+   * The shared {@code org.openqa.selenium} logger that {@code Debug.configureLogger()} manages --
+   * deliberately not this test class's own logger, because the assertion is about the shared
+   * category's state.
+   */
+  private static Logger seleniumLogger() {
+    return Logger.getLogger("org.openqa.selenium");
+  }
+
   private boolean quitCalled = false;
+  private String oldDebugProperty;
+  // Legacy alias for selenium.debug -- Debug.isDebugging() honors either, so a test JVM that
+  // happens to have this set externally must not leak into the "no switch" baseline assertions.
+  private String oldVerboseProperty;
+  private Level oldLoggerLevel;
+
+  @BeforeEach
+  void storeDebugState() {
+    oldDebugProperty = System.getProperty("selenium.debug");
+    oldVerboseProperty = System.getProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
+    oldLoggerLevel = seleniumLogger().getLevel();
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
+  }
+
+  @AfterEach
+  void restoreDebugState() {
+    if (oldDebugProperty != null) {
+      System.setProperty("selenium.debug", oldDebugProperty);
+    } else {
+      System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    }
+    if (oldVerboseProperty != null) {
+      System.setProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose", oldVerboseProperty);
+    } else {
+      System.clearProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
+    }
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+    seleniumLogger().setLevel(oldLoggerLevel);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void constructingASecondDriverPicksUpADebugPropertyChangedAfterTheFirst() {
+    // A plain in-memory executor (no mocking framework): answers the single NEW_SESSION command
+    // each construction issues by echoing the requested capabilities back.
+    CommandExecutor inMemoryExecutor = command -> echoCapabilities.apply(command);
+
+    // First construction: touches (and, the first time in this JVM, initializes) the class while
+    // debugging is off -- exercises the static initializer with nothing to react to yet.
+    new RemoteWebDriver(inMemoryExecutor, new ImmutableCapabilities());
+
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+
+    // Second construction, after the property changed. The class's static initializer already
+    // ran once and won't run again, so picking this up can only be the canonical constructor's
+    // own call to Debug.configureLogger().
+    new RemoteWebDriver(inMemoryExecutor, new ImmutableCapabilities());
+
+    assertThat(seleniumLogger().getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.FINE);
+  }
 
   @Test
   void testQuitsIfStartSessionFails() {
@@ -155,6 +220,29 @@ && singleton(capabilities)
     assertThat(driver.getSessionId()).isNotNull();
   }
 
+  @Test
+  void constructorTreatsNullCapabilitiesAsEmptyCapabilities() {
+    // Javadoc on the canonical constructor promises "null is treated as an empty set of
+    // capabilities" -- verify startSession() actually receives the coalesced empty
+    // ImmutableCapabilities, not the raw null parameter, and that this does not NPE.
+    // A plain in-memory executor (no mocking framework): records the single NEW_SESSION command
+    // this construction issues, then answers it by echoing the requested capabilities back.
+    AtomicReference<Command> sentCommand = new AtomicReference<>();
+    CommandExecutor executor =
+        command -> {
+          sentCommand.set(command);
+          return echoCapabilities.apply(command);
+        };
+
+    RemoteWebDriver driver = new RemoteWebDriver(executor, null);
+
+    assertThat(sentCommand.get().getName()).isEqualTo(DriverCommand.NEW_SESSION);
+    assertThat(sentCommand.get().getSessionId()).isNull();
+    assertThat(sentCommand.get().getParameters().get("capabilities"))
+        .isEqualTo(singleton(new ImmutableCapabilities()));
+    assertThat(driver.getSessionId()).isNotNull();
+  }
+
   @Test
   void canHandlePlatformNameCapability() {
     WebDriverFixture fixture =
diff --git a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/remote/http/RetryRequestTest.java b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/remote/http/RetryRequestTest.java
index aec6358cdf088..a998446be01f9 100644
--- a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/remote/http/RetryRequestTest.java
+++ b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/remote/http/RetryRequestTest.java
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.Future;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
+import java.util.logging.Handler;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.LogRecord;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import org.openqa.selenium.TimeoutException;
@@ -339,6 +343,66 @@ void shouldRethrowOnConnectFailure() {
     assertThat(count).hasValue(4);
   }
 
