diff --git a/src/Socket/messages-send.ts b/src/Socket/messages-send.ts
index 484c9da2..d9d65d56 100644
--- a/src/Socket/messages-send.ts
+++ b/src/Socket/messages-send.ts
@@ -2020,12 +2020,16 @@ export const makeMessagesSocket = (config: SocketConfig) => {
 
 			const userJid = authState.creds.me!.id
 
-			// Special path for carousel: call relayMessage directly
-			// This bypasses generateWAMessageFromContent (which adds contextInfo.expiration
-			// and calls WAProto.Message.create that may corrupt nested carousel structures)
-			// Matches the working implementation's approach: generateWAMessageContent → relayMessage
+			// Special path for carousel: call relayMessage directly with plain JS object
+			// This matches Pastorini's working approach:
+			// 1. Build message as plain JS object (not proto instance)
+			// 2. Pass directly to relayMessage (no WAProto.Message.fromObject/create)
+			// 3. protobuf encode() handles plain objects correctly during serialization
+			// Going through fromObject() can corrupt nested carousel InteractiveMessage oneOf fields
 			if (typeof content === 'object' && 'nativeCarousel' in content && (content as any).nativeCarousel) {
 				const messageId = generateMessageIDV2(sock.user?.id)
+				// generateWAMessageContent returns a plain JS object for carousel
+				// (not a proto instance) to preserve nested structure integrity
 				const msgContent = await generateWAMessageContent(content, {
 					logger,
 					upload: waUploadToServer,
@@ -2034,6 +2038,17 @@ export const makeMessagesSocket = (config: SocketConfig) => {
 					jid,
 				})
 
+				// Pass the plain JS object directly to relayMessage
+				// This avoids proto.WebMessageInfo.fromObject() which would call
+				// Message.fromObject() on the nested message, potentially corrupting it
+				await relayMessage(jid, msgContent, {
+					messageId,
+					useCachedGroupMetadata: options.useCachedGroupMetadata,
+					additionalAttributes: {},
+					statusJidList: options.statusJidList,
+				})
+
+				// Build WebMessageInfo only for event emission and return value
 				const timestamp = unixTimestampSeconds()
 				const fullMsg = proto.WebMessageInfo.fromObject({
 					key: {
@@ -2048,13 +2063,6 @@ export const makeMessagesSocket = (config: SocketConfig) => {
 					status: proto.WebMessageInfo.Status.PENDING
 				}) as WAMessage
 
-				await relayMessage(jid, fullMsg.message!, {
-					messageId: fullMsg.key.id!,
-					useCachedGroupMetadata: options.useCachedGroupMetadata,
-					additionalAttributes: {},
-					statusJidList: options.statusJidList,
-				})
-
 				if (config.emitOwnEvents) {
 					process.nextTick(async () => {
 						const mutexKey = fullMsg.key.remoteJid || fullMsg.key.id || 'unknown'
diff --git a/src/Utils/messages.ts b/src/Utils/messages.ts
index 27507070..910992f2 100644
--- a/src/Utils/messages.ts
+++ b/src/Utils/messages.ts
@@ -641,8 +641,10 @@ export const generateCarouselMessage = async (
 	}))
 
 	// Build the interactive message with carousel
+	// Root header MUST always be present for carousel messages (WhatsApp MD requirement)
+	// Missing root header causes error 479 on some devices
 	const interactiveMessage: proto.Message.IInteractiveMessage = {
-		header: text ? { title: text } : undefined,
+		header: { title: text || '', hasMediaAttachment: false },
 		body: { text: text || '' },
 		footer: footer ? { text: footer } : undefined,
 		carouselMessage: {
@@ -1156,12 +1158,13 @@ export const generateWAMessageContent = async (
 		// Pass options for media processing if cards have images/videos
 		const generated = await generateCarouselMessage(carouselOptions, options)
 		m.viewOnceMessage = generated.viewOnceMessage
-		options.logger?.info('Sending carousel with viewOnceMessage wrapper + fromObject encoding')
-		// Return early with fromObject for proper deep conversion of nested carousel structure
-		// fromObject recursively converts nested plain objects to protobuf message instances
-		// whereas create() does shallow property copy which may not properly encode deep structures
-		// This matches the working implementation's encoding approach
-		return WAProto.Message.fromObject(m)
+		options.logger?.info('Sending carousel with viewOnceMessage wrapper (plain object, no proto conversion)')
+		// Return the plain JS object directly WITHOUT calling WAProto.Message.fromObject()
+		// This matches Pastorini's working approach where plain objects are passed directly
+		// to relayMessage. The fromObject() conversion can corrupt nested carousel structures
+		// by incorrectly handling oneOf fields in deeply nested InteractiveMessage cards.
+		// The protobuf encode() method handles plain objects correctly when serializing.
+		return m as WAMessageContent
 	}
 	// Check for nativeList
 	else if (hasNonNullishProperty(message, 'nativeList')) {