diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 8c2145e5e..5253b9572 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -63,6 +63,8 @@ option(WITH_BOOTSTRAP "build lokinet-bootstrap tool" ${DEFAULT_WITH_BOOTSTRAP})
 option(WITH_PEERSTATS "build with experimental peerstats db support" OFF)
 option(STRIP_SYMBOLS "strip off all debug symbols into an external archive for all executables built" OFF)
 
+set(BOOTSTRAP_FALLBACK_MAINNET "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/contrib/bootstrap/mainnet.signed" CACHE PATH "Fallback bootstrap path (mainnet)")
+set(BOOTSTRAP_FALLBACK_TESTNET "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/contrib/bootstrap/testnet.signed" CACHE PATH "Fallback bootstrap path (testnet)")
 
 include(cmake/enable_lto.cmake)
 
diff --git a/contrib/bootstrap/testnet.signed b/contrib/bootstrap/testnet.signed
index 9ad107115..366c5c5a0 100644
--- a/contrib/bootstrap/testnet.signed
+++ b/contrib/bootstrap/testnet.signed
@@ -1 +1 @@
-d1:ald1:ci2e1:d3:iwp1:e32:9ãxÚsX«l%ìû€ê<,sØ›”•©÷ïå_1:i21:::ffff:144.76.164.2021:pi1666e1:vi0eee1:i5:gamma1:k32:ÞÊðòm=o›„ZÐ1ÿßmcŒ%»¸ÿû¾™SĹ1:p32:!E
Ïâéz˜ý:Š‹úý…/0¡Ú„Ãݪ„µNçB1:rli0ei0ei8ei3ee1:ui1614788310454e1:vi0e1:xle1:z64:Œ¤u G¿”D“=Œxµ¢{ïÌ51þ`í߀ùEâwm)q2Øg¯±˜øš ï³À)˜TÑP•´ò³ö—Á1e
\ No newline at end of file
+ld1:ald1:ci2e1:d3:iwp1:e32:9ãxÚsX«l%ìû€ê<,sØ›”•©÷ïå_1:i21:::ffff:144.76.164.2021:pi1666e1:vi0eee1:i5:gamma1:k32:ÞÊðòm=o›„ZÐ1ÿßmcŒ%»¸ÿû¾™SĹ1:p32:!E
Ïâéz˜ý:Š‹úý…/0¡Ú„Ãݪ„µNçB1:rli0ei0ei8ei3ee1:ui1614788310454e1:vi0e1:xle1:z64:Œ¤u G¿”D“=Œxµ¢{ïÌ51þ`í߀ùEâwm)q2Øg¯±˜øš ï³À)˜TÑP•´ò³ö—Á1ee
diff --git a/external/oxen-mq b/external/oxen-mq
index 526f51ba4..ac6ef82ff 160000
--- a/external/oxen-mq
+++ b/external/oxen-mq
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 526f51ba4ef273b58a46746cbaf72f2a84371f30
+Subproject commit ac6ef82ff6fd20437b7d073466dbef82a95a2173
diff --git a/llarp/CMakeLists.txt b/llarp/CMakeLists.txt
index d1d0196ef..a42c76bb1 100644
--- a/llarp/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/llarp/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -235,6 +235,24 @@ add_library(lokinet-amalgum
   service/tag.cpp
 )
 
+set(BOOTSTRAP_FALLBACKS)
+foreach(bs IN ITEMS MAINNET TESTNET)
+  if(BOOTSTRAP_FALLBACK_${bs})
+    message(STATUS "Building with ${bs} fallback boostrap path \"${BOOTSTRAP_FALLBACK_${bs}}\"")
+    file(READ "${BOOTSTRAP_FALLBACK_${bs}}" bs_data HEX)
+    if(bs STREQUAL TESTNET)
+      set(network "gamma")
+    elseif(bs STREQUAL MAINNET)
+      set(network "lokinet")
+    else()
+      string(TOLOWER "${bs}" network)
+    endif()
+    string(REGEX REPLACE "([0-9a-f][0-9a-f])" "\\\\x\\1" bs_data "${bs_data}")
+    set(BOOTSTRAP_FALLBACKS "${BOOTSTRAP_FALLBACKS}{\"${network}\"s, \"${bs_data}\"sv},\n")
+  endif()
+endforeach()
+configure_file("bootstrap-fallbacks.cpp.in" "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/bootstrap-fallbacks.cpp" @ONLY)
+target_sources(lokinet-amalgum PRIVATE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/bootstrap-fallbacks.cpp")
 
