diff --git a/ui/src/components/AssistantPanel.tsx b/ui/src/components/AssistantPanel.tsx
index 2093564..c02d380 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/AssistantPanel.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/components/AssistantPanel.tsx
@@ -57,8 +57,12 @@ export function AssistantPanel({ projectName, isOpen, onClose }: AssistantPanelP
   // Clear stored conversation ID if it no longer exists (404 error)
   useEffect(() => {
     if (conversationError && conversationId) {
-      console.warn(`Conversation ${conversationId} not found, clearing stored ID`)
-      setConversationId(null)
+      const message = conversationError.message.toLowerCase()
+      // Only clear for 404 errors, not transient network issues
+      if (message.includes('not found') || message.includes('404')) {
+        console.warn(`Conversation ${conversationId} not found, clearing stored ID`)
+        setConversationId(null)
+      }
     }
   }, [conversationError, conversationId])
 
diff --git a/ui/src/hooks/useConversations.ts b/ui/src/hooks/useConversations.ts
index 0a59534..c3b50de 100644
--- a/ui/src/hooks/useConversations.ts
+++ b/ui/src/hooks/useConversations.ts
@@ -27,8 +27,11 @@ export function useConversation(projectName: string | null, conversationId: numb
     enabled: !!projectName && !!conversationId,
     staleTime: 30_000, // Cache for 30 seconds
     retry: (failureCount, error) => {
-      // Don't retry on 404 errors (conversation doesn't exist)
-      if (error instanceof Error && error.message.includes('404')) {
+      // Don't retry on "not found" errors (404) - conversation doesn't exist
+      if (error instanceof Error && (
+        error.message.toLowerCase().includes('not found') ||
+        error.message === 'HTTP 404'
+      )) {
         return false
       }
       return failureCount < 3