diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/server-probe.ts b/apps/desktop/src/server-probe.ts
index 50dd2bcf6..f6f923240 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/server-probe.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/server-probe.ts
@@ -200,6 +200,14 @@ export async function probeBbServer(
     url: endpointUrl(args.serverUrl, "/api/v1/system/config"),
   });
 
+  if (configResult.kind === "network-error") {
+    return {
+      kind: "unavailable",
+      reason: `/api/v1/system/config returned ${configResult.message}`,
+      serverUrl: args.serverUrl,
+    };
+  }
+
   if (configResult.kind !== "success") {
     return {
       kind: "incompatible",