diff --git a/esphome/helpers.py b/esphome/helpers.py
index 8a7c1c70f9..7aa1a9a88c 100644
--- a/esphome/helpers.py
+++ b/esphome/helpers.py
@@ -555,10 +555,8 @@ def write_file_if_changed(path: Path, text: str) -> bool:
         try:
             src_content = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
         except UnicodeDecodeError as err:
-            # A damaged existing file must be replaced, not abort the very
-            # regeneration that would fix it. Only decode failures recover:
-            # an OSError (permissions, I/O) may hide an intact file and
-            # propagates below like it always did.
+            # Replace a damaged file rather than abort the regeneration that
+            # fixes it; an OSError may hide an intact file, so it still raises
             _LOGGER.warning("Replacing damaged file %s: %s", path, err)
             with suppress(OSError):
                 path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
diff --git a/tests/unit_tests/test_helpers.py b/tests/unit_tests/test_helpers.py
index 088aa4bc97..eaa7d5a8dc 100644
--- a/tests/unit_tests/test_helpers.py
+++ b/tests/unit_tests/test_helpers.py
@@ -256,8 +256,7 @@ class Test_write_file_if_changed:
     def test_damaged_existing_file_is_replaced(
         self, tmp_path: Path, caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture
     ):
-        """A non-UTF-8 existing file is logged and overwritten; aborting
-        would block the very regeneration that fixes it."""
+        """A non-UTF-8 existing file is logged and overwritten."""
         dst = tmp_path / "generated.txt"
         dst.write_bytes(b"\xff\xfe")
 
@@ -267,8 +266,7 @@ class Test_write_file_if_changed:
         assert "Replacing damaged file" in caplog.text
 
     def test_unreadable_existing_file_still_raises(self, tmp_path: Path):
-        """An OSError on the comparison read may hide an intact file, so it
-        propagates as EsphomeError instead of unlinking."""
+        """An OSError on the comparison read still raises EsphomeError."""
         dst = tmp_path / "generated.txt"
         dst.write_text("intact")