diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3cf3c15bc..1c87f3113 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+- Daemon: align generated systemd unit with docs for network-online + restart delay. (#479) — thanks @azade-c
 - Outbound: default Telegram account selection for config-only tokens; remove heartbeat-specific accountId handling. (follow-up #516) — thanks @YuriNachos
 - Heartbeat: resolve Telegram account IDs from config-only tokens; cron tool accepts canonical `jobId` and legacy `id` for job actions. (#516) — thanks @YuriNachos
 - Discord: stop provider when gateway reconnects are exhausted and surface errors. (#514) — thanks @joshp123
diff --git a/src/daemon/systemd.ts b/src/daemon/systemd.ts
index c0a8b495b..2b659ec77 100644
--- a/src/daemon/systemd.ts
+++ b/src/daemon/systemd.ts
@@ -141,10 +141,13 @@ function buildSystemdUnit({
   return [
     "[Unit]",
     "Description=Clawdbot Gateway",
+    "After=network-online.target",
+    "Wants=network-online.target",
     "",
     "[Service]",
     `ExecStart=${execStart}`,
     "Restart=always",
+    "RestartSec=5",
     workingDirLine,
     ...envLines,
     "",