diff --git a/tests/lifecycle/bats/lnd.bats b/tests/lifecycle/bats/lnd.bats
index ddd9d3e5..a3635d62 100644
--- a/tests/lifecycle/bats/lnd.bats
+++ b/tests/lifecycle/bats/lnd.bats
@@ -110,8 +110,10 @@ teardown_file() {
   [[ "${ARCHY_ALLOW_DESTRUCTIVE:-0}" == "1" ]] || skip "ARCHY_ALLOW_DESTRUCTIVE not set"
 
   # lnd takes longer than bitcoind to accept RPC after cold restart because
-  # the wallet has to be unlocked first. Give it 90s.
-  local deadline=$(( $(date +%s) + 90 ))
+  # the wallet has to be unlocked first, then it reconnects to bitcoind and
+  # re-syncs the graph. On a loaded node this exceeds 90s (observed ~2min on
+  # .228, then synced_to_chain:true). Give it 240s.
+  local deadline=$(( $(date +%s) + 240 ))
   while (( $(date +%s) < deadline )); do
     if sh -lc 'podman exec lnd lncli \
         --tlscertpath /root/.lnd/tls.cert \
diff --git a/tests/lifecycle/bats/required-stack-destructive.bats b/tests/lifecycle/bats/required-stack-destructive.bats
index 0d042c63..b2666ee4 100755
--- a/tests/lifecycle/bats/required-stack-destructive.bats
+++ b/tests/lifecycle/bats/required-stack-destructive.bats
@@ -74,8 +74,13 @@ restart_with_retry() {
   run wait_http_ok "http://127.0.0.1:8334/" 180
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
 
-  run wait_http_ok "http://127.0.0.1:8081/" 180
-  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  # :8081 is nginx-proxy-manager — an OPTIONAL app (not in required_containers).
+  # Only assert it when NPM is actually installed on this node; otherwise the
+  # required-endpoints check false-fails on nodes that don't run NPM.
+  if podman ps --format '{{.Names}}' | grep -q '^nginx-proxy-manager$'; then
+    run wait_http_ok "http://127.0.0.1:8081/" 180
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  fi
 
   run wait_http_ok "http://127.0.0.1:4080/" 180
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
@@ -83,6 +88,11 @@ restart_with_retry() {
   run wait_http_ok "http://127.0.0.1:8999/api/v1/backend-info" 240
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
 
-  run sh -lc 'podman exec lnd lncli --tlscertpath /root/.lnd/tls.cert --macaroonpath /root/.lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/readonly.macaroon --rpcserver localhost:10009 getinfo >/dev/null'
+  # lnd RPC readiness lags container 'running' (wallet unlock + graph sync) —
+  # retry rather than single-shot. See lnd.bats.
+  run sh -lc 'for i in $(seq 1 60); do
+    podman exec lnd lncli --tlscertpath /root/.lnd/tls.cert --macaroonpath /root/.lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/readonly.macaroon --rpcserver localhost:10009 getinfo >/dev/null 2>&1 && exit 0
+    sleep 3
+  done; exit 1'
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
 }
diff --git a/tests/lifecycle/bats/required-stack.bats b/tests/lifecycle/bats/required-stack.bats
index 33474ba3..8674c0c3 100644
--- a/tests/lifecycle/bats/required-stack.bats
+++ b/tests/lifecycle/bats/required-stack.bats
@@ -123,7 +123,10 @@ PY
 }
 
 @test "bitcoin ui responds" {
-  run curl -fsS "http://127.0.0.1:8334/"
+  # The companion (archy-bitcoin-ui) may have just been recreated by an earlier
+  # companion-survives test; its nginx takes a moment to serve. Retry ~120s
+  # rather than single-shot.
+  run sh -lc 'for i in $(seq 1 40); do curl -fsS -o /dev/null "http://127.0.0.1:8334/" && exit 0; sleep 3; done; exit 1'
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/lifecycle/lib/ui-probes.bash b/tests/lifecycle/lib/ui-probes.bash
index a480b7cf..038c6892 100644
--- a/tests/lifecycle/lib/ui-probes.bash
+++ b/tests/lifecycle/lib/ui-probes.bash
@@ -65,6 +65,16 @@ probe_app_url() {
   if ! probe_container_running "$container"; then
     skip "$label: backing container '$container' is not running"
   fi
+  # An app's proxy/UI takes time to serve 200 after a (re)start — the backend
+  # may still be unlocking/syncing (lnd) and the companion nginx reloading.
+  # Retry up to ~90s rather than single-shot, so a readiness race isn't a fail.
+  local deadline=$(( $(date +%s) + 90 ))
+  while (( $(date +%s) < deadline )); do
+    if probe_https_200 "$url" "$label"; then
+      return 0
+    fi
+    sleep 3
+  done
   run probe_https_200 "$url" "$label"
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
 }