diff --git a/examples/crash_reporter/backend/README.md b/examples/crash_reporter/backend/README.md
index a7bd08d..8684ac5 100644
--- a/examples/crash_reporter/backend/README.md
+++ b/examples/crash_reporter/backend/README.md
@@ -60,7 +60,14 @@ Config (`config.php`):
 ```
 
 Permission checks: `Rbac::can('edit_tags', $companyId)` (used by `Auth::canEditTags()`).  
-Manual SQL: `sql/migrations/001_rbac_companies.sql` (MariaDB). Re-login after deploy so session includes company memberships.
+Manual SQL (MariaDB, **as root** — `androidcast` has no `ALTER`):
+
+```sh
+mysql -u root -p androidcast_crashes < sql/migrations/001_rbac_companies.sql
+mysql -u root -p androidcast_crashes < sql/migrations/002_reports_company_columns.sql
+```
+
+Re-login after deploy so session includes company memberships.
 
 ## UI languages
 
diff --git a/examples/crash_reporter/backend/scripts/init-mariadb.sh b/examples/crash_reporter/backend/scripts/init-mariadb.sh
index 8d557d0..09bf34e 100755
--- a/examples/crash_reporter/backend/scripts/init-mariadb.sh
+++ b/examples/crash_reporter/backend/scripts/init-mariadb.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ set -eu
 
 ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
 SCHEMA="$ROOT/sql/schema.mariadb.sql"
+MIG002="$ROOT/sql/migrations/002_reports_company_columns.sql"
 DB_NAME="${CRASH_DB_NAME:-androidcast_crashes}"
 DB_USER="${CRASH_DB_USER:-androidcast}"
 DB_PASS="${CRASH_DB_PASS:-}"
@@ -19,6 +20,11 @@ fi
 echo "Applying schema from $SCHEMA ..."
 mysql -u root -p < "$SCHEMA"
 
+if [ -f "$MIG002" ]; then
+  echo "Applying RBAC report columns (002) ..."
+  mysql -u root -p "$DB_NAME" < "$MIG002"
+fi
+
 if [ -n "$DB_PASS" ]; then
   echo "Creating app user ${DB_USER}@localhost and @127.0.0.1 ..."
   mysql -u root -p <<EOF
diff --git a/examples/crash_reporter/backend/sql/migrations/001_rbac_companies.sql b/examples/crash_reporter/backend/sql/migrations/001_rbac_companies.sql
index fcf2acb..7710787 100644
--- a/examples/crash_reporter/backend/sql/migrations/001_rbac_companies.sql
+++ b/examples/crash_reporter/backend/sql/migrations/001_rbac_companies.sql
@@ -41,6 +41,6 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS devices (
     CONSTRAINT fk_devices_company FOREIGN KEY (company_id) REFERENCES companies (id) ON DELETE CASCADE
 ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
 
--- reports.company_id / reports.device_id added by application migration when missing
+-- reports.company_id / reports.device_id: run 002_reports_company_columns.sql as root (app user cannot ALTER)
 
 INSERT IGNORE INTO companies (id, slug, name) VALUES (1, 'default', 'Default');
diff --git a/examples/crash_reporter/backend/sql/migrations/002_reports_company_columns.sql b/examples/crash_reporter/backend/sql/migrations/002_reports_company_columns.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..caef8f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/crash_reporter/backend/sql/migrations/002_reports_company_columns.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+-- Add RBAC columns to existing reports table (requires ALTER — run as MySQL/MariaDB root).
+-- App user androidcast typically has SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE only.
+--
+--   mysql -u root -p androidcast_crashes < sql/migrations/002_reports_company_columns.sql
+--
+-- If 001_rbac_companies.sql was not applied yet, run that first.
+
+USE androidcast_crashes;
+
+INSERT IGNORE INTO companies (id, slug, name) VALUES (1, 'default', 'Default');
+
+ALTER TABLE reports
+  ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS company_id INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL DEFAULT 1 AFTER id,
+  ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS device_id BIGINT UNSIGNED NULL AFTER company_id;
+
+UPDATE reports SET company_id = 1 WHERE company_id IS NULL OR company_id = 0;
+
+ALTER TABLE reports ADD INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_reports_company (company_id);
+ALTER TABLE reports ADD INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_reports_device (device_id);
+
+INSERT IGNORE INTO company_memberships (user_id, company_id, role)
+SELECT u.id, 1,
+  CASE WHEN LOWER(u.role) IN ('root', 'admin', 'platform_admin') THEN 'owner' ELSE 'member' END
+FROM users u;
diff --git a/examples/crash_reporter/backend/src/Database.php b/examples/crash_reporter/backend/src/Database.php
index db2fba8..f43833b 100644
--- a/examples/crash_reporter/backend/src/Database.php
+++ b/examples/crash_reporter/backend/src/Database.php
@@ -158,6 +158,32 @@ final class Database {
         self::ensureRbacSchema($pdo);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Run DDL; app DB user often has no ALTER — log and continue (run sql/migrations as root).
