diff --git a/packages/twenty-server/package.json b/packages/twenty-server/package.json
index f40cd04a51..ac1874ef3d 100644
--- a/packages/twenty-server/package.json
+++ b/packages/twenty-server/package.json
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@
     "apollo-server-core": "3.13.0",
     "archiver": "7.0.1",
     "axios": "^1.13.5",
+    "axios-retry": "^4.5.0",
     "babel-plugin-module-resolver": "5.0.2",
     "bcrypt": "5.1.1",
     "bullmq": "5.40.0",
diff --git a/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/file/file-core-picture/services/file-core-picture.service.ts b/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/file/file-core-picture/services/file-core-picture.service.ts
index 2c91b045c1..e4b3ec47a9 100644
--- a/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/file/file-core-picture/services/file-core-picture.service.ts
+++ b/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/file/file-core-picture/services/file-core-picture.service.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { Injectable, Logger } from '@nestjs/common';
 import { InjectRepository } from '@nestjs/typeorm';
 
 import { buffer as streamToBuffer } from 'node:stream/consumers';
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ import { getImageBufferFromUrl } from 'src/utils/image';
 
 @Injectable()
 export class FileCorePictureService {
+  private readonly logger = new Logger(FileCorePictureService.name);
+
   constructor(
     private readonly fileStorageService: FileStorageService,
     private readonly applicationService: ApplicationService,
@@ -186,7 +188,11 @@ export class FileCorePictureService {
     imageUrl: string,
   ): Promise<{ buffer: Buffer; extension: string } | undefined> {
     try {
-      const httpClient = this.secureHttpClientService.getHttpClient();
+      const httpClient = this.secureHttpClientService.getHttpClient({
+        retries: 2,
+        shouldResetTimeout: true,
+      });
+
       const buffer = await getImageBufferFromUrl(imageUrl, httpClient);
 
       const type = await FileType.fromBuffer(buffer);
@@ -196,7 +202,11 @@ export class FileCorePictureService {
       }
 
       return { buffer, extension: type.ext };
-    } catch {
+    } catch (error) {
+      this.logger.warn(
+        `Failed to fetch image from URL: ${imageUrl} — ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`,
+      );
+
       return undefined;
     }
   }
diff --git a/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/file/file-upload/services/file-upload.service.ts b/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/file/file-upload/services/file-upload.service.ts
index 9dd65f1fbb..5ac85c315a 100644
--- a/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/file/file-upload/services/file-upload.service.ts
+++ b/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/file/file-upload/services/file-upload.service.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { Injectable, Logger } from '@nestjs/common';
 
 import FileType from 'file-type';
 import sharp from 'sharp';
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ export type SignedFilesResult = {
 
 @Injectable()
 export class FileUploadService {
+  private readonly logger = new Logger(FileUploadService.name);
+
   constructor(
     private readonly fileStorage: FileStorageService,
     private readonly fileService: FileService,
@@ -95,33 +97,54 @@ export class FileUploadService {
     fileFolder: FileFolder;
     workspaceId: string;
   }) {
-    const httpClient = this.secureHttpClientService.getHttpClient();
+    const imageData = await this.fetchImageBufferFromUrl(imageUrl).catch(
+      (error) => {
+        this.logger.warn(
+          `Failed to fetch image from URL: ${imageUrl} — ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`,
+        );
 
-    const buffer = await getImageBufferFromUrl(imageUrl, httpClient);
+        return null;
+      },
+    );
 
-    const type = await FileType.fromBuffer(buffer);
-
-    if (!type || !type.ext || !type.mime) {
-      throw new Error(
-        'Unable to detect image type from buffer. The file may not be a valid image format.',
-      );
-    }
-
-    if (!type.mime.startsWith('image/')) {
-      throw new Error(
-        `Detected file type is not an image: ${type.mime}. Please provide a valid image URL.`,
-      );
+    if (!imageData) {
+      return { name: '', mimeType: undefined, files: [] };
     }
 
     return await this.uploadImage({
-      file: buffer,
-      filename: `${v4()}.${type.ext}`,
-      mimeType: type.mime,
+      file: imageData.buffer,
+      filename: `${v4()}.${imageData.extension}`,
+      mimeType: imageData.mimeType,
       fileFolder,
       workspaceId,
     });
   }
 