 if(WITH_PEERSTATS_BACKEND)
   target_compile_definitions(lokinet-amalgum PRIVATE -DLOKINET_PEERSTATS_BACKEND)
diff --git a/llarp/bootstrap-fallbacks.cpp.in b/llarp/bootstrap-fallbacks.cpp.in
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5c81ea716
--- /dev/null
+++ b/llarp/bootstrap-fallbacks.cpp.in
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#include <initializer_list>
+#include "llarp/bootstrap.hpp"
+
+namespace llarp
+{
+  using namespace std::literals;
+
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, BootstrapList>
+  load_bootstrap_fallbacks()
+  {
+    std::unordered_map<std::string, BootstrapList> fallbacks;
+    using init_list = std::initializer_list<std::pair<std::string, std::string_view>>;
+    // clang-format off
+    for (const auto& [network, bootstrap] : init_list{
+@BOOTSTRAP_FALLBACKS@
+    })
+    // clang-format on
+    {
+      llarp_buffer_t buf{bootstrap.data(), bootstrap.size()};
+      auto& bsl = fallbacks[network];
+      bsl.BDecode(&buf);
+    }
+    return fallbacks;
+  }
+}  // namespace llarp
diff --git a/llarp/bootstrap.cpp b/llarp/bootstrap.cpp
index 56731257f..7d221ab66 100644
--- a/llarp/bootstrap.cpp
+++ b/llarp/bootstrap.cpp
@@ -36,4 +36,35 @@ namespace llarp
   {
     return BEncodeWriteList(begin(), end(), buf);
   }
+
+  void
+  BootstrapList::AddFromFile(fs::path fpath)
+  {
+    bool isListFile = false;
+    {
+      std::ifstream inf(fpath.c_str(), std::ios::binary);
+      if (inf.is_open())
+      {
+        const char ch = inf.get();
+        isListFile = ch == 'l';
+      }
+    }
+    if (isListFile)
+    {
+      if (not BDecodeReadFile(fpath, *this))
+      {
+        throw std::runtime_error{fmt::format("failed to read bootstrap list file '{}'", fpath)};
+      }
+    }
+    else
+    {
+      RouterContact rc;
+      if (not rc.Read(fpath))
+      {
+        throw std::runtime_error{
+            fmt::format("failed to decode bootstrap RC, file='{}', rc={}", fpath, rc)};
+      }
+      this->insert(rc);
+    }
+  }
 }  // namespace llarp
diff --git a/llarp/bootstrap.hpp b/llarp/bootstrap.hpp
index e9a62d7e9..c4a4b7d3f 100644
--- a/llarp/bootstrap.hpp
+++ b/llarp/bootstrap.hpp
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 #include "router_contact.hpp"
 #include <set>
+#include <unordered_map>
+#include "llarp/util/fs.hpp"
 
 namespace llarp
 {
@@ -13,7 +15,14 @@ namespace llarp
     bool
     BEncode(llarp_buffer_t* buf) const;
 
+    void
+    AddFromFile(fs::path fpath);
+
     void
     Clear();
   };
+
+  std::unordered_map<std::string, BootstrapList>
+  load_bootstrap_fallbacks();
+
 }  // namespace llarp
diff --git a/llarp/router/abstractrouter.hpp b/llarp/router/abstractrouter.hpp
index 4826947a6..022e6767a 100644
--- a/llarp/router/abstractrouter.hpp
+++ b/llarp/router/abstractrouter.hpp
@@ -199,6 +199,15 @@ namespace llarp
     virtual bool
     IsServiceNode() const = 0;
 
