diff --git a/nuc/README.md b/nuc/README.md
index 06ebbd8..8da65b1 100644
--- a/nuc/README.md
+++ b/nuc/README.md
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ Incus host on the LAN.
   `usb4t/media` → `/srv/media` (media library, shared into containers
   via `shift=true` disk devices; works because ZFS ≥ 2.2 supports
   idmapped mounts)
+- ⚠️ The USB enclosure drops off the bus periodically and suspends the
+  pool, which silently breaks the nightly replication — symptoms,
+  recovery and fixes: [usb4t-dropouts.md](usb4t-dropouts.md)
 - Backups: all local instances replicated to the USB pool
   (`/root/scripts/incus-copy.sh -p backup -s nucbackup`; replicas
   stopped, autostart off) — see
diff --git a/nuc/usb4t-dropouts.md b/nuc/usb4t-dropouts.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fd7c139
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nuc/usb4t-dropouts.md
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+# usb4t: USB dropouts suspend the pool (2026-08)
+
+Symptom seen first in the nightly backup log
+(`/var/log/incus-copy.log`, job in `/etc/cron.d/incus-copy`): every
+instance fails with
+
+```
+Error: Refresh instance: Create instance volume from copy failed:
+       Volume exists in database but not on storage
+```
+
+That message is misleading — incus is fine. The `usb4t` pool underneath
+was **SUSPENDED**, so the replica volumes incus has in its database had
+no storage behind them.
+
+## Diagnosis (2026-08-28)
+
+The disk is healthy, the USB link is not:
+
+- `smartctl -a -d sat /dev/sdc`: **PASSED**, 0 reallocated, 0 pending,
+  0 offline-uncorrectable, **0 UDMA CRC errors**, 463 power-on hours.
+- `dmesg`: `usb 4-3: USB disconnect` followed by immediate
+  re-enumeration — the enclosure drops off the bus and comes back as a
+  new device. Bridge is **JMicron 152d:0578** (the kernel already
+  disables UAS for it and applies quirks).
+- **61 USB disconnects in 30 days**; pool suspensions on Aug 17
+  (resilver), 19, 21, 27 (×2) and 28.
+- While suspended, anything touching the pool hangs — the journal
+  shows tasks blocked for 1000+ seconds.
+
+Blast radius each time: nuc's own replicas (`usb4t/backup/nuc`) stop
+being refreshed, `/srv/media` disappears from the Jellyfin containers,
+and — once seeded — the ks4 pull leg (`usb4t/backup/ks4`) would stop
+too. **The pool holding the off-site copy of ks4 must not be the least
+reliable device in the setup.**
+
+## Recovery
+
+```sh
+zpool clear usb4t          # device is back; ZFS resumes IO
+zpool status -v usb4t      # lists files damaged by the interrupted writes
+zpool scrub usb4t          # validate the whole pool
+```
+
+If `clear` hangs: `zpool export usb4t && zpool import usb4t`, reboot as
+a last resort. Datasets remount by themselves once the pool resumes.
+
+Damage from the 2026-08-28 incident: two pool-metadata objects
+(`<metadata>:<0x0>`, `<metadata>:<0x3d>`) and one file —
+`/srv/media/videos/David Gilmour - Live In Gdansk (2008)/…D3.ISO`
+(re-rippable). Nothing in the backup datasets.
+
+## Fixes, in order
+
+1. **Cable + port** — short quality cable, straight into a rear USB-3
+   port, no hub *(done 2026-08-28)*.
+2. **Disable USB autosuspend** so power management cannot drop the
+   device: `usbcore.autosuspend=-1` on the kernel command line, or
+   per-device `echo on > /sys/bus/usb/devices/<dev>/power/control`.
+3. **Replace the enclosure** if dropouts continue — JMicron bridges are
+   the usual suspect in this failure mode; an ASMedia-based enclosure
+   is the durable fix. *Deferred: watching for a few days first.*
+
+## Alerting (why nobody noticed for 11 days)
+
+`zfs-zed` was installed, enabled and running — but the host had **no
+MTA**, so its notifications went nowhere. Fixed 2026-08-28:
+
+- `apt install msmtp msmtp-mta bsd-mailx` — `sendmail` is now msmtp,
+  `mail` (bsd-mailx) is what ZED calls.
+- `/etc/msmtprc` (mode 600): SMTP relay account. **Contains
+  `CHANGEME` placeholders — fill host/user/password/from.**
+  It also resolves `/etc/aliases`, where `root:` points at the real
+  mailbox (placeholder too).
+- `/etc/zfs/zed.d/zed.rc`: `ZED_EMAIL_ADDR`, `ZED_EMAIL_PROG="mail"`,
+  `ZED_EMAIL_OPTS`, `ZED_NOTIFY_VERBOSE=1` (so scrub results and
+  resilvers are reported, not just failures),
+  `ZED_NOTIFY_INTERVAL_SECS=3600`. Original kept as `zed.rc.orig`.
+
+Test once the credentials are in:
+
+```sh
+echo "zed test $(date)" | mail -s "nuc alert test" root
+tail -5 /var/log/msmtp.log
+```