diff --git a/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/README.md b/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/README.md
index 962c136..efdb43f 100644
--- a/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/README.md
+++ b/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/README.md
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ CI workflow **Sync release to Gitea** (`.github/workflows/gitea-release-sync.yml
 6. **Secrets** — **`GITEA_BASE_URL`**, **`GITEA_TOKEN`**, **`GITEA_OWNER`**, **`GITEA_REPO`** must be set under **Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions**. A failed “Upload to Gitea” step usually prints which is missing.
 7. **Actions tab** — Open the latest **Sync release to Gitea** run; a red **build-electron** (old tag without `package-lock.json`, etc.) or **Upload to Gitea** step shows the real error.
 8. **HTTP 422 `repo is empty`** — The Gitea repo has **no commits** yet. Push any initial commit (e.g. **Add README** in the Gitea web UI, or `git push` to **`main`**). Optionally set **`GITEA_TARGET_REF`** to match your real default branch if it is not **`main`**. From this repo you can run **`scripts/bootstrap-gitea-repo.sh`** (see script header for `GITEA_*` env or pass the HTTPS/SSH clone URL as the first argument).
+9. **`sync Wow.exe: fetch failed`** (Linux/AppImage especially) — Usually **TLS** (self-signed Gitea cert) or **cannot reach** the host. Use a **trusted certificate** on Gitea, or put your CA in the system trust store, or set **`NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS=/path/to/ca.pem`** when launching the AppImage if you must use self-signed HTTPS. If the mirror is LAN-only HTTP, set **`base_url`** in **`lib/baked-gitea-channel.js`** to **`http://…`** (only if acceptable). Ensure **`Wow-patched.exe`** exists on the **same Gitea release** you configured (**`release_tag`**: `latest` vs pinned tag). Newer builds show the failing URL and TLS hints in the error text.
 
 ### Private Gitea token for players
 
diff --git a/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/lib/gitea-release.js b/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/lib/gitea-release.js
index e2d4a5c..4eddf17 100644
--- a/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/lib/gitea-release.js
+++ b/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/lib/gitea-release.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 'use strict';
 
-const { downloadBodyToFile } = require('./http-download');
+const { downloadBodyToFile, fetchOrThrow } = require('./http-download');
 
 function normalizeGiteaBaseUrl(raw) {
   let b = String(raw || '').trim().replace(/\/+$/, '');
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ async function downloadGiteaReleaseAsset(cfg, assetName, destPath) {
     listUrl = `${api}/repos/${encodeURIComponent(owner)}/${encodeURIComponent(repo)}/releases/tags/${encodeURIComponent(tag)}`;
   }
 
-  const res = await fetch(listUrl, { headers: giteaHeaders(token, true) });
+  const res = await fetchOrThrow(listUrl, { headers: giteaHeaders(token, true) });
   const text = await res.text();
   if (!res.ok) {
     let hint = '';
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ async function downloadGiteaReleaseAsset(cfg, assetName, destPath) {
 
   const h = { Accept: 'application/octet-stream' };
   if (token) h.Authorization = `token ${token}`;
-  const dl = await fetch(downloadUrl, { headers: h, redirect: 'follow' });
+  const dl = await fetchOrThrow(downloadUrl, { headers: h, redirect: 'follow' });
   await downloadBodyToFile(dl, destPath);
 }
 
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ async function getGiteaUpdaterFeedBase(cfg) {
   } else {
     listUrl = `${api}/repos/${encodeURIComponent(owner)}/${encodeURIComponent(repo)}/releases/tags/${encodeURIComponent(tag)}`;
   }
-  const res = await fetch(listUrl, { headers: giteaHeaders(token, true) });
+  const res = await fetchOrThrow(listUrl, { headers: giteaHeaders(token, true) });
   if (!res.ok) return null;
   const rel = await res.json();
   const tagName = rel.tag_name;
diff --git a/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/lib/github.js b/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/lib/github.js
index cc05077..10c0e51 100644
--- a/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/lib/github.js
+++ b/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/lib/github.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ const path = require('path');
 const fs = require('fs').promises;
 const { githubToken } = require('./github-token');
 const { downloadGiteaReleaseAsset, useGiteaReleases } = require('./gitea-release');
-const { fetchToFile, downloadBodyToFile } = require('./http-download');
+const { fetchToFile, downloadBodyToFile, fetchOrThrow } = require('./http-download');
 
 function encodeRepoPath(repoPath) {
   let p = String(repoPath || '').replace(/\\/g, '/').replace(/^\/+|\/+$/g, '');
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ async function downloadGitHubRepoFile(cfg, repoPath, destPath) {
   }
 
