diff --git a/mobile/lib/features/pairing/pairing_provider.dart b/mobile/lib/features/pairing/pairing_provider.dart
index 6a6c57a673..6a9d38c203 100644
--- a/mobile/lib/features/pairing/pairing_provider.dart
+++ b/mobile/lib/features/pairing/pairing_provider.dart
@@ -65,6 +65,27 @@ typedef PairingSocketFactory =
       required void Function(Object? error) onDisconnected,
     });
 
+
+String pairingEndpointNotFoundMessage(String relayUrl) {
+  final sanitized = relayUrl.trim();
+  if (sanitized.isEmpty) {
+    return 'Pairing endpoint not found (404). The relay advertises NIP-43 without '
+        'a working /pair route. Ask the operator to set BUZZ_PAIRING_RELAY_URL or '
+        'route /pair to buzz-pair-relay, then create a new QR code on desktop.';
+  }
+  return 'Pairing endpoint $sanitized not found (404). The relay advertises NIP-43 '
+      'without a working /pair route. Ask the operator to set BUZZ_PAIRING_RELAY_URL '
+      'or route /pair to buzz-pair-relay, then create a new QR code on desktop.';
+}
+
+bool pairingLooksLikeMissingLegacyEndpoint(Object error, {String? relayUrl}) {
+  final message = error.toString().toLowerCase();
+  final mentions404 = message.contains('404') || message.contains('not found');
+  final legacyPath = relayUrl?.contains('/pair') == true || message.contains('/pair');
+  return mentions404 && legacyPath;
+}
+
+
 class PairingNotifier extends Notifier<PairingState> {
   final PairingSocketFactory _socketFactory;
   PairingSocket? _socket;
@@ -168,6 +189,7 @@ class PairingNotifier extends Notifier<PairingState> {
 
   Future<void> _pairNipAb(String uri) async {
     state = const PairingState(status: PairingStatus.connecting);
+    String? pairingRelayUrl;
 
     try {
       // 1. Parse the nostrpair:// URI.
@@ -175,7 +197,8 @@ class PairingNotifier extends Notifier<PairingState> {
       _sourcePubkey = qr.sourcePubkey;
       _sessionSecret = qr.sessionSecret;
 
-      final relayWsUrl = qr.relays.first;
+      pairingRelayUrl = qr.relays.first;
+      final relayWsUrl = pairingRelayUrl!;
 
       // 2. Generate ephemeral keypair.
       final keychain = nostr.Keys.generate();
@@ -258,13 +281,16 @@ class PairingNotifier extends Notifier<PairingState> {
       _cleanup();
       state = PairingState(
         status: PairingStatus.error,
-        errorMessage: _friendlyErrorMessage(e),
+        errorMessage: _friendlyErrorMessage(e, relayUrl: pairingRelayUrl),
       );
     }
   }
 
-  static String _friendlyErrorMessage(Object error) {
+  static String _friendlyErrorMessage(Object error, {String? relayUrl}) {
     final message = error.toString();
+    if (pairingLooksLikeMissingLegacyEndpoint(error, relayUrl: relayUrl)) {
+      return pairingEndpointNotFoundMessage(relayUrl ?? '');
+    }
     if (message.contains('SocketException') ||
         message.contains('Connection refused') ||
         message.contains('Network is unreachable') ||
diff --git a/mobile/test/features/pairing/pairing_provider_test.dart b/mobile/test/features/pairing/pairing_provider_test.dart
index 6f49f71921..97a0fd2b9a 100644
--- a/mobile/test/features/pairing/pairing_provider_test.dart
+++ b/mobile/test/features/pairing/pairing_provider_test.dart
@@ -24,6 +24,32 @@ import 'package:buzz/shared/auth/auth.dart';
 ///     guards (private IPs, non-http schemes).
 ///   - `reset()` returning to idle from an error state.
 void main() {
+  group('pairing endpoint diagnostics', () {
+    test('pairingEndpointNotFoundMessage mentions operator levers', () {
+      expect(
+        pairingEndpointNotFoundMessage('wss://relay.example/pair'),
+        contains('BUZZ_PAIRING_RELAY_URL'),
+      );
+    });
+
+    test('pairingLooksLikeMissingLegacyEndpoint detects /pair 404s', () {
+      expect(
+        pairingLooksLikeMissingLegacyEndpoint(
+          Exception('WebSocket connection failed: HTTP error: 404 Not Found'),
+          relayUrl: 'wss://relay.example/pair',
+        ),
+        isTrue,
+      );
+      expect(
+        pairingLooksLikeMissingLegacyEndpoint(
+          Exception('Connection refused'),
+          relayUrl: 'wss://relay.example/pair',
+        ),
+        isFalse,
+      );
+    });
+  });
+
   group('PairingNotifier', () {
     late ProviderContainer container;
     late FakeAuthNotifier fakeAuth;