diff --git a/solarwinds_apm/apm_config.py b/solarwinds_apm/apm_config.py
index ab04481ea..a0b893772 100644
--- a/solarwinds_apm/apm_config.py
+++ b/solarwinds_apm/apm_config.py
@@ -91,17 +91,19 @@ class SolarWindsApmConfig:
 
     def __init__(
         self,
-        otel_resource: Resource = Resource.create(),
+        otel_resource: Resource | None = None,
         **kwargs: int,
     ) -> None:
         """Initialize SolarWinds APM configuration.
 
         Parameters:
-        otel_resource (Resource): OpenTelemetry resource with detector attributes.
-            In normal usage, passed from Configurator after detector resource created.
-            Defaults to Resource.create() for backward compatibility.
+        otel_resource (optional): OpenTelemetry resource with detector attributes.
+            In normal distro usage, passed from Configurator after resource detectors created.
         **kwargs (int): Additional configuration keyword arguments.
         """
+        if otel_resource is None:
+            otel_resource = Resource.create()
+
         self.__config = {}
         # Update the config with default values
         self.__config = {
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_apm_config/test_apm_config.py b/tests/unit/test_apm_config/test_apm_config.py
index 22a5090c5..2371bd2a5 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_apm_config/test_apm_config.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_apm_config/test_apm_config.py
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ def test__init_valid_service_key_format_otel_service_name(
             "SW_APM_SERVICE_KEY": "service_key_with:sw_service_name",
             "OTEL_SERVICE_NAME": "from_otel_env"
         })
-        # Otel picks up os mock if Resource.create here (same as default arg)
+        # Explicitly pass Resource.create() to pick up env vars set above
         test_config = apm_config.SolarWindsApmConfig(Resource.create())
         assert test_config.agent_enabled
         assert test_config.service_name == "from_otel_env"
@@ -504,7 +504,11 @@ def test__update_service_key_name_agent_enabled_and_service_name_ok_service_key_
         assert result == "weird-key:bar-service"
 
     def test__validate_log_filepath_none(self, mocker):
-        mock_exists = mocker.patch("solarwinds_apm.apm_config.os.path.exists")
+        mocker.patch(
+            "solarwinds_apm.apm_config.Resource.create",
+            return_value=Resource.get_empty()
+        )
+        mock_exists = mocker.patch("solarwinds_apm.apm_config.os.path.exists", return_value=False)
         mock_makedirs = mocker.patch("solarwinds_apm.apm_config.os.makedirs")
 
         test_config = apm_config.SolarWindsApmConfig()
@@ -515,7 +519,11 @@ def test__validate_log_filepath_none(self, mocker):
         assert test_config.get("log_filepath") == ""
 
     def test__validate_log_filepath_no_parent_path(self, mocker):
-        mock_exists = mocker.patch("solarwinds_apm.apm_config.os.path.exists")
+        mocker.patch(
+            "solarwinds_apm.apm_config.Resource.create",
+            return_value=Resource.get_empty()
+        )
+        mock_exists = mocker.patch("solarwinds_apm.apm_config.os.path.exists", return_value=False)
         mock_makedirs = mocker.patch("solarwinds_apm.apm_config.os.makedirs")
 
         test_config = apm_config.SolarWindsApmConfig()
@@ -526,6 +534,10 @@ def test__validate_log_filepath_no_parent_path(self, mocker):
         assert test_config.get("log_filepath") == "foo"
 
     def test__validate_log_filepath_path_exists(self, mocker):
+        mocker.patch(
+            "solarwinds_apm.apm_config.Resource.create",
+            return_value=Resource.get_empty()
+        )
         mock_exists = mocker.patch("solarwinds_apm.apm_config.os.path.exists", return_value=True)
         mock_makedirs = mocker.patch("solarwinds_apm.apm_config.os.makedirs")
 
@@ -537,6 +549,10 @@ def test__validate_log_filepath_path_exists(self, mocker):
         assert test_config.get("log_filepath") == "/path/to/foo"
 
     def test__validate_log_filepath_create_path(self, mocker):
+        mocker.patch(
+            "solarwinds_apm.apm_config.Resource.create",
+            return_value=Resource.get_empty()
+        )
         mock_exists = mocker.patch("solarwinds_apm.apm_config.os.path.exists", return_value=False)
         mock_makedirs = mocker.patch("solarwinds_apm.apm_config.os.makedirs")
 
@@ -548,6 +564,10 @@ def test__validate_log_filepath_create_path(self, mocker):
         assert test_config.get("log_filepath") == "/path/to/foo"
 
     def test__validate_log_filepath_cannot_create_reset_settings(self, mocker):
+        mocker.patch(
+            "solarwinds_apm.apm_config.Resource.create",
+            return_value=Resource.get_empty()
+        )
         mock_exists = mocker.patch("solarwinds_apm.apm_config.os.path.exists", return_value=False)
         mock_makedirs = mocker.patch(
             "solarwinds_apm.apm_config.os.makedirs",