diff --git a/nestsClient/src/commonMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/nestsclient/ReconnectingNestsListener.kt b/nestsClient/src/commonMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/nestsclient/ReconnectingNestsListener.kt
index ebe165c3c..40ee46549 100644
--- a/nestsClient/src/commonMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/nestsclient/ReconnectingNestsListener.kt
+++ b/nestsClient/src/commonMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/nestsclient/ReconnectingNestsListener.kt
@@ -353,11 +353,29 @@ private class ReconnectingHandle(
                                 // suspend re-checked active state.
                                 throw ce
                             } catch (t: Throwable) {
+                                // The opener can throw for a transient
+                                // reason — most commonly: the listener
+                                // joined the room before the speaker started
+                                // publishing, the announce-watch hasn't yet
+                                // surfaced an Active for this broadcast, and
+                                // the relay FINs the SUBSCRIBE bidi without
+                                // a SubscribeOk/SubscribeDrop reply. The
+                                // earlier shape returned `null` and `break`'d
+                                // out of the inner re-issue loop, which made
+                                // a single pre-publisher subscribe permanent
+                                // — the audio never recovered when the
+                                // speaker did come up. Retry with the same
+                                // backoff used between publisher cycles.
                                 Log.w("NestRx") {
-                                    "ReconnectingHandle.opener threw ${t::class.simpleName}: ${t.message} — pump breaks"
+                                    "ReconnectingHandle.opener threw ${t::class.simpleName}: ${t.message} " +
+                                        "— retrying after ${SUBSCRIBE_RETRY_BACKOFF_MS}ms"
                                 }
                                 null
-                            } ?: break
+                            }
+                        if (handle == null) {
+                            delay(SUBSCRIBE_RETRY_BACKOFF_MS)
+                            continue
+                        }
                         liveHandleRef.set(handle)
                         try {
                             handle.objects.collect { frames.emit(it) }
@@ -410,6 +428,15 @@ private class ReconnectingHandle(
         // gone publisher doesn't spin the relay with re-subscribes.
         private const val RESUBSCRIBE_BACKOFF_MS = 100L
 
+        // Backoff after an opener throws (typically: subscribe-before-
+        // announce arrives at the relay before the publisher exists,
+        // and the relay FINs the bidi without a SubscribeOk/Drop). One
+        // second is well over moq-rs's typical announce-propagation
+        // latency (< 200 ms in production traces), so the next retry
+        // usually succeeds; long enough that a never-arriving publisher
+        // doesn't hammer the relay either.
+        private const val SUBSCRIBE_RETRY_BACKOFF_MS = 1_000L
+
         private val SYNTH_OK =
             SubscribeOk(
                 subscribeId = -1L,