diff --git a/pkg/azurestore/azureservice.go b/pkg/azurestore/azureservice.go
index 0fa4f197a..bc5ee29a6 100644
--- a/pkg/azurestore/azureservice.go
+++ b/pkg/azurestore/azureservice.go
@@ -15,12 +15,14 @@
 package azurestore
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"encoding/base64"
 	"encoding/binary"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"math"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 
@@ -40,8 +42,17 @@ const (
 	InfoBlobSuffix        string = ".info"
 	MaxBlockBlobSize      int64  = blockblob.MaxBlocks * blockblob.MaxStageBlockBytes
 	MaxBlockBlobChunkSize int64  = blockblob.MaxStageBlockBytes
+
+	// sentinelBlockIndex is a reserved block index for the marker block that is
+	// staged when an upload is created (see StageSentinelBlock). It sits far above
+	// the maximum number of blocks Azure allows per blob (blockblob.MaxBlocks), so
+	// it can never collide with a data block index.
+	sentinelBlockIndex int = math.MaxInt32
 )
 
+// sentinelBlockID is the base64 block ID of the marker block. See StageSentinelBlock.
+var sentinelBlockID = blockIDIntToBase64(sentinelBlockIndex)
+
 type azService struct {
 	ContainerClient *container.Client
 	ContainerName   string
@@ -66,6 +77,9 @@ type AzBlob interface {
 	Delete(ctx context.Context) error
 	// Upload the blob
 	Upload(ctx context.Context, body io.ReadSeeker) error
+	// StageSentinelBlock stages a marker block so that a freshly created upload
+	// always has at least one uncommitted block (see GetOffset).
+	StageSentinelBlock(ctx context.Context) error
 	// Download returns a readcloser to download the contents of the blob
 	Download(ctx context.Context) (io.ReadCloser, error)
 	// Get the offset of the blob and its indexes
@@ -190,6 +204,23 @@ func (blockBlob *BlockBlob) Upload(ctx context.Context, body io.ReadSeeker) erro
 	return err
 }
 
+// StageSentinelBlock stages a marker block so that a freshly created upload always
+// has at least one uncommitted block. This lets GetOffset reliably tell a finished
+// upload (no uncommitted blocks) apart from a newly created one, even when blob
+// versioning leaves committed blocks behind on the blob (see #1349).
+//
+// The marker is identified by a dedicated, reserved block ID, so it is never added
+// to the committed block list (Commit only commits blockBlob.Indexes) and is dropped
+// by Azure once the real blocks are committed. GetOffset skips it explicitly.
+//
+// Azure rejects staging a zero-length block (it returns InvalidHeaderValue for
+// Content-Length: 0, see #1358), so the marker carries a single byte.
+func (blockBlob *BlockBlob) StageSentinelBlock(ctx context.Context) error {
+	body := readSeekCloser{bytes.NewReader([]byte{0})}
+	_, err := blockBlob.BlobClient.StageBlock(ctx, sentinelBlockID, body, nil)
+	return err
+}
+
 // Download the blockBlob from Azure Blob Storage
 func (blockBlob *BlockBlob) Download(ctx context.Context) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
 	resp, err := blockBlob.BlobClient.DownloadStream(ctx, nil)
@@ -220,6 +251,11 @@ func (blockBlob *BlockBlob) GetOffset(ctx context.Context) (int64, error) {
 
 	var indexes []int
 	for _, block := range resp.UncommittedBlocks {
+		// Skip the marker block staged in NewUpload (see StageSentinelBlock); it is
+		// not real data and must not contribute to the offset or the block indexes.
+		if block.Name != nil && *block.Name == sentinelBlockID {
+			continue
+		}
 		offset += *block.Size
 		indexes = append(indexes, blockIDBase64ToInt(block.Name))
 	}
@@ -259,6 +295,11 @@ func (infoBlob *InfoBlob) Upload(ctx context.Context, body io.ReadSeeker) error
 	return err
 }
 
