diff --git a/packages/spotlight/src/server/formatters/human/utils.ts b/packages/spotlight/src/server/formatters/human/utils.ts
index 3e44070c..5757c924 100644
--- a/packages/spotlight/src/server/formatters/human/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/spotlight/src/server/formatters/human/utils.ts
@@ -48,16 +48,71 @@ function isBrowserUserAgent(userAgent: string): boolean {
   );
 }
 
+/**
+ * Check if a platform string indicates a server environment
+ */
+function isServerPlatform(platform: string | undefined): boolean {
+  return (
+    platform === "node" ||
+    platform === "python" ||
+    platform === "ruby" ||
+    platform === "php" ||
+    platform === "java" ||
+    platform === "go" ||
+    platform === "rust" ||
+    platform === "perl" ||
+    platform === "elixir" ||
+    platform === "csharp" ||
+    platform === "dotnet"
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Try to infer source from a single event's properties
+ * Returns the source if deterministically detected, null otherwise
+ */
+function inferSourceFromEvent(event: any): SourceType | null {
+  if (!event) return null;
+
+  // Runtime tags check - deterministic browser
+  if (event.tags?.runtime === "browser") {
+    return "browser";
+  }
+
+  // Runtime context indicates server
+  if (event.contexts?.runtime?.name) {
+    return "server";
+  }
+
+  // server_name is a server-specific field
+  if (event.server_name) {
+    return "server";
+  }
+
+  // Platform check
+  if (isServerPlatform(event.platform)) {
+    return "server";
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
 /**
  * Infer the source of an envelope as browser, mobile, or server using multiple signals
  * Priority order:
- * 1. Sender User-Agent (from HTTP request header)
- * 2. Platform & Runtime tags (from event payload)
- * 3. SDK name (fallback)
+ * 1. SDK name (mobile detection)
+ * 2. Sender User-Agent (from HTTP request header)
+ * 3. Platform & Runtime tags (from event payloads - scans all events)
+ * 4. SDK name (browser/server fallback)
  *
  * Rules based on https://release-registry.services.sentry.io/sdks
+ *
+ * @param envelopeHeader The envelope header containing SDK info and spotlight extensions
+ * @param eventsOrEvent Single event or array of events to scan for source signals (scans until deterministic match)
  */
-export function inferEnvelopeSource(envelopeHeader: Envelope[0], event?: any): SourceType {
+export function inferEnvelopeSource(envelopeHeader: Envelope[0], eventsOrEvent?: any | any[]): SourceType {
+  // Normalize to array for consistent handling
+  const events = eventsOrEvent ? (Array.isArray(eventsOrEvent) ? eventsOrEvent : [eventsOrEvent]) : [];
   const sdkName = envelopeHeader?.sdk?.name || "";
 
   // 1. Mobile check (unchanged - already reliable from SDK name)
@@ -87,40 +142,15 @@ export function inferEnvelopeSource(envelopeHeader: Envelope[0], event?: any): S
     // If we have a non-browser UA, we continue to further checks
   }
 
-  // 3. Runtime tags check
-  if (event?.tags?.runtime === "browser") {
-    return "browser";
-  }
-
-  // 4. Platform & server-specific signals
-  if (event?.contexts?.runtime?.name) {
-    // Runtime context (node, CPython, etc.) indicates server
-    return "server";
-  }
-
-  if (event?.server_name) {
-    // server_name is a server-specific field
-    return "server";
-  }
-
-  const platform = event?.platform;
-  if (
-    platform === "node" ||
-    platform === "python" ||
-    platform === "ruby" ||
-    platform === "php" ||
-    platform === "java" ||
-    platform === "go" ||
-    platform === "rust" ||
-    platform === "perl" ||
-    platform === "elixir" ||
-    platform === "csharp" ||
-    platform === "dotnet"
-  ) {
-    return "server";
+  // 3. Scan all events for deterministic source signals
+  for (const event of events) {
+    const source = inferSourceFromEvent(event);
+    if (source) {
+      return source;
+    }
   }
 
