diff --git a/src/daemon/admin/index.ts b/src/daemon/admin/index.ts
index 5adafe8..3940327 100644
--- a/src/daemon/admin/index.ts
+++ b/src/daemon/admin/index.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import "websocket-polyfill";
-import NDK, { NDKEvent, NDKKind, NDKPrivateKeySigner, NDKRpcRequest, NDKRpcResponse, NDKUser, NostrEvent } from '@nostr-dev-kit/ndk';
+import NDK, { NDKEvent, NDKKind, NDKPrivateKeySigner, NDKRpcRequest, NDKRpcResponse, NDKUser } from '@nostr-dev-kit/ndk';
 import { NDKNostrRpc } from '@nostr-dev-kit/ndk';
 import createDebug from 'debug';
 import { Key, KeyUser } from '../run';
@@ -454,44 +454,47 @@ class AdminInterface {
     }
 }
 
-async function pingOrDie(ndk: NDK) {
-    let deathTimer: NodeJS.Timeout | null = null;
-    
-    function resetDeath() {
-        if (deathTimer) clearTimeout(deathTimer);
-        deathTimer = setTimeout(() => {
-            console.log(`❌ No ping event received in 30 seconds. Exiting.`);
-            process.exit(1);
-        }, 50000);
-    }
-    
-    const self = await ndk.signer!.user();
-    const sub = ndk.subscribe({
-        authors: [self.pubkey],
-        kinds: [NDKKind.NostrConnect],
-        "#p": [self.pubkey]
-    });
-    sub.on("event", (event: NDKEvent) => {
-        console.log(`🔔 Received ping event:`, event.created_at);
-        resetDeath();
-    });
-    sub.start();
-
-    resetDeath();
+/**
+ * Pool-status connection watchdog. Exits the daemon if every relay in
+ * the pool stays disconnected for longer than PARTITION_THRESHOLD_MS.
+ *
+ * Replaces the original `pingOrDie` self-echo watchdog, which published
+ * a kind-24133 event to its own pubkey every 20s and exited if it
+ * didn't see the echo within 50s. That works on public relays but
+ * silently breaks on single-private-relay setups: NDK 2.8.1's outbox
+ * model doesn't reliably route self-publishes back through the
+ * matching subscription, so the watchdog fires false positives and
+ * exits the daemon every 50s while RPCs over the same channel still
+ * work fine. See aiolabs/nsecbunkerd#4 + #7.
+ *
+ * The pool-status approach uses NDK's own connection-lifecycle
+ * tracking — `pool.connectedRelays()` reports relays in
+ * NDKRelayStatus.CONNECTED — which is reliable across all relay
+ * configurations because it doesn't depend on round-trip
+ * publish/subscribe. No event is published; no relay traffic.
+ *
+ * Detects partition within POLL_INTERVAL + PARTITION_THRESHOLD ms.
+ * Transient disconnects shorter than PARTITION_THRESHOLD don't trip
+ * the watchdog — useful for relays that flap or briefly drop on
+ * network blips.
+ */
+async function relayConnectionWatchdog(ndk: NDK) {
+    const POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 10_000;
+    const PARTITION_THRESHOLD_MS = 60_000;
+    let lastConnectedAt = Date.now();
 
     setInterval(() => {
-        const event = new NDKEvent(ndk, {
-            kind: NDKKind.NostrConnect,
-            tags: [ ["p", self.pubkey] ],
-            content: "ping"
-        } as NostrEvent);
-        event.publish().then(() => {
-            console.log(`🔔 Sent ping event:`, event.created_at);
-        }).catch((e: any) => {
-            console.log(`❌ Failed to send ping event:`, e.message);
+        const connectedCount = ndk.pool.connectedRelays().length;
+        if (connectedCount > 0) {
+            lastConnectedAt = Date.now();
+            return;
+        }
+        const elapsed = Date.now() - lastConnectedAt;
+        if (elapsed > PARTITION_THRESHOLD_MS) {
+            console.log(`❌ No connected relays for ${Math.floor(elapsed / 1000)}s. Exiting.`);
             process.exit(1);
-        });
-    }, 20000);
+        }
+    }, POLL_INTERVAL_MS);
 }
 
 export default AdminInterface;