diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index fd55fdbf..12ef16a6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,6 +11,22 @@ PyPI version — not the changelog header.
 
 ## [2026-07-14]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- **TG bots no longer hot-spin when the internet drops.** Live find from
+  Patrick's on-location tether outage: DNS failure makes `urlopen` fail
+  instantly (no 30s long-poll wait), so the shared poll loop retried as fast as
+  it could — up to 13 ERROR lines/second per bot, all 5 bots spinning for the
+  whole offline window (rotation saved the disk; nothing saved the CPU, and the
+  flood tripped the medic circuit breaker fleet-wide). Now network-class poll
+  failures (DNS/connection/socket, classified via `_NetworkPollError`) back off
+  exponentially 1s→60s cap and reset on the first successful poll, with
+  log-once semantics: one "unreachable, backing off" line, one summary per 5
+  minutes while offline, one recovery line with suppressed count. Routine
+  long-poll read-timeouts (expected getUpdates behavior, ~863 medic-suppressed
+  events/day) no longer log at all. Bots still self-recover the moment
+  connectivity returns. 25 new tests; 822 TG + 252 skills green.
+
 ### Added
 
 - **Medic is back on — and the loop is proven live.** Off since 2026-05-10 (a
diff --git a/src/aipass/skills/lib/telegram/apps/handlers/base_bot.py b/src/aipass/skills/lib/telegram/apps/handlers/base_bot.py
index 6dc8c45a..ec586f42 100644
--- a/src/aipass/skills/lib/telegram/apps/handlers/base_bot.py
+++ b/src/aipass/skills/lib/telegram/apps/handlers/base_bot.py
@@ -139,6 +139,37 @@ CLAUDE_BIN = str(Path.home() / ".local" / "bin" / "claude")
 MIRROR_SESSION_TYPE = "interactive-mirror"
 TEMP_DIR = Path(tempfile.gettempdir()) / "telegram_uploads"
 MAX_FILE_SIZE = 10 * 1024 * 1024  # 10MB
+NETWORK_BACKOFF_INIT = 1  # seconds
+NETWORK_BACKOFF_CAP = 60  # seconds
+NETWORK_LOG_INTERVAL = 300  # 5 minutes between offline summary lines
+
+
+class _NetworkPollError(Exception):
+    """Raised by poll_updates when a network-class error occurs (DNS, connection, socket)."""
+
+
+def _is_network_error(exc: Exception) -> bool:
+    reason = getattr(exc, "reason", None)
+    if isinstance(reason, OSError):
+        return True
+    reason_str = str(reason) if reason else str(exc)
+    for pattern in (
+        "Name or service not known",
+        "getaddrinfo",
+        "Temporary failure",
+        "Network is unreachable",
+        "No route to host",
+        "Connection refused",
+        "Connection reset",
+        "Connection timed out",
+    ):
+        if pattern in reason_str:
+            return True
+    return False
+
+
+def _is_routine_read_timeout(exc: Exception) -> bool:
+    return "timed out" in str(exc) and "read operation" in str(getattr(exc, "reason", exc))
 
 
 # =============================================
@@ -299,17 +330,36 @@ class BaseBot:
         offset = self._load_offset()
         logger.info("Starting poll loop (offset=%d)", offset)
 
-        # Retry backoff sequence: 5s, 10s, 20s, 40s, 60s max
+        # General retry backoff (non-network errors)
         retry_delay = 5
         max_retry_delay = 60
 
+        # Network-error state tracking
+        net_backoff = NETWORK_BACKOFF_INIT
+        net_offline_since: float | None = None
+        net_suppressed = 0
+        net_last_summary: float = 0.0
+
         while self.state["running"]:
             try:
                 updates = self.poll_updates(offset)
 
-                # Reset backoff on successful poll
+                # Reset general backoff on successful poll
                 retry_delay = 5
 
+                # Network recovery
+                if net_offline_since is not None:
+                    elapsed = time.time() - net_offline_since
+                    mins = int(elapsed / 60)
+                    logger.info(
+                        "Telegram reachable again after %dm, %d attempts suppressed",
+                        mins,
+                        net_suppressed,
+                    )
+                    net_offline_since = None
+                    net_suppressed = 0
+                    net_backoff = NETWORK_BACKOFF_INIT
+
                 for update in updates:
                     if not self.state["running"]:
                         break
@@ -323,6 +373,26 @@ class BaseBot:
 
                     self.process_update(update)
 
