diff --git a/gittensor/validator/oss_contributions/mirror/scoring.py b/gittensor/validator/oss_contributions/mirror/scoring.py
index f0256434..ba16ac35 100644
--- a/gittensor/validator/oss_contributions/mirror/scoring.py
+++ b/gittensor/validator/oss_contributions/mirror/scoring.py
@@ -133,6 +133,13 @@ async def score_pr(
     has_fixed_base = repo_config.fixed_base_score is not None
     scoring_cfg = resolve_scoring(repo_config.scoring)
 
+    # Repo attribution for a merged PR must not depend on this round's mirror
+    # file-fetch outcome (pending backfill, transient fetch error, empty diff) —
+    # those are normal transient states, not a property of the PR itself. Set
+    # this before any early return below. See #1616.
+    if pr.state == 'MERGED':
+        eval_.unique_repos_contributed_to.add(pr.repo_full_name)
+
     # Mirror signals it has no stored files for this PR (pending backfill, in-flight
     # file job, etc.) — skip the round trip unless the repo explicitly supplies
     # a fixed base score.
@@ -182,10 +189,8 @@ async def score_pr(
 
     _calculate_pr_multipliers(scored, repo_config, scoring_cfg)
 
-    if pr.state == 'MERGED':
-        eval_.unique_repos_contributed_to.add(pr.repo_full_name)
-        # Token totals are aggregated later in finalize_miner_scores; this
-        # function only sets per-PR state.
+    # Token totals are aggregated later in finalize_miner_scores; this
+    # function only sets per-PR state.
 
 
 # ============================================================================
diff --git a/tests/validator/oss_contributions/mirror/test_scoring.py b/tests/validator/oss_contributions/mirror/test_scoring.py
index 10160023..697c6212 100644
--- a/tests/validator/oss_contributions/mirror/test_scoring.py
+++ b/tests/validator/oss_contributions/mirror/test_scoring.py
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 
 import pytest
 
+classes_module = pytest.importorskip('gittensor.classes')
+client_module = pytest.importorskip('gittensor.utils.mirror.client')
 scoring_module = pytest.importorskip(
     'gittensor.validator.oss_contributions.mirror.scoring',
     reason='Requires gittensor mirror subpackage',
@@ -46,6 +48,8 @@
 MirrorLinkedIssue = mirror_models.MirrorLinkedIssue
 MirrorFile = mirror_models.MirrorFile
 RepositoryConfig = load_weights.RepositoryConfig
+MinerEvaluation = classes_module.MinerEvaluation
+MirrorRequestError = client_module.MirrorRequestError
 
 
 def _pr(
@@ -383,6 +387,91 @@ def test_fixed_base_score_scores_without_stored_files(self):
         assert scored.base_score == pytest.approx(7.5)
 
 
+class TestUniqueReposContributedTo:
+    """A MERGED PR must count toward eval_.unique_repos_contributed_to regardless of
+    this round's mirror file-fetch outcome — see #1616."""
+
+    def _eval(self) -> MinerEvaluation:
+        return MinerEvaluation(uid=1, hotkey='5F' + 'a' * 46)
+
+    def test_counts_when_scoring_data_not_stored(self):
+        scored = ScoredPR(pr=_pr(state='MERGED'))
+        scored.pr.scoring_data_stored = False
+        eval_ = self._eval()
+        client = Mock()
+
+        asyncio.run(
+            score_pr(
+                scored,
+                eval_=eval_,
+                master_repositories={scored.pr.repo_full_name: _config()},
+                programming_languages={},
+                token_config=Mock(),
+                client=client,
+            )
+        )
+
+        client.get_pr_files.assert_not_called()
+        assert scored.pr.repo_full_name in eval_.unique_repos_contributed_to
+
+    def test_counts_when_mirror_fetch_fails(self):
+        scored = ScoredPR(pr=_pr(state='MERGED'))
+        eval_ = self._eval()
+        client = Mock()
+        client.get_pr_files.side_effect = MirrorRequestError('mirror unavailable')
+
+        asyncio.run(
+            score_pr(
+                scored,
+                eval_=eval_,
+                master_repositories={scored.pr.repo_full_name: _config()},
+                programming_languages={},
+                token_config=Mock(),
+                client=client,
+            )
+        )
+
+        assert scored.pr.repo_full_name in eval_.unique_repos_contributed_to
+
+    def test_counts_when_no_files_returned(self):
+        scored = ScoredPR(pr=_pr(state='MERGED'))
+        eval_ = self._eval()
+        client = Mock()
+        client.get_pr_files.return_value.files = []
+
+        asyncio.run(
+            score_pr(
+                scored,
+                eval_=eval_,
+                master_repositories={scored.pr.repo_full_name: _config()},
+                programming_languages={},
+                token_config=Mock(),
+                client=client,
+            )
+        )
+
+        assert scored.pr.repo_full_name in eval_.unique_repos_contributed_to
+
+    def test_not_counted_for_closed_pr(self):
+        scored = ScoredPR(pr=_pr(state='CLOSED'))
+        scored.pr.scoring_data_stored = False
+        eval_ = self._eval()
+        client = Mock()
+
+        asyncio.run(
+            score_pr(
+                scored,
+                eval_=eval_,
+                master_repositories={scored.pr.repo_full_name: _config()},
+                programming_languages={},
+                token_config=Mock(),
+                client=client,
+            )
+        )
+
+        assert scored.pr.repo_full_name not in eval_.unique_repos_contributed_to
+
+
 class TestFixedBaseScore:
     def test_fixed_base_replaces_token_base_but_keeps_token_breakdown_and_multipliers(self, monkeypatch):
         scored = ScoredPR(pr=_pr(labels=[{'name': 'feature', 'actor_github_id': '1', 'actor_association': 'OWNER'}]))