+    virtual bool
+    IsActiveServiceNode() const = 0;
+
+    /// If we are running as a service node and appear active, i.e. registered and not
+    /// decommissioned, we should *not* ping core if we know of too few peers, to indicate to core
+    /// we are not in a good state.
+    virtual bool
+    ShouldPingOxen() const = 0;
+
     virtual bool
     StartRpcServer() = 0;
 
diff --git a/llarp/router/router.cpp b/llarp/router/router.cpp
index 440c848f6..975c6074b 100644
--- a/llarp/router/router.cpp
+++ b/llarp/router/router.cpp
@@ -464,6 +464,25 @@ namespace llarp
     return m_isServiceNode;
   }
 
+  bool
+  Router::TooFewPeers() const
+  {
+    constexpr int KnownPeerWarningThreshold = 5;
+    return nodedb()->NumLoaded() < KnownPeerWarningThreshold;
+  }
+
+  bool
+  Router::IsActiveServiceNode() const
+  {
+    return IsServiceNode() and not(LooksDeregistered() or LooksDecommissioned());
+  }
+
+  bool
+  Router::ShouldPingOxen() const
+  {
+    return IsActiveServiceNode() and not TooFewPeers();
+  }
+
   void
   Router::Close()
   {
@@ -646,52 +665,20 @@ namespace llarp
 
     // if our conf had no bootstrap files specified, try the default location of
     // <DATA_DIR>/bootstrap.signed. If this isn't present, leave a useful error message
+    // TODO: use constant
+    fs::path defaultBootstrapFile = conf.router.m_dataDir / "bootstrap.signed";
     if (configRouters.empty() and conf.bootstrap.routers.empty())
     {
-      // TODO: use constant
-      fs::path defaultBootstrapFile = conf.router.m_dataDir / "bootstrap.signed";
       if (fs::exists(defaultBootstrapFile))
       {
         configRouters.push_back(defaultBootstrapFile);
       }
-      else if (not conf.bootstrap.seednode)
-      {
-        LogError("No bootstrap files specified in config file, and the default");
-        LogError("bootstrap file ", defaultBootstrapFile, " does not exist.");
-        LogError("Please provide a bootstrap file (e.g. run 'lokinet-bootstrap)'");
-        throw std::runtime_error("No bootstrap files available.");
-      }
     }
 
     BootstrapList b_list;
     for (const auto& router : configRouters)
     {
-      bool isListFile = false;
-      {
-        std::ifstream inf(router.c_str(), std::ios::binary);
-        if (inf.is_open())
-        {
-          const char ch = inf.get();
-          isListFile = ch == 'l';
-        }
-      }
-      if (isListFile)
-      {
-        if (not BDecodeReadFile(router, b_list))
-        {
-          throw std::runtime_error{fmt::format("failed to read bootstrap list file '{}'", router)};
-        }
-      }
-      else
-      {
-        RouterContact rc;
-        if (not rc.Read(router))
-        {
-          throw std::runtime_error{
-              fmt::format("failed to decode bootstrap RC, file='{}', rc={}", router, rc)};
-        }
-        b_list.insert(rc);
-      }
+      b_list.AddFromFile(router);
     }
 
     for (const auto& rc : conf.bootstrap.routers)
@@ -699,25 +686,58 @@ namespace llarp
       b_list.emplace(rc);
     }
 
