diff --git a/files/console/usr/lib/systemd/system/system-flatpak-setup.service.d/10-bc250-wait-online.conf b/files/console/usr/lib/systemd/system/system-flatpak-setup.service.d/10-bc250-wait-online.conf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..be834c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/files/console/usr/lib/systemd/system/system-flatpak-setup.service.d/10-bc250-wait-online.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# The stock service only waits ~12s internally for a connection, then fails
+# (with a cryptic desktop popup) and doesn't retry until next boot. Seen on
+# first hardware boot 2026-07-13: WiFi/DHCP wasn't up yet, so none of the
+# baked flatpaks installed. Gate it on network-online instead.
+[Unit]
+Wants=network-online.target
+After=network-online.target