diff --git a/crates/buzz-relay/src/api/transcribe.rs b/crates/buzz-relay/src/api/transcribe.rs
index 890616908..1e3ff7694 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-relay/src/api/transcribe.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-relay/src/api/transcribe.rs
@@ -91,7 +91,9 @@ pub async fn create_transcribe_session(
 
     let model = state.config.transcription_model.clone();
 
-    let response = openai_client()
+    let client = openai_client().map_err(|(status, msg)| api_error(status, msg))?;
+
+    let response = client
         .post(OPENAI_REALTIME_CLIENT_SECRETS_URL)
         .header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {api_key}"))
         .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
@@ -220,14 +222,25 @@ fn transcribe_rate_limited(state: &AppState, community: CommunityId, pubkey: &no
 }
 
 /// Shared HTTP client for OpenAI requests (connection pooling).
-fn openai_client() -> &'static reqwest::Client {
+fn openai_client() -> Result<&'static reqwest::Client, (StatusCode, &'static str)> {
     static CLIENT: std::sync::OnceLock<reqwest::Client> = std::sync::OnceLock::new();
-    CLIENT.get_or_init(|| {
-        reqwest::Client::builder()
-            .timeout(Duration::from_secs(10))
-            .build()
-            .expect("failed to build reqwest client")
-    })
+    // `get_or_init` only runs the closure once; if TLS backend init fails we
+    // propagate an API error instead of panicking in production.
+    if let Some(c) = CLIENT.get() {
+        return Ok(c);
+    }
+    let client = reqwest::Client::builder()
+        .timeout(Duration::from_secs(10))
+        .build()
+        .map_err(|_| {
+            (
+                StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
+                "failed to initialize HTTP client",
+            )
+        })?;
+    // Another thread may have raced us — `get_or_init` is fine here since we
+    // already proved construction succeeds.
+    Ok(CLIENT.get_or_init(|| client))
 }
 
 fn extract_client_secret(value: &Value) -> Option<String> {
diff --git a/desktop/src/features/messages/ui/MessageComposer.tsx b/desktop/src/features/messages/ui/MessageComposer.tsx
index 62a9b8463..99f4ce644 100644
--- a/desktop/src/features/messages/ui/MessageComposer.tsx
+++ b/desktop/src/features/messages/ui/MessageComposer.tsx
@@ -558,6 +558,7 @@ function MessageComposerImpl({
     // Edit mode
     if (editTargetRef.current && onEditSaveRef.current) {
       if (isSendingRef.current || isUploadingRef.current) return;
+      stopDictationRef.current(); // stop dictation so late transcripts don't refill during edit save
       const currentPendingImeta = media.pendingImetaRef.current;
       const hasMedia = currentPendingImeta.length > 0;
       // Empty text + zero attachments is a no-op (don't let edit become an