-    for (auto& rc : b_list)
+    // in case someone has an old bootstrap file and is trying to use a bootstrap
+    // that no longer exists
+    for (auto rc_itr = b_list.begin(); rc_itr != b_list.end();)
     {
-      if (not rc.Verify(Now()))
+      if (rc_itr->IsObsoleteBootstrap())
+        b_list.erase(rc_itr);
+      else
+        rc_itr++;
+    }
+
+    auto verifyRCs = [&]() {
+      for (auto& rc : b_list)
       {
-        LogWarn("ignoring invalid RC: ", RouterID(rc.pubkey));
-        continue;
+        if (rc.IsObsoleteBootstrap())
+        {
+          log::warning(logcat, "ignoring obsolete boostrap RC: {}", RouterID(rc.pubkey));
+          continue;
+        }
+        if (not rc.Verify(Now()))
+        {
+          log::warning(logcat, "ignoring invalid RC: {}", RouterID(rc.pubkey));
+          continue;
+        }
+        bootstrapRCList.emplace(std::move(rc));
       }
-      bootstrapRCList.emplace(std::move(rc));
-    }
+    };
+
+    verifyRCs();
 
     if (bootstrapRCList.empty() and not conf.bootstrap.seednode)
     {
-      throw std::runtime_error{"we have no bootstrap nodes"};
+      auto fallbacks = llarp::load_bootstrap_fallbacks();
+      if (auto itr = fallbacks.find(_rc.netID.ToString()); itr != fallbacks.end())
+      {
+        b_list = itr->second;
+
+        verifyRCs();
+      }
+      if (bootstrapRCList.empty()
+          and not conf.bootstrap.seednode)  // empty after trying fallback, if set
+      {
+        log::error(
+            logcat,
+            "No bootstrap routers were loaded.  The default bootstrap file {} does not exist, and "
+            "loading fallback bootstrap RCs failed.",
+            defaultBootstrapFile);
+        throw std::runtime_error("No bootstrap nodes available.");
+      }
     }
 
     if (conf.bootstrap.seednode)
-    {
       LogInfo("we are a seed node");
-    }
     else
       LogInfo("Loaded ", bootstrapRCList.size(), " bootstrap routers");
 
@@ -1038,14 +1058,25 @@ namespace llarp
       connectToNum = strictConnect;
     }
 
-    if (auto dereg = LooksDeregistered(); (dereg or decom) and now >= m_NextDecommissionWarn)
+    if (now >= m_NextDecommissionWarn)
     {
-      // complain about being deregistered
-      constexpr auto DecommissionWarnInterval = 30s;
-      LogError(
-          "We are running as a service node but we seem to be ",
-          dereg ? "deregistered" : "decommissioned");
-      m_NextDecommissionWarn = now + DecommissionWarnInterval;
+      constexpr auto DecommissionWarnInterval = 5min;
+      if (auto dereg = LooksDeregistered(); dereg or decom)
+      {
+        // complain about being deregistered
+        LogError(
+            "We are running as a service node but we seem to be ",
+            dereg ? "deregistered" : "decommissioned");
+        m_NextDecommissionWarn = now + DecommissionWarnInterval;
+      }
+      else if (isSvcNode and TooFewPeers())
+      {
+        log::error(
+            logcat,
+            "We appear to be an active service node, but have only {} known peers.",
+            nodedb()->NumLoaded());
+        m_NextDecommissionWarn = now + DecommissionWarnInterval;
+      }
     }
 
     // if we need more sessions to routers and we are not a service node kicked from the network
diff --git a/llarp/router/router.hpp b/llarp/router/router.hpp
index 8f56024ea..8eb751410 100644
--- a/llarp/router/router.hpp
+++ b/llarp/router/router.hpp
@@ -378,6 +378,13 @@ namespace llarp
     bool
     IsServiceNode() const override;
 
+    /// return true if service node *and* not deregistered or decommissioned
+    bool
+    IsActiveServiceNode() const override;
+
+    bool
+    ShouldPingOxen() const override;
+
     void
     Close();
 
@@ -573,6 +580,9 @@ namespace llarp
     void
     MessageSent(const RouterID& remote, SendStatus status);
 
+    bool
+    TooFewPeers() const;
+
    protected:
     virtual void
     HandleRouterEvent(tooling::RouterEventPtr event) const override;
diff --git a/llarp/router_contact.cpp b/llarp/router_contact.cpp
index 598aa1753..9004c1c34 100644
--- a/llarp/router_contact.cpp
+++ b/llarp/router_contact.cpp
@@ -533,6 +533,20 @@ namespace llarp
     return false;
   }
 