   const apiUrl = `https://api.github.com/repos/${owner}/${repo}/contents/${enc}?ref=${encodeURIComponent(ref)}`;
-  const res = await fetch(apiUrl, { headers: ghHeaders(token, true) });
+  const res = await fetchOrThrow(apiUrl, { headers: ghHeaders(token, true) });
   const body = await res.text();
   if (!res.ok) {
     throw new Error(`GitHub contents API ${res.status}: ${body.slice(0, 800)}`);
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ async function downloadReleaseAsset(cfg, assetName, destPath) {
   } else {
     listUrl = `https://api.github.com/repos/${owner}/${repo}/releases/tags/${encodeURIComponent(tag)}`;
   }
-  const res = await fetch(listUrl, { headers: ghHeaders(token, true) });
+  const res = await fetchOrThrow(listUrl, { headers: ghHeaders(token, true) });
   const text = await res.text();
   if (!res.ok) {
     let hint = '';
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ async function downloadReleaseAsset(cfg, assetName, destPath) {
     h.Authorization = `Bearer ${token}`;
     h['X-GitHub-Api-Version'] = '2022-11-28';
   }
-  const dl = await fetch(assetURL, { headers: h, redirect: 'follow' });
+  const dl = await fetchOrThrow(assetURL, { headers: h, redirect: 'follow' });
   await downloadBodyToFile(dl, destPath);
 }
 
diff --git a/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/lib/http-download.js b/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/lib/http-download.js
index ab6d205..d0dd943 100644
--- a/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/lib/http-download.js
+++ b/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/lib/http-download.js
@@ -6,6 +6,42 @@ const { createWriteStream } = require('fs');
 const { pipeline } = require('stream/promises');
 const { Readable } = require('stream');
 
+function safeUrlForLog(url) {
+  try {
+    const u = new URL(url);
+    return `${u.origin}${u.pathname}`;
+  } catch {
+    return String(url || '').split('?')[0].slice(0, 200);
+  }
+}
+
+function explainFetchFailure(err, url) {
+  const msg = err && err.message ? err.message : String(err);
+  const cause = err && err.cause;
+  const code = cause && cause.code ? cause.code : '';
+  const combined = `${msg} ${code}`;
+  const hints = [];
+  if (/CERT|TLS|SSL|UNABLE_TO_VERIFY|SELF_SIGNED|certificate|unknown ca|unable to verify/i.test(combined)) {
+    hints.push(
+      'TLS certificate not trusted — install a valid cert on Gitea, or trust your CA system-wide, or set NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS to a .pem bundle (self-signed mirrors)'
+    );
+  }
+  if (/ECONNREFUSED/.test(combined)) hints.push('connection refused (wrong host/port or server down)');
+  if (/ENOTFOUND|EAI_AGAIN/.test(combined)) hints.push('DNS lookup failed');
+  if (/ETIMEDOUT|TIMEOUT/i.test(combined)) hints.push('connection timed out');
+  const hintStr = hints.length ? ` ${hints.join(' ')}` : '';
+  return new Error(`${msg}${hintStr} — ${safeUrlForLog(url)}`);
+}
+
+/** Wrap global fetch with clearer errors for TLS/DNS/refused (Electron reports bare "fetch failed"). */
+async function fetchOrThrow(url, init) {
+  try {
+    return await fetch(url, init);
+  } catch (e) {
+    throw explainFetchFailure(e, url);
+  }
+}
+
 async function downloadBodyToFile(res, destPath) {
   if (!res.ok) {
     const errText = await res.text().catch(() => '');
@@ -30,11 +66,11 @@ async function downloadBodyToFile(res, destPath) {
 }
 
 async function fetchToFile(url, headers, destPath) {
-  const res = await fetch(url, {
+  const res = await fetchOrThrow(url, {
     headers,
     redirect: 'follow',
   });
   await downloadBodyToFile(res, destPath);
 }
 
-module.exports = { fetchToFile, downloadBodyToFile };
+module.exports = { fetchToFile, downloadBodyToFile, fetchOrThrow, safeUrlForLog };
diff --git a/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/package.json b/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/package.json
index 1d99b41..63ba9d5 100644
--- a/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/package.json
+++ b/tools/fractured-launcher-electron/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "fractured-launcher-electron",
-  "version": "1.0.4",
+  "version": "1.0.5",
   "description": "Fractured WoW launcher (Electron) — no console window, native folder picker, auto-update",
   "main": "main.js",
   "repository": {