diff --git a/esphome/config.py b/esphome/config.py
index 641b6ec1b48..431559ce9ce 100644
--- a/esphome/config.py
+++ b/esphome/config.py
@@ -997,6 +997,8 @@ def validate_config(
 ) -> Config:
     result = Config()
 
+    CORE.skip_external_update = skip_external_update
+
     loader.clear_component_meta_finders()
     loader.install_custom_components_meta_finder()
 
diff --git a/esphome/core/__init__.py b/esphome/core/__init__.py
index 009fef2f863..4fecebcd8d2 100644
--- a/esphome/core/__init__.py
+++ b/esphome/core/__init__.py
@@ -615,6 +615,9 @@ class EsphomeCore:
         self.address_cache: AddressCache | None = None
         # Cached config hash (computed lazily)
         self._config_hash: int | None = None
+        # When True, skip network freshness checks for cached external files
+        # (e.g. for `esphome logs`, where remote downloads aren't needed)
+        self.skip_external_update: bool = False
 
     def reset(self):
         from esphome.pins import PIN_SCHEMA_REGISTRY
@@ -644,6 +647,7 @@ class EsphomeCore:
         self.current_component = None
         self.address_cache = None
         self._config_hash = None
+        self.skip_external_update = False
         PIN_SCHEMA_REGISTRY.reset()
 
     @contextmanager
diff --git a/esphome/external_files.py b/esphome/external_files.py
index 55711e1b790..af207589f65 100644
--- a/esphome/external_files.py
+++ b/esphome/external_files.py
@@ -82,6 +82,9 @@ def compute_local_file_dir(domain: str) -> Path:
 
 
 def download_content(url: str, path: Path, timeout=NETWORK_TIMEOUT) -> bytes:
+    if CORE.skip_external_update and path.exists():
+        _LOGGER.debug("Skipping update for %s (refresh disabled)", url)
+        return path.read_bytes()
     if not has_remote_file_changed(url, path):
         _LOGGER.debug("Remote file has not changed %s", url)
         return path.read_bytes()
diff --git a/tests/unit_tests/test_external_files.py b/tests/unit_tests/test_external_files.py
index a319fae83d4..50c90059d5f 100644
--- a/tests/unit_tests/test_external_files.py
+++ b/tests/unit_tests/test_external_files.py
@@ -236,3 +236,51 @@ def test_download_content_with_network_error_no_cache_fails(
 
     with pytest.raises(Invalid, match="Could not download from.*Network error"):
         external_files.download_content(url, test_file)
+
+
+@patch("esphome.external_files.requests.get")
+@patch("esphome.external_files.has_remote_file_changed")
+def test_download_content_skip_external_update_uses_cache(
+    mock_has_changed: MagicMock, mock_get: MagicMock, setup_core: Path
+) -> None:
+    """Test download_content skips network checks when CORE.skip_external_update is set."""
+    test_file = setup_core / "cached.txt"
+    cached_content = b"cached content"
+    test_file.write_bytes(cached_content)
+
+    CORE.skip_external_update = True
+    try:
+        url = "https://example.com/file.txt"
+        result = external_files.download_content(url, test_file)
+    finally:
+        CORE.skip_external_update = False
+
+    assert result == cached_content
+    mock_has_changed.assert_not_called()
+    mock_get.assert_not_called()
+
+
+@patch("esphome.external_files.requests.get")
+@patch("esphome.external_files.has_remote_file_changed")
+def test_download_content_skip_external_update_downloads_when_missing(
+    mock_has_changed: MagicMock, mock_get: MagicMock, setup_core: Path
+) -> None:
+    """Test download_content still downloads when file is missing, even with skip_external_update."""
+    test_file = setup_core / "missing.txt"
+    new_content = b"fresh content"
+
+    mock_has_changed.return_value = True
+    mock_response = MagicMock()
+    mock_response.content = new_content
+    mock_response.raise_for_status = MagicMock()
+    mock_get.return_value = mock_response
+
+    CORE.skip_external_update = True
+    try:
+        url = "https://example.com/file.txt"
+        result = external_files.download_content(url, test_file)
+    finally:
+        CORE.skip_external_update = False
+
+    assert result == new_content
+    assert test_file.read_bytes() == new_content