diff --git a/packages/node/meshnet_node/cli.py b/packages/node/meshnet_node/cli.py
index da3e864..9d45754 100644
--- a/packages/node/meshnet_node/cli.py
+++ b/packages/node/meshnet_node/cli.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ def _run_node(cfg: dict) -> None:
             wallet_path=Path(cfg["wallet_path"]) if cfg.get("wallet_path") else None,
             cache_dir=Path(cfg["download_dir"]) if cfg.get("download_dir") else None,
             host=cfg.get("host", "0.0.0.0"),
+            route_timeout=float(cfg.get("route_timeout", 30.0)),
         )
     except Exception as exc:
         print(f"\nERROR: {exc}", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)
@@ -86,6 +87,8 @@ def _cmd_default(args) -> int:
         overrides["port"] = args.port
     if args.host:
         overrides["host"] = args.host
+    if args.route_timeout != 30.0:
+        overrides["route_timeout"] = args.route_timeout
 
     if overrides:
         cfg = merge_cli_overrides(cfg, **overrides)
@@ -173,6 +176,7 @@ def _cmd_start(args) -> int:
             cache_dir=Path(cfg["download_dir"]) if cfg.get("download_dir") else None,
             host=cfg["host"],
             advertise_host=getattr(args, "advertise_host", None),
+            route_timeout=getattr(args, "route_timeout", 30.0),
         )
     except Exception as exc:
         print(f"ERROR: {exc}", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)
@@ -212,6 +216,8 @@ def main() -> None:
     parser.add_argument("--shard-end", type=int, metavar="N", help="Pin shard end layer")
     parser.add_argument("--port", type=int, metavar="N", help="Port to listen on")
     parser.add_argument("--host", metavar="ADDR", help="Interface to bind (default 0.0.0.0)")
+    parser.add_argument("--route-timeout", type=float, metavar="SEC", default=30.0,
+                        help="Seconds to wait for tracker route lookup (default 30)")
     parser.add_argument("--no-tui", action="store_true", help="Plain-text output (no rich dashboard)")
     parser.add_argument("--compact", action="store_true", help="Single-line status output")
     parser.add_argument("--reset-config", action="store_true", help="Re-run wizard even if config exists")
@@ -240,6 +246,8 @@ def main() -> None:
     start_cmd.add_argument("--tracker-url", default=None)
     start_cmd.add_argument("--wallet")
     start_cmd.add_argument("--download-dir")
+    start_cmd.add_argument("--route-timeout", type=float, default=30.0,
+                           help="Seconds to wait for tracker route lookup (default 30)")
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
diff --git a/packages/node/meshnet_node/startup.py b/packages/node/meshnet_node/startup.py
index 14bdfac..4842f8b 100644
--- a/packages/node/meshnet_node/startup.py
+++ b/packages/node/meshnet_node/startup.py
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ def run_startup(
     host: str = "127.0.0.1",
     advertise_host: str | None = None,
     contracts: Any | None = None,
+    route_timeout: float = 30.0,
 ) -> StubNodeServer | TorchNodeServer:
     """Execute the full startup sequence and return a running node server.
 
@@ -202,6 +203,7 @@ def run_startup(
             shard_end=shard_end,
             quantization=quantization,
             tracker_url=tracker_url,
+            route_timeout=route_timeout,
         )
         actual_port = node.start()
         total_layers = getattr(getattr(node, "backend", None), "total_layers", None)
@@ -285,6 +287,7 @@ def run_startup(
             shard_end=assigned_shard_end,
             quantization=quantization,
             tracker_url=tracker_url,
+            route_timeout=route_timeout,
         )
         actual_port = node.start()
         public_host = advertise_host or (socket.getfqdn() if host == "0.0.0.0" else host)
diff --git a/packages/node/meshnet_node/torch_server.py b/packages/node/meshnet_node/torch_server.py
index 45c1f15..0285ba7 100644
--- a/packages/node/meshnet_node/torch_server.py
+++ b/packages/node/meshnet_node/torch_server.py
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ class _TorchHTTPServer(http.server.HTTPServer):
         backend: TorchModelShard,
         tracker_mode: bool = False,
         tracker_url: str | None = None,
+        route_timeout: float = 30.0,
     ):
         super().__init__(addr, handler)
         self.backend = backend
@@ -44,6 +45,7 @@ class _TorchHTTPServer(http.server.HTTPServer):
         self.forward_chunk_count = 0
         self.tracker_mode = tracker_mode
         self.tracker_url = tracker_url
+        self.route_timeout = route_timeout
 
 
 class _TorchHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
@@ -318,7 +320,7 @@ class _TorchHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
         route_model = getattr(server.backend, "model_id", None) or model
         try:
             url = f"{server.tracker_url}/v1/route?model={urllib.parse.quote(route_model)}"
-            with urllib.request.urlopen(url, timeout=5.0) as r:
+            with urllib.request.urlopen(url, timeout=server.route_timeout) as r:
                 route_resp = json.loads(r.read())
             route = route_resp.get("route", [])
             own_port = server.server_address[1]
@@ -558,6 +560,7 @@ class TorchNodeServer:
         backend: TorchModelShard | None = None,
         tracker_mode: bool | None = None,
         tracker_url: str | None = None,
+        route_timeout: float = 30.0,
     ) -> None:
         self._host = host
         self._requested_port = port
@@ -570,6 +573,7 @@ class TorchNodeServer:
         # Auto-detect tracker mode: enabled when shard_start == 0 or explicitly set
         self._tracker_mode = tracker_mode if tracker_mode is not None else (shard_start == 0)
         self._tracker_url = tracker_url
+        self._route_timeout = route_timeout
         self._server: _TorchHTTPServer | None = None
         self._thread: threading.Thread | None = None
         self.port: int | None = None
@@ -595,6 +599,7 @@ class TorchNodeServer:
             self._backend,
             self._tracker_mode,
             self._tracker_url,
+            self._route_timeout,
         )
         self.port = self._server.server_address[1]
         self._thread = threading.Thread(target=self._server.serve_forever, daemon=True)