+            except _NetworkPollError as e:
+                self._health["errors"] = self._health.get("errors", 0) + 1
+                now = time.time()
+                if net_offline_since is None:
+                    net_offline_since = now
+                    net_suppressed = 0
+                    net_last_summary = now
+                    logger.error("Telegram unreachable, backing off: %s", e)
+                else:
+                    net_suppressed += 1
+                    if now - net_last_summary >= NETWORK_LOG_INTERVAL:
+                        mins = int((now - net_offline_since) / 60)
+                        logger.warning(
+                            "Still offline (%dm), %d attempts suppressed",
+                            mins,
+                            net_suppressed,
+                        )
+                        net_last_summary = now
+                time.sleep(net_backoff)
+                net_backoff = min(net_backoff * 2, NETWORK_BACKOFF_CAP)
             except KeyboardInterrupt:
                 logger.info("KeyboardInterrupt received")
                 break
@@ -394,8 +464,14 @@ class BaseBot:
             return data.get("result", [])
 
         except URLError as e:
+            if _is_routine_read_timeout(e):
+                return []
+            if _is_network_error(e):
+                raise _NetworkPollError(str(e)) from e
             logger.error("Poll error: %s", e)
             return []
+        except (ConnectionError, OSError) as e:
+            raise _NetworkPollError(str(e)) from e
         except Exception as e:
             logger.error("Unexpected poll error: %s", e)
             return []
diff --git a/src/aipass/skills/lib/telegram/tests/test_network_backoff.py b/src/aipass/skills/lib/telegram/tests/test_network_backoff.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b6fe1a74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/aipass/skills/lib/telegram/tests/test_network_backoff.py
@@ -0,0 +1,364 @@
+"""
+Tests for network-error backoff and routine-timeout log level in the poll loop.
+
+Tests cover:
+  - Exponential backoff on network errors (1s, 2s, 4s... capped at 60s)
+  - Backoff resets on successful poll after network recovery
+  - Log-once semantics: first failure logs error, subsequent suppressed
+  - Periodic summary logged every 5 minutes while offline
+  - Recovery log line with elapsed time and suppressed count
+  - Routine read-timeout returns [] silently (not logged at ERROR)
+  - Non-network URLError still logged at ERROR
+  - ConnectionError/OSError raised as _NetworkPollError
+  - _is_network_error classification
+  - _is_routine_read_timeout classification
+"""
+
+from unittest.mock import patch
+from urllib.error import URLError
+
+import pytest
+
+from aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot import (
+    BaseBot,
+    _NetworkPollError,
+    _is_network_error,
+    _is_routine_read_timeout,
+    NETWORK_LOG_INTERVAL,
+)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def _patch_base_bot_deps(tmp_path):
+    patches = [
+        patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.PENDING_DIR", tmp_path),
+        patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.signal.signal"),
+        patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.atexit.register"),
+    ]
+    for p in patches:
+        p.start()
+    yield
+    for p in patches:
+        p.stop()
+
+
+def _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+    workdir = tmp_path / "workdir"
+    workdir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
+    bot = BaseBot(
+        bot_id="test_bot",
+        bot_token="123:FAKETOKEN",
+        work_dir=workdir,
+        bot_name="Test Bot",
+    )
+    bot.verify_connection = lambda timeout=15: True
+    bot._set_command_menu = lambda: None
+    bot._boot_monitor = lambda: None
+    bot._check_lock = lambda: False
+    bot._create_lock = lambda: None
+    bot._remove_lock = lambda: None
+    bot._load_offset = lambda: 0  # type: ignore[assignment]
+    bot._save_offset = lambda o: None  # type: ignore[assignment]
+    return bot
+
+
+# =============================================
+# 1. _is_network_error classification
+# =============================================
+
+
+class TestIsNetworkError:
+    def test_dns_failure(self):
+        exc = URLError(OSError("[Errno -2] Name or service not known"))
+        assert _is_network_error(exc) is True
+
+    def test_getaddrinfo_failure(self):
+        exc = URLError(OSError("[Errno -3] getaddrinfo failed"))
+        assert _is_network_error(exc) is True
+
+    def test_connection_refused(self):
+        exc = URLError(OSError("Connection refused"))
+        assert _is_network_error(exc) is True
+
+    def test_network_unreachable(self):
+        exc = URLError(OSError("Network is unreachable"))
+        assert _is_network_error(exc) is True
+
+    def test_temporary_failure(self):
+        exc = URLError(OSError("Temporary failure in name resolution"))
+        assert _is_network_error(exc) is True
+
+    def test_reason_is_oserror_instance(self):
+        exc = URLError(OSError("any socket error"))
