diff --git a/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/http.js b/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/http.js
index e1ad399350..d00802e73c 100644
--- a/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/http.js
+++ b/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/http.js
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 Zotero.HTTP = new function () {
 	this.disableErrorRetry = false;
 	var _errorDelayIntervals = [2500, 5000, 10000, 20000, 40000, 60000, 120000, 240000, 300000];
-	var _errorDelayMax = 60 * 60 * 1000; // 1 hour
+	var _errorDelayMax = 7500;
 
 	var { SecurityInfo } = ChromeUtils.importESModule("resource://gre/modules/SecurityInfo.sys.mjs");
 	var { NetUtil } = ChromeUtils.importESModule("resource://gre/modules/NetUtil.sys.mjs");
@@ -208,8 +208,9 @@ Zotero.HTTP = new function () {
 	 *     for no timeout
 	 * @param {Number[]} [options.errorDelayIntervals] - Array of milliseconds to wait before
 	 *     retrying after 429/5xx error; if unspecified, a default set is used
-	 * @param {Number} [options.errorDelayMax = 3600000] - Milliseconds to wait before stopping
-	 *     429/5xx retries; set to 0 to disable retrying
+	 * @param {Number} [options.errorDelayMax = 7500] - Milliseconds to wait before stopping
+	 *     429/5xx retries; set to 0 to disable retrying. Background operations such as
+	 *     syncing set a much longer value.
 	 * @param {Boolean} [options.noRetryOnThrottle] - Don't retry on 429 or 503 with a
 	 *     Retry-After header; instead, throw UnexpectedStatusException to the caller so it
 	 *     can apply its own throttling (e.g., the sync API client, which pauses an entire
@@ -630,7 +631,7 @@ Zotero.HTTP = new function () {
 	 * @param {Number} [options.timeout = 30000] - Timeout in milliseconds (connect and
 	 *     inactivity); 0 to disable
 	 * @param {Number[]} [options.errorDelayIntervals] - Retry delay intervals for 5xx errors
-	 * @param {Number} [options.errorDelayMax] - Max time to spend retrying 5xx errors
+	 * @param {Number} [options.errorDelayMax = 7500] - Max time to spend retrying 5xx errors
 	 * @return {Promise<Response>} - A promise for a fetch Response object
 	 */
 	this.download = async function (uri, path, options = {}) {
diff --git a/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/storage/zfs.js b/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/storage/zfs.js
index 970d3c579f..8d27d8301e 100644
--- a/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/storage/zfs.js
+++ b/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/storage/zfs.js
@@ -42,6 +42,10 @@ Zotero.Sync.Storage.Mode.ZFS.prototype = {
 	name: "ZFS",
 	verified: true,
 	
+	// File syncing runs in the background along with data syncing, so keep
+	// retrying through server maintenance rather than showing an error
+	ERROR_DELAY_MAX: 60 * 60 * 1000,
+	
 	
 	/**
 	 * Begin download process for individual file
@@ -90,6 +94,7 @@ Zotero.Sync.Storage.Mode.ZFS.prototype = {
 						successCodes: [200, 302, 404],
 						headers: this.apiClient.getHeaders(),
 						noCache: true,
+						errorDelayMax: this.ERROR_DELAY_MAX,
 						followRedirects: false,
 					}
 				);
@@ -164,6 +169,7 @@ Zotero.Sync.Storage.Mode.ZFS.prototype = {
 					{
 						displayURL,
 						noCache: true,
+						errorDelayMax: this.ERROR_DELAY_MAX,
 						onProgress(progress, progressMax) {
 							request.onProgress(progress, progressMax);
 						},
@@ -297,7 +303,9 @@ Zotero.Sync.Storage.Mode.ZFS.prototype = {
 		var params = this._getRequestParams(libraryID, "removestoragefiles");
 		var uri = this.apiClient.buildRequestURI(params);
 		
-		await Zotero.HTTP.request("POST", uri, "");
+		await Zotero.HTTP.request("POST", uri, {
+			errorDelayMax: this.ERROR_DELAY_MAX
+		});
 		
 		var sql = "DELETE FROM settings WHERE setting=? AND key=?";
 		await Zotero.DB.queryAsync(sql, ['storage', 'zfsPurge']);
@@ -627,6 +635,7 @@ Zotero.Sync.Storage.Mode.ZFS.prototype = {
 					headers: {
 						"Content-Type": params.contentType
 					},
+					errorDelayMax: this.ERROR_DELAY_MAX,
 					body: blob,
 					requestObserver: function (req) {
 						request.setChannel(req.channel);
diff --git a/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/sync/syncAPIClient.js b/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/sync/syncAPIClient.js
index 5931e41d90..2215113090 100644
--- a/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/sync/syncAPIClient.js
+++ b/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/sync/syncAPIClient.js
@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@ Zotero.Sync.APIClient.prototype = {
 	MAX_OBJECTS_PER_REQUEST: 100,
 	MIN_GZIP_SIZE: 1000,
 	UPLOAD_TIMEOUT: 120000,
+	// Sync runs automatically in the background, so keep retrying through
+	// server maintenance instead of showing an error. If a server problem
+	// lasts longer than this, something is actually wrong.
+	ERROR_DELAY_MAX: 60 * 60 * 1000,
 	
 	
 	getKeyInfo: async function (options={}) {
@@ -881,7 +885,9 @@ Zotero.Sync.APIClient.prototype = {
 			}
 		}
 		
-		let opts = {}
+		let opts = {
+			errorDelayMax: this.ERROR_DELAY_MAX
+		};
 		Object.assign(opts, options);
 		opts.headers = this.getHeaders(options.headers);
 		opts.noCache = !options.cache;
diff --git a/test/tests/httpTest.js b/test/tests/httpTest.js
index c0465e7b13..43bff76a34 100644
--- a/test/tests/httpTest.js
+++ b/test/tests/httpTest.js
@@ -428,7 +428,7 @@ describe("Zotero.HTTP", function () {
 					called++;
 				});
 				spy = sinon.spy(Zotero.HTTP, "_requestInternal");
-				await Zotero.HTTP.request("GET", baseURL + "error");
+				await Zotero.HTTP.request("GET", baseURL + "error", { errorDelayMax: 20000 });
 				assert.equal(3, spy.callCount);
 				// DEBUG: Why are these slightly off?
 				assert.approximately(delayStub.args[0][0], 5 * 1000, 5);