+     */
+    private static function execSchemaSql(PDO $pdo, string $sql, string $label): bool {
+        try {
+            $pdo->exec($sql);
+            return true;
+        } catch (PDOException $e) {
+            $msg = $label . ': ' . $e->getMessage();
+            error_log('crash_reporter schema ' . $msg);
+            if (function_exists('log_crash_event')) {
+                log_crash_event('schema', $msg);
+            }
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static function reportsHaveRbacColumns(?PDO $pdo = null): bool {
+        $pdo ??= self::$pdo;
+        if ($pdo === null || !self::tableExists($pdo, 'reports')) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        $names = self::columnNames($pdo, 'reports');
+        return in_array('company_id', $names, true);
+    }
+
     /** Phase 1 RBAC tables + report company/device columns (idempotent). */
     public static function ensureRbacSchema(?PDO $pdo = null): void {
         $pdo ??= self::$pdo;
@@ -170,6 +196,12 @@ final class Database {
         self::ensureDevicesTable($pdo);
         self::ensureReportCompanyColumns($pdo);
         self::backfillCompanyMemberships($pdo);
+        if (!self::reportsHaveRbacColumns($pdo)) {
+            error_log(
+                'crash_reporter: reports.company_id missing — run as MySQL root: '
+                . 'mysql -u root -p androidcast_crashes < sql/migrations/002_reports_company_columns.sql'
+            );
+        }
     }
 
     private static function ensureCompaniesTable(PDO $pdo): void {
@@ -177,33 +209,45 @@ final class Database {
             return;
         }
         if (self::isMysql()) {
-            $pdo->exec(
+            self::execSchemaSql(
+                $pdo,
                 "CREATE TABLE companies (
                     id INT UNSIGNED AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
                     slug VARCHAR(64) NOT NULL,
                     name VARCHAR(128) NOT NULL,
                     created_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
                     UNIQUE KEY uq_companies_slug (slug)
-                ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_ci"
+                ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_ci",
+                'create companies'
             );
             return;
         }
-        $pdo->exec(
+        self::execSchemaSql(
+            $pdo,
             "CREATE TABLE companies (
                 id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
                 slug TEXT NOT NULL UNIQUE,
                 name TEXT NOT NULL,
                 created_at TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT (datetime('now'))
-            )"
+            )",
+            'create companies'
         );
     }
 
     private static function seedDefaultCompany(PDO $pdo): void {
         if (self::isMysql()) {
-            $pdo->exec("INSERT IGNORE INTO companies (id, slug, name) VALUES (1, 'default', 'Default')");
+            self::execSchemaSql(
+                $pdo,
+                "INSERT IGNORE INTO companies (id, slug, name) VALUES (1, 'default', 'Default')",
+                'seed company'
+            );
             return;
         }
-        $pdo->exec("INSERT OR IGNORE INTO companies (id, slug, name) VALUES (1, 'default', 'Default')");
+        self::execSchemaSql(
+            $pdo,
+            "INSERT OR IGNORE INTO companies (id, slug, name) VALUES (1, 'default', 'Default')",
+            'seed company'
+        );
     }
 
     private static function ensureCompanyMembershipsTable(PDO $pdo): void {
@@ -211,7 +255,8 @@ final class Database {
             return;
         }
         if (self::isMysql()) {
-            $pdo->exec(
+            self::execSchemaSql(
+                $pdo,
                 "CREATE TABLE company_memberships (
                     id INT UNSIGNED AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
                     user_id INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL,
@@ -221,11 +266,13 @@ final class Database {
                     created_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
                     UNIQUE KEY uq_membership_user_company (user_id, company_id),
                     KEY idx_membership_company (company_id)
-                ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_ci"
+                ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_ci",
+                'create company_memberships'
             );
             return;
         }
-        $pdo->exec(
+        self::execSchemaSql(
+            $pdo,
             "CREATE TABLE company_memberships (
                 id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
                 user_id INTEGER NOT NULL,
@@ -234,7 +281,8 @@ final class Database {
                 permissions_json TEXT,
                 created_at TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT (datetime('now')),
                 UNIQUE (user_id, company_id)
-            )"
+            )",
+            'create company_memberships'
         );
     }
 
@@ -243,7 +291,8 @@ final class Database {
             return;
         }
         if (self::isMysql()) {
-            $pdo->exec(
+            self::execSchemaSql(
+                $pdo,
                 "CREATE TABLE devices (
                     id BIGINT UNSIGNED AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
