diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3ee0277..2e31997 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -24,6 +24,48 @@ and this file MUST be updated together whenever `__version__` changes.
 
 ---
 
+## [0.8.0-dev7] — :AFFECTS edge resolution + target/subject consistency
+
+Second small polish to the dev5 pipeline, surfaced by deployment
+verification. The dev5 deploy produced 31 `:ReflexEvent` nodes (real
+data, including 28 from Meraki MS switches after the dev6 fix landed),
+but none of them connected to their `:Device` nodes via `:AFFECTS`.
+
+Root cause: the `link_down` handler was preferring `payload["device_id"]`
+over `payload["device"]`, which produced targets like
+`'meraki:Q4CD-Y6FW-EKVS|Port 9'` — a Neo4j node-id form that no Device
+node had as its `name` or `platform_id`.
+
+### Changed
+- `link_down` handler now prefers `payload["device"]` (human name) over
+  `payload["device_id"]` so the target string matches the subject token
+  built by the publisher. Falls back to `device_id` when `device` is
+  absent (legacy publishers, traps).
+- `Neo4jReflexEventSink._merge_reflex_event_tx` AFFECTS-edge MATCH now
+  resolves devices on three identifiers: `d.name`, `d.platform_id`,
+  AND `d.id` — the latter catches node-id-form targets if a future
+  publisher emits them.
+
+### Tests
+- Two new cases in `tests/reflex/test_handlers.py` covering both
+  ordering preferences (device > device_id, fallback when device absent).
+
+### Operational note
+After deploying, new `:ReflexEvent` nodes will get `:AFFECTS` edges to
+their devices. The 31 existing nodes can be backfilled with this
+Cypher once dev7 is live:
+
+```cypher
+MATCH (e:ReflexEvent) WHERE NOT (e)-[:AFFECTS]->(:Device)
+WITH e, split(e.target, '|')[0] AS device_key
+MATCH (d:Device)
+WHERE d.name = device_key OR d.platform_id = device_key OR d.id = device_key
+MERGE (e)-[:AFFECTS]->(d)
+RETURN count(*) AS backfilled
+```
+
+---
+
 ## [0.8.0-dev6] — Sanitize whitespace in NATS subject target parts
 
 Hot-fix to dev5, caught within seconds of the dev5 deploy on
diff --git a/netcortex/__init__.py b/netcortex/__init__.py
index 6536f62..75abd62 100644
--- a/netcortex/__init__.py
+++ b/netcortex/__init__.py
@@ -22,4 +22,4 @@
 ``CHANGELOG.md`` MUST be kept in sync whenever ``__version__`` changes.
 """
 
