diff --git a/HOST-REBOOT-AI-AUTOMATION-SOP.md b/HOST-REBOOT-AI-AUTOMATION-SOP.md
index 5b27fb3c9..074116255 100644
--- a/HOST-REBOOT-AI-AUTOMATION-SOP.md
+++ b/HOST-REBOOT-AI-AUTOMATION-SOP.md
@@ -574,6 +574,15 @@ Recovery is complete only when all of the following are captured:
       - `192.168.0.120`: `ok`, `loadPerCore=0.05`, `diskUsedPct=47`, `elapsedMs=699`.
       - `192.168.0.121`: `ok`, `loadPerCore=0.02`, `diskUsedPct=27`, `elapsedMs=1183`.
       - `192.168.0.188`: `ok`, `loadPerCore=0.09`, `diskUsedPct=88`, `elapsedMs=881`.
+  - 2026-07-10 12:12 Telegram inbox idle readback verifier:
+    - Runtime script deployed: `C:\Wooo\Agent99\bin\agent99-telegram-inbox.ps1`.
+    - Backup before deploy: `C:\Wooo\Agent99\bin\agent99-telegram-inbox.ps1.bak-20260710-121231`.
+    - Parser readback: `parse_ok`.
+    - Fix: Telegram relay readback now records `timeoutSeconds`, `elapsedMs`, and `slowRetry`; empty update polling is `ok=True` with `reason=no_updates`, not a false failure.
+    - Self-test run: `C:\Wooo\Agent99\evidence\agent99-telegram-inbox-selftest-run-20260710-121249.txt`, exit code `0`.
+    - Real inbox run evidence: `C:\Wooo\Agent99\evidence\agent99-TelegramInbox-20260710-121252.json`.
+    - Real inbox result: `ok=True`, `reason=no_updates`, `updatesSeen=0`, `processedCount=0`, `alertedCount=0`, `ignoredCount=0`, `sentTelegram=0`.
+    - Relay readback: host `192.168.0.110`, container `stockplatform-v2-api-1`, `ok=True`, `exitCode=0`, `elapsedMs=2176`, `timeoutSeconds=60`, `slowRetry=False`.
 
 ## Agent99 Monitoring Alert Routing Self-Test Receipt
 
diff --git a/agent99-telegram-inbox.ps1 b/agent99-telegram-inbox.ps1
index 78a845925..21e966dbf 100644
--- a/agent99-telegram-inbox.ps1
+++ b/agent99-telegram-inbox.ps1
@@ -46,8 +46,10 @@ function Invoke-AgentSshText {
     $Command
   )
 
+  $stopwatch = [Diagnostics.Stopwatch]::StartNew()
   $process = Start-Process -FilePath "ssh.exe" -ArgumentList $args -NoNewWindow -RedirectStandardOutput $stdoutPath -RedirectStandardError $stderrPath -PassThru
   $completed = $process.WaitForExit($TimeoutSeconds * 1000)
+  $stopwatch.Stop()
   if (-not $completed) {
     $process.Kill()
     $process.WaitForExit(2000) | Out-Null
@@ -59,7 +61,9 @@ function Invoke-AgentSshText {
   [pscustomobject]@{
     ok = [bool]($completed -and (($null -eq $process.ExitCode) -or $process.ExitCode -eq 0))
     exitCode = if ($completed -and $null -ne $process.ExitCode) { $process.ExitCode } elseif ($completed) { 0 } else { -2 }
-    output = (@($stdout, $stderr) | Where-Object { $_ }) -join "`n"
+    output = if ((@($stdout, $stderr) | Where-Object { $_ }).Count -gt 0) { (@($stdout, $stderr) | Where-Object { $_ }) -join "`n" } elseif (-not $completed) { "timeout_after_${TimeoutSeconds}s" } else { "" }
+    elapsedMs = $stopwatch.ElapsedMilliseconds
+    timeoutSeconds = $TimeoutSeconds
   }
 }
 
@@ -175,9 +179,36 @@ except Exception as exc:
   $allowedTitleB64 = Convert-AgentBase64 $allowedTitlePattern
   $bootstrap = 'import base64,sys;exec(base64.b64decode(sys.argv[1]))'
   $remoteCommand = "docker exec $container python3 -c '$bootstrap' $pythonB64 $Offset $allowedTitleB64"
-  $run = Invoke-AgentSshText $relayHost $remoteCommand 35
+  $timeoutSeconds = 60
+  if ($Config.telegram -and $Config.telegram.PSObject.Properties["inboxRelayTimeoutSeconds"]) {
+    $timeoutSeconds = [int]$Config.telegram.inboxRelayTimeoutSeconds
+  }
+  $run = Invoke-AgentSshText $relayHost $remoteCommand $timeoutSeconds
+  $slowRetryUsed = $false
+  if (-not $run.ok -and $run.exitCode -eq -2) {
+    $slowTimeoutSeconds = 120
+    if ($Config.telegram -and $Config.telegram.PSObject.Properties["inboxRelaySlowTimeoutSeconds"]) {
+      $slowTimeoutSeconds = [int]$Config.telegram.inboxRelaySlowTimeoutSeconds
+    }
+    if ($slowTimeoutSeconds -gt $timeoutSeconds) {
+      $slowRun = Invoke-AgentSshText $relayHost $remoteCommand $slowTimeoutSeconds
+      $slowRun | Add-Member -NotePropertyName firstAttemptExitCode -NotePropertyValue $run.exitCode -Force
+      $slowRun | Add-Member -NotePropertyName firstAttemptElapsedMs -NotePropertyValue $run.elapsedMs -Force
+      $run = $slowRun
+      $slowRetryUsed = $true
+    }
+  }
+  $relayReadback = [pscustomobject]@{
+    host = $relayHost
+    container = $container
+    ok = [bool]$run.ok
+    exitCode = $run.exitCode
+    elapsedMs = $run.elapsedMs
+    timeoutSeconds = $run.timeoutSeconds
+    slowRetry = $slowRetryUsed
+  }
   if (-not $run.ok) {
-    return [pscustomobject]@{ ok = $false; error = $run.output; updates = @(); raw = $null }
+    return [pscustomobject]@{ ok = $false; error = "telegram_relay_readback_failed: $($run.output)"; updates = @(); raw = $null; relay = $relayReadback }
   }
 
   try {
@@ -189,9 +220,9 @@ except Exception as exc:
     } else {
       [string]$parsed.error
     }
-    return [pscustomobject]@{ ok = [bool]$parsed.ok; error = $errorText; updates = @($parsed.updates); raw = $parsed }
+    return [pscustomobject]@{ ok = [bool]$parsed.ok; error = $errorText; updates = @($parsed.updates); raw = $parsed; relay = $relayReadback }
   } catch {
-    return [pscustomobject]@{ ok = $false; error = $_.Exception.Message; updates = @(); raw = $run.output }
+    return [pscustomobject]@{ ok = $false; error = "telegram_updates_parse_failed: $($_.Exception.Message)"; updates = @(); raw = $run.output; relay = $relayReadback }
   }
 }
 
@@ -606,7 +637,9 @@ if ((-not $SyntheticUpdateText) -and $updatesResult.ok -and $maxUpdateId -ge 0)
 $result = [pscustomobject]@{
   timestamp = (Get-Date -Format o)
   ok = [bool]$updatesResult.ok
+  reason = if ($updatesResult.ok -and @($updatesResult.updates).Count -eq 0) { "no_updates" } elseif ($updatesResult.ok) { "updates_read" } else { "updates_read_failed" }
   error = $updatesResult.error
+  relay = $updatesResult.relay
   offsetBefore = $offset
   offsetAfter = if ($SyntheticUpdateText) { $offset } elseif ($updatesResult.ok) { $maxUpdateId + 1 } else { $offset }
   synthetic = [bool]$SyntheticUpdateText