diff --git a/ports/espressif/common-hal/alarm/SleepMemory.c b/ports/espressif/common-hal/alarm/SleepMemory.c
index 938772e53ca94..e98fe97d7bd16 100644
--- a/ports/espressif/common-hal/alarm/SleepMemory.c
+++ b/ports/espressif/common-hal/alarm/SleepMemory.c
@@ -12,15 +12,34 @@
 #include "shared-bindings/alarm/SleepMemory.h"
 
 #include "esp_sleep.h"
+#include "esp_system.h"
 
 // Data storage for singleton instance of SleepMemory.
 // Might be RTC_SLOW_MEM or RTC_FAST_MEM, depending on setting of CONFIG_ESP32S2_RTCDATA_IN_FAST_MEM.
-static RTC_DATA_ATTR uint8_t _sleep_mem[SLEEP_MEMORY_LENGTH];
+static RTC_NOINIT_ATTR uint8_t _sleep_mem[SLEEP_MEMORY_LENGTH];
 
 void alarm_sleep_memory_reset(void) {
-    // ESP-IDF build system takes care of doing esp_sleep_pd_config() or the equivalent with
-    // the correct settings, depending on which RTC mem we are using.
-    // https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-idf/en/latest/esp32s2/api-reference/system/sleep_modes.html#power-down-of-rtc-peripherals-and-memories
+    // With RTC_NOINIT_ATTR, the bootloader does not initialize sleep memory.
+    // Preserve contents on resets where the RTC domain stays powered (software
+    // reset, watchdog, panic, deep sleep wake). Clear on everything else —
+    // after power-on, SRAM contents are undefined; after brown-out, the RTC
+    // domain was reset by hardware (System Reset scope per TRM Figure 6.1-1).
+    esp_reset_reason_t reason = esp_reset_reason();
+    switch (reason) {
+        case ESP_RST_SW:        // microcontroller.reset() / esp_restart()
+        case ESP_RST_DEEPSLEEP: // deep sleep wake
+        case ESP_RST_PANIC:     // unhandled exception
+        case ESP_RST_INT_WDT:   // interrupt watchdog
+        case ESP_RST_TASK_WDT:  // task watchdog
+        case ESP_RST_WDT:       // other watchdog
+            // RTC domain was not reset — sleep memory is intact.
+            break;
+        default:
+            // Power-on, brown-out, unknown, or any other reason where
+            // RTC SRAM contents may be undefined. Clear to zero.
+            memset(_sleep_mem, 0, sizeof(_sleep_mem));
+            break;
+    }
 }
 
 uint32_t common_hal_alarm_sleep_memory_get_length(alarm_sleep_memory_obj_t *self) {
diff --git a/shared-bindings/alarm/SleepMemory.c b/shared-bindings/alarm/SleepMemory.c
index e6d65de45551d..5f66a429fbc82 100644
--- a/shared-bindings/alarm/SleepMemory.c
+++ b/shared-bindings/alarm/SleepMemory.c
@@ -12,9 +12,17 @@
 #include "shared-bindings/alarm/SleepMemory.h"
 
