diff --git a/clients/dotnet/DotnetClientDesign.md b/clients/dotnet/DotnetClientDesign.md
index 4124f3d..005e5d8 100644
--- a/clients/dotnet/DotnetClientDesign.md
+++ b/clients/dotnet/DotnetClientDesign.md
@@ -122,6 +122,11 @@ The .NET client applies a bounded Polly retry policy only to idempotent calls:
 streams, writes, secured writes, authentication, registration, item management,
 or subscription changes because those calls can partially succeed in MXAccess.
 
+Each attempt carries its own `DefaultCallTimeout` deadline. The overall budget
+for a retried call is `MaxAttempts × DefaultCallTimeout` plus `MaxDelay` for each
+backoff, so an attempt that ends in `DeadlineExceeded` leaves the retry its own
+full deadline instead of consuming the whole budget.
+
 API key may be loaded from `MXGATEWAY_API_KEY` by the CLI, not implicitly by the
 library constructor unless a helper explicitly says it does that.
 
diff --git a/clients/dotnet/README.md b/clients/dotnet/README.md
index 897f990..a652fc1 100644
--- a/clients/dotnet/README.md
+++ b/clients/dotnet/README.md
@@ -157,7 +157,9 @@ worker; call until empty). `DisposeAsync` closes the session best-effort and doe
 not throw when the gateway is unreachable or the client is already disposed.
 
 Retry applies only to idempotent calls (`CloseSessionRawAsync`, ping,
-session-state and worker-info commands, Galaxy reads). `AcknowledgeAlarmAsync`
+session-state and worker-info commands, Galaxy reads). Each attempt gets its own
+`DefaultCallTimeout`; a retried call can take up to `Retry.MaxAttempts ×
+DefaultCallTimeout` plus the backoff between attempts. `AcknowledgeAlarmAsync`
 is never retried because it is a non-idempotent operator write that re-sends the
 operator password and can double-acknowledge in the Historian.
 
diff --git a/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests/MxGatewayClientOptionsTests.cs b/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests/MxGatewayClientOptionsTests.cs
index 4abf1ee..8d2704c 100644
--- a/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests/MxGatewayClientOptionsTests.cs
+++ b/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests/MxGatewayClientOptionsTests.cs
@@ -2,6 +2,39 @@ namespace ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests;
 
