diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index b0f31f78..bdd8141c 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -490,25 +490,28 @@ jobs:
           DEPLOY_URL: ${{ needs.prepare.outputs.next_public_url }}
           GK_PASS: ${{ secrets.GATEKEEPER_PASSWORD || 'klz2026' }}
         run: |
-          echo "Waiting 10s for app to fully start..."
-          sleep 10
+          echo "Waiting 30s for app to fully start (cold start / migrations)..."
+          sleep 30
+          
           echo "Checking basic health..."
-          curl -sf "$DEPLOY_URL/health" || { echo "❌ Basic health check failed"; exit 1; }
+          curl -sfL --retry 3 --retry-delay 5 "$DEPLOY_URL/health" || { echo "❌ Basic health check failed after retries"; exit 1; }
           echo "✅ Basic health OK"
+          
           echo "Checking CMS DB connectivity..."
-          RESPONSE_HEADERS=$(curl -sfI "$DEPLOY_URL/api/health/cms?gk_bypass=$GK_PASS&cb=$(date +%s)" 2>&1)
-          RESPONSE=$(curl -sf "$DEPLOY_URL/api/health/cms?gk_bypass=$GK_PASS&cb=$(date +%s)" 2>&1) || {
+          # We use -v to see if we hit Gatekeeper (307) or 503/504
+          URL="$DEPLOY_URL/api/health/cms?gk_bypass=$GK_PASS&cb=$(date +%s)"
+          RESPONSE=$(curl -sfL --retry 3 --retry-delay 5 "$URL" 2>&1) || {
             echo "❌ CMS health check failed!"
-            echo "--- RESPONSE HEADERS ---"
-            curl -sI "$DEPLOY_URL/api/health/cms?gk_bypass=$GK_PASS&cb=$(date +%s)"
+            echo "--- DEBUG INFO ---"
+            curl -svI "$URL"
             echo "--- RESPONSE BODY ---"
-            echo "$RESPONSE"
+            curl -sL "$URL"
             echo ""
             echo "This usually means Payload CMS migrations failed or DB tables are missing."
-            echo "Check: docker logs \$APP_CONTAINER | grep -i error"
             exit 1
           }
           echo "✅ CMS health: $RESPONSE"
+
       - name: 🚀 OG Image Check
         if: always() && steps.deps.outcome == 'success'
         env: