diff --git a/app/Actions/Server/ValidateServer.php b/app/Actions/Server/ValidateServer.php
index 57be1a5a60..6c0b86f284 100644
--- a/app/Actions/Server/ValidateServer.php
+++ b/app/Actions/Server/ValidateServer.php
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 namespace App\Actions\Server;
 
 use App\Models\Server;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Log;
 use Lorisleiva\Actions\Concerns\AsAction;
 
 class ValidateServer
@@ -38,7 +39,13 @@ class ValidateServer
             'validation_logs' => null,
         ]);
         if ($server->hetzner_server_id) {
-            $status = $server->refreshHetznerState();
+            try {
+                $status = $server->refreshHetznerState();
+            } catch (\Throwable $e) {
+                // The provider API can be down or the token revoked; the SSH checks below still decide.
+                Log::warning('Could not refresh the Hetzner server status before validation', ['server_id' => $server->id, 'error' => $e->getMessage()]);
+                $status = null;
+            }
             if (in_array($status, ['initializing', 'starting', 'stopping', 'off', 'deleting', 'rebuilding', 'migrating'], true)) {
                 $this->error = $status === 'off'
                     ? 'Hetzner server is off. Power it on before validating.'
diff --git a/app/Livewire/Server/ValidateAndInstall.php b/app/Livewire/Server/ValidateAndInstall.php
index 748c53ba2d..2da0016e00 100644
--- a/app/Livewire/Server/ValidateAndInstall.php
+++ b/app/Livewire/Server/ValidateAndInstall.php
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ use App\Events\ServerValidated;
 use App\Jobs\CheckAndStartSentinelJob;
 use App\Models\Server;
 use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\Access\AuthorizesRequests;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Log;
 use Livewire\Attributes\Locked;
 use Livewire\Component;
 
@@ -117,7 +118,13 @@ class ValidateAndInstall extends Component
             $this->authorize('update', $this->server);
             Server::throttleValidation($this->server->team_id, $this->server->ip);
             if ($this->server->hetzner_server_id) {
-                $status = $this->server->refreshHetznerState();
+                try {
+                    $status = $this->server->refreshHetznerState();
+                } catch (\Throwable $e) {
+                    // The provider API can be down or the token revoked; the SSH checks below still decide.
+                    Log::warning('Could not refresh the Hetzner server status before validation', ['server_id' => $this->server->id, 'error' => $e->getMessage()]);
+                    $status = null;
+                }
                 $this->server->refresh();
 
                 if (in_array($status, ['initializing', 'starting', 'stopping', 'off', 'deleting', 'rebuilding', 'migrating'], true)) {
diff --git a/tests/Feature/HetznerServerValidationTest.php b/tests/Feature/HetznerServerValidationTest.php
index e87fd380ba..0d6cd91fb4 100644
--- a/tests/Feature/HetznerServerValidationTest.php
+++ b/tests/Feature/HetznerServerValidationTest.php
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ use App\Models\Team;
 use App\Models\User;
 use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
 use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Process;
 use Livewire\Livewire;
 
 uses(RefreshDatabase::class);
@@ -84,3 +85,19 @@ it('blocks validation modal connection checks when the Hetzner server is off', f
         'validation_logs' => 'Hetzner server is off. Power it on before validating.',
     ]);
 });
+
+it('validates over SSH when the Hetzner API call fails', function () {
+    Http::fake(['https://api.hetzner.cloud/v1/servers/456' => Http::response(['error' => ['code' => 'unauthorized']], 401)]);
+    $this->server->update(['ip' => '203.0.113.10']);
+    Process::fake();
+
+    Livewire::test(ValidateAndInstall::class, ['server' => $this->server])
+        ->call('validateConnection')
+        ->assertSet('error', null)
+        ->assertSet('uptime', true)
+        ->assertDispatched('validateOS');
+
+    Process::fake(['*' => Process::result(errorOutput: 'ssh: connect to host 203.0.113.10 port 22: Connection refused', exitCode: 255)]);
+
+    expect(fn () => ValidateServer::run($this->server))->toThrow(Exception::class, 'Connection refused');
+});