+        assert _is_network_error(exc) is True
+
+    def test_http_error_not_network(self):
+        exc = URLError("HTTP Error 502")
+        assert _is_network_error(exc) is False
+
+    def test_generic_string_not_network(self):
+        exc = URLError("some other error")
+        assert _is_network_error(exc) is False
+
+
+# =============================================
+# 2. _is_routine_read_timeout classification
+# =============================================
+
+
+class TestIsRoutineReadTimeout:
+    def test_read_timeout(self):
+        exc = URLError(OSError("The read operation timed out"))
+        assert _is_routine_read_timeout(exc) is True
+
+    def test_connect_timeout_not_routine(self):
+        exc = URLError(OSError("Connection timed out"))
+        assert _is_routine_read_timeout(exc) is False
+
+    def test_dns_failure_not_timeout(self):
+        exc = URLError(OSError("Name or service not known"))
+        assert _is_routine_read_timeout(exc) is False
+
+
+# =============================================
+# 3. poll_updates error classification
+# =============================================
+
+
+class TestPollUpdatesErrorClassification:
+    def test_routine_read_timeout_returns_empty(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        exc = URLError(OSError("The read operation timed out"))
+        with patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.urlopen", side_effect=exc):
+            result = bot.poll_updates(0)
+        assert result == []
+
+    def test_routine_read_timeout_no_error_log(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        exc = URLError(OSError("The read operation timed out"))
+        with (
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.urlopen", side_effect=exc),
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.logger") as mock_logger,
+        ):
+            bot.poll_updates(0)
+        mock_logger.error.assert_not_called()
+
+    def test_dns_failure_raises_network_poll_error(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        exc = URLError(OSError("[Errno -2] Name or service not known"))
+        with patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.urlopen", side_effect=exc):
+            with pytest.raises(_NetworkPollError):
+                bot.poll_updates(0)
+
+    def test_connection_error_raises_network_poll_error(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        exc = ConnectionResetError("Connection reset by peer")
+        with patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.urlopen", side_effect=exc):
+            with pytest.raises(_NetworkPollError):
+                bot.poll_updates(0)
+
+    def test_os_error_raises_network_poll_error(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        exc = OSError("Socket error")
+        with patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.urlopen", side_effect=exc):
+            with pytest.raises(_NetworkPollError):
+                bot.poll_updates(0)
+
+    def test_non_network_urlerror_logs_error(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        exc = URLError("HTTP Error 502")
+        with (
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.urlopen", side_effect=exc),
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.logger") as mock_logger,
+        ):
+            result = bot.poll_updates(0)
+        assert result == []
+        mock_logger.error.assert_called_once()
+        assert "Poll error" in str(mock_logger.error.call_args)
+
+    def test_unexpected_exception_logs_error(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        exc = ValueError("something weird")
+        with (
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.urlopen", side_effect=exc),
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.logger") as mock_logger,
+        ):
+            result = bot.poll_updates(0)
+        assert result == []
+        mock_logger.error.assert_called_once()
+        assert "Unexpected poll error" in str(mock_logger.error.call_args)
+
+
+# =============================================
+# 4. Run loop network backoff
+# =============================================
+
+
+class TestRunLoopNetworkBackoff:
+    def test_backoff_doubles_and_caps(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        """Backoff should go 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 60, 60..."""
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        call_count = 0
+        sleep_values = []
+
+        def failing_poll(offset):
+            nonlocal call_count
+            call_count += 1
+            if call_count > 8:
+                bot.state["running"] = False
+                return []
+            raise _NetworkPollError("DNS failure")
+
+        bot.poll_updates = failing_poll
+        with patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.time.sleep") as mock_sleep:
+            bot.run()
+            sleep_values = [c.args[0] for c in mock_sleep.call_args_list if c.args[0] >= 1]
+
+        assert sleep_values == [1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 60, 60]
+