-  // 5. SDK name check (existing logic as fallback)
+  // 4. SDK name check (existing logic as fallback)
   // Browser: JavaScript frameworks/libraries (excluding server/native runtimes and meta-frameworks)
   if (
     sdkName.startsWith("sentry.javascript.") &&
diff --git a/packages/spotlight/src/server/parser/processEnvelope.ts b/packages/spotlight/src/server/parser/processEnvelope.ts
index a83a9b22..1277a0d7 100644
--- a/packages/spotlight/src/server/parser/processEnvelope.ts
+++ b/packages/spotlight/src/server/parser/processEnvelope.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,21 @@
 import type { Envelope, EnvelopeItem } from "@sentry/core";
 import { type UUID, uuidv7obj } from "uuidv7";
 import { RAW_TYPES } from "../constants.ts";
+import { type SourceType, inferEnvelopeSource } from "../formatters/human/utils.ts";
 import { logger } from "../logger.ts";
 import type { RawEventContext } from "./types.ts";
 
+/**
+ * Spotlight-specific extensions added to envelope headers for internal tracking
+ */
+export type SpotlightEnvelopeExtensions = {
+  __spotlight_envelope_id: UUID;
+  __spotlight_sender_user_agent?: string;
+  __spotlight_inferred_source?: SourceType;
+};
+
 export type ParsedEnvelope = {
-  envelope: [Envelope[0] & { __spotlight_envelope_id: UUID }, Envelope[1]];
+  envelope: [Envelope[0] & SpotlightEnvelopeExtensions, Envelope[1]];
   rawEnvelope: RawEventContext;
 };
 
@@ -91,6 +101,11 @@ export function processEnvelope(rawEvent: RawEventContext, senderUserAgent?: str
     items.push([itemHeader, itemPayload] as EnvelopeItem);
   }
 
+  // Infer the envelope source (browser, server, or mobile) for UI display
+  // Scan all events to find a deterministic match
+  const eventPayloads = items.map(([, payload]) => payload);
+  envelopeHeader.__spotlight_inferred_source = inferEnvelopeSource(envelopeHeader, eventPayloads);
+
   return {
     envelope: [envelopeHeader, items] as ParsedEnvelope["envelope"],
     rawEnvelope: rawEvent,
diff --git a/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/components/events/EventList.tsx b/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/components/events/EventList.tsx
index 302a5d2d..08231ff9 100644
--- a/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/components/events/EventList.tsx
+++ b/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/components/events/EventList.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import CardList from "@spotlight/ui/telemetry/components/shared/CardList";
+import { OriginBadge } from "@spotlight/ui/telemetry/components/shared/OriginBadge";
 import TimeSince from "@spotlight/ui/telemetry/components/shared/TimeSince";
 import { Link } from "react-router-dom";
 import { useSentryEvents } from "../../data/useSentryEvents";
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ export default function EventList({ traceId }: { traceId?: string }) {
             <div className="text-primary-300 flex w-48 flex-col truncate font-mono text-sm">
               <div className="flex items-center gap-x-2">
                 <div>{truncateId(e.event_id)}</div>
+                <OriginBadge sourceType={e.__sourceType} />
               </div>
               <span />
               <TimeSince date={e.timestamp} />
diff --git a/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/components/shared/OriginBadge.tsx b/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/components/shared/OriginBadge.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..78e9df5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/components/shared/OriginBadge.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import { Badge } from "@spotlight/ui/ui/badge";
+
+type SourceType = "browser" | "server" | "mobile";
+
+type OriginBadgeProps = {
+  sourceType: SourceType | undefined;
+};
+
+const SOURCE_CONFIG: Record<SourceType, { label: string; className: string; title: string }> = {
+  browser: {
+    label: "Browser",
+    // Yellow matching terminal output (#FDB81B)
+    className: "bg-yellow-500/20 text-yellow-200 border-yellow-500/30",
+    title: "This event originated from a browser",
+  },
+  server: {
+    label: "Server",
+    // Magenta matching terminal output (#FF45A8)
+    className: "bg-pink-500/20 text-pink-200 border-pink-500/30",
+    title: "This event originated from a server",
+  },
+  mobile: {
+    label: "Mobile",
+    // Blue matching terminal output (#226DFC)
+    className: "bg-blue-500/20 text-blue-200 border-blue-500/30",
+    title: "This event originated from a mobile device",
+  },
+};
+
+export function OriginBadge({ sourceType }: OriginBadgeProps) {
+  if (!sourceType) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  const config = SOURCE_CONFIG[sourceType];
+
+  return (
+    <Badge title={config.title} className={config.className}>
+      {config.label}
+    </Badge>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/components/traces/TraceItem.tsx b/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/components/traces/TraceItem.tsx
index be4d959c..e044b3fe 100644
--- a/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/components/traces/TraceItem.tsx
+++ b/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/components/traces/TraceItem.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { cn } from "@spotlight/ui/lib/cn";
+import { OriginBadge } from "@spotlight/ui/telemetry/components/shared/OriginBadge";
 import TimeSince from "@spotlight/ui/telemetry/components/shared/TimeSince";
 import { Badge } from "@spotlight/ui/ui/badge";
 import { Link, useParams } from "react-router-dom";
@@ -89,6 +90,7 @@ export default function TraceItem({ trace, className }: TraceItemProps) {
       <div className="text-primary-300 flex w-48 flex-col truncate font-mono text-sm">
         <div className="flex items-center gap-x-2">
           <div>{truncatedId}</div>
+          <OriginBadge sourceType={trace.rootTransaction?.__sourceType} />
         </div>
         <TimeSince date={trace.start_timestamp} />
       </div>
diff --git a/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/store/slices/envelopesSlice.ts b/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/store/slices/envelopesSlice.ts
index 8cad3998..c868febe 100644
--- a/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/store/slices/envelopesSlice.ts
+++ b/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/store/slices/envelopesSlice.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ export const createEnvelopesSlice: StateCreator<SentryStore, [], [], EnvelopesSl
   pushEnvelope: (envelope: Envelope) => {
     const [header, items] = envelope;
     const lastSeen = new Date(header.sent_at as string).getTime();
+    // Read the inferred source type from the envelope header (set by server)
+    const sourceType = (header as { __spotlight_inferred_source?: "browser" | "server" | "mobile" })
+      .__spotlight_inferred_source;
     let sdk: Sdk;
 