+  private async fetchImageBufferFromUrl(imageUrl: string): Promise<{
+    buffer: Buffer;
+    extension: string;
+    mimeType: string;
+  } | null> {
+    const httpClient = this.secureHttpClientService.getHttpClient({
+      retries: 2,
+      shouldResetTimeout: true,
+    });
+
+    const buffer = await getImageBufferFromUrl(imageUrl, httpClient);
+
+    if (!buffer || buffer.length === 0) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    const type = await FileType.fromBuffer(buffer);
+
+    if (!type || !type.ext || !type.mime || !type.mime.startsWith('image/')) {
+      throw new Error(`Invalid image type for URL: ${imageUrl}`);
+    }
+
+    return { buffer, extension: type.ext, mimeType: type.mime };
+  }
+
   async uploadImage({
     file,
     filename,
diff --git a/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/secure-http-client/__tests__/secure-http-client.service.spec.ts b/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/secure-http-client/__tests__/secure-http-client.service.spec.ts
index e1373daaf9..5bbe6b039f 100644
--- a/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/secure-http-client/__tests__/secure-http-client.service.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/secure-http-client/__tests__/secure-http-client.service.spec.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,16 @@
 import * as http from 'http';
 import * as https from 'https';
 
+import axiosRetry from 'axios-retry';
+
 import { SecureHttpClientService } from 'src/engine/core-modules/secure-http-client/secure-http-client.service';
 import { type TwentyConfigService } from 'src/engine/core-modules/twenty-config/twenty-config.service';
 
+jest.mock('axios-retry', () => ({
+  __esModule: true,
+  default: jest.fn(),
+}));
+
 const createMockConfigService = (
   overrides: Record<string, unknown> = {},
 ): TwentyConfigService => {
@@ -81,6 +88,43 @@ describe('SecureHttpClientService', () => {
 
       expect(client.defaults.baseURL).toBe('https://example.com/api');
     });
+
+    it('should configure axios-retry when retries is greater than 0', () => {
+      jest.mocked(axiosRetry).mockClear();
+      const service = new SecureHttpClientService(createMockConfigService());
+      const client = service.getHttpClient({
+        retries: 2,
+        shouldResetTimeout: true,
+      });
+
+      expect(axiosRetry).toHaveBeenCalledWith(client, {
+        retries: 2,
+        shouldResetTimeout: true,
+        retryCondition: expect.any(Function),
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('should not configure axios-retry when retries is 0', () => {
+      jest.mocked(axiosRetry).mockClear();
+      const service = new SecureHttpClientService(createMockConfigService());
+
+      service.getHttpClient({ retries: 0 });
+
+      expect(axiosRetry).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    it('should not leak retry config into axios defaults', () => {
+      const service = new SecureHttpClientService(createMockConfigService());
+      const client = service.getHttpClient({
+        retries: 2,
+        shouldResetTimeout: true,
+        baseURL: 'https://example.com',
+      });
+
+      expect(client.defaults.baseURL).toBe('https://example.com');
+      expect(client.defaults).not.toHaveProperty('retries');
+      expect(client.defaults).not.toHaveProperty('shouldResetTimeout');
+    });
   });
 
   describe('getInternalHttpClient', () => {
diff --git a/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/secure-http-client/secure-http-client.service.ts b/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/secure-http-client/secure-http-client.service.ts
index 38728dd30f..638a7f8e7c 100644
--- a/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/secure-http-client/secure-http-client.service.ts
+++ b/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/secure-http-client/secure-http-client.service.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import { Injectable, Logger } from '@nestjs/common';
 
