diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 940dcd4..9816289 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -19,3 +19,4 @@ dist/
 !.env.testnet
 .rocm-local/*
 billing.sqlite
+.pytest-tmp/*
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/node/meshnet_node/startup.py b/packages/node/meshnet_node/startup.py
index 6484c25..adb4144 100644
--- a/packages/node/meshnet_node/startup.py
+++ b/packages/node/meshnet_node/startup.py
@@ -368,6 +368,8 @@ def _start_heartbeat(
         try:
             resp = _post_json(f"{tracker_url}/v1/nodes/register", register_payload)
             node_id = resp.get("node_id", node_id)
+            if node_ref is not None:
+                setattr(node_ref, "tracker_node_id", node_id)
             return True
         except Exception:
             return False
@@ -474,6 +476,37 @@ def _start_heartbeat(
     return t
 
 
+_PENDING_NODE_ID = "pending"
+
+
+def _register_with_tracker(
+    tracker_url: str,
+    reg_payload: dict,
+    node: Any,
+    start_time: float,
+) -> str | None:
+    """Register with the tracker, or start background retries when it is unreachable."""
+    try:
+        reg_resp = _post_json(f"{tracker_url}/v1/nodes/register", reg_payload)
+        tracker_node_id = str(reg_resp.get("node_id") or "?")
+        setattr(node, "tracker_node_id", tracker_node_id)
+        print(f"  Registered with tracker — node ID: {tracker_node_id}", flush=True)
+        _start_heartbeat(tracker_url, tracker_node_id, reg_payload, node_ref=node, start_time=start_time)
+        return tracker_node_id
+    except Exception as exc:
+        setattr(node, "tracker_node_id", None)
+        print(f"  Warning: tracker registration failed: {exc}", flush=True)
+        print("  [node] will retry registration in the background", flush=True)
+        _start_heartbeat(
+            tracker_url,
+            _PENDING_NODE_ID,
+            reg_payload,
+            node_ref=node,
+            start_time=start_time,
+        )
+        return None
+
+
 def _warn_virtual_network_ip(ip: str | None) -> None:
     """Print a warning when the auto-detected advertise IP is in a known virtual-network range.