diff --git a/router/router.py b/router/router.py
index fd34c01..efb8760 100644
--- a/router/router.py
+++ b/router/router.py
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ RATE_LIMIT_RPM = {
 
 def check_rate_limit(api_key, tier):
     """Token bucket rate limiter using Redis. Returns (allowed, retry_after_or_remaining, reset_seconds)."""
-    if not r:
+    if not get_redis():
         return True, 999, 60
     limit = RATE_LIMIT_RPM.get(tier, 30)
     key = f"ratelimit:{api_key}"
@@ -70,7 +70,25 @@ def check_rate_limit(api_key, tier):
 
 logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format="%(asctime)s [ROUTER] %(levelname)s %(message)s")
 log = logging.getLogger("router")
-try: r = redis.from_url(REDIS_URL, decode_responses=True); r.ping()
+# Redis connection — initialized lazily, retries on first use
+def get_redis():
+    global r
+    if r is not None:
+        try:
+            r.ping()
+            return r
+        except Exception:
+            r = None
+    try:
+        r = redis.from_url(REDIS_URL, decode_responses=True)
+        r.ping()
+        return r
+    except Exception:
+        return None
+
+r = None
+try: get_redis()
+except Exception: pass
 except Exception: r = None
 
 
@@ -78,7 +96,7 @@ def counter_audit_loop():
     """Every 30s, check GPU slots and reset counters if all slots idle."""
     while True:
         time.sleep(30)
-        if not r: continue
+        if not get_redis(): continue
         for model, url in GPU_URLS.items():
             try:
                 resp = requests.get(url.replace("/v1","") + "/slots",
@@ -89,7 +107,7 @@ def counter_audit_loop():
                     if all_idle:
                         current = int(r.get("active:" + model) or 0)
                         if current > 0:
-                            r.set("active:" + model, 0)
+                            rd.set("active:" + model, 0)
                             log.info("AUDIT: Reset stuck counter for %s (was %d)", model, current)
             except Exception:
                 pass
@@ -106,14 +124,14 @@ def gpu_active_count(model):
     return 0
 
 def gpu_incr(model):
-    if r: r.incr("active:" + model)
+    if get_redis(): get_redis().incr("active:" + model)
 
 def gpu_decr(model):
-    if r:
-        v = r.decr("active:" + model)
+    rd = get_redis()
+    if rd:
+        v = rd.decr("active:" + model)
         if v and int(v) < 0:
-            r.set("active:" + model, 0)  # never go negative
-
+            rd.set("active:" + model, 0)  # never go negative
 def check_gpu_health(model, sidecar_timeout=5, gpu_timeout=3):
     url = GPU_SIDECARS.get(model)
     if not url: return {"status": "unknown"}
@@ -144,7 +162,7 @@ def estimate_tokens(msgs):
 
 def store_perf_record(model, agent, tier, reason, queue_ms, inference_ms, prompt_tokens, completion_tokens, stream):
     """Store detailed performance record in Redis for analytics."""
-    if not r: return
+    if not get_redis(): return
     try:
         total_ms = queue_ms + inference_ms
         tps = completion_tokens / (inference_ms / 1000) if inference_ms > 0 and completion_tokens > 0 else 0
@@ -518,7 +536,7 @@ def chat():
 @app.route("/metrics/performance")
 def performance():
     """Per-request performance analytics with percentiles per model/reason/agent."""
-    if not r: return jsonify({"error": "Redis unavailable"}), 503
+    if not get_redis(): return jsonify({"error": "Redis unavailable"}), 503
     try:
         window_hours = int(request.args.get("window", "24").replace("h",""))
         model_filter = request.args.get("model", "all")
@@ -635,7 +653,7 @@ def performance():
 @app.route("/metrics/scatter")
 def scatter():
     """Return individual data points for scatter plots (prompt_tokens vs latency)."""
-    if not r: return jsonify({"error": "Redis unavailable"}), 503
+    if not get_redis(): return jsonify({"error": "Redis unavailable"}), 503
     try:
         window_hours = int(request.args.get("window", "24").replace("h",""))
         model_filter = request.args.get("model", "all")