 import axios, { type AxiosInstance, type CreateAxiosDefaults } from 'axios';
+import axiosRetry from 'axios-retry';
+import { isDefined } from 'twenty-shared/utils';
 
 import { createSsrfSafeAgent } from 'src/engine/core-modules/secure-http-client/utils/create-ssrf-safe-agent.util';
 import { resolveAndValidateHostname } from 'src/engine/core-modules/secure-http-client/utils/resolve-and-validate-hostname.util';
@@ -10,6 +12,11 @@ import { type OutboundRequestContext } from './outbound-request-context.type';
 
 const MAX_REDIRECTS = 5;
 
+type SecureHttpClientConfig = CreateAxiosDefaults & {
+  retries?: number;
+  shouldResetTimeout?: boolean;
+};
+
 @Injectable()
 export class SecureHttpClientService {
   private readonly logger = new Logger(SecureHttpClientService.name);
@@ -22,24 +29,37 @@ export class SecureHttpClientService {
   // When context is provided, outbound requests are logged with
   // workspace/user info for GuardDuty correlation.
   getHttpClient(
-    config?: CreateAxiosDefaults,
+    config?: SecureHttpClientConfig,
     context?: OutboundRequestContext,
   ): AxiosInstance {
+    const { retries, shouldResetTimeout, ...axiosConfig } = config ?? {};
+
     const isSafeModeEnabled = this.twentyConfigService.get(
       'OUTBOUND_HTTP_SAFE_MODE_ENABLED',
     );
 
     const client = isSafeModeEnabled
       ? axios.create({
-          ...config,
+          ...axiosConfig,
           httpAgent: createSsrfSafeAgent('http'),
           httpsAgent: createSsrfSafeAgent('https'),
           maxRedirects: Math.min(
-            config?.maxRedirects ?? MAX_REDIRECTS,
+            axiosConfig.maxRedirects ?? MAX_REDIRECTS,
             MAX_REDIRECTS,
           ),
         })
-      : axios.create(config);
+      : axios.create(axiosConfig);
+
+    if (isDefined(retries) && retries > 0) {
+      axiosRetry(client, {
+        retries,
+        shouldResetTimeout,
+        retryCondition: (error) =>
+          axiosRetry.isNetworkOrIdempotentRequestError(error) &&
+          error.code !== 'ECONNABORTED' &&
+          error.code !== 'ETIMEDOUT',
+      });
+    }
 
