diff --git a/esphome/components/api/api_connection.h b/esphome/components/api/api_connection.h
index 13d5273ecbb..5a86240ab56 100644
--- a/esphome/components/api/api_connection.h
+++ b/esphome/components/api/api_connection.h
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@
 #ifdef USE_RP2040_CRASH_HANDLER
 #include "esphome/components/rp2040/crash_handler.h"
 #endif
+#ifdef USE_ESP8266_CRASH_HANDLER
+#include "esphome/components/esp8266/crash_handler.h"
+#endif
 #include "esphome/core/entity_base.h"
 #include "esphome/core/string_ref.h"
 
@@ -276,6 +279,9 @@ class APIConnection final : public APIServerConnectionBase {
 #endif
 #ifdef USE_RP2040_CRASH_HANDLER
     rp2040::crash_handler_log();
+#endif
+#ifdef USE_ESP8266_CRASH_HANDLER
+    esp8266::crash_handler_log();
 #endif
   }
 #ifdef USE_API_HOMEASSISTANT_SERVICES
diff --git a/esphome/components/esp8266/__init__.py b/esphome/components/esp8266/__init__.py
index 2081145096e..fcd3499b151 100644
--- a/esphome/components/esp8266/__init__.py
+++ b/esphome/components/esp8266/__init__.py
@@ -233,6 +233,7 @@ async def to_code(config):
     cg.add_define("ESPHOME_BOARD", config[CONF_BOARD])
     cg.add_define("ESPHOME_VARIANT", "ESP8266")
     cg.add_define(ThreadModel.SINGLE)
+    cg.add_define("USE_ESP8266_CRASH_HANDLER")
 
