diff --git a/NEWS.adoc b/NEWS.adoc
index bad715de33..43965430d3 100644
--- a/NEWS.adoc
+++ b/NEWS.adoc
@@ -479,8 +479,8 @@ relocated into new `shutdown.default` INSTCMD definitions. [#2670]
    * custom `distcheck-something` targets did not inherit `DISTCHECK_FLAGS`
      properly. [#2541]
    * added `status_get()` in NUT driver state API, to check if a status
-     token string had been set recently, and to avoid duplicate settings.
-     [PR #2565]
+     token string had been set recently, and to avoid duplicate settings;
+     fixed `status_set()` for multi-token arguments. [PR #2565, issue #2708]
    * local socket/pipe protocol introduced a `LOGOUT` command for cleaner
      disconnection handling. [#2572]
    * codebase adapted to the liking of `clang-18` and newer revisions of
diff --git a/appveyor.yml b/appveyor.yml
index b6d1a32c56..f37b854ea2 100644
--- a/appveyor.yml
+++ b/appveyor.yml
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ after_test:
         set MSYSTEM=MINGW64
         REM Oh the joys of shell scripting with strings passed through CMD:
         REM Note: currently Python installation path with MSYS is buggy [#1584]
-        C:\msys64\usr\bin\bash -lc 'date -u; set -e ; if ! rm -rf ".inst" ; then echo "WARNING: Failed to clean away .inst" ; fi ; PATH="/mingw64/lib/ccache/bin:/mingw64/bin:$PATH" make -s install-win-bundle DESTDIR="`pwd`/.inst/NUT-for-Windows-x86_64-SNAPSHOT-%APPVEYOR_BUILD_VERSION%" ; ln -fs "NUT-for-Windows-x86_64-SNAPSHOT-%APPVEYOR_BUILD_VERSION%" ./.inst/NUT-for-Windows-x86_64-SNAPSHOT ; ( cd .inst/NUT-for-Windows-x86_64-SNAPSHOT ; find . -ls ; ) ; date -u'
+        C:\msys64\usr\bin\bash -lc 'date -u; set -e ; if ! rm -rf ".inst" ; then echo "WARNING: Failed to clean away .inst" ; fi ; PATH="/mingw64/lib/ccache/bin:/mingw64/bin:$PATH" make -s install-win-bundle DESTDIR="`pwd`/.inst/NUT-for-Windows-x86_64-SNAPSHOT-%APPVEYOR_BUILD_VERSION%" ; rm -rf ./.inst/NUT-for-Windows-x86_64-SNAPSHOT || true ; ln -fs "NUT-for-Windows-x86_64-SNAPSHOT-%APPVEYOR_BUILD_VERSION%" ./.inst/NUT-for-Windows-x86_64-SNAPSHOT ; ( cd .inst/NUT-for-Windows-x86_64-SNAPSHOT ; find . -ls ; ) ; date -u'
         cd .inst
         7z a ../NUT-for-Windows-x86_64-SNAPSHOT-%APPVEYOR_BUILD_VERSION%.7z NUT*
   - cmd: |
diff --git a/docs/new-drivers.txt b/docs/new-drivers.txt
index 3ca3ca9c76..be88bb3503 100644
--- a/docs/new-drivers.txt
+++ b/docs/new-drivers.txt
@@ -247,6 +247,10 @@ Possible values for status_set:
 	BOOST   -- UPS is boosting incoming voltage
 	FSD     -- Forced Shutdown (restricted use, see the note below)
 
+Internally, an `ALARM` value would be added (typically as first in the list)
+if the `ups.alarm` is currently not empty. For more details, see below in
+`alarm_set()` description.
+
 Anything else will not be recognized by the usual clients expecting a
 particular NUT standard release.  New tokens may appear over time, but
 driver developers should coordinate with the nut-upsdev list before creating
diff --git a/drivers/bestfortress.c b/drivers/bestfortress.c
index 8869840c6f..f9aeab7982 100644
--- a/drivers/bestfortress.c
+++ b/drivers/bestfortress.c
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 #endif
 
 #define DRIVER_NAME     "Best Fortress UPS driver"
-#define DRIVER_VERSION  "0.10"
+#define DRIVER_VERSION  "0.11"
 
 /* driver description structure */
 upsdrv_info_t   upsdrv_info = {
@@ -401,13 +401,13 @@ void upsdrv_updateinfo(void)
 
 	status_init();
 	if (low_batt)
-		status_set("LB ");
+		status_set("LB");
 	else if (trimming)
 		status_set("TRIM");
 	else if (boosting)
 		status_set("BOOST");
 	else
-		status_set(is_online ? (is_off ? "OFF " : "OL ") : "OB ");
+		status_set(is_online ? (is_off ? "OFF" : "OL") : "OB");
 
 	/* setinfo(INFO_STATUS, "%s%s",
 	 *	(util < lownorm) ? "BOOST ", "",
diff --git a/drivers/dstate.c b/drivers/dstate.c
index f830ea8e6a..91baf88656 100644
--- a/drivers/dstate.c
+++ b/drivers/dstate.c
@@ -1644,11 +1644,16 @@ int status_get(const char *buf)
 	s = strstr(status_buf, buf);
 	buflen = strlen(buf);
 
