diff --git a/pkg/channels/buzz/buzz.go b/pkg/channels/buzz/buzz.go
index 2510495c..99d27947 100644
--- a/pkg/channels/buzz/buzz.go
+++ b/pkg/channels/buzz/buzz.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/nbd-wtf/go-nostr"
 	"github.com/nbd-wtf/go-nostr/nip19"
@@ -117,15 +118,36 @@ func (c *BuzzChannel) Start(ctx context.Context) error {
 	}
 	c.relay = relay
 
-	// NIP-42: the relay challenges, we sign the auth event with the bot identity.
-	// Buzz relays reject subscriptions from unauthenticated clients, so a failure
-	// here is fatal rather than advisory.
-	if err := relay.Auth(c.ctx, func(evt *nostr.Event) error {
-		return evt.Sign(c.secretKey)
-	}); err != nil {
+	// NIP-42: the relay sends an AUTH challenge asynchronously after connect.
+	// The go-nostr library stores the challenge in an unexported field that is
+	// populated by the read loop. If we call Auth() too quickly the challenge
+	// is empty and the relay rejects the event with "verification failed".
+	// Retry with backoff to give the relay time to deliver the challenge.
+	const maxAuthAttempts = 3
+	var authErr error
+	for attempt := 0; attempt < maxAuthAttempts; attempt++ {
+		if attempt > 0 {
+			logger.WarnCF("buzz", "Retrying NIP-42 auth", map[string]any{
+				"attempt": attempt + 1,
+				"delay":   "1s",
+			})
+			time.Sleep(1 * time.Second)
+		}
+		authErr = relay.Auth(c.ctx, func(evt *nostr.Event) error {
+			return evt.Sign(c.secretKey)
+		})
+		if authErr == nil {
+			break
+		}
+		logger.WarnCF("buzz", "NIP-42 auth attempt failed", map[string]any{
+			"attempt": attempt + 1,
+			"error":   authErr.Error(),
+		})
+	}
+	if authErr != nil {
 		_ = relay.Close()
 		c.cancel()
-		return fmt.Errorf("buzz NIP-42 auth failed: %w", err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("buzz NIP-42 auth failed: %w", authErr)
 	}
 
 	channelIDs := []string(c.config.Channels)