     enable_scanf_float = config.get(CONF_ENABLE_SCANF_FLOAT)
     if enable_scanf_float is None and lambdas_use_scanf_float(CORE.config):
diff --git a/esphome/components/esp8266/crash_handler.cpp b/esphome/components/esp8266/crash_handler.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..91b0cf90827
--- /dev/null
+++ b/esphome/components/esp8266/crash_handler.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,235 @@
+#ifdef USE_ESP8266
+
+#include "esphome/core/defines.h"
+#ifdef USE_ESP8266_CRASH_HANDLER
+
+#include "crash_handler.h"
+#include "esphome/core/log.h"
+
+#include <cinttypes>
+
+extern "C" {
+#include <user_interface.h>
+
+// Global reset info struct populated by SDK/Arduino core at boot
+extern struct rst_info resetInfo;
+}
+
+// Xtensa windowed-ABI: bits[31:30] encode call type (CALL0=00, CALL4=01,
+// CALL8=10, CALL12=11). Mask and force bit 30 to recover the real address.
+static constexpr uint32_t XTENSA_ADDR_MASK = 0x3FFFFFFF;
+static constexpr uint32_t XTENSA_CODE_BASE = 0x40000000;
+
+// ESP8266 memory map boundaries for code regions
+static constexpr uint32_t IRAM_START = 0x40100000;
+static constexpr uint32_t IRAM_END = 0x40108000;  // 32KB
+
+// Linker symbols for the actual firmware IROM section.
+// Using these instead of a conservative upper bound (0x40400000) prevents
+// false positives from stale stack values beyond the actual flash mapping.
+extern "C" {
+// NOLINTBEGIN(bugprone-reserved-identifier,readability-identifier-naming,readability-redundant-declaration)
+extern void _irom0_text_start(void);
+extern void _irom0_text_end(void);
+// NOLINTEND(bugprone-reserved-identifier,readability-identifier-naming,readability-redundant-declaration)
+}
+
+// Check if a value looks like a code address in IRAM or flash-mapped IROM.
+// IRAM_ATTR as safety net — normally inlined into custom_crash_callback, but
+// ensures correctness if the compiler ever chooses not to inline.
+static inline bool IRAM_ATTR is_code_addr(uint32_t val) {
+  uint32_t addr = (val & XTENSA_ADDR_MASK) | XTENSA_CODE_BASE;
+  return (addr >= IRAM_START && addr < IRAM_END) ||
+         (addr >= (uint32_t) _irom0_text_start && addr < (uint32_t) _irom0_text_end);
+}
+
+// Recover the actual code address from a windowed-ABI return address on the stack.
+static inline uint32_t IRAM_ATTR recover_code_addr(uint32_t val) { return (val & XTENSA_ADDR_MASK) | XTENSA_CODE_BASE; }
+
+// RTC user memory layout for crash backtrace data.
+// User-accessible RTC memory: blocks 64-191 (each block = 4 bytes).
+// We use blocks 174-191 (last 18 blocks, 72 bytes) to minimize conflicts.
+// Store 16 raw candidates, filter to real return addresses at log time.
+static constexpr uint8_t RTC_CRASH_BASE = 174;
+static constexpr size_t MAX_BACKTRACE = 16;
+
+// Magic word packs sentinel, version, and count into one uint32_t:
+//   bits[31:16] = sentinel
+//   bits[15:8]  = version
+//   bits[7:0]   = backtrace count
+static constexpr uint8_t CRASH_SENTINEL_BITS = 16;
+static constexpr uint8_t CRASH_VERSION_BITS = 8;
+
+static constexpr uint16_t CRASH_SENTINEL_VALUE = 0xDEAD;
+static constexpr uint8_t CRASH_VERSION_VALUE = 1;
+
+static constexpr uint32_t CRASH_SENTINEL = static_cast<uint32_t>(CRASH_SENTINEL_VALUE) << CRASH_SENTINEL_BITS;
+static constexpr uint32_t CRASH_VERSION = static_cast<uint32_t>(CRASH_VERSION_VALUE) << CRASH_VERSION_BITS;
+static constexpr uint32_t CRASH_SENTINEL_MASK = static_cast<uint32_t>(0xFFFF) << CRASH_SENTINEL_BITS;
+static constexpr uint32_t CRASH_VERSION_MASK = static_cast<uint32_t>(0xFF) << CRASH_VERSION_BITS;
+static constexpr uint32_t CRASH_COUNT_MASK = 0xFF;
+
+// Struct layout: 18 RTC blocks (72 bytes):
+// [0] = magic (sentinel | version | count)
+// [1..16] = up to 16 code addresses from stack scanning
+// [17] = epc1 at crash time (to skip duplicates at log time)
+struct RtcCrashData {
+  uint32_t magic;
+  uint32_t backtrace[MAX_BACKTRACE];
+  uint32_t epc1;  // Fault PC, used to filter duplicates
+};
+static_assert(sizeof(RtcCrashData) == 72, "RtcCrashData must fit in 18 RTC blocks");
+
+namespace esphome::esp8266 {
+
+static const char *const TAG = "esp8266";
+
+static inline bool is_crash_reason(uint32_t reason) {
+  return reason == REASON_WDT_RST || reason == REASON_EXCEPTION_RST || reason == REASON_SOFT_WDT_RST;
+}
+
+bool crash_handler_has_data() { return is_crash_reason(resetInfo.reason); }
+
+// Xtensa exception cause names for the LX106 core (ESP8266).
+// Only includes causes that can actually occur on the LX106 — it has no MMU,
+// no TLB, no PIF, and no privilege levels, so causes 12-18 and 24-26 are
+// impossible and omitted. The numeric cause is always logged as fallback.
+// Uses if-else with LOG_STR to avoid CSWTCH jump tables (RAM on ESP8266).
+static const LogString *get_exception_cause(uint32_t cause) {
+  if (cause == 0)
+    return LOG_STR("IllegalInst");
+  if (cause == 2)
+    return LOG_STR("InstFetchErr");
+  if (cause == 3)
+    return LOG_STR("LoadStoreErr");
+  if (cause == 4)
+    return LOG_STR("Level1Int");
+  if (cause == 6)
+    return LOG_STR("DivByZero");
+  if (cause == 9)
+    return LOG_STR("Alignment");
+  if (cause == 20)
+    return LOG_STR("InstFetchProhibit");
+  if (cause == 28)
+    return LOG_STR("LoadProhibit");
+  if (cause == 29)
+    return LOG_STR("StoreProhibit");
+  return nullptr;
+}
+
+static const LogString *get_reset_reason(uint32_t reason) {
+  if (reason == REASON_WDT_RST)
+    return LOG_STR("Hardware WDT");
+  if (reason == REASON_EXCEPTION_RST)
+    return LOG_STR("Exception");
+  if (reason == REASON_SOFT_WDT_RST)
+    return LOG_STR("Soft WDT");
+  return LOG_STR("Unknown");
+}
+
+// Read backtrace from RTC user memory into caller-provided buffer.
+// Returns the number of valid backtrace entries (0 if no data found).
+static uint8_t read_rtc_backtrace(uint32_t *backtrace, size_t max_entries) {
+  RtcCrashData rtc_data;
