diff --git a/modules/spl-meter/module.json b/modules/spl-meter/module.json
index 529f394..8eea9e5 100644
--- a/modules/spl-meter/module.json
+++ b/modules/spl-meter/module.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "id": "spl-meter",
   "name": "SPL Meter",
-  "version": "0.4.2",
+  "version": "0.4.3",
   "proddash": ">=1.5.0",
   "description": "Calibrated sound level, Leq and RTA from an audio input on this machine",
   "permissions": [
diff --git a/modules/spl-meter/spl-listener.js b/modules/spl-meter/spl-listener.js
index 15f1221..ebe1276 100644
--- a/modules/spl-meter/spl-listener.js
+++ b/modules/spl-meter/spl-listener.js
@@ -153,9 +153,13 @@ function createSplListener(opts) {
     const missing = ensureBinary();
     if (missing) {
       onUpdate({ error: missing });
-      // A build in flight calls start() itself when it lands; anything else
-      // is config-shaped and should back off hard rather than spin.
-      if (missing !== BUILDING) scheduleRestart(BAD_CONFIG_RETRY_MS);
+      // onReady is only the FAST path (a successful build restarts us at
+      // once). The slow retry must stay armed regardless: a failed build
+      // never calls back, and a binary can also arrive from outside — scp'd
+      // in on a machine whose toolchain can't build (AB's broken CLT).
+      // Waiting on onReady alone deadlocked exactly that way in the Timers
+      // module: "building…" forever, with a working binary on disk.
+      scheduleRestart(BAD_CONFIG_RETRY_MS);
       return;
     }