                     company_id INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL,
@@ -257,11 +306,13 @@ final class Database {
                     meta_json LONGTEXT NULL,
                     UNIQUE KEY uq_devices_company_external (company_id, external_id),
                     KEY idx_devices_company (company_id)
-                ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_ci"
+                ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_ci",
+                'create devices'
             );
             return;
         }
-        $pdo->exec(
+        self::execSchemaSql(
+            $pdo,
             "CREATE TABLE devices (
                 id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
                 company_id INTEGER NOT NULL,
@@ -274,7 +325,8 @@ final class Database {
                 last_seen_at_ms INTEGER NOT NULL,
                 meta_json TEXT,
                 UNIQUE (company_id, external_id)
-            )"
+            )",
+            'create devices'
         );
     }
 
@@ -285,22 +337,48 @@ final class Database {
         $names = self::columnNames($pdo, 'reports');
         if (!in_array('company_id', $names, true)) {
             if (self::isMysql()) {
-                $pdo->exec(
-                    'ALTER TABLE reports ADD COLUMN company_id INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL DEFAULT 1'
+                self::execSchemaSql(
+                    $pdo,
+                    'ALTER TABLE reports ADD COLUMN company_id INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL DEFAULT 1',
+                    'alter reports.company_id'
+                );
+                self::execSchemaSql(
+                    $pdo,
+                    'ALTER TABLE reports ADD KEY idx_reports_company (company_id)',
+                    'index reports.company_id'
                 );
-                $pdo->exec('ALTER TABLE reports ADD KEY idx_reports_company (company_id)');
             } else {
-                $pdo->exec('ALTER TABLE reports ADD COLUMN company_id INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 1');
+                self::execSchemaSql(
+                    $pdo,
+                    'ALTER TABLE reports ADD COLUMN company_id INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 1',
+                    'alter reports.company_id'
+                );
             }
-            $pdo->exec('UPDATE reports SET company_id = 1 WHERE company_id IS NULL OR company_id = 0');
+            self::execSchemaSql(
+                $pdo,
+                'UPDATE reports SET company_id = 1 WHERE company_id IS NULL OR company_id = 0',
+                'backfill reports.company_id'
+            );
         }
         $names = self::columnNames($pdo, 'reports');
         if (!in_array('device_id', $names, true)) {
             if (self::isMysql()) {
-                $pdo->exec('ALTER TABLE reports ADD COLUMN device_id BIGINT UNSIGNED NULL');
-                $pdo->exec('ALTER TABLE reports ADD KEY idx_reports_device (device_id)');
+                self::execSchemaSql(
+                    $pdo,
+                    'ALTER TABLE reports ADD COLUMN device_id BIGINT UNSIGNED NULL',
+                    'alter reports.device_id'
+                );
+                self::execSchemaSql(
+                    $pdo,
+                    'ALTER TABLE reports ADD KEY idx_reports_device (device_id)',
+                    'index reports.device_id'
+                );
             } else {
-                $pdo->exec('ALTER TABLE reports ADD COLUMN device_id INTEGER NULL');
+                self::execSchemaSql(
+                    $pdo,
+                    'ALTER TABLE reports ADD COLUMN device_id INTEGER NULL',
+                    'alter reports.device_id'
+                );
             }
         }
     }
@@ -340,8 +418,17 @@ final class Database {
     private static function ensureMysqlReportColumns(PDO $pdo): void {
         $names = self::columnNames($pdo, 'reports');
         if (!in_array('tags_json', $names, true)) {
-            $pdo->exec("ALTER TABLE reports ADD COLUMN tags_json LONGTEXT NOT NULL");
-            $pdo->exec("UPDATE reports SET tags_json = '[]' WHERE tags_json IS NULL OR tags_json = ''");
+            if (self::execSchemaSql(
+                $pdo,
+                'ALTER TABLE reports ADD COLUMN tags_json LONGTEXT NOT NULL',
+                'alter reports.tags_json'
+            )) {
+                self::execSchemaSql(
+                    $pdo,
+                    "UPDATE reports SET tags_json = '[]' WHERE tags_json IS NULL OR tags_json = ''",
+                    'backfill reports.tags_json'
+                );
+            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -364,7 +451,11 @@ final class Database {
     private static function ensureReportColumns(PDO $pdo): void {
         $names = self::columnNames($pdo, 'reports');
         if (!in_array('tags_json', $names, true)) {
-            $pdo->exec("ALTER TABLE reports ADD COLUMN tags_json TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT '[]'");
+            self::execSchemaSql(
+                $pdo,
+                "ALTER TABLE reports ADD COLUMN tags_json TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT '[]'",
+                'alter reports.tags_json'
+            );
         }
     }