diff --git a/app/lib/services/wals/sync_rate_limiter.dart b/app/lib/services/wals/sync_rate_limiter.dart
index c5674d2ebe2..465eb83ff43 100644
--- a/app/lib/services/wals/sync_rate_limiter.dart
+++ b/app/lib/services/wals/sync_rate_limiter.dart
@@ -2,12 +2,15 @@ import 'package:flutter/foundation.dart';
 import 'package:omi/backend/preferences.dart';
 
 /// Why uploads are currently paused.
-/// - [rateLimit]   : server returned HTTP 429 (fair-use cap).
+/// - [rateLimit]   : server returned HTTP 429 (fair-use cap). Persisted —
+///                   mirrors server-side enforcement that survives client
+///                   restarts (the server keeps a 30-day restrict window).
 /// - [backendBusy] : server marked a job `failed` with the stale-guard error
 ///                   ("Job timed out (background worker likely died)") — i.e.
 ///                   the job sat queued because the backend pipeline is
-///                   saturated and never picked it up. Not the user's fault;
-///                   no `retryCount` bump and the UI surfaces this distinctly.
+///                   saturated and never picked it up. In-memory only — once
+///                   the app restarts, the cooldown clears so the user sees
+///                   fresh state if the server has since recovered.
 enum RateLimitReason { rateLimit, backendBusy }
 
 /// Account-global cooldown for fair-use throttling (HTTP 429) on sync uploads.
@@ -15,10 +18,23 @@ enum RateLimitReason { rateLimit, backendBusy }
 /// When the server rate-limits uploads, the app must stop firing requests
 /// until the window passes — otherwise it hammers the endpoint every minute,
 /// amplifies the 429 storm, and burns each recording's retry budget so a
-/// throttle is mislabelled as "couldn't process". Persisted so a relaunch
-/// during the window doesn't immediately resume hammering.
+/// throttle is mislabelled as "couldn't process".
+///
+/// `rateLimit` cooldowns are persisted (a relaunch during the window
+/// shouldn't immediately resume hammering). `backendBusy` cooldowns are
+/// in-memory only — they reflect transient server pressure and should not
+/// survive an app restart that the user just did to "try again".
 class SyncRateLimiter extends ChangeNotifier {
-  SyncRateLimiter._();
+  SyncRateLimiter._() {
+    // Migration: older versions persisted backendBusy cooldowns. Clear any
+    // stuck persisted backendBusy state so users coming from a healthy
+    // server don't keep seeing "Omi servers are busy" indefinitely.
+    final persistedReason = SharedPreferencesUtil().getString(_prefKeyReason);
+    if (persistedReason == RateLimitReason.backendBusy.name) {
+      SharedPreferencesUtil().saveInt(_prefKeyUntil, 0);
+      SharedPreferencesUtil().saveString(_prefKeyReason, '');
+    }
+  }
   static final SyncRateLimiter instance = SyncRateLimiter._();
 
   static const String _prefKeyUntil = 'syncRateLimitedUntilMs';
@@ -26,37 +42,61 @@ class SyncRateLimiter extends ChangeNotifier {
   static const int _defaultCooldownSeconds = 1800; // 30 minutes
   static const int _maxCooldownSeconds = 24 * 60 * 60; // hard ceiling — guard against a misconfigured Retry-After
 
+  // In-memory cooldown for backendBusy. Intentionally not persisted so an
+  // app restart re-probes the backend state instead of trusting a stale
+  // local timer.
+  int _backendBusyUntilMs = 0;
+
   bool get isLimited {
+    final now = DateTime.now().millisecondsSinceEpoch;
+    if (_backendBusyUntilMs > now) return true;
     final until = SharedPreferencesUtil().getInt(_prefKeyUntil);
-    return until > 0 && DateTime.now().millisecondsSinceEpoch < until;
+    return until > 0 && now < until;
   }
 
   DateTime? get until {
-    final ms = SharedPreferencesUtil().getInt(_prefKeyUntil);
-    return ms > 0 ? DateTime.fromMillisecondsSinceEpoch(ms) : null;
+    final now = DateTime.now().millisecondsSinceEpoch;
+    final persisted = SharedPreferencesUtil().getInt(_prefKeyUntil);
+    final inMemory = _backendBusyUntilMs;
+    final candidates = <int>[if (inMemory > now) inMemory, if (persisted > now) persisted];
+    if (candidates.isEmpty) return null;
+    return DateTime.fromMillisecondsSinceEpoch(candidates.reduce((a, b) => a > b ? a : b));
   }
 
   RateLimitReason? get reason {
-    if (!isLimited) return null;
-    final name = SharedPreferencesUtil().getString(_prefKeyReason);
-    return RateLimitReason.values.asNameMap()[name] ?? RateLimitReason.rateLimit;
+    final now = DateTime.now().millisecondsSinceEpoch;
+    if (_backendBusyUntilMs > now) return RateLimitReason.backendBusy;
+    final persisted = SharedPreferencesUtil().getInt(_prefKeyUntil);
+    if (persisted > now) {
+      final name = SharedPreferencesUtil().getString(_prefKeyReason);
+      return RateLimitReason.values.asNameMap()[name] ?? RateLimitReason.rateLimit;
+    }
+    return null;
   }
 
   /// Pause uploads. Honors the server's Retry-After (seconds) when present,
   /// otherwise falls back to a 30-minute cooldown. [reason] picks the
-  /// user-facing message ("Fair-use limit reached" vs "Backend busy").
+  /// user-facing message ("Fair-use limit reached" vs "Backend busy") and
+  /// also picks the persistence mode (rateLimit persists, backendBusy is
+  /// in-memory only).
   void markLimited({int? retryAfterSeconds, RateLimitReason reason = RateLimitReason.rateLimit}) {
-    final requested =
-        (retryAfterSeconds != null && retryAfterSeconds > 0) ? retryAfterSeconds : _defaultCooldownSeconds;
+    final requested = (retryAfterSeconds != null && retryAfterSeconds > 0)
+        ? retryAfterSeconds
+        : _defaultCooldownSeconds;
     final secs = requested > _maxCooldownSeconds ? _maxCooldownSeconds : requested;
     final untilMs = DateTime.now().add(Duration(seconds: secs)).millisecondsSinceEpoch;
-    SharedPreferencesUtil().saveInt(_prefKeyUntil, untilMs);
-    SharedPreferencesUtil().saveString(_prefKeyReason, reason.name);
+    if (reason == RateLimitReason.backendBusy) {
+      _backendBusyUntilMs = untilMs;
+    } else {
+      SharedPreferencesUtil().saveInt(_prefKeyUntil, untilMs);
+      SharedPreferencesUtil().saveString(_prefKeyReason, reason.name);
+    }
     notifyListeners();
   }
 
   /// Clear the cooldown after any successful upload.
   void clear() {
+    _backendBusyUntilMs = 0;
     SharedPreferencesUtil().saveInt(_prefKeyUntil, 0);
     SharedPreferencesUtil().saveString(_prefKeyReason, '');
     notifyListeners();