diff --git a/docs/requirements/Component-Communication.md b/docs/requirements/Component-Communication.md
index 5f0b2c53..75663484 100644
--- a/docs/requirements/Component-Communication.md
+++ b/docs/requirements/Component-Communication.md
@@ -362,7 +362,7 @@ Central discovers site addresses through the **configuration database**, not run
 - The **CentralCommunicationActor** loads all site addresses from the database at startup and builds a per-site gRPC-endpoint cache. `GrpcSiteTransport` uses it (via a `SitePairChannelProvider`) to dial each site's `SiteCommandService` as a **per-site NodeA→NodeB failover channel pair**; the streaming consumers (Alarm Summary aggregator, Debug View bridge) read the same `GrpcNodeAAddress` / `GrpcNodeBAddress` columns directly from the repository at start and again before every stream reopen (see *SiteStreamGrpcClientFactory* above), independent of this cache.
 - The address cache is **refreshed every 60 seconds** and **on-demand** when site records are added, edited, or deleted via the Central UI or CLI. Command-plane channels are rebuilt when a site's gRPC endpoints change. At most **one** DB load is in flight: a tick or on-demand refresh that arrives mid-load is coalesced into a single re-run after it, each load is bounded by a deadline (`QueryTimeout`, default 30 s) so a wedged read cannot pin the refresh, and every result carries a monotonic sequence so an older result arriving after a newer one is dropped rather than re-applying stale addresses.
 - A **malformed** `GrpcNodeAAddress`/`GrpcNodeBAddress` (not an absolute `http://`/`https://` URL with a host, or one the gRPC channel cannot be built from) is **rejected per node at refresh time**: `SitePairChannelProvider.UpdateSite` builds every replacement channel *before* parking the old one, so a rejected side keeps its previous channel and endpoint (the other side's valid change still applies), and the rejection is logged at **Error** naming the site and column (once per distinct bad value). `GrpcSiteTransport.ReconcileSites` reconciles each site in its own try/catch and `CentralCommunicationActor` guards the reconcile call, so one bad row can neither stop the other sites in the tick from being refreshed nor restart the actor. Write-path validation (Central UI/CLI/bundle import) is the first line of defence; this is the runtime backstop.
-- When routing a command to a site, central calls `SiteCommandService` on the site's active gRPC endpoint; on error it flips to the other node endpoint. The failover is an explicit NodeA→NodeB channel-pair flip, not internal transport routing. While failed over, a background **readiness** probe returns calls to NodeA: it is a real, read-only `ExecuteLifecycle(DeploymentStateQuery)` for a sentinel instance (not a TCP/HTTP2 connect), so a node that is Up but still warming — which refuses every command with a not-dispatched `Unavailable` until `SetReady` — reads as not ready. The probe backoff (1 s → doubling → 60 s) is reset only after a **real call** on NodeA succeeds; if NodeA rejects the first calls after a probe-driven failback, the backoff keeps doubling instead of restarting at 1 s.
+- When routing a command to a site, central calls `SiteCommandService` on the site's active gRPC endpoint; on error it flips to the other node endpoint. The failover is an explicit NodeA→NodeB channel-pair flip, not internal transport routing. While failed over, a background **readiness** probe returns calls to NodeA: it is a real, read-only `ExecuteLifecycle(DeploymentStateQuery)` for a sentinel instance (not a TCP/HTTP2 connect), so a node that is Up but still warming — which refuses every command with a not-dispatched `Unavailable` until `SetReady` — reads as not ready. The probe backoff (1 s → doubling → 60 s) is reset only after a **real call** on NodeA succeeds; if NodeA rejects the first calls after a probe-driven failback, the backoff keeps doubling instead of restarting at 1 s. That probation is time-boxed (5 min) and cleared by an address change: a quiet site whose NodeA fails long after the failback starts again at 1 s.
 - **Heartbeats** from sites serve **health monitoring only** — they do not serve as a registration or address discovery mechanism.
 - If no gRPC endpoints are configured for a site, commands to that site fail and the caller's call times out.
 
diff --git a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication/Grpc/SitePairChannelProvider.cs b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication/Grpc/SitePairChannelProvider.cs
index 7d5a7b72..b03dfd81 100644
--- a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication/Grpc/SitePairChannelProvider.cs
+++ b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication/Grpc/SitePairChannelProvider.cs
@@ -58,6 +58,13 @@ public sealed class SitePairChannelProvider : IDisposable
     /// </summary>
     internal static readonly TimeSpan ChannelDisposalGrace = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5);
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// How long a probe-driven failback stays on probation without a confirming real call; a
+    /// NodeA failure after this window is treated as a fresh failover (backoff restarts at the
+    /// initial value). Settable per instance for tests.
+    /// </summary>
+    internal TimeSpan FailbackProbationWindow { get; set; } = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5);
+
     private readonly ISitePskProvider _pskProvider;
     private readonly CommunicationOptions _options;
     private readonly ILogger<SitePairChannelProvider> _logger;
@@ -169,6 +176,7 @@ public sealed class SitePairChannelProvider : IDisposable
 
