diff --git a/apps/machine/electron/main.ts b/apps/machine/electron/main.ts
index 516f32a..faedf2b 100644
--- a/apps/machine/electron/main.ts
+++ b/apps/machine/electron/main.ts
@@ -278,8 +278,11 @@ ipcMain.handle('watchdog:pong', () => {
 // pragma: allowlist secret end
 ipcMain.handle('get-config', () => {
   return {
-    // LNbits nostr-transport connection (public info only)
-    relayUrl: process.env.VITE_RELAY_URL || 'ws://localhost:7777',
+    // LNbits nostr-transport connection (public info only). Empty when
+    // unprovisioned — the renderer then falls through to the pairing seed's
+    // relay (aiolabs/bitspire#70). A non-empty default here would win via the
+    // env-first precedence and override the seed.
+    relayUrl: process.env.VITE_RELAY_URL || '',
     lnbitsServerPubkey: process.env.VITE_LNBITS_SERVER_PUBKEY || '',
     appId: process.env.VITE_APP_ID || '',