diff --git a/plugins/appkit.client.ts b/plugins/appkit.client.ts
index 1ef9bd9..cc1d57b 100644
--- a/plugins/appkit.client.ts
+++ b/plugins/appkit.client.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { createAppKit } from '@reown/appkit/vue'
 import { WagmiAdapter } from '@reown/appkit-adapter-wagmi'
 import { arbitrumSepolia } from '@reown/appkit/networks'
 import type { AppKitNetwork } from '@reown/appkit/networks'
+import { http } from '@wagmi/core'
 import { invoke } from '@tauri-apps/api/core'
 import {
   WALLETCONNECT_PROJECT_ID,
@@ -71,6 +72,18 @@ export default defineNuxtPlugin(async () => {
       projectId: WALLETCONNECT_PROJECT_ID,
       networks,
       connectors: [browserBridge()],
+      // Without an explicit transport, the adapter routes every read and
+      // gas estimate through Reown's RPC proxy (rpc.walletconnect.org),
+      // which 403s any request body over 16KB — large payForMerkleTree /
+      // payForQuotes estimates exceed that. Its own "fallback" is the same
+      // proxy URL again (extendCaipNetwork rewrites rpcUrls.default), so
+      // the chain's real RPC was never tried. Pinning the canonical
+      // Arbitrum endpoints makes them primary; the adapter keeps the Reown
+      // proxy as an automatic fallback leg behind each.
+      transports: {
+        [SUPPORTED_CHAIN.id]: http('https://arb1.arbitrum.io/rpc'),
+        [arbitrumSepolia.id]: http('https://sepolia-rollup.arbitrum.io/rpc'),
+      },
     })
 
     const appkit = createAppKit({
diff --git a/tests/utils/payment.test.ts b/tests/utils/payment.test.ts
index d03f899..1081268 100644
--- a/tests/utils/payment.test.ts
+++ b/tests/utils/payment.test.ts
@@ -125,6 +125,29 @@ describe('payment', () => {
       expect(writeContract).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
     })
 
+    it('reports a transport failure as an unreachable RPC, not an on-chain verdict', async () => {
+      vi.useFakeTimers()
+      // Shape of a real failure: viem wraps the transport error, keeping it
+      // in the cause chain (e.g. Reown's RPC proxy 403ing a >16KB estimate).
+      const httpError = Object.assign(new Error('HTTP request failed.\nURL: …'), {
+        name: 'HttpRequestError',
+        shortMessage: 'HTTP request failed.',
+      })
+      const wrapped = Object.assign(new Error('Gas estimation failed'), {
+        shortMessage: 'HTTP request failed.',
+        cause: httpError,
+      })
+      estimateContractGas.mockRejectedValue(wrapped)
+
+      const assertion = expect(payForQuotes({} as any, PAYMENTS)).rejects.toThrow(
+        "Couldn't reach the Arbitrum RPC to estimate gas: HTTP request failed.",
+      )
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(3_000)
+      await assertion
+
+      expect(writeContract).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    })
+
     it('preflights the approve tx too when an approval is needed', async () => {
       vi.mocked(readContract).mockResolvedValue(0n)
       estimateContractGas.mockResolvedValue(60_000n)
diff --git a/utils/payment.ts b/utils/payment.ts
index 863eff9..c261942 100644
--- a/utils/payment.ts
+++ b/utils/payment.ts
@@ -114,6 +114,17 @@ function shortReason(e: any): string {
   return e?.shortMessage ?? String(e?.message ?? e).split('\n')[0]
 }
 
+/** True when the estimate never reached the chain: the RPC transport failed
+ *  (HTTP error, timeout) rather than the node simulating a revert. viem
+ *  nests the transport error inside the `cause` chain of the wrapper that
+ *  estimateContractGas throws. */
+function isTransportError(e: any): boolean {
+  for (let err = e, depth = 0; err && depth < 10; err = err.cause, depth++) {
+    if (err.name === 'HttpRequestError' || err.name === 'TimeoutError') return true
+  }
+  return false
+}
+
 /**
  * Estimate the gas limit for a contract write on our own transport, with
  * retries: right after an approve receipt, a load-balanced public RPC can
@@ -138,6 +149,13 @@ async function preflightGasLimit(
       }
     }
   }
+  if (isTransportError(lastError)) {
+    // Not an on-chain verdict — we never got one. Say so instead of
+    // implying the payment itself is doomed.
+    throw new Error(`Couldn't reach the Arbitrum RPC to estimate gas: ${shortReason(lastError)}`, {
+      cause: lastError,
+    })
+  }
   throw new Error(`${label} would fail on-chain: ${shortReason(lastError)}`, { cause: lastError })
 }