     if (context) {
       client.interceptors.request.use((requestConfig) => {
diff --git a/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/user-workspace/user-workspace.service.spec.ts b/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/user-workspace/user-workspace.service.spec.ts
index 74f2cc4296..cb1a0dfd05 100644
--- a/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/user-workspace/user-workspace.service.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/user-workspace/user-workspace.service.spec.ts
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ import { type WorkspaceEntity } from 'src/engine/core-modules/workspace/workspac
 import { DataSourceService } from 'src/engine/metadata-modules/data-source/data-source.service';
 import { ObjectMetadataEntity } from 'src/engine/metadata-modules/object-metadata/object-metadata.entity';
 import { PermissionsException } from 'src/engine/metadata-modules/permissions/permissions.exception';
-import { RoleValidationService } from 'src/engine/metadata-modules/role-validation/services/role-validation.service';
 import { RoleTargetEntity } from 'src/engine/metadata-modules/role-target/role-target.entity';
+import { RoleValidationService } from 'src/engine/metadata-modules/role-validation/services/role-validation.service';
 import { UserRoleService } from 'src/engine/metadata-modules/user-role/user-role.service';
 import { GlobalWorkspaceOrmManager } from 'src/engine/twenty-orm/global-workspace-datasource/global-workspace-orm.manager';
 import { type WorkspaceRepository } from 'src/engine/twenty-orm/repository/workspace.repository';
@@ -304,6 +304,50 @@ describe('UserWorkspaceService', () => {
       expect(userWorkspaceRepository.save).toHaveBeenCalledWith(userWorkspace);
       expect(result).toEqual(userWorkspace);
     });
+    it('should create a user workspace without a default avatar url if image fetch fails', async () => {
+      const userId = 'user-id';
+      const workspaceId = 'workspace-id';
+      const userWorkspace = {
+        userId,
+        workspaceId,
+      } as UserWorkspaceEntity;
+
+      jest
+        .spyOn(userWorkspaceRepository, 'create')
+        .mockReturnValue(userWorkspace);
+      jest
+        .spyOn(userWorkspaceRepository, 'save')
+        .mockResolvedValue(userWorkspace);
+
+      jest
+        .spyOn(fileUploadService, 'uploadImageFromUrl')
+        .mockRejectedValue(
+          new Error(
+            'Failed to fetch image from https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/invalid: Request failed with status code 404',
+          ),
+        );
+
+      const result = await service.create({
+        userId,
+        workspaceId,
+        isExistingUser: false,
+        pictureUrl: 'https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/invalid',
+      });
+
+      expect(fileUploadService.uploadImageFromUrl).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      expect(fileUploadService.uploadImageFromUrl).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+        imageUrl: 'https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/invalid',
+        fileFolder: FileFolder.ProfilePicture,
+        workspaceId,
+      });
+      expect(userWorkspaceRepository.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+        userId,
+        workspaceId,
+        defaultAvatarUrl: undefined,
+      });
+      expect(userWorkspaceRepository.save).toHaveBeenCalledWith(userWorkspace);
+      expect(result).toEqual(userWorkspace);
+    });
     it("should create a user workspace without a default avatar url if it's a new user without a picture url", async () => {
       const userId = 'user-id';
       const workspaceId = 'workspace-id';
diff --git a/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/user-workspace/user-workspace.service.ts b/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/user-workspace/user-workspace.service.ts
index e42ba54fa2..1ca67af181 100644
--- a/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/user-workspace/user-workspace.service.ts
+++ b/packages/twenty-server/src/engine/core-modules/user-workspace/user-workspace.service.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { Logger } from '@nestjs/common';
 import { InjectRepository } from '@nestjs/typeorm';
 
 import { TypeOrmQueryService } from '@ptc-org/nestjs-query-typeorm';
@@ -44,6 +45,8 @@ import { assert } from 'src/utils/assert';
 import { getDomainNameByEmail } from 'src/utils/get-domain-name-by-email';
 
 export class UserWorkspaceService extends TypeOrmQueryService<UserWorkspaceEntity> {
+  private readonly logger = new Logger(UserWorkspaceService.name);
+
   constructor(
     @InjectRepository(UserWorkspaceEntity)
     private readonly userWorkspaceRepository: Repository<UserWorkspaceEntity>,
@@ -482,17 +485,25 @@ export class UserWorkspaceService extends TypeOrmQueryService<UserWorkspaceEntit
 
     if (!isDefined(pictureUrl) || pictureUrl === '') return;
 
-    const { files } = await this.fileUploadService.uploadImageFromUrl({
-      imageUrl: pictureUrl,
-      fileFolder: FileFolder.ProfilePicture,
-      workspaceId,
-    });
+    try {
+      const { files } = await this.fileUploadService.uploadImageFromUrl({
+        imageUrl: pictureUrl,
+        fileFolder: FileFolder.ProfilePicture,
+        workspaceId,
+      });
 
-    if (!files.length) {
-      throw new Error('Failed to upload avatar');
+      if (!files.length) {
+        return;
+      }
+
+      return files[0].path;
+    } catch (error) {
+      this.logger.warn(
+        `Failed to upload profile picture from URL: ${pictureUrl} — ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`,
+      );
+
+      return;
     }
-
-    return files[0].path;
   }
 
   private async computeDefaultAvatarUrlMigrated(
diff --git a/packages/twenty-server/src/utils/image.ts b/packages/twenty-server/src/utils/image.ts
index 6941b10c3d..dc7d41d7e4 100644
--- a/packages/twenty-server/src/utils/image.ts
+++ b/packages/twenty-server/src/utils/image.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { type AxiosError, type AxiosInstance } from 'axios';
+import { type AxiosInstance } from 'axios';
 
 const cropRegex = /([w|h])([0-9]+)/;
 
