diff --git a/src/MessageStore.cpp b/src/MessageStore.cpp
index 58db110ce..6bb20c368 100644
--- a/src/MessageStore.cpp
+++ b/src/MessageStore.cpp
@@ -114,34 +114,19 @@ const StoredMessage &MessageStore::addFromPacket(const meshtastic_MeshPacket &pa
     sm.textOffset = storeTextInPool(payload, len);
     sm.textLength = len;
 
+    // Determine sender
     uint32_t localNode = nodeDB->getNodeNum();
     sm.sender = (packet.from == 0) ? localNode : packet.from;
-    sm.dest = packet.decoded.dest;
 
-    // DM detection: use decoded.dest if valid, otherwise fallback to header 'to'
-    bool isDM = false;
-    uint32_t actualDest = sm.dest;
+    sm.dest = packet.to;
 
-    if (actualDest == 0 || actualDest == 0xffffffff) {
-        actualDest = packet.to;
-    }
+    bool isDM = (sm.dest != 0 && sm.dest != NODENUM_BROADCAST);
 
-    if (actualDest != 0 && actualDest != NODENUM_BROADCAST && actualDest == localNode) {
-        isDM = true;
-    }
-
-    // Incoming vs outgoing classification
     if (packet.from == 0) {
-        // Sent by us
         sm.type = isDM ? MessageType::DM_TO_US : MessageType::BROADCAST;
         sm.ackStatus = AckStatus::NONE;
     } else {
-        // Received from another node
-        if (isDM) {
-            sm.type = MessageType::DM_TO_US;
-        } else {
-            sm.type = MessageType::BROADCAST;
-        }
+        sm.type = isDM ? MessageType::DM_TO_US : MessageType::BROADCAST;
         sm.ackStatus = AckStatus::ACKED;
     }
 
@@ -162,11 +147,11 @@ void MessageStore::addFromString(uint32_t sender, uint8_t channelIndex, const st
     sm.textOffset = storeTextInPool(text.c_str(), text.size());
     sm.textLength = text.size();
 
-    // Default manual adds to broadcast
-    sm.dest = NODENUM_BROADCAST;
-    sm.type = MessageType::BROADCAST;
+    // Use the provided destination
+    sm.dest = sender;
+    sm.type = MessageType::DM_TO_US;
 
-    // Outgoing messages start as NONE until ACK/NACK arrives
+    // Outgoing messages always start with unknown ack status
     sm.ackStatus = AckStatus::NONE;
 
     addLiveMessage(sm);
diff --git a/src/graphics/draw/MessageRenderer.cpp b/src/graphics/draw/MessageRenderer.cpp
index 671d66f90..fc66a3337 100644
--- a/src/graphics/draw/MessageRenderer.cpp
+++ b/src/graphics/draw/MessageRenderer.cpp
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ void drawTextMessageFrame(OLEDDisplay *display, OLEDDisplayUiState *state, int16
                 include = true;
             break;
         case ThreadMode::DIRECT:
-            if (m.type == MessageType::DM_TO_US && (m.sender == currentPeer || m.dest == currentPeer))
+            if (m.dest != NODENUM_BROADCAST && (m.sender == currentPeer || m.dest == currentPeer))
                 include = true;
             break;
         }
@@ -846,15 +846,6 @@ void handleNewMessage(const StoredMessage &sm, const meshtastic_MeshPacket &pack
                     snprintf(contextBuf, sizeof(contextBuf), "in #%s", cname);
                 else
                     snprintf(contextBuf, sizeof(contextBuf), "in Ch%d", sm.channelIndex);
-            } else if (sm.type == MessageType::DM_TO_US) {
-                /* Commenting out to better understand if we need this info in the banner
-                uint32_t peer = (packet.from == 0) ? sm.dest : sm.sender;
-                const meshtastic_NodeInfoLite *peerNode = nodeDB->getMeshNode(peer);
-                if (peerNode && peerNode->has_user && peerNode->user.short_name)
-                    snprintf(contextBuf, sizeof(contextBuf), "Direct: @%s", peerNode->user.short_name);
-                else
-                    snprintf(contextBuf, sizeof(contextBuf), "Direct Message");
-                */
             }
 
             if (contextBuf[0]) {
@@ -892,12 +883,11 @@ void handleNewMessage(const StoredMessage &sm, const meshtastic_MeshPacket &pack
 
 void setThreadFor(const StoredMessage &sm, const meshtastic_MeshPacket &packet)
 {
-    if (sm.dest == NODENUM_BROADCAST || sm.type == MessageType::BROADCAST) {
-        // Broadcast
+    if (packet.to == 0 || packet.to == NODENUM_BROADCAST) {
         setThreadMode(ThreadMode::CHANNEL, sm.channelIndex);
     } else {
-        // Direct message
-        uint32_t peer = (packet.from != 0) ? sm.sender : sm.dest;
+        uint32_t localNode = nodeDB->getNodeNum();
+        uint32_t peer = (sm.sender == localNode) ? packet.to : sm.sender;
         setThreadMode(ThreadMode::DIRECT, -1, peer);
     }
 }