 //| class SleepMemory:
-//|     """Store raw bytes in RAM that persists during deep sleep.
+//|     """Store raw bytes in RAM that persists across deep sleep and software resets.
 //|     The class acts as a ``bytearray``.
-//|     If power is lost, the memory contents are lost.
+//|     Contents are preserved across ``microcontroller.reset()``, watchdog resets,
+//|     and deep sleep wake. Contents are lost when power is removed and restored,
+//|     or on brown-out reset.
+//|
+//|     .. note::
+//|         Programs that call ``microcontroller.reset()`` should wait at least
+//|         one second after boot before resetting, otherwise CircuitPython's
+//|         double-reset safe mode detector may activate. See
+//|         ``supervisor/shared/safe_mode.c``.
 //|
 //|     Note that this class can't be imported and used directly. The sole
 //|     instance of :class:`SleepMemory` is available at
diff --git a/tests/circuitpython-manual/alarm/sleep_memory_persist.py b/tests/circuitpython-manual/alarm/sleep_memory_persist.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..39e6baafca7dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/circuitpython-manual/alarm/sleep_memory_persist.py
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+"""Reproducer for https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues/10896
+
+Copy to code.py. Sequences through test steps using sleep_memory to
+track state.
+
+The test scoreboard is printed to the magtag e-ink display after every
+run so the final display shows cumulative results.
+"""
+
+import alarm
+import binascii
+import microcontroller
+import struct
+import supervisor
+import time
+
+# Safe mode avoidance
+# On boot CircuitPython writes a SAFE_MODE_USER guard to an RTC register,
+# If a second boot occurs before 1000ms elapses then we enter safe mode.
+# So, wait for 1000+1ms before calling microcontroller.reset().
+_SAFE_MODE_WINDOW_MS = 1000
+
+
+def _wait_for_safe_mode_window():
+    elapsed_ms = time.monotonic() * 1000
+    remaining = _SAFE_MODE_WINDOW_MS + 1 - elapsed_ms
+    if remaining > 0:
+        time.sleep(remaining / 1000)
+
+
+# Test result enum
+_UNTESTED = 0
+_PASS = 1
+_FAIL = 2
+_LABEL = {_UNTESTED: "-", _PASS: "PASS", _FAIL: "FAIL"}
+
+# CRC32-protected state in sleep_memory
+# [magic:2][step:1][r_reset:1][r_reload:1][pad:1][crc32:4]
+_MAGIC = 0xBE01
+_FMT = "<HBBBx"
+_DATA_SZ = struct.calcsize(_FMT)  # 6
+_TOTAL = _DATA_SZ + 4  # 10
+
+
+def _write(step, r_reset=_UNTESTED, r_reload=_UNTESTED):
+    data = struct.pack(_FMT, _MAGIC, step, r_reset, r_reload)
+    crc = struct.pack("<I", binascii.crc32(data) & 0xFFFFFFFF)
+    alarm.sleep_memory[0:_TOTAL] = data + crc
+
+
+def _read():
+    raw = bytes(alarm.sleep_memory[0:_TOTAL])
+    data = raw[:_DATA_SZ]
+    stored_crc = struct.unpack_from("<I", raw, _DATA_SZ)[0]
+    if (binascii.crc32(data) & 0xFFFFFFFF) != stored_crc:
+        return (0, _UNTESTED, _UNTESTED, False)
+    magic, step, r_reset, r_reload = struct.unpack(_FMT, data)
+    if magic != _MAGIC:
+        return (0, _UNTESTED, _UNTESTED, False)
+    return (step, r_reset, r_reload, True)
+
+
+def _scoreboard(r_reset, r_reload):
+    print(f"  reset:  {_LABEL[r_reset]}")
+    print(f"  reload: {_LABEL[r_reload]}")
+
+
+# Main
+reason = microcontroller.cpu.reset_reason
+step, r_reset, r_reload, valid = _read()
+
+if reason == microcontroller.ResetReason.POWER_ON:
+    _scoreboard(_UNTESTED, _UNTESTED)
+    print("writing marker, resetting...")
+    _write(0)
+    _wait_for_safe_mode_window()
+    microcontroller.reset()
+
+elif valid and step == 0:
+    r_reset = _PASS
+    _scoreboard(r_reset, _UNTESTED)
+    print("testing supervisor.reload()...")
+    _write(1, r_reset)
+    _wait_for_safe_mode_window()
+    supervisor.reload()
+
+elif not valid and step == 0:
+    r_reset = _FAIL
+    _scoreboard(r_reset, _UNTESTED)
+    print("Install patched FW, power cycle")
+
+elif valid and step == 1:
+    r_reload = _PASS
+    _scoreboard(r_reset, r_reload)
+    _write(2, r_reset, r_reload)
+
+else:
+    _scoreboard(r_reset, r_reload)
+    print(f"unexpected: step={step} valid={valid}")
+    print("Power cycle to restart tests")