diff --git a/drb-edge-node/app/internal/discord_radio.py b/drb-edge-node/app/internal/discord_radio.py
index 68d61fa..2516a91 100644
--- a/drb-edge-node/app/internal/discord_radio.py
+++ b/drb-edge-node/app/internal/discord_radio.py
@@ -115,8 +115,17 @@ class RadioBot:
 
     def _on_stream_end(self, error):
         if error:
-            logger.error(f"Stream ended: {error}")
-        if self._loop and self._voice_client and self._voice_client.is_connected() and not self._voice_client.is_playing():
+            logger.error(f"Stream ended with error: {error}")
+        if not (self._loop and self._voice_client and self._voice_client.is_connected() and not self._voice_client.is_playing()):
+            return
+        if error:
+            # Back off before retrying — prevents tight loop when PulseAudio is unavailable
+            async def _delayed_restart():
+                await asyncio.sleep(5)
+                if self._voice_client and self._voice_client.is_connected() and not self._voice_client.is_playing():
+                    self._play_stream()
+            self._loop.call_soon_threadsafe(lambda: asyncio.ensure_future(_delayed_restart()))
+        else:
             self._loop.call_soon_threadsafe(self._play_stream)
 
     def _stop_stream(self):
diff --git a/op25-container/docker-entrypoint.sh b/op25-container/docker-entrypoint.sh
index b61c7f3..9e1a6d1 100644
--- a/op25-container/docker-entrypoint.sh
+++ b/op25-container/docker-entrypoint.sh
@@ -1,17 +1,32 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
 # --- Start PulseAudio Daemon ---
-# The -D flag starts it as a daemon. 
-# The --exit-idle-time=-1 prevents it from automatically shutting down.
+# -n: skip default config (load modules inline — avoids system.pa parsing issues)
+# --system: run as system-wide daemon
+# --log-target=stderr: makes errors visible in Docker logs
+# &: background so this script continues; output still captured by Docker
 echo "Starting PulseAudio daemon..."
 mkdir -p /run/pulse
 chmod 777 /run/pulse
-pulseaudio -D --exit-idle-time=-1 --system
+pulseaudio --exit-idle-time=-1 -n --system \
+    --load="module-native-protocol-unix socket=/run/pulse/native auth-anonymous=1" \
+    --load="module-null-sink sink_name=drb_sink sink_properties=device.description=DRB-Sink" \
+    --log-target=stderr &
 
-# Wait a moment for PulseAudio to initialize
-sleep 1
+# Wait for the socket to actually exist before continuing
+echo "Waiting for PulseAudio socket..."
+for i in $(seq 1 20); do
+    if [ -S /run/pulse/native ]; then
+        echo "PulseAudio socket ready."
+        break
+    fi
+    sleep 0.5
+done
+if [ ! -S /run/pulse/native ]; then
+    echo "WARNING: PulseAudio socket not found after 10s — edge-node audio will fail."
+fi
+ls -la /run/pulse/
 
 # --- Execute the main command (uvicorn) ---
 echo "Starting FastAPI application..."
-# The main application arguments are passed directly to this script
 exec "$@"
\ No newline at end of file