+  @Test
+  void retryLogsAtWarningRegardlessOfDebugToggle() {
+    // RetryRequest no longer varies its own report level with the debug switch (that was the
+    // deprecated getDebugLogLevel() dance, migrated away as part of #17835) -- it always logs at
+    // WARNING, since a connection-failure/server-error retry is an operationally significant,
+    // actionable event (bounded to a handful of attempts by RETRIES_ON_CONNECTION_FAILURE /
+    // RETRIES_ON_SERVER_ERROR), not routine diagnostics that should require debug mode to see. Lock
+    // in that invariant on both sides of the switch instead of the pre-migration toggle behavior.
+    HttpHandler handler =
+        new RetryRequest().andFinally(request -> new HttpResponse().setStatus(HTTP_UNAVAILABLE));
+
+    Logger log = Logger.getLogger(RetryRequest.class.getName());
+    List<LogRecord> records = new ArrayList<>();
+    Handler capture =
+        new Handler() {
+          @Override
+          public void publish(LogRecord record) {
+            records.add(record);
+          }
+
+          @Override
+          public void flush() {}
+
+          @Override
+          public void close() {}
+        };
+    capture.setLevel(Level.ALL);
+    Level oldLevel = log.getLevel();
+    String oldDebugProperty = System.getProperty("selenium.debug");
+    String oldVerboseProperty = System.getProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
+    log.setLevel(Level.ALL);
+    log.addHandler(capture);
+    try {
+      System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+      handler.execute(new HttpRequest(GET, "/"));
+      assertThat(records).isNotEmpty();
+      assertThat(records).allSatisfy(r -> assertThat(r.getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.WARNING));
+
+      records.clear();
+      System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+      System.clearProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
+      handler.execute(new HttpRequest(GET, "/"));
+      assertThat(records).isNotEmpty();
+      assertThat(records).allSatisfy(r -> assertThat(r.getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.WARNING));
+    } finally {
+      if (oldDebugProperty != null) {
+        System.setProperty("selenium.debug", oldDebugProperty);
+      } else {
+        System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+      }
+      if (oldVerboseProperty != null) {
+        System.setProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose", oldVerboseProperty);
+      } else {
+        System.clearProperty("selenium.webdriver.verbose");
+      }
+      log.removeHandler(capture);
+      log.setLevel(oldLevel);
+    }
+  }
+
   @Test
   void shouldDeliverUnmodifiedServerErrors() {
     AtomicInteger count = new AtomicInteger(0);
diff --git a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/remote/service/DriverFinderTest.java b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/remote/service/DriverFinderTest.java
index 6a89fbb5176c9..6dcfebc3449ea 100644
--- a/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/remote/service/DriverFinderTest.java
+++ b/java/test/org/openqa/selenium/remote/service/DriverFinderTest.java
@@ -33,6 +33,9 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Tag;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
@@ -42,6 +45,7 @@
 import org.openqa.selenium.Proxy;
 import org.openqa.selenium.Proxy.ProxyType;
 import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ElectronOptions;
+import org.openqa.selenium.internal.Debug;
 import org.openqa.selenium.manager.SeleniumManager;
 import org.openqa.selenium.manager.SeleniumManagerOutput.Result;
 import uk.org.webcompere.systemstubs.environment.EnvironmentVariables;
@@ -65,6 +69,85 @@ void createMocks() {
     when(service.getDriverName()).thenReturn("driverName");
   }
 
+  /**
+   * The shared {@code org.openqa.selenium} logger that {@code Debug.configureLogger()} manages --
+   * deliberately not this test class's own logger, because the assertion is about the shared
+   * category's state.
+   */
+  private static Logger seleniumLogger() {
+    return Logger.getLogger("org.openqa.selenium");
+  }
+
+  private String oldDebugProperty;
+  private Level oldLoggerLevel;
+
+  @BeforeEach
+  void storeDebugState() {
+    oldDebugProperty = System.getProperty("selenium.debug");
+    oldLoggerLevel = seleniumLogger().getLevel();
+    System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+  }
+
+  @AfterEach
+  void restoreDebugState() {
+    if (oldDebugProperty != null) {
+      System.setProperty("selenium.debug", oldDebugProperty);
+    } else {
+      System.clearProperty("selenium.debug");
+    }
+    Debug.configureLogger();
+    seleniumLogger().setLevel(oldLoggerLevel);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void secondDiscoveryPicksUpADebugPropertyChangedAfterTheFirst() throws IOException {
+    // A small in-memory DriverService (no mocking framework): this test makes no verify()/
+    // interaction assertions on the service, only on the shared org.openqa.selenium logger's
+    // level, so it doesn't need Mockito's machinery -- matching the pattern already applied
+    // elsewhere on this PR (e.g. RemoteWebDriverInitializationTest, commit 31ea2ca102).
+    DriverService inMemoryService = new InMemoryDriverService(driverFile);
+    Capabilities capabilities = new ImmutableCapabilities("browserName", "chrome");
+
+    // First discovery while debugging is off -- nothing for configureLogger to react to.
+    new DriverFinder(inMemoryService, capabilities).getDriverPath();
+
+    System.setProperty("selenium.debug", "true");
+
+    // Second discovery after the property changed. No RemoteWebDriver constructor is involved
+    // (this is also the only coverage InternetExplorerDriver's discovery path gets), so only
+    // getBinaryPaths' own Debug.configureLogger() call can pick this up.
+    new DriverFinder(inMemoryService, capabilities).getDriverPath();
+
+    assertThat(seleniumLogger().getLevel()).isEqualTo(Level.FINE);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Minimal real {@link DriverService}: {@link #getExecutable()} answers straight from the
+   * constructor-set path (inherited, not overridden), {@link #getDriverName()} returns a fixed
+   * name, and the two abstract accessors throw since {@code getBinaryPaths()} never reaches them
+   * once {@link #getExecutable()} already resolves a path.
+   */
+  private static class InMemoryDriverService extends DriverService {
+    InMemoryDriverService(Path driverFile) throws IOException {
+      super(driverFile.toFile(), 0, DEFAULT_TIMEOUT, null, null);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getDriverName() {
+      return "driverName";
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String getDriverProperty() {
+      throw new UnsupportedOperationException("getDriverProperty");
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getDriverEnvironmentVariable() {
+      throw new UnsupportedOperationException("getDriverEnvironmentVariable");
+    }
+  }
+
   @Test
   void serviceValueIgnoresSeleniumManager() {
     when(service.getExecutable()).thenReturn(driverFile.toString());