-	/* not found */
-	if (!s)
+repeat:
+	/* not found or hit end of line */
+	if (!s || !*s)
 		return 0;
 
-	offset = status_buf - s;
+	offset = s - status_buf;
+#if 0
+	upsdebugx(3, "%s: '%s' in '%s': offset=%" PRIuSIZE" buflen=%" PRIuSIZE" s[buflen]='0x%2X'\n",
+		__func__, buf, status_buf, offset, buflen, s[buflen]);
+#endif
 	if (offset == 0 || status_buf[offset - 1] == ' ') {
 		/* We have hit the start of token */
 		if (s[buflen] == '\0' || s[buflen] == ' ') {
@@ -1658,12 +1663,46 @@ int status_get(const char *buf)
 	}
 
 	/* buf was a substring of some other token */
-	return 0;
+	s = strstr(s + 1, buf);
+	goto repeat;
 }
 
 /* add a status element */
 void status_set(const char *buf)
 {
+#if 0
+	upsdebugx(3, "%s: '%s'\n", __func__, buf);
+#endif
+	if (strstr(buf, " ")) {
+		/* Recurse adding each sub-status one by one (avoid duplicates)
+		 * We frown upon adding "A FEW TOKENS" at once, but in e.g.
+		 * snmp-ups subdrivers with a mapping table this is not easily
+		 * avoidable...
+		 */
+		char	*tmp = xstrdup(buf), *p = tmp, *s = tmp;
+		while (*p) {
+			if (*p == ' ') {
+				*p = '\0';
+				if (s != p) {
+					/* Only recurse to set non-trivial tokens */
+					status_set(s);
+				}
+				p++;
+				s = p;	/* Start of new word... or a consecutive space to ignore on next cycle */
+			} else {
+				p++;
+			}
+		}
+
+		if (s != p) {
+			/* Last valid token did end with (*p=='\0') */
+			status_set(s);
+		}
+
+		free(tmp);
+		return;
+	}
+
 	if (ignorelb && !strcasecmp(buf, "LB")) {
 		upsdebugx(2, "%s: ignoring LB flag from device", __func__);
 		return;
diff --git a/drivers/liebert-gxe.c b/drivers/liebert-gxe.c
index 36886c80f8..dbed3f149a 100644
--- a/drivers/liebert-gxe.c
+++ b/drivers/liebert-gxe.c
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 #include "ydn23.h"
 
 #define DRIVER_NAME	"Liebert GXE Series UPS driver"
-#define DRIVER_VERSION	"0.02"
+#define DRIVER_VERSION	"0.03"
 
 #define PROBE_RETRIES	3
 #define DEFAULT_STALE_RETRIES	3
@@ -173,9 +173,10 @@ static void upsdrv_updateinfo_onoff(void)
 		status_set("OB");
 	else if (pwrval == 0x01)
 		status_set("OL");
-	else if (pwrval == 0x02)
-		status_set("OL BYPASS");
-	else
+	else if (pwrval == 0x02) {
+		status_set("OL");
+		status_set("BYPASS");
+	} else
 		upslogx(LOG_WARNING, "unknown ups state: %x %x",
 			(unsigned int)pwrval,
 			(unsigned int)rectval);
diff --git a/drivers/main.c b/drivers/main.c
index 0217e5438a..78339d7f92 100644
--- a/drivers/main.c
+++ b/drivers/main.c
@@ -47,9 +47,11 @@ const char	*progname = NULL, *upsname = NULL, *device_name = NULL;
 
 /* may be set by the driver to wake up while in dstate_poll_fds */
 TYPE_FD	extrafd = ERROR_FD;
-#ifdef WIN32
+#ifndef DRIVERS_MAIN_WITHOUT_MAIN
+# ifdef WIN32
 static HANDLE	mutex = INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE;
-#endif
+# endif	/* WIN32 */
+#endif	/* DRIVERS_MAIN_WITHOUT_MAIN */
 
 /* Set by INSTCMD to killpower or by running `drivername -k` to
  * help differentiate calls into upsdrv_shutdown() and further
diff --git a/tests/.gitignore b/tests/.gitignore
index ab9969c713..59edbae1af 100644
--- a/tests/.gitignore
+++ b/tests/.gitignore
@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@
 /cppnit
 /cppnit.log
 /cppnit.trs
+/driver_methods_utest
+/driver_methods_utest.log
+/driver_methods_utest.trs
 /gpiotest
 /gpiotest.log
 /gpiotest.trs
diff --git a/tests/Makefile.am b/tests/Makefile.am
index 38b4f71c99..5d30b5c8de 100644
--- a/tests/Makefile.am
+++ b/tests/Makefile.am
@@ -116,6 +116,11 @@ endif !WITH_GPIO
 CLEANFILES += generic_gpio_libgpiod.c generic_gpio_common.c
 EXTRA_DIST += generic_gpio_utest.h generic_gpio_test.txt
 
