diff --git a/scripts/_open-env.ps1 b/scripts/_open-env.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c92364
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/_open-env.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+function Open-Env([string]$EnvFile) {
+    if (-not (Test-Path $EnvFile)) {
+        Write-Error "Env file not found: $EnvFile`nRun deploy.ps1 first to generate it."
+        exit 1
+    }
+
+    $config = @{}
+    Get-Content $EnvFile | Where-Object { $_ -match "^\s*[^#]\w+=.+" } | ForEach-Object {
+        $k, $v = $_ -split "=", 2
+        $config[$k.Trim()] = $v.Trim()
+    }
+
+    $required = "APP_SERVICE_HOSTNAME", "SWA_HOSTNAME"
+    $missing  = $required | Where-Object { -not $config[$_] }
+    if ($missing) {
+        Write-Error "Missing or empty keys in ${EnvFile}: $($missing -join ", ")"
+        exit 1
+    }
+
+    $api = "https://$($config["APP_SERVICE_HOSTNAME"])/api/v1/health"
+    $ui  = "https://$($config["SWA_HOSTNAME"])"
+
+    Write-Host "Opening API : $api"
+    Write-Host "Opening UI  : $ui"
+
+    Start-Process $api
+    Start-Process $ui
+}
diff --git a/scripts/deploy.ps1 b/scripts/deploy.ps1
index e9eb7b3..15db716 100644
--- a/scripts/deploy.ps1
+++ b/scripts/deploy.ps1
@@ -343,7 +343,12 @@ $EntraClientId = [string]$EntraInfo.ClientId
 Write-Success "Entra app: $EntraClientId (tenant $EntraTenantId)"
 
 # Deploy Bicep
-Write-Host "  Deploying Bicep template (usually 3-10 minutes, longer if Azure is slow)..."
+$deployMsg = if ($Tier -eq 'free') {
+    "Deploying Bicep template (5-15 minutes on Free tier; Free tier is slower than Basic due to resource constraints)..."
+} else {
+    "Deploying Bicep template (3-5 minutes on Basic tier)..."
+}
+Write-Host "  $deployMsg"
 Write-Host "  Progress updates every 15s; first update may take ~30s while deployment registers."
 $BicepTemplate = Join-Path $RepoRoot "infra\main.bicep"
 $DeploymentName = "deploy-${Environment}-$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd-HHmmss')"
diff --git a/scripts/open-prod-in-browser.ps1 b/scripts/open-prod-in-browser.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f646aeb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/open-prod-in-browser.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+. "$PSScriptRoot\_open-env.ps1"
+Open-Env "$PSScriptRoot\.env.prod"
diff --git a/scripts/open-test-in-browser.ps1 b/scripts/open-test-in-browser.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eb4ad34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/open-test-in-browser.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+. "$PSScriptRoot\_open-env.ps1"
+Open-Env "$PSScriptRoot\.env.test"
diff --git a/src/Frontend/AHKFlowApp.UI.Blazor/Pages/Health.razor b/src/Frontend/AHKFlowApp.UI.Blazor/Pages/Health.razor
index 4cbc3d0..cb309a7 100644
--- a/src/Frontend/AHKFlowApp.UI.Blazor/Pages/Health.razor
+++ b/src/Frontend/AHKFlowApp.UI.Blazor/Pages/Health.razor
@@ -14,7 +14,17 @@
     @if (_loading)
     {
         <MudProgressCircular Color="Color.Primary" Indeterminate="true" Size="Size.Small" />
-        <MudText Typo="Typo.body2" Class="mt-2">Checking system health...</MudText>
+        @if (_retryAttempt > 0)
+        {
+            <MudAlert Severity="Severity.Warning" Class="mt-3">
+                <MudText Typo="Typo.subtitle2"><strong>Unable to reach the API — retrying (@_retryAttempt of @MaxRetries)</strong></MudText>
+                <MudText Typo="Typo.body2" Class="mt-1">The API is not responding. If it is deployed on the Free tier, the API and database may take a few minutes to cold start.</MudText>
+            </MudAlert>
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            <MudText Typo="Typo.body2" Class="mt-2">Checking system health...</MudText>
+        }
     }
     else if (_healthCheck != null)
     {
@@ -105,9 +115,12 @@
 @code {
     [Inject] private IAhkFlowAppApiHttpClient ApiClient { get; set; } = default!;
 