 public sealed class MxGatewayClientOptionsTests
 {
+    /// <summary>
+    /// The safe-unary budget covers every attempt's deadline plus the backoff between them, so a
+    /// first attempt that hits its deadline does not consume the retry's time (#197).
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void SafeUnaryBudget_CoversEveryAttemptAndBackoff()
+    {
+        var options = new MxGatewayClientOptions
+        {
+            Endpoint = new Uri("http://localhost:5000"),
+            ApiKey = "test-api-key",
+            DefaultCallTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30),
+            Retry = new MxGatewayClientRetryOptions { MaxAttempts = 3, MaxDelay = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2) },
+        };
+
+        Assert.Equal(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(94), MxGatewayClientRetryPolicy.SafeUnaryBudget(options));
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>A budget beyond what a cancellation timer accepts means no outer cap rather than a throw.</summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void SafeUnaryBudget_WhenTooLargeForATimer_ReturnsNull()
+    {
+        var options = new MxGatewayClientOptions
+        {
+            Endpoint = new Uri("http://localhost:5000"),
+            ApiKey = "test-api-key",
+            DefaultCallTimeout = TimeSpan.FromDays(40),
+            Retry = new MxGatewayClientRetryOptions { MaxAttempts = 2 },
+        };
+
+        Assert.Null(MxGatewayClientRetryPolicy.SafeUnaryBudget(options));
+    }
+
     /// <summary>Verifies that options with valid endpoint and API key pass validation.</summary>
     [Fact]
     public void Validate_WithAbsoluteEndpointAndApiKey_Succeeds()
diff --git a/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests/MxGatewayClientWireTests.cs b/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests/MxGatewayClientWireTests.cs
index e093a89..943175c 100644
--- a/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests/MxGatewayClientWireTests.cs
+++ b/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests/MxGatewayClientWireTests.cs
@@ -90,6 +90,41 @@ public sealed class MxGatewayClientWireTests
             server.Service.AuthorizationByMethod);
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// A safe unary call whose first attempt runs into its deadline must still get its retry:
+    /// the outer budget covers every attempt, not just one DefaultCallTimeout (#197).
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <returns>A task that represents the asynchronous operation.</returns>
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task SafeUnaryRetry_AfterDeadlineExceededFirstAttempt_RunsTheRetry()
+    {
+        await using WireFakeGatewayServer server = await WireFakeGatewayServer.StartAsync(service =>
+            service.StallFirstInvokes = 1);
+        await using MxGatewayClient client = server.CreateClient(
+            ApiKey,
+            TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(500),
+            new MxGatewayClientRetryOptions
+            {
+                MaxAttempts = 2,
+                Delay = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(10),
+                MaxDelay = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(10),
+                UseJitter = false,
+            });
+
+        MxCommandReply reply = await client.InvokeAsync(new MxCommandRequest
+        {
+            SessionId = WireFakeGatewayServer.FakeGatewayService.SessionId,
+            Command = new MxCommand
+            {
+                Kind = MxCommandKind.Ping,
+                Ping = new PingCommand(),
+            },
+        });
+
+        Assert.Equal(ProtocolStatusCode.Ok, reply.ProtocolStatus.Code);
+        Assert.Equal(2, server.Service.InvokeCount);
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Verifies the gateway's replay-gap sentinel survives serialization and is
     /// surfaced as a typed, non-terminal stream item.
diff --git a/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests/WireFakeGatewayServer.cs b/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests/WireFakeGatewayServer.cs
index 3cfc9bd..97b2c02 100644
--- a/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests/WireFakeGatewayServer.cs
+++ b/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client.Tests/WireFakeGatewayServer.cs
@@ -88,12 +88,26 @@ internal sealed class WireFakeGatewayServer : IAsyncDisposable
     /// <param name="apiKey">API key the client should present.</param>
     /// <returns>A client that talks to this server over h2c.</returns>
     public MxGatewayClient CreateClient(string apiKey) =>
+        CreateClient(apiKey, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30), new MxGatewayClientRetryOptions());
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Creates a client bound to this server's endpoint with an explicit call timeout and retry policy.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="apiKey">API key the client should present.</param>
+    /// <param name="defaultCallTimeout">Per-attempt unary deadline.</param>
+    /// <param name="retry">Retry options for safe unary calls.</param>
+    /// <returns>A client that talks to this server over h2c.</returns>
+    public MxGatewayClient CreateClient(
+        string apiKey,
+        TimeSpan defaultCallTimeout,
+        MxGatewayClientRetryOptions retry) =>
         MxGatewayClient.Create(new MxGatewayClientOptions
         {
             Endpoint = Endpoint,
             ApiKey = apiKey,
             UseTls = false,
-            DefaultCallTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30),
+            DefaultCallTimeout = defaultCallTimeout,
+            Retry = retry,
         });
 
     /// <summary>Stops and disposes the underlying web application.</summary>
@@ -145,6 +159,17 @@ internal sealed class WireFakeGatewayServer : IAsyncDisposable
         /// </summary>
         public ReplayGap? ReplayGap { get; set; }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets or sets how many leading <c>Invoke</c> calls stall until the client's deadline
+        /// expires, so the client sees <see cref="StatusCode.DeadlineExceeded"/> for them.
+        /// </summary>
+        public int StallFirstInvokes { get; set; }
+
+        /// <summary>Gets the number of <c>Invoke</c> calls the server received.</summary>
+        public int InvokeCount => Volatile.Read(ref _invokeCount);
+
+        private int _invokeCount;
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets the last <c>Invoke</c> request the client sent, as decoded from the wire.
         /// </summary>
@@ -179,17 +204,32 @@ internal sealed class WireFakeGatewayServer : IAsyncDisposable
         }
 
         /// <inheritdoc />
-        public override Task<MxCommandReply> Invoke(MxCommandRequest request, ServerCallContext context)
+        public override async Task<MxCommandReply> Invoke(MxCommandRequest request, ServerCallContext context)
         {
             Record(context);
             InvokeRequest = request;
 
+            if (Interlocked.Increment(ref _invokeCount) <= StallFirstInvokes)
+            {
+                // Hold the call past the client's deadline; the cancellation is the deadline
+                // firing (or the client giving up), either way the caller has stopped waiting.
+                try
+                {
+                    await Task.Delay(Timeout.InfiniteTimeSpan, context.CancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                }
+                catch (OperationCanceledException)
+                {
+                }
+
+                throw new RpcException(new Status(StatusCode.DeadlineExceeded, "stalled attempt"));
+            }
+
             if (DenyInvoke)
             {
                 throw new RpcException(new Status(StatusCode.PermissionDenied, "invoke scope required"));
             }
 
