diff --git a/screen_locker/_phone_verification.py b/screen_locker/_phone_verification.py
index 6d5d6d2..513632f 100644
--- a/screen_locker/_phone_verification.py
+++ b/screen_locker/_phone_verification.py
@@ -257,16 +257,17 @@ class PhoneVerificationMixin:
     def _is_workout_finish_recent(self, db_path: Path) -> bool:
         """Check if the latest workout's finish time is recent.
 
-        A fresh workout should have finished within the last few hours.
-        This prevents using an old pre-prepared database dump.
+        A fresh workout should have finished within the last 24 hours.
+        This prevents using an old pre-prepared database dump while
+        still accepting workouts done earlier the same day.
 
         Args:
             db_path: Path to the locally-pulled StrongLifts database.
 
         Returns:
-            True if the latest finish time is within 4 hours of now.
+            True if the latest finish time is within 24 hours of now.
         """
-        max_age_seconds = 4 * 3600
+        max_age_seconds = 24 * 3600
         try:
             conn = sqlite3.connect(str(db_path))
             try:
diff --git a/screen_locker/screen_lock.py b/screen_locker/screen_lock.py
index ee605ca..adb9569 100755
--- a/screen_locker/screen_lock.py
+++ b/screen_locker/screen_lock.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ from python_pkg.screen_locker._constants import (
     STRONGLIFTS_DB_REMOTE,
 )
 from python_pkg.screen_locker._log_integrity import (
+    _load_hmac_key,
     compute_entry_hmac,
     verify_entry_hmac,
 )
@@ -296,10 +297,15 @@ class ScreenLocker(
             entry = logs.get(today)
             if entry is None:
                 return False
-            if not verify_entry_hmac(entry):
-                _logger.warning("HMAC verification failed for today's log entry")
-                return False
-            return True
+            if verify_entry_hmac(entry):
+                return True
+            if _load_hmac_key() is None and "hmac" not in entry:
+                _logger.info(
+                    "HMAC key unavailable — accepting unsigned entry",
+                )
+                return True
+            _logger.warning("HMAC verification failed for today's log entry")
+            return False
 
     def _load_existing_logs(self) -> dict:
         """Load existing workout logs from file."""