diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3b0adfa..f4cdc42 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,14 @@ All notable changes to this project are documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Device login keeps polling through transient network failures and unreadable token responses until
+  the device code expires, instead of aborting on the first blip. Terminal OAuth errors still stop
+  the flow immediately.
+
 ## [0.4.0] - 2026-10-21
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/src/auth.ts b/src/auth.ts
index 96289e0..0b90ffe 100644
--- a/src/auth.ts
+++ b/src/auth.ts
@@ -160,9 +160,12 @@ export async function pollToken(deviceCode: string, intervalS: number, expiresIn
   let interval = Math.max(MIN_INTERVAL_S, Number(intervalS) || 5)
   const deadline = Date.now() + Number(expiresInS || 600) * 1000
   let slowDowns = 0
+  let transportFailures = 0
   while (Date.now() < deadline) {
-    // The token endpoint answers HTTP errors (e.g. 400 authorization_pending)
-    // as part of the normal flow: never throw here, classify instead.
+    // The token endpoint answers OAuth errors (e.g. 400 authorization_pending) as part of the
+    // normal flow. A rejected fetch, an unparseable body, or a body carrying neither a token nor an
+    // OAuth error is a transport/proxy blip, not a verdict: count it and keep polling until the
+    // deadline. Only an explicit, terminal OAuth error aborts the device login.
     let body: TokenResponse | null = null
     try {
       const res = await fetch(TOKEN_URL, {
@@ -183,18 +186,23 @@ export async function pollToken(deviceCode: string, intervalS: number, expiresIn
     } catch {
       body = null
     }
-    if (body && !body.error) {
-      if (typeof body.access_token !== "string" || !body.access_token) {
-        throw new Error("token response has no access_token")
-      }
+
+    if (body && typeof body.access_token === "string" && body.access_token) {
       return body.access_token
     }
+
     if (body?.error === "slow_down") {
       slowDowns += 1
       interval = Math.max(MIN_INTERVAL_S, interval + SLOW_DOWN_STEP_S)
-    } else if (body?.error !== "authorization_pending") {
-      throw new Error(`login failed: ${body?.error || "unreadable token response"}`)
+    } else if (body?.error === "authorization_pending") {
+      // Expected while the user completes approval: keep polling at the current interval.
+    } else if (typeof body?.error === "string" && body.error) {
+      throw new Error(`login failed: ${body.error}`)
+    } else {
+      // Unreadable response: no body, no token, and no OAuth error to classify.
+      transportFailures += 1
     }
+
     const remaining = deadline - Date.now()
     if (remaining <= 0) break
     const { promise, resolve } = Promise.withResolvers<void>()
@@ -202,7 +210,11 @@ export async function pollToken(deviceCode: string, intervalS: number, expiresIn
     await promise
   }
   throw new Error(
-    slowDowns ? "login timed out after slow_down responses" : "login timed out waiting for approval",
+    slowDowns
+      ? "login timed out after slow_down responses"
+      : transportFailures > 0
+        ? `login timed out waiting for approval after ${transportFailures} network error${transportFailures === 1 ? "" : "s"}`
+        : "login timed out waiting for approval",
   )
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/auth.test.ts b/tests/auth.test.ts
index 678a24a..406301f 100644
--- a/tests/auth.test.ts
+++ b/tests/auth.test.ts
@@ -91,6 +91,72 @@ test("poll rejects terminal errors", async () => {
   await assert.rejects(pollToken("dc", 0, 600), /access_denied/)
 })
 
+test("poll survives transient transport failures", async () => {
+  const original = globalThis.fetch
+  let calls = 0
+  globalThis.fetch = (async () => {
+    calls += 1
+    if (calls <= 2) {
+      throw new TypeError("fetch failed")
+    }
+    return calls === 3
+      ? new Response(JSON.stringify({ error: "authorization_pending" }), { status: 400 })
+      : new Response(JSON.stringify({ access_token: "dca-after-blip" }))
+  }) as typeof fetch
+  try {
+    assert.equal(await pollToken("dc", 1, 600), "dca-after-blip")
+    assert.equal(calls, 4)
+  } finally {
+    globalThis.fetch = original
+  }
+})
+
+test("poll keeps polling after unparseable token responses", async () => {
+  const original = globalThis.fetch
+  let calls = 0
+  globalThis.fetch = (async () => {
+    calls += 1
+    return calls === 1
+      ? new Response("<html>bad gateway</html>", { status: 502 })
+      : new Response(JSON.stringify({ access_token: "dca-after-html" }))
+  }) as typeof fetch
+  try {
+    assert.equal(await pollToken("dc", 1, 600), "dca-after-html")
+    assert.equal(calls, 2)
+  } finally {
+    globalThis.fetch = original
+  }
+})
+
+test("poll still aborts on terminal OAuth errors after a transport blip", async () => {
+  const original = globalThis.fetch
+  let calls = 0
+  globalThis.fetch = (async () => {
+    calls += 1
+    return calls === 1
+      ? Promise.reject(new TypeError("fetch failed"))
+      : new Response(JSON.stringify({ error: "access_denied" }), { status: 400 })
+  }) as typeof fetch
+  try {
+    await assert.rejects(pollToken("dc", 0, 600), /access_denied/)
+    assert.equal(calls, 2)
+  } finally {
+    globalThis.fetch = original
+  }
+})
+
+test("poll reports transport failures when it times out", async () => {
+  const original = globalThis.fetch
+  globalThis.fetch = (async () => {
+    throw new TypeError("fetch failed")
+  }) as typeof fetch
+  try {
+    await assert.rejects(pollToken("dc", 1, 1), /1 network error/)
+  } finally {
+    globalThis.fetch = original
+  }
+})
+
 test("mint validates subscription", async () => {
   stubFetch(() => ({ status: 200, body: KEY_OK }))
   const minted = await mintKey("dca-x")