diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/usePreloadOrchestrator.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/usePreloadOrchestrator.ts
index 8faaf4a..650fe2b 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/usePreloadOrchestrator.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/usePreloadOrchestrator.ts
@@ -257,6 +257,8 @@ export function usePreloadOrchestrator(
 
   // Map of original URL → decoded blob URL (ready to display instantly)
   const readyBlobUrlsRef = useRef<Map<string, string>>(new Map());
+  // Set of URLs that failed cache lookup (prevents infinite retry loops)
+  const failedCacheLookupRef = useRef<Set<string>>(new Set());
 
   // Use neighbor graph for determining what to preload
   const neighborGraph = useNeighborGraph({
@@ -278,11 +280,40 @@ export function usePreloadOrchestrator(
   const createReadyBlobUrl = useCallback(
     async (url: string, storageKey?: string): Promise<void> => {
       try {
-        // Get blob from Cache API
-        const blob = await StorageManager.getAsset(url);
+        // Skip if we already know this URL is not in cache (prevents infinite loops)
+        if (failedCacheLookupRef.current.has(url)) {
+          return;
+        }
+        if (storageKey && failedCacheLookupRef.current.has(storageKey)) {
+          return;
+        }
+
+        // Try multiple URL formats to handle key mismatches
+        // (presigned URL vs proxy URL vs storage key)
+        let blob = await StorageManager.getAsset(url);
+
+        // If not found and we have a storage key, try that too
+        if (!blob && storageKey && storageKey !== url) {
+          blob = await StorageManager.getAsset(storageKey);
+        }
+
+        // Also try with the proxy URL format as fallback
+        if (!blob && storageKey) {
+          const proxyUrl = `${baseURLApi}/file/download?privateUrl=${encodeURIComponent(storageKey.replace(/^\/+/, ''))}`;
+          if (proxyUrl !== url) {
+            blob = await StorageManager.getAsset(proxyUrl);
+          }
+        }
+
         if (!blob) {
+          // Mark as failed to prevent repeated lookups
+          failedCacheLookupRef.current.add(url);
+          if (storageKey) {
+            failedCacheLookupRef.current.add(storageKey);
+          }
           logger.info('[PRELOAD] No blob found in cache', {
             url: url.slice(-50),
+            storageKey: storageKey?.slice(-50),
           });
           return;
         }
@@ -370,6 +401,11 @@ export function usePreloadOrchestrator(
           logger.info('[PRELOAD] Download complete', {
             url: item.url.slice(-50),
           });
+          // Clear failed cache lookup status since we just downloaded fresh
+          failedCacheLookupRef.current.delete(item.url);
+          if (item.storageKey) {
+            failedCacheLookupRef.current.delete(item.storageKey);
+          }
           await createReadyBlobUrl(item.url, item.storageKey);
           if (isPresignedUrl(item.url)) {
             markPresignedUrlsVerified();