diff --git a/frontend/src/app/plugins/utils.cljs b/frontend/src/app/plugins/utils.cljs
index 2e0db5d324..f55d63372e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/app/plugins/utils.cljs
+++ b/frontend/src/app/plugins/utils.cljs
@@ -311,12 +311,16 @@
 
 (defn error-messages
   [explain]
-  (->> (:errors explain)
-       (reduce csm/interpret-schema-problem {})
-       (flatten-error-map)
-       (map (fn [[field message]]
-              (tr "plugins.validation.message" field message)))
-       (str/join ". ")))
+  (let [msg (->> (:errors explain)
+                 (reduce csm/interpret-schema-problem {})
+                 (flatten-error-map)
+                 (map (fn [[field message]]
+                        (tr "plugins.validation.message" field message)))
+                 (str/join ". "))]
+    ;; Return nil (not "") when the explain has no mappable errors, so
+    ;; `handle-error` can fall back to a non-empty message instead of
+    ;; surfacing a bare "Value not valid. Code: :error" (#9692).
+    (when-not (str/blank? msg) msg)))
 
 (defn handle-error
   "Function to be used in plugin proxies methods to handle errors and print a readable
@@ -340,8 +344,8 @@
               (if explain
                 (do
                   (js/console.error (sm/humanize-explain explain))
-                  (error-messages explain))
-                (ex-data cause))]
+                  (or (error-messages explain) (pr-str explain)))
+                (or (ex-data cause) (ex-message cause) (str cause)))]
           (js/console.log (.-stack cause))
           (not-valid plugin-id :error message))))))
 
diff --git a/frontend/test/frontend_tests/plugins/utils_test.cljs b/frontend/test/frontend_tests/plugins/utils_test.cljs
index 8fbf4e4f40..a2a1e98124 100644
--- a/frontend/test/frontend_tests/plugins/utils_test.cljs
+++ b/frontend/test/frontend_tests/plugins/utils_test.cljs
@@ -54,3 +54,36 @@
   ;; No validation errors -> no output (callers join with ". " and would
   ;; otherwise emit an empty string, which is fine).
   (t/is (empty? (flatten-error-map {}))))
+
+;; ---------------------------------------------------------------------
+;; Issue #9692 — `handle-error` must surface a useful message instead of a
+;; bare "Value not valid. Code: :error".
+;;
+;; `not-valid` is redefined to capture the rendered message directly, so the
+;; assertions don't depend on `st/state` or the console.
+
+(t/deftest test-handle-error-plain-js-error
+  ;; A plain JS error has no `::sm/explain` and CLJS `ex-data` returns nil, so
+  ;; the handler must fall back to the error's own message rather than nil.
+  (let [captured (atom ::none)]
+    (with-redefs [plugins.utils/not-valid (fn [_plugin-id _code value]
+                                            (reset! captured value) nil)]
+      ((plugins.utils/handle-error #uuid "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000")
+       (js/Error. "boom: not a function")))
+    (t/is (= "boom: not a function" @captured))))
+
+(t/deftest test-handle-error-empty-explain
+  ;; An explain whose errors don't render any message must not produce an
+  ;; empty string; the handler falls back to the raw explain.
+  (let [captured (atom ::none)
+        cause    (ex-info "invalid" {:app.common.schema/explain {:errors [] :value 1}})]
+    (with-redefs [plugins.utils/not-valid (fn [_plugin-id _code value]
+                                            (reset! captured value) nil)]
+      ((plugins.utils/handle-error #uuid "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000") cause))
+    (t/is (string? @captured))
+    (t/is (not= "" @captured))))
+
+(t/deftest test-error-messages-empty-returns-nil
+  ;; `error-messages` returns nil (not "") on an explain with no mappable
+  ;; errors, so `handle-error` can distinguish "no message" from a real one.
+  (t/is (nil? (plugins.utils/error-messages {:errors []}))))