diff --git a/apps/readest-app/src/__tests__/services/edge-tts-client.test.ts b/apps/readest-app/src/__tests__/services/edge-tts-client.test.ts
index 9e229b03..6e5fd824 100644
--- a/apps/readest-app/src/__tests__/services/edge-tts-client.test.ts
+++ b/apps/readest-app/src/__tests__/services/edge-tts-client.test.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@ import { describe, test, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
 // Shared mock control: tests can override createBehavior to change how create() behaves
 let createBehavior: () => Promise<undefined> = () => Promise.resolve(undefined);
 
+// Shared mock control for createAudioUrl() and parsed SSML marks
+let createAudioUrlBehavior = vi.fn<() => Promise<string>>(() => Promise.resolve('blob:mock-url'));
+let parsedMarks: Array<{ name: string; text: string; language: string }> = [];
+
 // --- Mocks ---
 
 vi.mock('@/libs/edgeTTS', () => {
@@ -16,14 +20,14 @@ vi.mock('@/libs/edgeTTS', () => {
     EdgeSpeechTTS: class MockEdgeSpeechTTS {
       static voices = voices;
       create = vi.fn().mockImplementation(() => createBehavior());
-      createAudioUrl = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue('blob:mock-url');
+      createAudioUrl = vi.fn().mockImplementation(() => createAudioUrlBehavior());
     },
     EDGE_TTS_PROTOCOL: 'wss',
   };
 });
 
 vi.mock('@/utils/ssml', () => ({
-  parseSSMLMarks: vi.fn(() => ({ marks: [] })),
+  parseSSMLMarks: vi.fn(() => ({ marks: parsedMarks })),
 }));
 
 vi.mock('@/utils/misc', () => ({
@@ -53,6 +57,8 @@ describe('EdgeTTSClient', () => {
 
   beforeEach(() => {
     createBehavior = () => Promise.resolve(undefined);
+    createAudioUrlBehavior = vi.fn<() => Promise<string>>(() => Promise.resolve('blob:mock-url'));
+    parsedMarks = [];
     client = new EdgeTTSClient();
   });
 
@@ -362,6 +368,63 @@ describe('EdgeTTSClient', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  describe('speak preload retry', () => {
+    const consumePreload = async (c: EdgeTTSClient, signal: AbortSignal) => {
+      for await (const _ of c.speak('<ssml/>', signal, true)) {
+        void _;
+      }
+    };
+
+    test('retries createAudioUrl up to 3 times when preload fails', async () => {
+      await client.init();
+      parsedMarks = [{ name: 'mark-0', text: 'hello', language: 'en' }];
+      createAudioUrlBehavior = vi.fn(() => Promise.reject(new Error('network error')));
+
+      await consumePreload(client, new AbortController().signal);
+
+      expect(createAudioUrlBehavior).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+    });
+
+    test('does not retry when the first preload attempt succeeds', async () => {
+      await client.init();
+      parsedMarks = [{ name: 'mark-0', text: 'hello', language: 'en' }];
+
+      await consumePreload(client, new AbortController().signal);
+
+      expect(createAudioUrlBehavior).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    test('stops retrying once an attempt succeeds', async () => {
+      await client.init();
+      parsedMarks = [{ name: 'mark-0', text: 'hello', language: 'en' }];
+      let calls = 0;
+      createAudioUrlBehavior = vi.fn(() => {
+        calls++;
+        return calls < 2
+          ? Promise.reject(new Error('network error'))
+          : Promise.resolve('blob:mock-url');
+      });
+
+      await consumePreload(client, new AbortController().signal);
+
+      expect(createAudioUrlBehavior).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    });
+
+    test('stops retrying once the signal is aborted', async () => {
+      await client.init();
+      parsedMarks = [{ name: 'mark-0', text: 'hello', language: 'en' }];
+      const controller = new AbortController();
+      createAudioUrlBehavior = vi.fn(() => {
+        controller.abort();
+        return Promise.reject(new Error('network error'));
+      });
+
+      await consumePreload(client, controller.signal);
+
+      expect(createAudioUrlBehavior).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+  });
+
   describe('pause / resume / stop', () => {
     test('pause returns true when no audio element exists', async () => {
       const result = await client.pause();
diff --git a/apps/readest-app/src/services/tts/EdgeTTSClient.ts b/apps/readest-app/src/services/tts/EdgeTTSClient.ts
index 379d0a68..b64217fb 100644
--- a/apps/readest-app/src/services/tts/EdgeTTSClient.ts
+++ b/apps/readest-app/src/services/tts/EdgeTTSClient.ts
@@ -62,6 +62,29 @@ export class EdgeTTSClient implements TTSClient {
     return { lang, text, voice: voiceId, rate: 1.0, pitch: this.#pitch } as EdgeTTSPayload;
   };
 
+  // Edge TTS websocket requests fail intermittently; retry the preload a few times
+  // before giving up so a single transient failure doesn't stall playback.
+  #createAudioUrlWithRetry = async (
+    payload: EdgeTTSPayload,
+    signal: AbortSignal,
+    maxAttempts = 3,
+  ): Promise<string | undefined> => {
+    let lastError: unknown;
+    for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= maxAttempts; attempt++) {
+      if (signal.aborted) return undefined;
+      try {
+        return await this.#edgeTTS?.createAudioUrl(payload);
+      } catch (err) {
+        lastError = err;
+        console.warn(`Edge TTS preload attempt ${attempt}/${maxAttempts} failed`, err);
+        if (attempt < maxAttempts && !signal.aborted) {
+          await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 200 * attempt));
+        }
+      }
+    }
+    throw lastError;
+  };
+
   getVoiceIdFromLang = async (lang: string) => {
     const preferredVoiceId = TTSUtils.getPreferredVoice(this.name, lang);
     const preferredVoice = this.#voices.find((v) => v.id === preferredVoiceId);
@@ -85,11 +108,14 @@ export class EdgeTTSClient implements TTSClient {
         const { language: voiceLang } = mark;
         const voiceId = await this.getVoiceIdFromLang(voiceLang);
         this.#currentVoiceId = voiceId;
-        await this.#edgeTTS
-          ?.createAudioUrl(this.getPayload(voiceLang, mark.text, voiceId))
-          .catch((err) => {
-            console.warn('Error preloading mark', i, err);
-          });
+        try {
+          await this.#createAudioUrlWithRetry(
+            this.getPayload(voiceLang, mark.text, voiceId),
+            signal,
+          );
+        } catch (err) {
+          console.warn('Error preloading mark', i, err);
+        }
       }
       if (marks.length > maxImmediate) {
         (async () => {
@@ -99,7 +125,10 @@ export class EdgeTTSClient implements TTSClient {
               if (signal.aborted) break;
               const { language: voiceLang } = mark;
               const voiceId = await this.getVoiceIdFromLang(voiceLang);
-              await this.#edgeTTS?.createAudioUrl(this.getPayload(voiceLang, mark.text, voiceId));
+              await this.#createAudioUrlWithRetry(
+                this.getPayload(voiceLang, mark.text, voiceId),
+                signal,
+              );
             } catch (err) {
               console.warn('Error preloading mark (bg)', i, err);
             }