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ export const getImageBufferFromUrl = async (
       responseType: 'arraybuffer',
       validateStatus: (status) => status >= 200 && status < 300,
       maxRedirects: 5,
-      timeout: 30000,
+      timeout: 10000,
     });
 
     if (!response.data) {
@@ -60,34 +60,8 @@ export const getImageBufferFromUrl = async (
 
     return Buffer.from(response.data, 'binary');
   } catch (error) {
-    const axiosError = error as AxiosError;
-    const axiosResponse = axiosError.response;
+    const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Unknown error';
 
-    if (axiosResponse) {
-      throw new Error(
-        `Failed to fetch image: HTTP ${axiosResponse.status} from ${url}`,
-      );
-    }
-
-    if (error instanceof Error) {
-      if (
-        axiosError.code === 'ECONNABORTED' ||
-        error.message.includes('timeout')
-      ) {
-        throw new Error(
-          `Request timeout while fetching image from URL: ${url}`,
-        );
-      }
-      if (
-        axiosError.code === 'ENOTFOUND' ||
-        axiosError.code === 'ECONNREFUSED' ||
-        error.message.includes('ENOTFOUND') ||
-        error.message.includes('ECONNREFUSED')
-      ) {
-        throw new Error(`Failed to connect to image URL: ${url}`);
-      }
-      throw new Error(`Failed to fetch image from URL: ${error.message}`);
-    }
-    throw new Error(`Failed to fetch image from URL: ${url}`);
+    throw new Error(`Failed to fetch image from ${url}: ${message}`);
   }
 };
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index a5280b4ac0..2cbb84ee4d 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -29122,6 +29122,17 @@ __metadata:
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
+"axios-retry@npm:^4.5.0":
+  version: 4.5.0
+  resolution: "axios-retry@npm:4.5.0"
+  dependencies:
+    is-retry-allowed: "npm:^2.2.0"
+  peerDependencies:
+    axios: 0.x || 1.x
+  checksum: 10c0/574e7b1bf24aad99b560042d232a932d51bfaa29b5a6d4612d748ed799a6f11a5afb2582792492c55d95842200cbdfbe3454027a8c1b9a2d3e895d13c3d03c10
+  languageName: node
+  linkType: hard
+
 "axios@npm:^1.12.0, axios@npm:^1.13.5, axios@npm:^1.6.1, axios@npm:^1.7.7, axios@npm:^1.8.3":
   version: 1.13.5
   resolution: "axios@npm:1.13.5"
@@ -41270,6 +41281,13 @@ __metadata:
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
+"is-retry-allowed@npm:^2.2.0":
+  version: 2.2.0
+  resolution: "is-retry-allowed@npm:2.2.0"
+  checksum: 10c0/013be4f8a0a06a49ed1fe495242952e898325d496202a018f6f9fb3fb9ac8fe3b957a9bd62463d68299ae35dbbda680473c85a9bcefca731b49d500d3ccc08ff
+  languageName: node
+  linkType: hard
+
 "is-scoped@npm:^2.1.0":
   version: 2.1.0
   resolution: "is-scoped@npm:2.1.0"
@@ -57907,6 +57925,7 @@ __metadata:
     apollo-server-core: "npm:3.13.0"
     archiver: "npm:7.0.1"
     axios: "npm:^1.13.5"
+    axios-retry: "npm:^4.5.0"
     babel-plugin-module-resolver: "npm:5.0.2"
     bcrypt: "npm:5.1.1"
     bullmq: "npm:5.40.0"