-            return Task.FromResult(new MxCommandReply
+            return new MxCommandReply
             {
                 SessionId = request.SessionId,
                 CorrelationId = request.ClientCorrelationId,
@@ -197,7 +237,7 @@ internal sealed class WireFakeGatewayServer : IAsyncDisposable
                 ProtocolStatus = Ok(),
                 Hresult = 0,
                 Register = new RegisterReply { ServerHandle = ServerHandle },
-            });
+            };
         }
 
         /// <inheritdoc />
diff --git a/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client/GalaxyRepositoryClient.cs b/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client/GalaxyRepositoryClient.cs
index a259fe3..6f4473e 100644
--- a/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client/GalaxyRepositoryClient.cs
+++ b/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client/GalaxyRepositoryClient.cs
@@ -517,8 +517,15 @@ public sealed class GalaxyRepositoryClient : IAsyncDisposable
         Func<CancellationToken, Task<T>> call,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
+        // Each attempt carries its own DefaultCallTimeout deadline, so the outer cap must cover
+        // every attempt plus the backoff between them; capping it at one DefaultCallTimeout let a
+        // DeadlineExceeded first attempt spend the whole budget and the retry never ran (#197).
         using CancellationTokenSource timeout = CancellationTokenSource.CreateLinkedTokenSource(cancellationToken);
-        timeout.CancelAfter(Options.DefaultCallTimeout);
+        TimeSpan? budget = MxGatewayClientRetryPolicy.SafeUnaryBudget(Options);
+        if (budget is not null)
+        {
+            timeout.CancelAfter(budget.Value);
+        }
 
         return await _safeUnaryRetryPipeline.ExecuteAsync(
                 async token => await call(token).ConfigureAwait(false),
diff --git a/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client/MxGatewayClient.cs b/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client/MxGatewayClient.cs
index cb33125..154b2f6 100644
--- a/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client/MxGatewayClient.cs
+++ b/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client/MxGatewayClient.cs
@@ -375,8 +375,15 @@ public sealed class MxGatewayClient : IAsyncDisposable
         Func<CancellationToken, Task<T>> call,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
+        // Each attempt carries its own DefaultCallTimeout deadline, so the outer cap must cover
+        // every attempt plus the backoff between them; capping it at one DefaultCallTimeout let a
+        // DeadlineExceeded first attempt spend the whole budget and the retry never ran (#197).
         using CancellationTokenSource timeout = CancellationTokenSource.CreateLinkedTokenSource(cancellationToken);
-        timeout.CancelAfter(Options.DefaultCallTimeout);
+        TimeSpan? budget = MxGatewayClientRetryPolicy.SafeUnaryBudget(Options);
+        if (budget is not null)
+        {
+            timeout.CancelAfter(budget.Value);
+        }
 
         return await _safeUnaryRetryPipeline.ExecuteAsync(
                 async token => await call(token).ConfigureAwait(false),
diff --git a/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client/MxGatewayClientRetryPolicy.cs b/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client/MxGatewayClientRetryPolicy.cs
index 4d01bbb..d912154 100644
--- a/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client/MxGatewayClientRetryPolicy.cs
+++ b/clients/dotnet/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Client/MxGatewayClientRetryPolicy.cs
@@ -41,6 +41,29 @@ internal static class MxGatewayClientRetryPolicy
             .Build();
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Returns the overall budget for one retried safe unary call: every attempt's
+    ///     <see cref="MxGatewayClientOptions.DefaultCallTimeout"/> deadline plus the longest backoff
+    ///     between attempts. Returns <see langword="null"/> when the budget is too large for a
+    ///     cancellation timer, in which case the per-attempt deadlines and the bounded attempt count
+    ///     already bound the call.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="options">The client options supplying the call timeout and retry settings.</param>
+    /// <returns>The overall budget, or <see langword="null"/> for no outer cap.</returns>
+    public static TimeSpan? SafeUnaryBudget(MxGatewayClientOptions options)
+    {
+        ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull(options);
+
+        int attempts = Math.Max(1, options.Retry.MaxAttempts);
+        double milliseconds = (options.DefaultCallTimeout.TotalMilliseconds * attempts)
+            + (options.Retry.MaxDelay.TotalMilliseconds * (attempts - 1));
+
+        // CancellationTokenSource.CancelAfter rejects anything above uint.MaxValue - 1 ms.
+        return milliseconds >= uint.MaxValue - 1
+            ? null
+            : TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(milliseconds);
+    }
+
     /// <summary>Returns whether a command kind is eligible for automatic retry on transient failures.</summary>
     /// <param name="kind">The command kind to check.</param>
     /// <returns><see langword="true"/> if the command kind may be automatically retried; otherwise, <see langword="false"/>.</returns>