diff --git a/src/app/pages/client/ClientNonUIFeatures.tsx b/src/app/pages/client/ClientNonUIFeatures.tsx
index 7d3e64ca1..ff1672824 100644
--- a/src/app/pages/client/ClientNonUIFeatures.tsx
+++ b/src/app/pages/client/ClientNonUIFeatures.tsx
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ import {
   unmuteRoom,
 } from '../../features/room-nav/muteTimers';
 import { STATUS_EXPIRY_KEY, STATUS_MSG_KEY } from '../../features/settings/account/Profile';
+import { setPresenceWithRetry } from '../../utils/presenceWrite';
 import { useDeepLinkNavigate } from '../../hooks/useDeepLinkNavigate';
 import { toastQueueAtom } from '../../state/toast';
 import { useReminders } from '../../hooks/useReminders';
@@ -389,21 +390,38 @@ function StatusExpiryMonitor() {
     const expiryKey = STATUS_EXPIRY_KEY(userId);
     const msgKey = STATUS_MSG_KEY(userId);
 
+    // [Gitea #227] The clear must survive a failed write. Synapse rate-limits
+    // presence to ~1 write / 10 s per user (#226) and the heartbeat spends that
+    // budget, so a bare setPresence here 429s often — and because the keys used
+    // to be removed BEFORE the request, a single failure dropped the auto-clear
+    // permanently and the status stayed set forever. Retry the write (honouring
+    // Retry-After), and only forget the status once the server has taken it.
+    let clearing = false;
     const check = () => {
+      if (clearing) return;
       const stored = localStorage.getItem(expiryKey);
       if (!stored) return;
       const ts = parseInt(stored, 10);
       if (!ts || Date.now() < ts) return;
-      localStorage.removeItem(msgKey);
-      localStorage.removeItem(expiryKey);
-      mx.setPresence({
+      clearing = true;
+      setPresenceWithRetry(mx, {
         presence: presenceStateFromSetting(presenceStatusRef.current, hidePresenceRef.current),
         status_msg: '',
-      }).catch(() => undefined);
+      })
+        .then(() => {
+          localStorage.removeItem(msgKey);
+          localStorage.removeItem(expiryKey);
+        })
+        .catch(() => undefined)
+        .finally(() => {
+          clearing = false;
+        });
     };
 
     check();
-    const interval = setInterval(check, 30_000);
+    // Poll often enough that a rate-limited retry lands promptly, but not so
+    // often that a persistent failure hammers the server.
+    const interval = setInterval(check, 15_000);
     const onVisible = () => {
       if (document.visibilityState === 'visible') check();
     };