diff --git a/core/storage/local/deviceid_unix.go b/core/storage/local/deviceid_unix.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..42e7dac70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/storage/local/deviceid_unix.go
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+//go:build !windows
+
+package local
+
+import (
+	"io/fs"
+	"syscall"
+)
+
+// deviceID identifies the filesystem a file lives on, used to key birth time support per mount.
+// It is returned opaquely because its width varies by platform, and it is only used as a map key.
+func deviceID(fi fs.FileInfo) (any, bool) {
+	st, ok := fi.Sys().(*syscall.Stat_t)
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+	return st.Dev, true
+}
diff --git a/core/storage/local/deviceid_windows.go b/core/storage/local/deviceid_windows.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f1b44be4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/storage/local/deviceid_windows.go
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+//go:build windows
+
+package local
+
+import "io/fs"
+
+// deviceID has no Windows equivalent, and none is needed: birth time comes straight from FileInfo.
+func deviceID(fs.FileInfo) (any, bool) { return nil, false }
diff --git a/core/storage/local/local.go b/core/storage/local/local.go
index 32aff0955..686838565 100644
--- a/core/storage/local/local.go
+++ b/core/storage/local/local.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"net/url"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
 
@@ -61,6 +62,8 @@ type localFS struct {
 	fs.FS
 	extractor Extractor
 	root      string
+	// devices whose statx never reports a birth time (NFS, rclone/FUSE), so we ask each only once
+	noBirthTime sync.Map
 }
 
 // ResolveSymlink implements storage.SymlinkResolverFS. It resolves the whole chain at the
@@ -84,7 +87,11 @@ func (lfs *localFS) ReadTags(path ...string) (map[string]metadata.Info, error) {
 			if err != nil {
 				return nil, err
 			}
-			v.FileInfo = localFileInfo{info}
+			v.FileInfo = localFileInfo{
+				FileInfo:    info,
+				path:        filepath.Join(lfs.root, filepath.FromSlash(path)),
+				noBirthTime: &lfs.noBirthTime,
+			}
 			res[path] = v
 		}
 	}
@@ -95,15 +102,46 @@ func (lfs *localFS) ReadTags(path ...string) (map[string]metadata.Info, error) {
 // with metadata.FileInfo
 type localFileInfo struct {
 	fs.FileInfo
+	path        string
+	noBirthTime *sync.Map
 }
 
 func (lfi localFileInfo) BirthTime() time.Time {
 	if ts := times.Get(lfi.FileInfo); ts.HasBirthTime() {
 		return ts.BirthTime()
 	}
+	if bt, ok := lfi.statxBirthTime(); ok {
+		return bt
+	}
 	return time.Now()
 }
 
+// statxBirthTime reads the birth time from the path, which on Linux is the only way to get it.
+// Filesystems that never report one are remembered per device, so a scan asks each only once.
+func (lfi localFileInfo) statxBirthTime() (time.Time, bool) {
+	if lfi.path == "" {
+		return time.Time{}, false
+	}
+	dev, hasDev := deviceID(lfi.FileInfo)
+	memo := lfi.noBirthTime
+	if hasDev && memo != nil {
+		if _, skip := memo.Load(dev); skip {
+			return time.Time{}, false
+		}
+	}
+	ts, err := times.Stat(lfi.path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return time.Time{}, false
+	}
+	if ts.HasBirthTime() {
+		return ts.BirthTime(), true
+	}
+	if hasDev && memo != nil {
+		memo.Store(dev, struct{}{})
+	}
+	return time.Time{}, false
+}
+
 func init() {
 	storage.Register(storage.LocalSchemaID, newLocalStorage)
 }
diff --git a/core/storage/local/local_test.go b/core/storage/local/local_test.go
index 90bdd4b5b..3ed6d6fd9 100644
--- a/core/storage/local/local_test.go
+++ b/core/storage/local/local_test.go
@@ -6,8 +6,10 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/djherbis/times"
 	"github.com/navidrome/navidrome/conf"
 	"github.com/navidrome/navidrome/conf/configtest"
 	"github.com/navidrome/navidrome/consts"
@@ -440,6 +442,37 @@ var _ = Describe("LocalStorage", func() {
 				// Should be around the current time (within last few minutes)
 				Expect(birthTime).To(BeTemporally("~", time.Now(), 5*time.Minute))
 			})
+
+			It("reads the birth time from the path, not the time of the call", func() {
+				// On Linux, birth time is only available via statx(2) on the path.
+				lfi := localFileInfo{FileInfo: fileInfo, path: testFile}
+				time.Sleep(300 * time.Millisecond)
+				Expect(lfi.BirthTime()).To(BeTemporally("<", time.Now().Add(-200*time.Millisecond)))
+			})
+
+			It("does not remember filesystems that do report a birth time", func() {
+				memo := &sync.Map{}
+				lfi := localFileInfo{FileInfo: fileInfo, path: testFile, noBirthTime: memo}
+				lfi.BirthTime()
+
+				count := 0
+				memo.Range(func(_, _ any) bool { count++; return true })
+				Expect(count).To(BeZero())
+			})
+
+			It("skips statx on filesystems already known to have none", func() {
+				if times.Get(fileInfo).HasBirthTime() {
+					Skip("this platform reports birth time from FileInfo, so statx is never called")
+				}
+				dev, ok := deviceID(fileInfo)
+				Expect(ok).To(BeTrue())
+
+				memo := &sync.Map{}
+				memo.Store(dev, struct{}{})
+				lfi := localFileInfo{FileInfo: fileInfo, path: testFile, noBirthTime: memo}
+				time.Sleep(300 * time.Millisecond)
+				Expect(lfi.BirthTime()).To(BeTemporally("~", time.Now(), 100*time.Millisecond))
+			})
 		})
 
 		It("should delegate all other FileInfo methods", func() {