+    private const int MaxRetries = 10;
+
     private HealthResponse? _healthCheck;
     private bool _loading = true;
     private bool _hasError;
+    private int _retryAttempt;
     private readonly CancellationTokenSource _cts = new();
 
     protected override async Task OnInitializedAsync()
@@ -119,26 +132,37 @@
     {
         _loading = true;
         _hasError = false;
+        _retryAttempt = 0;
         StateHasChanged(); // render the spinner before awaiting
 
-        try
-        {
-            _healthCheck = await ApiClient.GetHealthAsync(_cts.Token);
-            if (_healthCheck is null)
-                _hasError = true;
-        }
-        catch (OperationCanceledException)
+        while (true)
         {
-            // page was disposed
-        }
-        catch
-        {
-            _hasError = true;
-        }
-        finally
-        {
-            _loading = false;
+            try
+            {
+                _healthCheck = await ApiClient.GetHealthAsync(_cts.Token);
+                if (_healthCheck is null)
+                    _hasError = true;
+                break;
+            }
+            catch (OperationCanceledException)
+            {
+                break; // page was disposed
+            }
+            catch
+            {
+                if (++_retryAttempt >= MaxRetries)
+                {
+                    _hasError = true;
+                    break;
+                }
+                StateHasChanged();
+                int delaySeconds = Math.Min((int)Math.Pow(2, _retryAttempt), 20);
+                try { await Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(delaySeconds), _cts.Token); }
+                catch (OperationCanceledException) { break; }
+            }
         }
+
+        _loading = false;
     }
 
     private async Task RefreshHealthAsync() => await LoadHealthAsync();
diff --git a/src/Frontend/AHKFlowApp.UI.Blazor/Program.cs b/src/Frontend/AHKFlowApp.UI.Blazor/Program.cs
index 623a80a..8caa767 100644
--- a/src/Frontend/AHKFlowApp.UI.Blazor/Program.cs
+++ b/src/Frontend/AHKFlowApp.UI.Blazor/Program.cs
@@ -25,9 +25,14 @@
     builder.Services.AddHttpClient<IAhkFlowAppApiHttpClient, AhkFlowAppApiHttpClient>(client =>
     {
         client.BaseAddress = new Uri(new Uri(builder.HostEnvironment.BaseAddress), apiBaseUrl);
-        client.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30);
+        client.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(35);
     })
-        .AddStandardResilienceHandler();
+        .AddStandardResilienceHandler(options =>
+        {
+            options.TotalRequestTimeout.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(32);
+            options.AttemptTimeout.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30);
+            options.CircuitBreaker.SamplingDuration = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60);
+        });
 
     builder.Services.AddHttpClient<IHotstringsApiClient, HotstringsApiClient>(client =>
     {
@@ -67,10 +72,15 @@
     builder.Services.AddHttpClient<IAhkFlowAppApiHttpClient, AhkFlowAppApiHttpClient>(client =>
     {
         client.BaseAddress = new Uri(apiBaseUrl);
-        client.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30);
+        client.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(35);
     })
         .AddHttpMessageHandler<ApiAuthorizationMessageHandler>()
-        .AddStandardResilienceHandler();
+        .AddStandardResilienceHandler(options =>
+        {
+            options.TotalRequestTimeout.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(32);
+            options.AttemptTimeout.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30);
+            options.CircuitBreaker.SamplingDuration = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60);
+        });
 
     builder.Services.AddHttpClient<IHotstringsApiClient, HotstringsApiClient>(client =>
     {