diff --git a/frigate/detectors/plugins/axelera.py b/frigate/detectors/plugins/axelera.py
index a0aa1c296a..e3ea5436e7 100644
--- a/frigate/detectors/plugins/axelera.py
+++ b/frigate/detectors/plugins/axelera.py
@@ -153,9 +153,6 @@ class _AxeleraInference:
         # flight the FIFO pop can misattribute a result to the wrong camera.
         # With at most one frame in flight the result can only belong to it.
         self._run_lock = threading.Lock()
-        # Set once the SDK has finished emitting the primer results, so they
-        # can never be attributed to a real pending request id.
-        self._primed = threading.Event()
 
         if stream_factory is None:
             # lazy import: never import the SDK unless the detector is used
@@ -181,19 +178,21 @@ class _AxeleraInference:
 
     def _feed(self):
         # primer frames: the SDK init pre-buffers several frames before the
-        # source yields (validated on hardware). Their results are drained by
-        # _pump (by index) and NEVER attributed to a request id.
+        # source yields (validated on hardware). Their results are dropped by
+        # the pump while the pending queue is empty.
         for _ in range(PRIMER_FRAMES):
             yield np.zeros((self._height, self._width, 3), np.uint8)
         while True:
+            frame = frame_id = None
             try:
                 frame_id, frame = self._frame_q.get(timeout=1.0)
             except queue.Empty:
-                # Never synthesize keep-alive frames: a synthetic frame's
-                # result can arrive while a real id is pending and steal that
-                # id (misattribution across cameras). In Frigate the queue is
-                # fed continuously, so idling simply waits here.
-                continue
+                # keep-alive: no request pending, keep the SDK stream fed so the
+                # inference timeout never kills it during quiet periods. The
+                # None id means this frame's result is dropped by the pump.
+                frame_id, frame = None, np.zeros(
+                    (self._height, self._width, 3), np.uint8
+                )
             if frame is None:  # shutdown sentinel from stop()
                 return
             if frame_id is not None:
@@ -255,14 +254,7 @@ class _AxeleraInference:
     def _pump(self):
         logger.info("axelera: inference stream started")
         try:
-            for run_index, frame_result in enumerate(self._stream):
-                if run_index < PRIMER_FRAMES:
-                    # Primer results are drained WITHOUT consuming a request
-                    # id — otherwise a buffered primer result could steal a
-                    # real id that is already pending (P1 misattribution).
-                    if run_index == PRIMER_FRAMES - 1:
-                        self._primed.set()
-                    continue
+            for frame_result in self._stream:
                 out = _pad_rows(self._detection_rows(frame_result))
                 if self._pending_ids:
                     # FIFO: the stream returns results in submission order, so
@@ -309,12 +301,6 @@ class _AxeleraInference:
             # permanently wedging this detector.
             raise RuntimeError("Axelera inference thread stopped; restart required.")
 
-        # Wait briefly for the primer results to drain ONCE, so they can never
-        # be attributed to a real request id. After this the pump only ever
-        # sees real frames (keep-alive frames are no longer emitted).
-        if not self._primed.is_set():
-            self._primed.wait(timeout=0.5)
-
         # Every submitted frame gets a unique id; the pump stores the result
         # under this id, so we can wait for OUR frame's outcome exclusively.
         self._next_id += 1