diff --git a/app/Jobs/UpdateCoolifyJob.php b/app/Jobs/UpdateCoolifyJob.php
index f0e43cbc0a..e2310f0bee 100644
--- a/app/Jobs/UpdateCoolifyJob.php
+++ b/app/Jobs/UpdateCoolifyJob.php
@@ -44,8 +44,7 @@ class UpdateCoolifyJob implements ShouldBeEncrypted, ShouldQueue
             Log::info('Starting Coolify update process...');
             UpdateCoolify::run(false); // false means it's not a manual update
 
-            $settings->update(['new_version_available' => false]);
-            Log::info('Coolify update completed successfully.');
+            Log::info('Coolify upgrade script started. Result: /data/coolify/source/.upgrade-status, log: /data/coolify/source/upgrade-*.log.');
         } catch (\Throwable $e) {
             Log::error('UpdateCoolifyJob failed: '.$e->getMessage());
             // Consider implementing a notification to administrators
diff --git a/app/Livewire/Settings/Updates.php b/app/Livewire/Settings/Updates.php
index 10b3180640..aba7521dd9 100644
--- a/app/Livewire/Settings/Updates.php
+++ b/app/Livewire/Settings/Updates.php
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ class Updates extends Component
             if ($this->is_auto_update_enabled && ! validate_cron_expression($this->auto_update_frequency)) {
                 $this->dispatch('error', 'Invalid Cron / Human expression for Auto Update Frequency.');
                 if (empty($this->auto_update_frequency)) {
-                    $this->auto_update_frequency = '0 0 * * *';
+                    $this->auto_update_frequency = InstanceSettings::randomAutoUpdateFrequency();
                 }
 
                 return;
diff --git a/app/Models/InstanceSettings.php b/app/Models/InstanceSettings.php
index 16a1d7ea30..79d921fcf8 100644
--- a/app/Models/InstanceSettings.php
+++ b/app/Models/InstanceSettings.php
@@ -104,6 +104,12 @@ class InstanceSettings extends Model
 
     protected static function booted(): void
     {
+        static::creating(function ($settings) {
+            if (blank($settings->getAttributes()['auto_update_frequency'] ?? null)) {
+                $settings->auto_update_frequency = self::randomAutoUpdateFrequency();
+            }
+        });
+
         static::created(function () {
             Once::flush();
         });
@@ -121,6 +127,14 @@ class InstanceSettings extends Model
         });
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Daily auto update at a random minute after midnight, so instances do not all pull images from the registry in the same second.
+     */
+    public static function randomAutoUpdateFrequency(): string
+    {
+        return random_int(0, 59).' 0 * * *';
+    }
+
     public function isPasswordRegistrationAllowed(): bool
     {
         if (! $this->is_registration_enabled) {
diff --git a/database/migrations/2026_10_15_213357_spread_default_auto_update_frequency.php b/database/migrations/2026_10_15_213357_spread_default_auto_update_frequency.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9648ab50ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/database/migrations/2026_10_15_213357_spread_default_auto_update_frequency.php
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+<?php
+
+use App\Models\InstanceSettings;
+use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
+
+return new class extends Migration
+{
+    /**
+     * Move instances that use the old midnight default to a random minute after midnight,
+     * so they do not all pull images from the registry at 00:00.
+     */
+    public function up(): void
+    {
+        DB::table('instance_settings')
+            ->where('auto_update_frequency', '0 0 * * *')
+            ->update(['auto_update_frequency' => InstanceSettings::randomAutoUpdateFrequency()]);
+    }
+
+    public function down(): void
+    {
+        //
+    }
+};
diff --git a/other/nightly/upgrade.sh b/other/nightly/upgrade.sh
index ce8fdb6589..88dd7ea093 100644
--- a/other/nightly/upgrade.sh
+++ b/other/nightly/upgrade.sh
@@ -38,6 +38,24 @@ write_status() {
     echo "${step}|${message}|$(date -Iseconds)" > "$STATUS_FILE"
 }
 