+  if (!system_rtc_mem_read(RTC_CRASH_BASE, &rtc_data, sizeof(rtc_data)))
+    return 0;
+  uint32_t magic = rtc_data.magic;
+  if ((magic & CRASH_SENTINEL_MASK) != CRASH_SENTINEL || (magic & CRASH_VERSION_MASK) != CRASH_VERSION)
+    return 0;
+  uint8_t raw_count = magic & CRASH_COUNT_MASK;
+  if (raw_count > MAX_BACKTRACE)
+    raw_count = MAX_BACKTRACE;
+  // Skip any that match epc1 (already reported as the fault PC).
+  // Note: we cannot verify CALL instructions at addr-3 on ESP8266 because
+  // reading from IROM causes LoadStoreError due to flash cache conflicts
+  // (the reading code and target can share a direct-mapped cache line).
+  // The linker-symbol IROM bounds already eliminate most false positives.
+  uint8_t out = 0;
+  for (uint8_t i = 0; i < raw_count && out < max_entries; i++) {
+    uint32_t addr = rtc_data.backtrace[i];
+    if (addr != rtc_data.epc1)
+      backtrace[out++] = addr;
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+// Intentionally uses separate ESP_LOGE calls per line instead of combining into
+// one multi-line log message. This ensures each address appears as its own line
+// on the serial console, making it possible to see partial output if the device
+// crashes again during boot, and allowing the CLI's process_stacktrace to match
+// and decode each address individually.
+void crash_handler_log() {
+  if (!is_crash_reason(resetInfo.reason))
+    return;
+
+  // Read and filter backtrace from RTC into stack-local buffer (no persistent RAM cost).
+  // Both resetInfo and RTC data survive until the next reset, so this can be
+  // called multiple times (logger init + API subscribe) with the same result.
+  uint32_t backtrace[MAX_BACKTRACE];
+  uint8_t bt_count = read_rtc_backtrace(backtrace, MAX_BACKTRACE);
+
+  ESP_LOGE(TAG, "*** CRASH DETECTED ON PREVIOUS BOOT ***");
+  // GCC's ROM divide routine triggers IllegalInstruction (exccause=0) at specific
+  // ROM addresses instead of IntegerDivideByZero (exccause=6). Patch to match
+  // the Arduino core's postmortem handler behavior.
+  static constexpr uint32_t EXCCAUSE_ILLEGAL_INSTRUCTION = 0;
+  static constexpr uint32_t EXCCAUSE_INTEGER_DIVIDE_BY_ZERO = 6;
+  static constexpr uint32_t ROM_DIV_ZERO_ADDR_1 = 0x4000dce5;
+  static constexpr uint32_t ROM_DIV_ZERO_ADDR_2 = 0x4000dd3d;
+  uint32_t exccause = resetInfo.exccause;
+  if (exccause == EXCCAUSE_ILLEGAL_INSTRUCTION &&
+      (resetInfo.epc1 == ROM_DIV_ZERO_ADDR_1 || resetInfo.epc1 == ROM_DIV_ZERO_ADDR_2)) {
+    exccause = EXCCAUSE_INTEGER_DIVIDE_BY_ZERO;
+  }
+  const LogString *cause = get_exception_cause(exccause);
+  if (cause != nullptr) {
+    ESP_LOGE(TAG, "  Reason: %s - %s (exccause=%" PRIu32 ")", LOG_STR_ARG(get_reset_reason(resetInfo.reason)),
+             LOG_STR_ARG(cause), exccause);
+  } else {
+    ESP_LOGE(TAG, "  Reason: %s (exccause=%" PRIu32 ")", LOG_STR_ARG(get_reset_reason(resetInfo.reason)), exccause);
+  }
+  ESP_LOGE(TAG, "  PC: 0x%08" PRIX32, resetInfo.epc1);
+  if (resetInfo.reason == REASON_EXCEPTION_RST) {
+    ESP_LOGE(TAG, "  EXCVADDR: 0x%08" PRIX32, resetInfo.excvaddr);
+  }
+  for (uint8_t i = 0; i < bt_count; i++) {
+    ESP_LOGE(TAG, "  BT%d: 0x%08" PRIX32, i, backtrace[i]);
+  }
+}
+
+}  // namespace esphome::esp8266
+
+// --- Custom crash callback ---
+// Overrides the weak custom_crash_callback() from Arduino core's
+// core_esp8266_postmortem.cpp. Called during exception handling before
+// the device restarts. We scan the full stack for code addresses and store
+// them in RTC user memory (which survives software reset).
+extern "C" void IRAM_ATTR custom_crash_callback(struct rst_info *rst_info, uint32_t stack, uint32_t stack_end) {
+  // No zero-init — only magic, epc1, and backtrace[0..count-1] are read.
+  // Saves the IRAM cost of a 72-byte zero-init loop.
+  RtcCrashData data;  // NOLINT(cppcoreguidelines-pro-type-member-init)
+  uint8_t count = 0;
+
+  // Stack pointer from the Xtensa exception frame is always 4-byte aligned.
+  auto *scan = (uint32_t *) stack;     // NOLINT(performance-no-int-to-ptr)
+  auto *end = (uint32_t *) stack_end;  // NOLINT(performance-no-int-to-ptr)
+  uint32_t epc1 = rst_info->epc1;
+
+  for (; scan < end && count < MAX_BACKTRACE; scan++) {
+    uint32_t val = *scan;
+    if (is_code_addr(val)) {
+      uint32_t addr = recover_code_addr(val);
+      // Skip epc1 — already reported as the fault PC
+      if (addr != epc1)
+        data.backtrace[count++] = addr;
+    }
+  }
+
+  data.epc1 = epc1;
+  data.magic = CRASH_SENTINEL | CRASH_VERSION | count;
+
+  system_rtc_mem_write(RTC_CRASH_BASE, &data, sizeof(data));
+}
+
+#endif  // USE_ESP8266_CRASH_HANDLER
+#endif  // USE_ESP8266
diff --git a/esphome/components/esp8266/crash_handler.h b/esphome/components/esp8266/crash_handler.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ea3683b834e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/esphome/components/esp8266/crash_handler.h
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#ifdef USE_ESP8266
+
+#include "esphome/core/defines.h"
+
+#ifdef USE_ESP8266_CRASH_HANDLER
+
+namespace esphome::esp8266 {
+
+/// Log crash data if a crash was detected on previous boot.
+void crash_handler_log();
+
+/// Returns true if the previous boot was a crash (exception, WDT, or soft WDT).
+bool crash_handler_has_data();
+
+}  // namespace esphome::esp8266
+
+#endif  // USE_ESP8266_CRASH_HANDLER
+#endif  // USE_ESP8266
diff --git a/esphome/components/esp8266/preferences.cpp b/esphome/components/esp8266/preferences.cpp
index 906fed2b29a..f444f035553 100644
--- a/esphome/components/esp8266/preferences.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/esp8266/preferences.cpp
@@ -19,12 +19,13 @@ static constexpr uint32_t ESP_RTC_USER_MEM_START = 0x60001200;
 static constexpr uint32_t ESP_RTC_USER_MEM_SIZE_WORDS = 128;
 static constexpr uint32_t ESP_RTC_USER_MEM_SIZE_BYTES = ESP_RTC_USER_MEM_SIZE_WORDS * 4;
 
-// RTC memory layout for preferences:
-// - Eboot region: RTC words 0-31 (reserved, mapped from preference offset 96-127)
-// - Normal region: RTC words 32-127 (mapped from preference offset 0-95)
+// RTC memory layout:
+// - Eboot region:  RTC words 0-31   (reserved, mapped from preference offset 78-109)
+// - Normal region: RTC words 32-109 (mapped from preference offset 0-77)
+// - Crash handler: RTC words 110-127 (reserved for crash_handler.cpp backtrace data)
 static constexpr uint32_t RTC_EBOOT_REGION_WORDS = 32;   // Words 0-31 reserved for eboot
-static constexpr uint32_t RTC_NORMAL_REGION_WORDS = 96;  // Words 32-127 for normal prefs
-static constexpr uint32_t PREF_TOTAL_WORDS = RTC_EBOOT_REGION_WORDS + RTC_NORMAL_REGION_WORDS;  // 128
+static constexpr uint32_t RTC_NORMAL_REGION_WORDS = 78;  // Words 32-109 for normal prefs
+static constexpr uint32_t PREF_TOTAL_WORDS = RTC_EBOOT_REGION_WORDS + RTC_NORMAL_REGION_WORDS;  // 110
 
 // Maximum preference size in words (limited by uint8_t length_words field)
 static constexpr uint32_t MAX_PREFERENCE_WORDS = 255;
diff --git a/esphome/components/logger/logger_esp8266.cpp b/esphome/components/logger/logger_esp8266.cpp
index b9507e707a7..5797b03ba72 100644
--- a/esphome/components/logger/logger_esp8266.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/logger/logger_esp8266.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 #ifdef USE_ESP8266
 #include "logger.h"
+#include "esphome/core/defines.h"
+#ifdef USE_ESP8266_CRASH_HANDLER
+#include "esphome/components/esp8266/crash_handler.h"
+#endif
 #include "esphome/core/log.h"
 
 namespace esphome::logger {
@@ -26,6 +30,9 @@ void Logger::pre_setup() {
   global_logger = this;
 
   ESP_LOGI(TAG, "Log initialized");
+#ifdef USE_ESP8266_CRASH_HANDLER
+  esp8266::crash_handler_log();
+#endif
 }
 
 const LogString *Logger::get_uart_selection_() {
diff --git a/esphome/core/defines.h b/esphome/core/defines.h
index 141f6d2be4a..d92fb6e98a9 100644
--- a/esphome/core/defines.h
+++ b/esphome/core/defines.h
@@ -331,6 +331,7 @@
 // ESP8266-specific feature flags
 #ifdef USE_ESP8266
 #define USE_ADC_SENSOR_VCC
+#define USE_ESP8266_CRASH_HANDLER
 #define USE_ARDUINO_VERSION_CODE VERSION_CODE(3, 1, 2)
 #define USE_CAPTIVE_PORTAL
 #define USE_ESP8266_LOGGER_SERIAL