     if (header.sdk?.name && header.sdk.version) {
@@ -86,6 +89,10 @@ export const createEnvelopesSlice: StateCreator<SentryStore, [], [], EnvelopesSl
           }
           item.contexts.trace ??= traceContext;
         }
+        // Attach the inferred source type to the event for UI display
+        if (sourceType) {
+          (item as { __sourceType?: typeof sourceType }).__sourceType = sourceType;
+        }
         const eventId =
           item.event_id ?? ("event_id" in itemHeader ? (itemHeader.event_id as string | undefined) : undefined);
         let attachmentsForEvent = eventId ? attachmentsByEventId.get(eventId) : undefined;
diff --git a/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/store/utils/traceProcessor.ts b/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/store/utils/traceProcessor.ts
index 5cdd3727..16a7a6e7 100644
--- a/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/store/utils/traceProcessor.ts
+++ b/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/store/utils/traceProcessor.ts
@@ -144,6 +144,8 @@ export function updateTraceMetadata(trace: Trace): void {
       `[Spotlight] Orphan trace detected (trace_id: ${trace.trace_id}). ` +
         `Using first transaction "${trace.transactions[0].transaction}" as fallback.`,
     );
+    // use the first transcation for orphan traces
+    trace.rootTransaction = trace.transactions[0];
     trace.rootTransactionName = trace.transactions[0].transaction || "(orphan transaction)";
   } else {
     trace.rootTransactionName = "(missing root transaction)";
diff --git a/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/types.ts b/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/types.ts
index e6513f6d..0ad878de 100644
--- a/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/types.ts
+++ b/packages/spotlight/src/ui/telemetry/types.ts
@@ -78,6 +78,8 @@ type CommonEventAttrs = {
   sdk?: Sdk;
   measurements?: Measurements;
   attachments?: EventAttachment[];
+  // Inferred source type for distinguishing browser/server/mobile events
+  __sourceType?: "browser" | "server" | "mobile";
 };
 
 // Note: For some reason the `sentry/core` module doesn't have these additional properties