diff --git a/Directory.Packages.props b/Directory.Packages.props
index 437bc74a84..e211c40dc3 100644
--- a/Directory.Packages.props
+++ b/Directory.Packages.props
@@ -134,9 +134,10 @@
   </ItemGroup>
   <!--
     Declare below packages that are bundled through MSTest.Sdk (baked into the shipped SDK
-    templates) and are not otherwise consumed by a built project, so that Dependabot can
-    discover and update them. Their only PackageReference in this repo is the inert anchor
-    described in condition 2 below.
+    templates) and are not otherwise consumed by a restored project, so that Dependabot can
+    discover and update them. They are referenced only inside the SDK feature targets
+    (Sdk/Features/*.targets, which Dependabot doesn't restore); their only graph-visible reference
+    from a repo project restore is the inert anchor described in condition 2 below.
 
     Two conditions must BOTH hold for Dependabot to bump one of these, and missing either one
     silently stops the updates:
@@ -146,14 +147,17 @@
          PackageVersion whose Version is an MSBuild property interpolation.
          See dependabot/dependabot-core#5812 and dependabot/dependabot-core#7183.
 
-      2. The package MUST have a real PackageReference somewhere in the repo's restore graph:
+      2. The package MUST appear in the repo's restore graph via a graph-visible reference:
          Dependabot only updates a CPM PackageVersion that is actually referenced by a project;
          an "orphan" PackageVersion (declared here but referenced nowhere) is ignored. Because
          these packages are only baked into the shipped SDK templates (Sdk/Features/*.targets)
-         and never referenced by a built project, we add inert anchor references
-         (PackageReference with ExcludeAssets="all") in
+         and never referenced by a built project, we add inert anchor references in
          test/IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests.csproj.
-         Without those anchors Dependabot never proposed bumps (see #9362).
+         The anchor MUST be a PackageDownload, NOT a PackageReference with ExcludeAssets="all":
+         ExcludeAssets="all" removes the reference from the dependency graph Dependabot reads, so
+         the package stays invisible and never gets bumped. PackageDownload keeps it in the restore
+         graph (so Dependabot proposes bumps) without flowing any of its assets into the project.
+         Without a graph-visible anchor Dependabot never proposed bumps (see #9362).
 
     Each literal version is duplicated as the matching *Version property (defined near the top of
     this file) which is the value actually consumed by the build and baked into the MSTest.Sdk
diff --git a/test/IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests.csproj b/test/IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests.csproj
index 72c297422e..e3348314e3 100644
--- a/test/IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests.csproj
+++ b/test/IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests/MSTest.Acceptance.IntegrationTests.csproj
@@ -42,26 +42,29 @@
     <ProjectReference Include="$(RepoRoot)test\Utilities\Microsoft.Testing.TestInfrastructure\Microsoft.Testing.TestInfrastructure.csproj" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
-  <!-- Packages needed for the test assets but that we don't want to reference -->
-  <ItemGroup>
-    <PackageDownload Include="Aspire.Hosting.Testing" Version="[$(AspireHostingTestingVersion)]" />
-  </ItemGroup>
-
   <!--
-    Dependabot anchor for the packages bundled by MSTest.Sdk (Microsoft.Playwright.MSTest.v4,
-    Aspire.Hosting.Testing). These are baked into the shipped SDK templates (Sdk/Features/*.targets)
-    and have no other PackageReference in the repo, so their Central Package Management PackageVersion
-    entries in Directory.Packages.props are "orphans" that Dependabot ignores (it only updates package
-    versions that are actually referenced by a project). Referencing them here (with ExcludeAssets="all"
-    so none of their assets such as compile/runtime/build targets, e.g. Playwright's browser install,
-    flow into this test project) puts them into a real restore graph so Dependabot proposes bumps. The
-    _ValidateBundledSdkFeatureVersions target in Directory.Packages.props then guards the matching
-    version properties (MicrosoftPlaywrightVersion, AspireHostingTestingVersion) against drift after
-    a bump. See https://github.com/microsoft/testfx/issues/9362.
+    Dependabot anchors for the packages bundled by MSTest.Sdk (Microsoft.Playwright.MSTest.v4,
+    Aspire.Hosting.Testing). The Aspire entry doubles as the download that stages its nupkg for
+    test assets (see CopyNuGetPackagesForTestAssets below); the Playwright entry is the Dependabot
+    anchor only. These packages are baked into the shipped SDK templates (Sdk/Features/*.targets)
+    and are otherwise referenced only there (which Dependabot doesn't restore), so without a
+    graph-visible reference from a repo project their Central Package Management PackageVersion
+    entries in Directory.Packages.props are "orphans" that Dependabot ignores (it only updates
+    package versions that are actually referenced by a restored project).
+
+    We use PackageDownload (NOT a PackageReference with ExcludeAssets="all") deliberately:
+    ExcludeAssets="all" removes the reference from the dependency graph Dependabot reads, so the
+    package stays invisible to it and never gets bumped (Aspire only kept updating because it ALSO
+    had this PackageDownload; the equivalent Playwright anchor with ExcludeAssets="all" silently did
+    nothing, see #9362). PackageDownload puts the package into the restore (so Dependabot proposes
+    bumps) without flowing any of its assets (compile/runtime/build, e.g. Playwright's browser
+    install) into this test project. The _ValidateBundledSdkFeatureVersions target in
+    Directory.Packages.props then guards the matching version properties (MicrosoftPlaywrightVersion,
+    AspireHostingTestingVersion) against drift after a bump.
   -->
   <ItemGroup>
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Playwright.MSTest.v4" ExcludeAssets="all" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Aspire.Hosting.Testing" ExcludeAssets="all" />
+    <PackageDownload Include="Aspire.Hosting.Testing" Version="[$(AspireHostingTestingVersion)]" />
+    <PackageDownload Include="Microsoft.Playwright.MSTest.v4" Version="[$(MicrosoftPlaywrightVersion)]" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
   <Target Name="CopyNuGetPackagesForTestAssets" BeforeTargets="BeforeBuild">