+// infoBlob does not use a sentinel block, so this is a no-op.
+func (infoBlob *InfoBlob) StageSentinelBlock(ctx context.Context) error {
+	return nil
+}
+
 // Download the infoBlob from Azure Blob Storage
 func (infoBlob *InfoBlob) Download(ctx context.Context) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
 	resp, err := infoBlob.BlobClient.DownloadStream(ctx, nil)
diff --git a/pkg/azurestore/azurestore.go b/pkg/azurestore/azurestore.go
index 5b50583db..afbbd5939 100644
--- a/pkg/azurestore/azurestore.go
+++ b/pkg/azurestore/azurestore.go
@@ -89,10 +89,10 @@ func (store AzureStore) NewUpload(ctx context.Context, info handler.FileInfo) (h
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("azurestore: unable to create InfoHandler file:\n%s", err)
 	}
 
-	// Stage an empty sentinel block so that "no uncommitted blocks" reliably means upload complete.
+	// Stage a sentinel block so that "no uncommitted blocks" reliably means upload complete.
 	// Without it we cannot distinguish completed uploads from a new upload that has not written any blocks yet.
 	// Committed blocks exist if versioning is enabled and a blob is overwritten.
-	if err := azUpload.BlockBlob.Upload(ctx, bytes.NewReader([]byte{})); err != nil {
+	if err := azUpload.BlockBlob.StageSentinelBlock(ctx); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/azurestore/azurestore_mock_test.go b/pkg/azurestore/azurestore_mock_test.go
index 48000a9ca..824cb1559 100644
--- a/pkg/azurestore/azurestore_mock_test.go
+++ b/pkg/azurestore/azurestore_mock_test.go
@@ -132,6 +132,20 @@ func (mr *MockAzBlobMockRecorder) GetOffset(arg0 interface{}) *gomock.Call {
 	return mr.mock.ctrl.RecordCallWithMethodType(mr.mock, "GetOffset", reflect.TypeOf((*MockAzBlob)(nil).GetOffset), arg0)
 }
 
+// StageSentinelBlock mocks base method.
+func (m *MockAzBlob) StageSentinelBlock(arg0 context.Context) error {
+	m.ctrl.T.Helper()
+	ret := m.ctrl.Call(m, "StageSentinelBlock", arg0)
+	ret0, _ := ret[0].(error)
+	return ret0
+}
+
+// StageSentinelBlock indicates an expected call of StageSentinelBlock.
+func (mr *MockAzBlobMockRecorder) StageSentinelBlock(arg0 interface{}) *gomock.Call {
+	mr.mock.ctrl.T.Helper()
+	return mr.mock.ctrl.RecordCallWithMethodType(mr.mock, "StageSentinelBlock", reflect.TypeOf((*MockAzBlob)(nil).StageSentinelBlock), arg0)
+}
+
 // Upload mocks base method.
 func (m *MockAzBlob) Upload(arg0 context.Context, arg1 io.ReadSeeker) error {
 	m.ctrl.T.Helper()
diff --git a/pkg/azurestore/azurestore_test.go b/pkg/azurestore/azurestore_test.go
index 11031b135..0e125fadd 100644
--- a/pkg/azurestore/azurestore_test.go
+++ b/pkg/azurestore/azurestore_test.go
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ func TestNewUpload(t *testing.T) {
 		service.EXPECT().NewBlob(ctx, mockID).Return(blockBlob, nil).Times(1),
 		service.EXPECT().NewBlob(ctx, mockID+".info").Return(infoBlob, nil).Times(1),
 		infoBlob.EXPECT().Upload(ctx, r).Return(nil).Times(1),
-		blockBlob.EXPECT().Upload(ctx, gomock.Any()).Return(nil).Times(1),
+		blockBlob.EXPECT().StageSentinelBlock(ctx).Return(nil).Times(1),
 	)
 
 	upload, err := store.NewUpload(context.Background(), mockTusdInfo)
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ func TestNewUploadWithPrefix(t *testing.T) {
 		service.EXPECT().NewBlob(ctx, objectPrefix+mockID).Return(blockBlob, nil).Times(1),
 		service.EXPECT().NewBlob(ctx, objectPrefix+mockID+".info").Return(infoBlob, nil).Times(1),
 		infoBlob.EXPECT().Upload(ctx, r).Return(nil).Times(1),
-		blockBlob.EXPECT().Upload(ctx, gomock.Any()).Return(nil).Times(1),
+		blockBlob.EXPECT().StageSentinelBlock(ctx).Return(nil).Times(1),
 	)
 
 	upload, err := store.NewUpload(context.Background(), mockTusdInfo)