diff --git a/docs/gateway/troubleshooting.md b/docs/gateway/troubleshooting.md
index 9d6ba53d7..d3bb0ad9e 100644
--- a/docs/gateway/troubleshooting.md
+++ b/docs/gateway/troubleshooting.md
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ Look for:
 
 Common signatures:
 
-- `Gateway start blocked: set gateway.mode=local` → local gateway mode is not enabled.
+- `Gateway start blocked: set gateway.mode=local` → local gateway mode is not enabled. Fix: set `gateway.mode="local"` in your config (or run `openclaw configure`). If you are running OpenClaw via Podman using the dedicated `openclaw` user, the config lives at `~openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json`.
 - `refusing to bind gateway ... without auth` → non-loopback bind without token/password.
 - `another gateway instance is already listening` / `EADDRINUSE` → port conflict.