                 // Addresses changed — return to the preferred node and reset failback backoff.
                 pair.CurrentIsA = pair.ChannelA is not null;
+                pair.FailbackOnProbation = false;
                 pair.ResetFailback();
                 _logger.LogInformation(
                     "gRPC channel pair for site {SiteId} refreshed (nodeA={HasA}, nodeB={HasB})",
@@ -373,6 +381,7 @@ public sealed class SitePairChannelProvider : IDisposable
                 // node that answers the probe but not real traffic is retried ever less often.
                 pair.CurrentIsA = true;
                 pair.FailbackOnProbation = true;
+                pair.ProbationSinceUtc = DateTime.UtcNow;
                 pair.NextProbeUtc = DateTime.MaxValue;
                 _logger.LogInformation("Site {SiteId} preferred node A ready again; failing back", siteId);
                 return true;
@@ -535,7 +544,12 @@ public sealed class SitePairChannelProvider : IDisposable
             pair.CurrentIsA = toIsA;
             if (!toIsA)
             {
-                if (pair.FailbackOnProbation)
+                // Probation is time-boxed: a site quiet for longer than FailbackProbationWindow
+                // after a probe-driven failback (no real call to confirm it) is treated as
+                // confirmed, so a fresh NodeA failure much later starts at InitialBackoff again
+                // instead of inheriting a stale, grown backoff.
+                if (pair.FailbackOnProbation
+                    && DateTime.UtcNow - pair.ProbationSinceUtc < FailbackProbationWindow)
                 {
                     // A failed us again right after a probe-driven failback: it is not really
                     // ready yet — grow the backoff rather than restarting it.
@@ -545,6 +559,7 @@ public sealed class SitePairChannelProvider : IDisposable
                 else
                 {
                     // Failed over off the preferred node → schedule the first failback probe.
+                    pair.FailbackOnProbation = false;
                     pair.ScheduleFailback(InitialBackoff);
                 }
             }
@@ -660,6 +675,9 @@ public sealed class SitePairChannelProvider : IDisposable
         /// </summary>
         public bool FailbackOnProbation;
 
+        /// <summary>When the current probation began (meaningful only while <see cref="FailbackOnProbation"/>).</summary>
+        public DateTime ProbationSinceUtc;
+
         /// <summary>The current failback backoff.</summary>
         public TimeSpan Backoff => _backoff;
 
diff --git a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication.Tests/Grpc/SitePairChannelProviderFailbackTests.cs b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication.Tests/Grpc/SitePairChannelProviderFailbackTests.cs
index 942d583a..824c0504 100644
--- a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication.Tests/Grpc/SitePairChannelProviderFailbackTests.cs
+++ b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Communication.Tests/Grpc/SitePairChannelProviderFailbackTests.cs
@@ -86,6 +86,46 @@ public class SitePairChannelProviderFailbackTests
         Assert.Equal(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1), provider.GetFailbackBackoff(Site));
     }
 
+    /// <summary>Verifies that probation expires: a quiet site whose NodeA dies long after the failback starts again at the initial backoff.</summary>
+    /// <returns>A task that represents the asynchronous operation.</returns>
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task ProbationOlderThanTheWindow_IsTreatedAsConfirmed_FirstProbeAtInitialBackoff()
+    {
+        using var provider = Build((_, _) => Task.FromResult(true));
+        provider.FailbackProbationWindow = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(100);
+        provider.UpdateSite(Site, "http://localhost:15321", "http://localhost:15322");
+
+        await CallRejectedByA(provider);
+        Assert.True(await provider.TryFailbackAsync(Site, CancellationToken.None));
+        await CallRejectedByA(provider);
+        Assert.Equal(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2), provider.GetFailbackBackoff(Site));
+
+        // Fail back on probation, then the site goes quiet (no real call) past the window.
+        Assert.True(await provider.TryFailbackAsync(Site, CancellationToken.None));
+        await Task.Delay(300);
+
+        await CallRejectedByA(provider);
+        Assert.Equal(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1), provider.GetFailbackBackoff(Site));
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>Verifies that an address change clears probation.</summary>
+    /// <returns>A task that represents the asynchronous operation.</returns>
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task AddressChange_ClearsProbation()
+    {
+        using var provider = Build((_, _) => Task.FromResult(true));
+        provider.UpdateSite(Site, "http://localhost:15331", "http://localhost:15332");
+
+        await CallRejectedByA(provider);
+        Assert.True(await provider.TryFailbackAsync(Site, CancellationToken.None));
+        await CallRejectedByA(provider);
+        Assert.True(await provider.TryFailbackAsync(Site, CancellationToken.None));
+
+        provider.UpdateSite(Site, "http://localhost:15333", "http://localhost:15332");
+        await CallRejectedByA(provider);
+        Assert.Equal(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1), provider.GetFailbackBackoff(Site));
+    }
+
     /// <summary>Verifies that the production probe treats a not-ready (not-dispatched Unavailable) site as not ready.</summary>
     /// <returns>A task that represents the asynchronous operation.</returns>
     [Fact]