diff --git a/homeassistant/components/vicare/climate.py b/homeassistant/components/vicare/climate.py
index 8cb0efbecd4a..5a73894a9770 100644
--- a/homeassistant/components/vicare/climate.py
+++ b/homeassistant/components/vicare/climate.py
@@ -220,12 +220,12 @@ class ViCareClimate(ViCareEntity, ClimateEntity):
                     phase = None
                     with suppress(PyViCareNotSupportedFeatureError):
                         phase = compressor.getPhase()
+                    # Devices do not agree on how to spell the phase, and
+                    # some do not expose one at all, so a running compressor
+                    # heats unless it says it is cooling.
                     if phase == "cooling":
                         cooling_active = True
-                    elif phase == "heating" or phase is None:
-                        # Phase is unset on hybrid devices that do not
-                        # expose it: fall back to HEATING to match the
-                        # pre-cooling-support behaviour.
+                    else:
                         heating_active = True
 
             if cooling_active:
diff --git a/tests/components/vicare/test_climate.py b/tests/components/vicare/test_climate.py
index 28ae7ae62554..6b903cfe3398 100644
--- a/tests/components/vicare/test_climate.py
+++ b/tests/components/vicare/test_climate.py
@@ -55,6 +55,9 @@ async def test_all_entities(
         ("cooling", True, HVACAction.COOLING),
         ("off", False, HVACAction.IDLE),
         ("ready", False, HVACAction.IDLE),
+        # Heat pumps that phrase their phase differently ("ready" while the
+        # compressor runs) are heating, not idle.
+        ("ready", True, HVACAction.HEATING),
         # Active compressor without a recognisable phase falls back to
         # HEATING (matches the pre-cooling-support behaviour for hybrid
         # devices that may not expose the phase property).