diff --git a/pg_backup.sh b/pg_backup.sh
index 0e0ad26..71a3221 100755
--- a/pg_backup.sh
+++ b/pg_backup.sh
@@ -6,21 +6,32 @@
 #   backupbot.backup.volumes.postgres.path = "backup.sql"
 #   backupbot.restore.post-hook            = "/pg_backup.sh restore"
 # Backup dumps the immich DB to backup.sql (gzip) inside the postgres volume; backupbot archives that
-# file. Restore reads it back and reimports.
+# file. Restore reads it back and reimports it.
 #
-# The immich DB runs the VectorChord/pgvecto.rs extensions. A plain pg_dump emits
-#   SELECT pg_catalog.set_config('search_path', '', false);
-# near the top; on reimport that empty search_path leaves the vector/vchord types + operator classes
-# unresolvable, so the first statement that references them errors. immich's official restore
-# (docs.immich.app/administration/backup-and-restore) rewrites that line to put `public, pg_catalog`
-# back on the search_path BEFORE the import. Without that rewrite a single-transaction import aborts
-# wholesale and nothing is restored (the bug in the original ci/pg-backup attempt). We keep
-# --single-transaction --set ON_ERROR_STOP=on (immich upstream) so a genuine failure is loud rather
-# than silently leaving a half-restored DB.
+# Two things make the immich DB tricky to restore, and BOTH are handled below:
+#
+# 1. VectorChord/pgvecto.rs search_path. A plain pg_dump emits
+#      SELECT pg_catalog.set_config('search_path', '', false);
+#    near the top; on reimport that empty search_path leaves the vector/vchord types + operator
+#    classes unresolvable, so the first statement that references them errors. immich's official
+#    restore (docs.immich.app/administration/backup-and-restore) rewrites that line to put
+#    `public, pg_catalog` back on the search_path BEFORE the import. We do the same.
+#
+# 2. The app races the restore. immich-server keeps a TCP connection pool to the DB and reconnects
+#    within milliseconds of being dropped, re-running its OWN startup migrations. If it does that
+#    while our single-transaction import is running, the two conflict (duplicate CREATE/relation
+#    errors) and ON_ERROR_STOP aborts our transaction — the import rolls back and nothing is
+#    restored, while the app finishes its migration and looks "healthy" on an empty DB. A one-shot
+#    pg_terminate_backend does NOT prevent the reconnect. So, like the (green) matrix-synapse hook,
+#    we replace pg_hba.conf with a LOCAL-trust-only policy and reload: postgres then REJECTS every
+#    TCP connection, locking the app out for the duration of the restore. We restore pg_hba (via an
+#    EXIT trap, so it always runs) once the import is done, and the app reconnects to the fully
+#    restored DB. Our own psql/createdb use the local socket (trust), so they are unaffected.
 
 set -e
 
 BACKUP_FILE='/var/lib/postgresql/data/backup.sql'
+HBA='/var/lib/postgresql/data/pg_hba.conf'
 export PGPASSWORD=$(cat "${POSTGRES_PASSWORD_FILE:-/run/secrets/db_password}")
 DB_USER="${POSTGRES_USER:-postgres}"
 DB_NAME="${POSTGRES_DB:-immich}"
@@ -30,17 +41,33 @@ function backup {
 }
 
 function restore {
-  # immich-server holds TCP connections to the DB; terminate them so DROP DATABASE can proceed
-  # (the matrix-synapse pg_hba "local trust" trick does not cover networked connections).
+  restore_hba() {
+    if [ -f "${HBA}.ccci.bak" ]; then
+      cat "${HBA}.ccci.bak" > "$HBA"
+      rm -f "${HBA}.ccci.bak"
+      psql -U "$DB_USER" -d postgres -c "SELECT pg_reload_conf();" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+    fi
+  }
+  trap restore_hba EXIT INT TERM
+
+  # Lock the networked immich-server OUT for the duration of the restore (see header note 2):
+  # local-trust-only pg_hba + reload makes postgres reject all TCP connections, then terminate the
+  # connections the app already holds so DROP DATABASE can proceed.
+  cp "$HBA" "${HBA}.ccci.bak"
+  printf 'local all all trust\n' > "$HBA"
+  psql -U "$DB_USER" -d postgres -c "SELECT pg_reload_conf();"
   psql -U "$DB_USER" -d postgres -c \
     "SELECT pg_terminate_backend(pid) FROM pg_stat_activity WHERE datname='${DB_NAME}' AND pid<>pg_backend_pid();"
+
   psql -U "$DB_USER" -d postgres -c "DROP DATABASE ${DB_NAME} WITH (FORCE);"
   createdb -U "$DB_USER" "$DB_NAME"
-  # Rewrite the empty search_path the VectorChord dump sets so vector/vchord type + operator
-  # references resolve during the import (immich upstream restore procedure), then import.
+  # Rewrite the empty search_path the VectorChord dump sets (header note 1), then import alone.
   gunzip -c "$BACKUP_FILE" \
     | sed "s/SELECT pg_catalog.set_config('search_path', '', false);/SELECT pg_catalog.set_config('search_path', 'public, pg_catalog', true);/g" \
     | psql -U "$DB_USER" -d "$DB_NAME" --single-transaction --set ON_ERROR_STOP=on
+
+  restore_hba
+  trap - EXIT INT TERM
 }
 
 $@