+  static constexpr std::array obsolete_bootstraps = {
+      "7a16ac0b85290bcf69b2f3b52456d7e989ac8913b4afbb980614e249a3723218"sv};
+
+  bool
+  RouterContact::IsObsoleteBootstrap() const
+  {
+    for (const auto& k : obsolete_bootstraps)
+    {
+      if (pubkey.ToHex() == k)
+        return true;
+    }
+    return false;
+  }
+
   bool
   RouterContact::Write(const fs::path& fname) const
   {
diff --git a/llarp/router_contact.hpp b/llarp/router_contact.hpp
index bafade89b..340bab597 100644
--- a/llarp/router_contact.hpp
+++ b/llarp/router_contact.hpp
@@ -205,6 +205,9 @@ namespace llarp
     bool
     FromOurNetwork() const;
 
+    bool
+    IsObsoleteBootstrap() const;
+
    private:
     bool
     DecodeVersion_0(llarp_buffer_t* buf);
diff --git a/llarp/rpc/lokid_rpc_client.cpp b/llarp/rpc/lokid_rpc_client.cpp
index be448c4eb..7048188fd 100644
--- a/llarp/rpc/lokid_rpc_client.cpp
+++ b/llarp/rpc/lokid_rpc_client.cpp
@@ -152,18 +152,25 @@ namespace llarp
       auto makePingRequest = [self = shared_from_this()]() {
         // send a ping
         PubKey pk{};
+        bool should_ping = false;
         if (auto r = self->m_Router.lock())
+        {
           pk = r->pubkey();
-        nlohmann::json payload = {
-            {"pubkey_ed25519", oxenc::to_hex(pk.begin(), pk.end())},
-            {"version", {VERSION[0], VERSION[1], VERSION[2]}}};
-        self->Request(
-            "admin.lokinet_ping",
-            [](bool success, std::vector<std::string> data) {
-              (void)data;
-              LogDebug("Received response for ping. Successful: ", success);
-            },
-            payload.dump());
+          should_ping = r->ShouldPingOxen();
+        }
+        if (should_ping)
+        {
+          nlohmann::json payload = {
+              {"pubkey_ed25519", oxenc::to_hex(pk.begin(), pk.end())},
+              {"version", {VERSION[0], VERSION[1], VERSION[2]}}};
+          self->Request(
+              "admin.lokinet_ping",
+              [](bool success, std::vector<std::string> data) {
+                (void)data;
+                LogDebug("Received response for ping. Successful: ", success);
+              },
+              payload.dump());
+        }
         // subscribe to block updates
         self->Request("sub.block", [](bool success, std::vector<std::string> data) {
           if (data.empty() or not success)
@@ -183,54 +190,41 @@ namespace llarp
     LokidRpcClient::HandleGotServiceNodeList(std::string data)
     {
       auto j = nlohmann::json::parse(std::move(data));
+      if (const auto itr = j.find("unchanged"); itr != j.end() and itr->get<bool>())
       {
-        const auto itr = j.find("unchanged");
-        if (itr != j.end())
-        {
-          if (itr->get<bool>())
-          {
-            LogDebug("service node list unchanged");
-            return;
-          }
-        }
+        LogDebug("service node list unchanged");
+        return;
       }
       std::unordered_map<RouterID, PubKey> keymap;
       std::vector<RouterID> activeNodeList, nonActiveNodeList;
+      if (const auto itr = j.find("service_node_states"); itr != j.end() and itr->is_array())
       {
-        const auto itr = j.find("service_node_states");
-        if (itr != j.end() and itr->is_array())
+        for (auto& snode : *itr)
         {
-          for (auto j_itr = itr->begin(); j_itr != itr->end(); j_itr++)
-          {
-            const auto ed_itr = j_itr->find("pubkey_ed25519");
-            if (ed_itr == j_itr->end() or not ed_itr->is_string())
-              continue;
-            const auto svc_itr = j_itr->find("service_node_pubkey");
-            if (svc_itr == j_itr->end() or not svc_itr->is_string())
-              continue;
-            const auto funded_itr = j_itr->find("funded");
-            if (funded_itr == j_itr->end() or not funded_itr->is_boolean())
-              continue;
-            const auto active_itr = j_itr->find("active");
-            if (active_itr == j_itr->end() or not active_itr->is_boolean())
-              continue;
-            const bool active = active_itr->get<bool>();
-            const bool funded = funded_itr->get<bool>();
-
-            if (not funded)
-              continue;
-
-            RouterID rid;
-            PubKey pk;
-            if (rid.FromHex(ed_itr->get<std::string>()) and pk.FromHex(svc_itr->get<std::string>()))
-            {
-              keymap[rid] = pk;
-              if (active)
-                activeNodeList.emplace_back(std::move(rid));
-              else
-                nonActiveNodeList.emplace_back(std::move(rid));
-            }
-          }
+          // Skip unstaked snodes:
+          if (const auto funded_itr = snode.find("funded"); funded_itr == snode.end()
+              or not funded_itr->is_boolean() or not funded_itr->get<bool>())
+            continue;
+
+          const auto ed_itr = snode.find("pubkey_ed25519");
+          if (ed_itr == snode.end() or not ed_itr->is_string())
+            continue;
+          const auto svc_itr = snode.find("service_node_pubkey");
+          if (svc_itr == snode.end() or not svc_itr->is_string())
+            continue;
+          const auto active_itr = snode.find("active");
+          if (active_itr == snode.end() or not active_itr->is_boolean())
+            continue;
+          const bool active = active_itr->get<bool>();
+
+          RouterID rid;
+          PubKey pk;
+          if (not rid.FromHex(ed_itr->get<std::string_view>())
+              or not pk.FromHex(svc_itr->get<std::string_view>()))
+            continue;
+
+          keymap[rid] = pk;
+          (active ? activeNodeList : nonActiveNodeList).push_back(std::move(rid));
         }
       }
 