+# Pull an image. Retry with backoff, because the registry can rate limit many instances that pull at the same time.
+pull_image() {
+    local image="$1"
+    local attempt=1
+    local max_attempts=5
+    local delay=15
+    until docker pull "$image" >>"$LOGFILE" 2>&1; do
+        if [ "$attempt" -ge "$max_attempts" ]; then
+            return 1
+        fi
+        log "Pull of $image failed (attempt $attempt/$max_attempts). Retrying in ${delay}s..."
+        echo "     Pull failed (attempt $attempt/$max_attempts). Retrying in ${delay}s..."
+        sleep "$((delay + RANDOM % 10))"
+        attempt=$((attempt + 1))
+        delay=$((delay * 2))
+    done
+}
+
 echo ""
 echo "=========================================="
 echo "   Coolify Upgrade - ${DATE}"
@@ -205,7 +223,7 @@ echo "     This may take a few minutes depending on your connection."
 HELPER_IMAGE="${REGISTRY_URL:-docker.io}/coollabsio/coolify-helper:${LATEST_HELPER_VERSION}"
 echo "     - Pulling $HELPER_IMAGE..."
 log "Pulling image: $HELPER_IMAGE"
-if docker pull "$HELPER_IMAGE" >>"$LOGFILE" 2>&1; then
+if pull_image "$HELPER_IMAGE"; then
     log "Successfully pulled $HELPER_IMAGE"
 else
     log "ERROR: Failed to pull $HELPER_IMAGE"
@@ -220,7 +238,7 @@ for IMAGE in $IMAGES; do
     if [ -n "$IMAGE" ]; then
         echo "     - Pulling $IMAGE..."
         log "Pulling image: $IMAGE"
-        if docker pull "$IMAGE" >>"$LOGFILE" 2>&1; then
+        if pull_image "$IMAGE"; then
             log "Successfully pulled $IMAGE"
         else
             log "ERROR: Failed to pull $IMAGE"
diff --git a/scripts/upgrade.sh b/scripts/upgrade.sh
index c2bcabc3f7..987ce636a0 100644
--- a/scripts/upgrade.sh
+++ b/scripts/upgrade.sh
@@ -38,6 +38,24 @@ write_status() {
     echo "${step}|${message}|$(date -Iseconds)" > "$STATUS_FILE"
 }
 
