diff --git a/pkg/http/websocket_client.go b/pkg/http/websocket_client.go
index 296b95d8..d48e0fca 100644
--- a/pkg/http/websocket_client.go
+++ b/pkg/http/websocket_client.go
@@ -2,76 +2,152 @@ package http
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"math"
 	"sync"
+	"syscall"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/gorilla/websocket"
 	"github.com/rs/zerolog/log"
 )
 
+const (
+	initialDelay = 1.0
+	maxAttempts  = 10
+	exponential  = 1.2
+)
+
 // ConnectWebSocket establishes a new WebSocket connection
-func ConnectWebSocket(
-	url string,
-	ctx context.Context,
-) chan []byte {
-	connectFactory := func() *websocket.Conn {
-		for {
+func ConnectWebSocket(ctx context.Context, url string) (chan []byte, error) {
+	connectFactory := func() (*websocket.Conn, error) {
+		currentBackoff := 0.0
+		for attempt := 0; attempt < maxAttempts; attempt++ {
+			select {
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("websocket connection canceled: %w", ctx.Err())
+			default:
+			}
+
 			log.Debug().Msgf("WebSocket connection connecting: %s", url)
 			conn, _, err := websocket.DefaultDialer.Dial(url, nil)
 			if err != nil {
-				log.Error().Msgf("WebSocket connection failed: %s\nReconnecting in 2 seconds...", err)
-				time.Sleep(2 * time.Second)
-				continue
+				switch {
+				case websocket.IsCloseError(err, websocket.CloseGoingAway, websocket.CloseAbnormalClosure):
+					log.Info().Msg("Solver service closed connection")
+					return nil, fmt.Errorf("solver connection closed: %w", err)
+				case errors.Is(err, syscall.ECONNREFUSED):
+					log.Info().Msg("Solver service appears to be down")
+					return nil, fmt.Errorf("solver service unavailable: %w", err)
+				default:
+					log.Error().Msgf("WebSocket connection failed: %s\nReconnecting in %.3f seconds...", err, currentBackoff)
+					timer := time.NewTimer(time.Duration(currentBackoff * float64(time.Second)))
+
+					select {
+					case <-ctx.Done():
+						if !timer.Stop() {
+							<-timer.C
+						}
+						return nil, fmt.Errorf("websocket connection canceled during backoff: %w", ctx.Err())
+					case <-timer.C:
+					}
+
+					currentBackoff += initialDelay * math.Pow(exponential, float64(attempt))
+					continue
+				}
 			}
+
 			conn.SetPongHandler(nil)
-			return conn
+			return conn, nil
 		}
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("maximum connection attempts (%d) reached", maxAttempts)
 	}
 
 	pingInterval := time.NewTicker(time.Second * 5)
 	connLk := &sync.Mutex{}
-	responseCh := make(chan []byte)
-	errCh := make(chan error)
+	responseCh := make(chan []byte, 100)
+	errCh := make(chan error, 1)
 
 	readMessage := func(conn *websocket.Conn) {
+		defer func() {
+			conn.Close()
+			close(responseCh)
+		}()
 		for {
-			messageType, p, err := conn.ReadMessage()
-			if err != nil {
-				errCh <- err
+			select {
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				log.Info().Msg("Exiting readMessage loop due to context cancellation.")
 				return
-			}
-			if messageType == websocket.TextMessage {
-				log.Debug().
-					Str("action", "ws READ").
-					Str("payload", string(p)).
-					Msgf("")
-				responseCh <- p
+			default:
+				messageType, p, err := conn.ReadMessage()
+				if err != nil {
+					errCh <- err
+					return
+				}
+				if messageType == websocket.TextMessage {
+					log.Debug().
+						Str("action", "ws READ").
+						Str("payload", string(p)).
+						Msg("")
+					responseCh <- p
+				}
 			}
 		}
 	}
 
-	conn := connectFactory()
+	conn, err := connectFactory()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Err(err).Msg("Error in WebSocket connection.")
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	go readMessage(conn)
+
 	go func() {
+		defer func() {
+			pingInterval.Stop()
+			connLk.Lock()
+			if conn != nil {
+				conn.Close()
+			}
+			connLk.Unlock()
+		}()
 		for {
 			select {
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				log.Info().Msg("Ping loop exiting due to context cancellation.")
+				return
 			case <-pingInterval.C:
 				connLk.Lock()
-				log.Trace().Msg("send ping message")
-				if err := conn.WriteMessage(websocket.PingMessage, []byte{}); err != nil {
-					log.Err(err).Msg("sending ping message")
-					connLk.Unlock()
-					continue
+				if conn != nil {
+					if err := conn.WriteMessage(websocket.PingMessage, []byte{}); err != nil {
+						log.Err(err).Msg("Error sending ping message.")
+						select {
+						case errCh <- err:
+						default:
+						}
+					}
 				}
 				connLk.Unlock()
 			case err := <-errCh:
-				log.Err(err).Msg("websocket error")
+				log.Err(err).Msg("WebSocket error detected.")
 				connLk.Lock()
-				conn = connectFactory()
+				if conn != nil {
+					conn.Close()
+				}
+				newConn, err := connectFactory()
+				if err != nil {
+					log.Err(err).Msg("Failed to reconnect WebSocket.")
+					connLk.Unlock()
+					return
+				}
+				conn = newConn
 				connLk.Unlock()
-				go readMessage(conn)
+				go readMessage(newConn)
 			}
 		}
 	}()
-	return responseCh
+
+	return responseCh, nil
 }
diff --git a/pkg/solver/client.go b/pkg/solver/client.go
index 44ef39f7..e55cc0c6 100644
--- a/pkg/solver/client.go
+++ b/pkg/solver/client.go
@@ -31,7 +31,11 @@ func NewSolverClient(
 func (client *SolverClient) Start(ctx context.Context, cm *system.CleanupManager) error {
 
 	websocketURL := fmt.Sprintf("%s%s%s%s%s", http.WEBSOCKET_SUB_PATH, "?&Type=", client.options.Type, "&ID=", client.options.PublicAddress)
-	websocketEventChannel := http.ConnectWebSocket(http.WebsocketURL(client.options, websocketURL), ctx)
+	websocketEventChannel, err := http.ConnectWebSocket(ctx, http.WebsocketURL(client.options, websocketURL))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	go func() {
 		for {
 			select {