diff --git a/src/puter-js/src/lib/networkUtils.js b/src/puter-js/src/lib/networkUtils.js
index 5b080906d..b0986cbeb 100644
--- a/src/puter-js/src/lib/networkUtils.js
+++ b/src/puter-js/src/lib/networkUtils.js
@@ -248,9 +248,17 @@ async function bodyForLog (xhr) {
 // spec, so there are no hand-listed argument lists to get wrong.
 
 const RETRYABLE_STATUS = new Set([ 429, 502, 503, 504 ]);
-const MAX_ATTEMPTS = 5;         // transient attempts (network / retryable 5xx / 429)
-const BASE_DELAY_MS = 500;
-const MAX_DELAY_MS = 60_000;    // cap each backoff wait at 1 minute
+
+// Fixed retry backoff: a quick ramp to a 2s ceiling, then hold at 2s. Index i is
+// the wait (ms) after attempt i+1 fails. The array length caps the retries — 8
+// delays ⇒ 9 attempts total, the 2s ceiling used 5 times — after which the
+// request is failed.
+const RETRY_DELAYS_MS = [ 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 2000, 2000, 2000, 2000 ];
+const RETRY_CEILING_MS = 2000;
+// If a ceiling-length wait overruns real time by more than this, the clock
+// jumped (e.g. the laptop slept mid-wait); the request is stale, so give up
+// rather than fire a very old retry.
+const MAX_SLEEP_DRIFT_MS = 2000;
 
 // Kill-switch seam: puter.configure() (deferred) will drive this. Default on.
 const autoRetryEnabled = () => globalThis.puter?.config?.autoRetry ?? true;
@@ -264,8 +272,13 @@ const sleep = (ms, signal) => new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
     }, { once: true });
 });
 
-// Full-jitter exponential backoff, each wait capped at MAX_DELAY_MS.
-const backoffDelay = attempt => Math.random() * Math.min(MAX_DELAY_MS, BASE_DELAY_MS * 2 ** (attempt - 1));
+const retryDelay = attempt => RETRY_DELAYS_MS[attempt - 1];
+
+const transientRetry = ctx => {
+    if ( ! (ctx.retrySafe && autoRetryEnabled()) ) return null;
+    const delayMs = retryDelay(ctx.attempt);
+    return delayMs === undefined ? null : { delayMs };
+};
 
 /**
  * Drive the env-specific permission prompt for a denied driver call.
@@ -369,10 +382,7 @@ function sendOnce (spec) {
 async function classifyRetry (outcome, ctx) {
     if ( outcome.streamed ) return null; // committed stream — never retried
 
-    if ( outcome.networkError ) {
-        return ( ctx.retrySafe && autoRetryEnabled() && ctx.attempt < MAX_ATTEMPTS )
-            ? { delayMs: backoffDelay(ctx.attempt) } : null;
-    }
+    if ( outcome.networkError ) return transientRetry(ctx);
 
     const { xhr, status } = outcome;
     if ( outcome.parsed === undefined ) {
@@ -399,11 +409,8 @@ async function classifyRetry (outcome, ctx) {
         return null;
     }
 
-    // transient status — read-safe only, honors kill switch, bounded + backed off.
-    if ( RETRYABLE_STATUS.has(status) ) {
-        return ( ctx.retrySafe && autoRetryEnabled() && ctx.attempt < MAX_ATTEMPTS )
-            ? { delayMs: backoffDelay(ctx.attempt) } : null;
-    }
+    // transient status — read-safe only, honors kill switch, fixed schedule.
+    if ( RETRYABLE_STATUS.has(status) ) return transientRetry(ctx);
 
     return null;
 }
@@ -427,7 +434,15 @@ async function sendWithRetry (spec, { retrySafe = false, permission = null, shap
         const outcome = await sendOnce(spec);
         if ( outcome.streamed ) return shapeStream(outcome.lineStream, outcome.xhr);
         const decision = await classifyRetry(outcome, ctx);
-        if ( decision ) { await sleep(decision.delayMs, spec.signal); continue; }
+        if ( decision ) {
+            const before = Date.now();
+            await sleep(decision.delayMs, spec.signal);
+            if ( decision.delayMs >= RETRY_CEILING_MS
+                && (Date.now() - before) - decision.delayMs > MAX_SLEEP_DRIFT_MS ) {
+                return shape(outcome);
+            }
+            continue;
+        }
         return shape(outcome);
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/puter-js/src/lib/networkUtils.test.js b/src/puter-js/src/lib/networkUtils.test.js
index 60004358c..6a1c90558 100644
--- a/src/puter-js/src/lib/networkUtils.test.js
+++ b/src/puter-js/src/lib/networkUtils.test.js
@@ -293,10 +293,10 @@ describe('transient retry', () => {
         vi.useFakeTimers();
         const xhrs = installFakeXHR(netError()); // every attempt fails
         const p = fetchUrl('https://api.example/x').catch(e => e); // GET
-        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(60_000 * 6);
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(60_000); // clears the ~11.75s schedule
         const err = await p;
         expect(err).toBeInstanceOf(TypeError);
-        expect(xhrs.length).toBe(5); // MAX_ATTEMPTS
+        expect(xhrs.length).toBe(9); // 1 initial + 8 scheduled retries
         vi.useRealTimers();
     });
 
@@ -305,6 +305,28 @@ describe('transient retry', () => {
         await expect(fetchUrl('https://api.example/x', { method: 'POST' })).rejects.toThrow(/failed/);
         expect(xhrs.length).toBe(1);
     });
+
+    it('gives up on a 2s retry when the clock jumps (sleep/drift guard)', async () => {
+        // Fake only the timers, not Date — a manual `clock` drives Date.now so we
+        // can simulate the machine sleeping during a 2s ceiling wait.
+        vi.useFakeTimers({ toFake: [ 'setTimeout', 'clearTimeout' ] });
+        let clock = 0;
+        vi.spyOn(Date, 'now').mockImplementation(() => clock);
+        const xhrs = installFakeXHR(respond({ status: 503, body: {} })); // always retryable
+        const p = fetchUrl('https://api.example/x'); // GET → read-safe
+
+        // Ramp (250+500+1000) → 4 attempts, then paused in the first 2s wait.
+        // Sub-2s waits aren't drift-guarded, so the clock needn't move here.
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1750);
+        // Simulate the laptop sleeping through the 2s wait: the clock leaps ahead.
+        clock += 2000 + 60_000;
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(2000);
+
+        const resp = await p;
+        expect(resp.status).toBe(503); // failed with the last outcome — no further retry
+        expect(xhrs.length).toBe(4);   // stopped after the drifted 2s wait, before attempt 5
+        vi.useRealTimers();
+    });
 });
 
 describe('dedupe', () => {