diff --git a/app/igneum-app/src/execrpc.rs b/app/igneum-app/src/execrpc.rs
index 29cbe478f..ee7e36531 100644
--- a/app/igneum-app/src/execrpc.rs
+++ b/app/igneum-app/src/execrpc.rs
@@ -40,7 +40,9 @@ fn post(evm_port: u16, method: &str, params: Value, timeout: Duration) -> Result
     );
     let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&tmp);
     let out = out.ok_or_else(|| format!("{method}: the node's RPC did not answer"))?;
-    let v: Value = serde_json::from_str(&out).map_err(|e| format!("{method}: {e}"))?;
+    // an empty or unparsable body is no answer (a stopped node's socket still accepts the connection and curl
+    // returns nothing inside its own limit; the probe must read that as silence, 7 October 2026)
+    let v: Value = serde_json::from_str(&out).map_err(|e| format!("{method}: the node's RPC did not answer ({e})"))?;
     if let Some(err) = v.get("error") {
         return Err(format!("{method}: {}", err.get("message").and_then(|m| m.as_str()).unwrap_or("error")));
     }