-__version__ = "0.8.0-dev6"
+__version__ = "0.8.0-dev7"
diff --git a/netcortex/episodic/reflex_event_sink.py b/netcortex/episodic/reflex_event_sink.py
index 6760108..bdaae96 100644
--- a/netcortex/episodic/reflex_event_sink.py
+++ b/netcortex/episodic/reflex_event_sink.py
@@ -302,10 +302,20 @@ async def _merge_reflex_event_tx(tx: Any, props: dict[str, Any], device_name: st
         # Best-effort AFFECTS edge. We MATCH-only (not MERGE) the device
         # so we don't create stub nodes from a typo'd device name in a
         # reflex event — the live state graph stays canonical.
+        #
+        # We match on three identifiers: human name, platform_id (vendor
+        # serial / network id), and node id. The dev6 deploy revealed that
+        # SNMP-sourced events sometimes carry the node-id form
+        # (e.g. ``meraki:Q4CD-Y6FW-EKVS``) as the device half of the
+        # target. Adding ``d.id`` to the OR catches those without needing
+        # the publisher to know which form Neo4j keyed the device on.
         await tx.run(
             """
             MATCH (e:ReflexEvent {id: $event_id})
-            MATCH (d:Device) WHERE d.name = $device_name OR d.platform_id = $device_name
+            MATCH (d:Device)
+            WHERE d.name = $device_name
+               OR d.platform_id = $device_name
+               OR d.id = $device_name
             MERGE (e)-[:AFFECTS]->(d)
             """,
             event_id=event_id,
diff --git a/netcortex/reflex/handlers/link_down.py b/netcortex/reflex/handlers/link_down.py
index 3b22b58..f0faeed 100644
--- a/netcortex/reflex/handlers/link_down.py
+++ b/netcortex/reflex/handlers/link_down.py
@@ -57,9 +57,16 @@ async def handle(
         event_class, source, _target_from_subject = parse_sensory_subject(
             event.subject
         )
+        # Prefer the human-readable device name when present so the target
+        # string matches the subject token built by the publisher (which
+        # also uses the name). Falling back to device_id is fine for graph
+        # lookups — the Neo4j sink matches on both Device.name and
+        # Device.id when wiring the :AFFECTS edge. Caught in the dev6
+        # deploy: handler was preferring device_id, producing targets like
+        # 'meraki:Q4CD-Y6FW-EKVS|Port 9' that no devices were named.
         device = (
-            payload.get("device_id")
-            or payload.get("device")
+            payload.get("device")
+            or payload.get("device_id")
             or payload.get("target")
         )
         interface = payload.get("interface") or payload.get("if_name")
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 1d68e86..f04fcea 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "netcortex"
-version = "0.8.0.dev6"
+version = "0.8.0.dev7"
 description = "The intelligence layer for your network — multi-dimensional graph of the network bridging Meraki, Catalyst Center, Intersight, and more with NetBox as SoT"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.12"
diff --git a/tests/reflex/test_handlers.py b/tests/reflex/test_handlers.py
index 5661841..3852ce5 100644
--- a/tests/reflex/test_handlers.py
+++ b/tests/reflex/test_handlers.py
@@ -101,6 +101,49 @@ async def test_link_down_extracts_device_and_interface() -> None:
     assert outcome.outcome == "logged"
 
 
+async def test_link_down_prefers_device_over_device_id() -> None:
+    """Caught in the dev6 deploy verification: when both ``device`` (human
+    name) and ``device_id`` (Neo4j node id) are present in the payload,
+    the handler must prefer ``device`` so the target string matches the
+    subject token built by the publisher.
+
+    Concretely: the SNMP publisher emits
+    ``sensory.link_down.snmp_poll.cpn-nash-ms130-1|Port_9`` (subject) with
+    payload ``{device: 'cpn-nash-ms130-1', device_id: 'meraki:Q4CD-...'}``.
+    If the handler picks ``device_id``, the resulting target is
+    ``'meraki:Q4CD-...|Port 9'`` which doesn't line up with the subject
+    and confuses the AFFECTS edge resolver in the Neo4j sink.
+    """
+    h = get_handler("link_down")
+    outcome = await h.handle(
+        _event(
+            "sensory.link_down.snmp_poll.cpn-nash-ms130-1|Port_9",
+            {
+                "device": "cpn-nash-ms130-1",
+                "device_id": "meraki:Q4CD-Y6FW-EKVS",
+                "interface": "Port 9",
+            },
+        ),
+        _empty_ctx(),
+    )
+    assert outcome is not None
+    assert outcome.target == "cpn-nash-ms130-1|Port 9"
+
+
+async def test_link_down_falls_back_to_device_id_when_device_absent() -> None:
+    """When only ``device_id`` is supplied (legacy publishers, traps), use it."""
+    h = get_handler("link_down")
+    outcome = await h.handle(
+        _event(
+            "sensory.link_down.snmp_trap.r1",
+            {"device_id": "r1", "interface": "Gi0/1"},
+        ),
+        _empty_ctx(),
+    )
+    assert outcome is not None
+    assert outcome.target == "r1|Gi0/1"
+
+
 async def test_link_down_handles_missing_target_field() -> None:
     """No device field at all — outcome.target is None."""
     h = get_handler("link_down")