+    def test_backoff_resets_on_recovery(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        call_count = 0
+
+        def poll_with_recovery(offset):
+            nonlocal call_count
+            call_count += 1
+            if call_count <= 3:
+                raise _NetworkPollError("DNS failure")
+            if call_count == 4:
+                return []  # success — resets backoff
+            if call_count == 5:
+                raise _NetworkPollError("DNS failure again")
+            bot.state["running"] = False
+            return []
+
+        bot.poll_updates = poll_with_recovery
+        with patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.time.sleep") as mock_sleep:
+            bot.run()
+            sleep_values = [c.args[0] for c in mock_sleep.call_args_list if c.args[0] >= 1]
+
+        # 1, 2, 4 (first storm), then reset, then 1 (second failure)
+        assert sleep_values == [1, 2, 4, 1]
+
+
+# =============================================
+# 5. Log-once semantics
+# =============================================
+
+
+class TestLogOnceSemantics:
+    def test_first_failure_logs_error(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        call_count = 0
+
+        def failing_poll(offset):
+            nonlocal call_count
+            call_count += 1
+            if call_count > 1:
+                bot.state["running"] = False
+                return []
+            raise _NetworkPollError("DNS failure")
+
+        bot.poll_updates = failing_poll
+        with (
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.time.sleep"),
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.logger") as mock_logger,
+        ):
+            bot.run()
+
+        error_calls = [c for c in mock_logger.error.call_args_list if "unreachable" in str(c)]
+        assert len(error_calls) == 1
+
+    def test_subsequent_failures_suppressed(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        call_count = 0
+
+        def failing_poll(offset):
+            nonlocal call_count
+            call_count += 1
+            if call_count > 10:
+                bot.state["running"] = False
+                return []
+            raise _NetworkPollError("DNS failure")
+
+        bot.poll_updates = failing_poll
+        with (
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.time.sleep"),
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.logger") as mock_logger,
+        ):
+            bot.run()
+
+        error_calls = [c for c in mock_logger.error.call_args_list if "unreachable" in str(c)]
+        # Only one "unreachable" error, not 10
+        assert len(error_calls) == 1
+
+    def test_recovery_logs_info(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        call_count = 0
+
+        def poll_with_recovery(offset):
+            nonlocal call_count
+            call_count += 1
+            if call_count <= 3:
+                raise _NetworkPollError("DNS failure")
+            bot.state["running"] = False
+            return []
+
+        bot.poll_updates = poll_with_recovery
+        with (
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.time.sleep"),
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.logger") as mock_logger,
+        ):
+            bot.run()
+
+        recovery_calls = [c for c in mock_logger.info.call_args_list if "reachable again" in str(c)]
+        assert len(recovery_calls) == 1
+
+    def test_periodic_summary_during_offline(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        call_count = 0
+        fake_time = [100.0]
+
+        def failing_poll(offset):
+            nonlocal call_count
+            call_count += 1
+            # Advance fake clock past NETWORK_LOG_INTERVAL each call
+            fake_time[0] += NETWORK_LOG_INTERVAL + 1
+            if call_count > 4:
+                bot.state["running"] = False
+                return []
+            raise _NetworkPollError("DNS failure")
+
+        bot.poll_updates = failing_poll
+
+        def fake_time_fn():
+            return fake_time[0]
+
+        with (
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.time.sleep"),
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.time.time", side_effect=fake_time_fn),
+            patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.logger") as mock_logger,
+        ):
+            bot.run()
+
+        summary_calls = [c for c in mock_logger.warning.call_args_list if "Still offline" in str(c)]
+        # Calls 2, 3, 4 should each trigger a summary (time jumped >5m each time)
+        assert len(summary_calls) >= 2
+
+    def test_health_errors_incremented(self, tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps):
+        bot = _make_bot(tmp_path, _patch_base_bot_deps)
+        call_count = 0
+
+        def failing_poll(offset):
+            nonlocal call_count
+            call_count += 1
+            if call_count > 5:
+                bot.state["running"] = False
+                return []
+            raise _NetworkPollError("DNS failure")
+
+        bot.poll_updates = failing_poll
+        with patch("aipass.skills.lib.telegram.apps.handlers.base_bot.time.sleep"):
+            bot.run()
+
+        assert bot._health["errors"] == 5