diff --git a/src/components/Explore/index.tsx b/src/components/Explore/index.tsx
index 0fe218c9..d46bd6ce 100644
--- a/src/components/Explore/index.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Explore/index.tsx
@@ -6,15 +6,50 @@ import relayInfoService from '@/services/relay-info.service'
 import { TAwesomeRelayCollection } from '@/types'
 import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
 import RelaySimpleInfo, { RelaySimpleInfoSkeleton } from '../RelaySimpleInfo'
+import logger from '@/lib/logger'
 
 export default function Explore() {
   const [collections, setCollections] = useState<TAwesomeRelayCollection[] | null>(null)
+  const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null)
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    relayInfoService.getAwesomeRelayCollections().then(setCollections)
+    let cancelled = false
+    let timeoutId: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null
+    
+    // Add timeout to prevent hanging forever
+    timeoutId = setTimeout(() => {
+      if (!cancelled) {
+        logger.warn('[Explore] Timeout loading relay collections after 10 seconds')
+        setError('Timeout loading relay collections')
+        setCollections([]) // Set empty array to stop showing skeletons
+      }
+    }, 10000) // 10 second timeout
+    
+    logger.debug('[Explore] Fetching awesome relay collections')
+    relayInfoService.getAwesomeRelayCollections()
+      .then((data) => {
+        if (!cancelled) {
+          if (timeoutId) clearTimeout(timeoutId)
+          logger.debug('[Explore] Loaded collections', { count: data?.length || 0 })
+          setCollections(data || [])
+        }
+      })
+      .catch((err) => {
+        if (!cancelled) {
+          if (timeoutId) clearTimeout(timeoutId)
+          logger.error('[Explore] Error loading collections', { error: err })
+          setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'Failed to load relay collections')
+          setCollections([]) // Set empty array to stop showing skeletons
+        }
+      })
+    
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true
+      if (timeoutId) clearTimeout(timeoutId)
+    }
   }, [])
 
-  if (!collections) {
+  if (collections === null) {
     return (
       <div>
         <div className="p-4 max-md:border-b">
@@ -27,6 +62,38 @@ export default function Explore() {
     )
   }
 
+  if (error) {
+    return (
+      <div className="p-4">
+        <div className="text-red-500 mb-2">Error: {error}</div>
+        <button 
+          onClick={() => {
+            setCollections(null)
+            setError(null)
+            // Trigger reload
+            relayInfoService.getAwesomeRelayCollections()
+              .then(setCollections)
+              .catch((err) => {
+                setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'Failed to load')
+                setCollections([])
+              })
+          }}
+          className="px-4 py-2 bg-blue-500 text-white rounded hover:bg-blue-600"
+        >
+          Retry
+        </button>
+      </div>
+    )
+  }
+
+  if (collections.length === 0) {
+    return (
+      <div className="p-4 text-center text-muted-foreground">
+        No relay collections available
+      </div>
+    )
+  }
+
   return (
     <div className="min-w-0 w-full overflow-x-hidden space-y-6 pb-8">
       {collections.map((collection) => (
diff --git a/src/components/NoteList/index.tsx b/src/components/NoteList/index.tsx
index 9b9b6b54..694ada81 100644
--- a/src/components/NoteList/index.tsx
+++ b/src/components/NoteList/index.tsx
@@ -218,12 +218,6 @@ const NoteList = forwardRef(
         setHasMore(true)
         consecutiveEmptyRef.current = 0 // Reset counter on refresh
 
-        if (showKinds.length === 0) {
-          setLoading(false)
-          setHasMore(false)
-          return () => {}
-        }
-
         const { closer, timelineKey } = await client.subscribeTimeline(
           subRequests.map(({ urls, filter }) => ({
             urls,
@@ -231,7 +225,8 @@ const NoteList = forwardRef(
               ? { ...filter, limit: filter.limit ?? (areAlgoRelays ? ALGO_LIMIT : LIMIT) }
               : {
                   ...filter,
-                  kinds: showKinds,
+                  // If showKinds is empty, default to kind 1 (ShortTextNote) only
+                  kinds: showKinds.length > 0 ? showKinds : [kinds.ShortTextNote],
                   limit: areAlgoRelays ? ALGO_LIMIT : LIMIT
                 }
           })),
diff --git a/src/services/client.service.ts b/src/services/client.service.ts
index 335f72af..d7ec2d1c 100644
--- a/src/services/client.service.ts
+++ b/src/services/client.service.ts
@@ -1211,10 +1211,11 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
       }
     }
     
-    // CRITICAL FIX: If no cached events (or all were too old), use a recent timestamp
-    // This prevents the feed from showing 15+ hour old events when relays are slow
-    if (!since && needSort) {
-      // Default to last 24 hours if no recent cached events
+    // CRITICAL FIX: Only set since parameter if caching is enabled
+    // When useCache is false, we want to stream raw from relays without time restrictions
+    // This allows relay feeds to show all available events, not just recent ones
+    if (!since && needSort && useCache) {
+      // Default to last 24 hours if no recent cached events (only when caching is enabled)
       // This ensures we get recent content even if relays are slow
       const oneDayAgo = dayjs().subtract(24, 'hours').unix()
       since = oneDayAgo