+# Pull an image. Retry with backoff, because the registry can rate limit many instances that pull at the same time.
+pull_image() {
+    local image="$1"
+    local attempt=1
+    local max_attempts=5
+    local delay=15
+    until docker pull "$image" >>"$LOGFILE" 2>&1; do
+        if [ "$attempt" -ge "$max_attempts" ]; then
+            return 1
+        fi
+        log "Pull of $image failed (attempt $attempt/$max_attempts). Retrying in ${delay}s..."
+        echo "     Pull failed (attempt $attempt/$max_attempts). Retrying in ${delay}s..."
+        sleep "$((delay + RANDOM % 10))"
+        attempt=$((attempt + 1))
+        delay=$((delay * 2))
+    done
+}
+
 echo ""
 echo "=========================================="
 echo "   Coolify Upgrade - ${DATE}"
@@ -205,7 +223,7 @@ echo "     This may take a few minutes depending on your connection."
 HELPER_IMAGE="${REGISTRY_URL:-docker.io}/coollabsio/coolify-helper:${LATEST_HELPER_VERSION}"
 echo "     - Pulling $HELPER_IMAGE..."
 log "Pulling image: $HELPER_IMAGE"
-if docker pull "$HELPER_IMAGE" >>"$LOGFILE" 2>&1; then
+if pull_image "$HELPER_IMAGE"; then
     log "Successfully pulled $HELPER_IMAGE"
 else
     log "ERROR: Failed to pull $HELPER_IMAGE"
@@ -220,7 +238,7 @@ for IMAGE in $IMAGES; do
     if [ -n "$IMAGE" ]; then
         echo "     - Pulling $IMAGE..."
         log "Pulling image: $IMAGE"
-        if docker pull "$IMAGE" >>"$LOGFILE" 2>&1; then
+        if pull_image "$IMAGE"; then
             log "Successfully pulled $IMAGE"
         else
             log "ERROR: Failed to pull $IMAGE"
diff --git a/tests/Feature/AutoUpdateFrequencyDefaultTest.php b/tests/Feature/AutoUpdateFrequencyDefaultTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8d64e26b09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Feature/AutoUpdateFrequencyDefaultTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+<?php
+
+use App\Models\InstanceSettings;
+use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
+
+uses(RefreshDatabase::class);
+
+it('gives a new instance a random minute after midnight for auto updates', function () {
+    $settings = InstanceSettings::forceCreate(['id' => 0]);
+
+    expect($settings->fresh()->auto_update_frequency)->toMatch('/^([0-9]|[1-5][0-9]) 0 \* \* \*$/');
+});
+
+it('keeps an explicit auto update frequency on create', function () {
+    $settings = InstanceSettings::forceCreate(['id' => 0, 'auto_update_frequency' => '23 3 * * *']);
+
+    expect($settings->fresh()->auto_update_frequency)->toBe('23 3 * * *');
+});
+
+it('moves instances off the old midnight default and keeps custom schedules', function (string $frequency, string $expected) {
+    InstanceSettings::forceCreate(['id' => 0, 'auto_update_frequency' => $frequency]);
+
+    (require database_path('migrations/2026_10_15_213357_spread_default_auto_update_frequency.php'))->up();
+
+    expect(InstanceSettings::find(0)->auto_update_frequency)->toMatch($expected);
+})->with([
+    'old default' => ['0 0 * * *', '/^([0-9]|[1-5][0-9]) 0 \* \* \*$/'],
+    'custom' => ['23 3 * * *', '/^23 3 \* \* \*$/'],
+]);
diff --git a/tests/Unit/UpgradeScriptPullRetryTest.php b/tests/Unit/UpgradeScriptPullRetryTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d30514a965
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Unit/UpgradeScriptPullRetryTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * Runs pull_image() from the upgrade script with a fake docker that fails the first $failures pulls.
+ *
+ * @return array{exitCode: int, pulls: int}
+ */
+function runUpgradeScriptPullImage(string $script, int $failures): array
+{
+    $dir = sys_get_temp_dir().'/upgrade-pull-'.bin2hex(random_bytes(4));
+    mkdir($dir);
+    $source = file_get_contents(getcwd().'/'.$script);
+    preg_match('/^log\(\) \{.*?^\}\n/ms', $source, $log);
+    preg_match('/^pull_image\(\) \{.*?^\}\n/ms', $source, $pullImage);
+
+    $harness = <<<BASH
+        LOGFILE="{$dir}/upgrade.log"
+        docker() {
+            local count=\$(cat "{$dir}/pulls" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
+            echo \$((count + 1)) > "{$dir}/pulls"
+            [ "\$count" -ge {$failures} ]
+        }
+        sleep() { :; }
+        {$log[0]}
+        {$pullImage[0]}
+        pull_image ghcr.io/coollabsio/coolify-helper:1.0.14
+        BASH;
+
+    exec('bash -c '.escapeshellarg($harness).' >/dev/null 2>&1', result_code: $exitCode);
+    $pulls = (int) @file_get_contents("{$dir}/pulls");
+    exec('rm -rf '.escapeshellarg($dir));
+
+    return ['exitCode' => $exitCode, 'pulls' => $pulls];
+}
+
+it('retries a rate limited image pull until it succeeds', function (string $script) {
+    expect(runUpgradeScriptPullImage($script, failures: 2))->toBe(['exitCode' => 0, 'pulls' => 3]);
+})->with(['scripts/upgrade.sh', 'other/nightly/upgrade.sh']);
+
+it('fails the image pull after five attempts', function (string $script) {
+    expect(runUpgradeScriptPullImage($script, failures: 10))->toBe(['exitCode' => 1, 'pulls' => 5]);
+})->with(['scripts/upgrade.sh', 'other/nightly/upgrade.sh']);