+TESTS += driver_methods_utest
+driver_methods_utest_SOURCES = driver_methods_utest.c
+driver_methods_utest_LDADD = $(top_builddir)/drivers/libdummy_mockdrv.la
+driver_methods_utest_CFLAGS = $(AM_CFLAGS) -I$(top_srcdir)/tests -DDRIVERS_MAIN_WITHOUT_MAIN=1
+
 # Make sure out-of-dir dependencies exist (especially when dev-building parts):
 $(top_builddir)/drivers/libdummy_mockdrv.la \
 $(top_builddir)/common/libnutconf.la \
diff --git a/tests/driver_methods_utest.c b/tests/driver_methods_utest.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..77da6c2221
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/driver_methods_utest.c
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+/*  driver_methods_utest.c - NUT driver code test tool
+ *
+ *  Copyright (C)
+ *	2025       	Jim Klimov <jimklimov+nut@gmail.com>
+ *
+ *  This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ *  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ *  the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+ *  (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ *  This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ *  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ *  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ *  GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ *
+ *  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ *  along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ *  Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
+ *
+ */
+
+#include "config.h"
+#include "main.h"
+#include "dstate.h"
+#include "attribute.h"
+#include "nut_stdint.h"
+
+/* driver version */
+#define DRIVER_NAME     "Mock driver for unit tests"
+#define DRIVER_VERSION  "0.01"
+
+/* driver description structure */
+upsdrv_info_t upsdrv_info = {
+	DRIVER_NAME,
+	DRIVER_VERSION,
+	"Jim Klimov <jimklimov+nut@gmail.com>",
+	DRV_EXPERIMENTAL,
+	{ NULL }
+};
+
+static int cases_passed = 0;
+static int cases_failed = 0;
+
+static char * pass_fail[2] = {"pass", "fail"};
+
+void upsdrv_cleanup(void) {}
+void upsdrv_shutdown(void) {}
+
+static void report_pass(void) {
+	printf("%s", pass_fail[0]);
+	cases_passed++;
+}
+
+static void report_fail(void) {
+	printf("%s", pass_fail[1]);
+	cases_failed++;
+}
+
+static int report_0_means_pass(int i) {
+	if (i == 0) {
+		report_pass();
+	} else {
+		report_fail();
+	}
+	return i;
+}
+int main(int argc, char **argv) {
+	const char	*valueStr = NULL;
+
+	NUT_UNUSED_VARIABLE(argc);
+	NUT_UNUSED_VARIABLE(argv);
+
+	cases_passed = 0;
+	cases_failed = 0;
+
+	/* test case #1 */
+	status_init();
+	nut_debug_level = 6;
+	status_set(" OL ");
+	status_set("OL BOOST");
+	status_set("OB ");
+	status_set(" BOOST");
+	status_commit();
+	valueStr = dstate_getinfo("ups.status");
+	nut_debug_level = 0;
+	report_0_means_pass(strcmp(valueStr, "OL BOOST OB"));
+	printf(" test for ups.status: '%s'; any duplicates?\n", NUT_STRARG(valueStr));
+
+	/* test case #2, build on top of #1 */
+	alarm_init();
+	alarm_set("Test alarm 1");
+	alarm_set("Test alarm 2");
+	alarm_set("Test alarm 1");
+	alarm_commit();
+	/* Note: normally we re-init and re-set the values */
+	status_commit();
+	valueStr = dstate_getinfo("ups.status");
+	report_0_means_pass(strcmp(valueStr, "ALARM OL BOOST OB"));
+	printf(" test for ups.status: '%s'; got alarm?\n", NUT_STRARG(valueStr));
+
+	/* test case #3, build on top of #2 */
+	valueStr = dstate_getinfo("ups.alarm");
+	/* NOTE: no dedup here! */
+	report_0_means_pass(strcmp(valueStr, "Test alarm 1 Test alarm 2 Test alarm 1"));
+	printf(" test for ups.alarm: '%s'; got 3 alarms?\n", NUT_STRARG(valueStr));
+
+	/* test case #4, build on top of #1 and #2 */
+	/* Note: normally we re-init and re-set the values */
+	status_set("BOO");
+	status_set("BOO");
+	status_set("OST");
+	status_set("OST");
+	status_set("OOS");
+	status_set("OOS");
+	status_commit();
+	valueStr = dstate_getinfo("ups.status");
+	nut_debug_level = 0;
+	report_0_means_pass(strcmp(valueStr, "ALARM OL BOOST OB BOO OST OOS"));
+	printf(" test for ups.status: '%s'; any duplicates?\n", NUT_STRARG(valueStr));
+
+	/* finish */
+	printf("test_rules completed. Total cases %d, passed %d, failed %d\n",
+		cases_passed+cases_failed, cases_passed, cases_failed);
+
+	dstate_free();
+	upsdrv_cleanup();
+
+	/* Return 0 (exit-code OK, boolean false) if no tests failed and some ran */
+	if ( (cases_failed == 0) && (cases_passed > 0) )
+		return 0;
+
+	return 1;
+}