diff --git a/src/Simplex/Chat/Library/Commands.hs b/src/Simplex/Chat/Library/Commands.hs
index 01c47fd513..3cc03e3129 100644
--- a/src/Simplex/Chat/Library/Commands.hs
+++ b/src/Simplex/Chat/Library/Commands.hs
@@ -4633,11 +4633,12 @@ processChatCommand cxt nm = \case
 
 -- | Failure modes for 'resolveOnUserServers' / 'iterateResolvers'.
 data ResolveError
-  = -- | No enabled server can resolve: every candidate answered CMD UNKNOWN /
-    -- PROHIBITED (does not speak RSLV), or none were configured / reachable.
-    -- Iterating across unsupported servers is privacy-safe -- the client degrades
-    -- RSLV to a no-op for relays below namesSMPVersion (see Protocol.hs), so an
-    -- unsupported relay never receives the queried name.
+  = -- | No enabled server can resolve: every candidate answered CMD UNKNOWN
+    -- (predates RSLV) or CMD PROHIBITED (speaks RSLV but has no resolver
+    -- configured), or none were configured / reachable. Iterating across these is
+    -- safe: a CMD UNKNOWN relay never received the name (the client degrades RSLV
+    -- to a no-op below namesSMPVersion, see Protocol.hs); a CMD PROHIBITED relay
+    -- did receive it but is one the user already trusts as an SMP server.
     ResolverUnavailable
   | -- | AUTH from a name-capable server. Every name server reads the same on-chain state, so we trust the first one's no.
     NameNotRegistered
@@ -4664,13 +4665,15 @@ enabledSMPServersForUser user = do
       | otherwise = Nothing
 
 -- | Resolve a SimpleX name by trying the user's enabled SMP servers in order.
--- Transport-level failures (NETWORK, TIMEOUT, host-unreachable) and unsupported
--- servers (CMD UNKNOWN / PROHIBITED, i.e. relays that don't speak RSLV) both fall
--- through to the next server. Skipping an unsupported relay discloses nothing:
--- the client degrades RSLV to a no-op below namesSMPVersion, so the name is never
--- sent to it. A definitive answer from a name-capable relay terminates iteration:
--- AUTH is definitive NotFound (every name server reads the same on-chain state);
--- any other definite error surfaces as ResolverTransport.
+-- Transport-level failures (NETWORK, TIMEOUT, host-unreachable) and servers that
+-- cannot resolve (CMD UNKNOWN -- predates RSLV; or CMD PROHIBITED -- speaks RSLV
+-- but has no resolver configured) all fall through to the next server. A CMD
+-- UNKNOWN relay never received the name (the client degrades RSLV below
+-- namesSMPVersion); a CMD PROHIBITED relay did, but it is one the user already
+-- trusts as an SMP server. A definitive answer from a name-capable relay
+-- terminates iteration: AUTH is definitive NotFound (every name server reads the
+-- same on-chain state); any other definite error (e.g. INTERNAL on a resolver
+-- backend failure) surfaces as ResolverTransport.
 -- Privacy: a name-capable relay does see the queried name, so once one has
 -- answered we do not broadcast the miss to every other operator the user has.
 resolveOnUserServers :: User -> SimplexNameDomain -> CM (Either ResolveError NameRecord)
@@ -4858,12 +4861,14 @@ iterateResolvers servers resolve = go servers
     isNotRegistered = \case
       SMP _ SMP.AUTH -> True
       _ -> False
-    -- A server that doesn't speak RSLV answers CMD UNKNOWN (predates the
-    -- command, e.g. the official servers) or CMD PROHIBITED (knows it but gates
-    -- on namesSMPVersion) -- directly, or wrapped by a proxy. We skip it and try
-    -- the next server: the client degrades RSLV to a no-op below namesSMPVersion
-    -- (Protocol.hs), so an unsupported relay never received the queried name.
-    -- ResolverUnavailable is returned only when no server can resolve.
+    -- A server that cannot resolve answers CMD UNKNOWN -- it predates RSLV (e.g.
+    -- an old official server), and the client degraded RSLV to a no-op below
+    -- namesSMPVersion so it never received the name -- or CMD PROHIBITED -- it
+    -- speaks RSLV but has no resolver configured (names role off), so it did
+    -- receive the name but cannot help. Either form may arrive directly or wrapped
+    -- by a proxy. We skip it and try the next server; ResolverUnavailable is
+    -- returned only when no server can resolve. A resolver-backed server's
+    -- transient failure is INTERNAL (-> ResolverTransport), not handled here.
     isUnsupported = \case
       SMP _ (SMP.CMD SMP.UNKNOWN) -> True
       SMP _ (SMP.CMD SMP.PROHIBITED) -> True
diff --git a/tests/ResolveNameTests.hs b/tests/ResolveNameTests.hs
index bb692aac2d..090db51ce2 100644
--- a/tests/ResolveNameTests.hs
+++ b/tests/ResolveNameTests.hs
@@ -62,6 +62,15 @@ resolveNameTests = do
       -- second server must NOT be consulted: definite error means the server
       -- answered, so iterating would leak the queried name.
       readIORef callsRef `shouldReturn` [srv1]
+    it "surfaces a resolver-backend INTERNAL as ResolverTransport, not NotFound" $ do
+      callsRef <- newIORef []
+      r <- iterateResolvers [srv1, srv2] (recording callsRef (\_ -> pure $ Left backendErr))
+      case r of
+        Left (ResolverTransport e) -> e `shouldBe` backendErr
+        other -> expectationFailure $ "expected ResolverTransport, got " <> show other
+      -- a backend failure on srv1 stops iteration (the name reached a capable
+      -- relay); it must not be reported as the authoritative NameNotRegistered.
+      readIORef callsRef `shouldReturn` [srv1]
     it "iterates on transport-level errors and uses the next server's success" $ do
       callsRef <- newIORef []
       r <- iterateResolvers [srv1, srv2] (recording callsRef stubTransportThenHit)
@@ -230,7 +239,9 @@ sampleRecord =
 authErr :: AgentErrorType
 authErr = SMP "smp1.example" SMP.AUTH
 
--- CMD PROHIBITED on the PFWD path: surfaces as PROXY ... (ProxyProtocolError ...).
+-- A relay with no resolver configured (names role off) answers CMD PROHIBITED
+-- (Server.hs). A relay error is transparent over the proxy (SMP host ...); the
+-- PROXY-wrapped form here exercises a proxy-level rejection. Both -> skip.
 prohibitedErr :: AgentErrorType
 prohibitedErr = PROXY "proxy.example" "smp1.example" (ProxyProtocolError (SMP.CMD SMP.PROHIBITED))
 
@@ -245,3 +256,10 @@ networkErr = BROKER "smp1.example" (NETWORK (NEConnectError "simulated network f
 -- as ResolverTransport without iterating, to avoid broadcasting the name.
 otherDefiniteErr :: AgentErrorType
 otherDefiniteErr = INTERNAL "simulated definite error"
+
+-- A resolver-backed relay whose backing store failed (resolver 5xx, timeout,
+-- decode error) answers ERR INTERNAL (Server.hs), surfacing as SMP host INTERNAL.
+-- This is transient -- it must surface as ResolverTransport, NOT collapse to the
+-- authoritative NameNotRegistered the way the old ERR-AUTH-for-everything did.
+backendErr :: AgentErrorType
+backendErr = SMP "smp1.example" SMP.INTERNAL