diff --git a/llarp/util/types.hpp b/llarp/util/types.hpp
index be6a0a286..1944bd905 100644
--- a/llarp/util/types.hpp
+++ b/llarp/util/types.hpp
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <chrono>
 
+#include "oxen/log/format.hpp"
+
 using byte_t = uint8_t;
 using llarp_proto_version_t = std::uint8_t;
 
@@ -10,6 +12,7 @@ namespace llarp
 {
   using Duration_t = std::chrono::milliseconds;
   using namespace std::literals;
+  using namespace oxen::log::literals;
 
   /// convert to milliseconds
   uint64_t
diff --git a/test/net/test_llarp_net.cpp b/test/net/test_llarp_net.cpp
index b65f8ce73..0c237a90b 100644
--- a/test/net/test_llarp_net.cpp
+++ b/test/net/test_llarp_net.cpp
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #include <net/ip.hpp>
 #include <net/ip_range.hpp>
 #include <net/net.hpp>
-#include <oxenmq/hex.h>
+#include <oxenc/hex.h>
 
 #include <catch2/catch.hpp>
 
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ TEST_CASE("uint128_t")
     SECTION("layout")
     {
         llarp::uint128_t i{0x0011223f44556677ULL, 0x8899aabbc3ddeeffULL};
-        REQUIRE(oxenmq::to_hex(std::string_view{reinterpret_cast<const char*>(&i), sizeof(i)}) ==
+        REQUIRE(oxenc::to_hex(std::string_view{reinterpret_cast<const char*>(&i), sizeof(i)}) ==
 #ifdef __BIG_ENDIAN__
                 "0011223f445566778899aabbc3ddeeff"
 #else
diff --git a/test/service/test_llarp_service_name.cpp b/test/service/test_llarp_service_name.cpp
index a04628f9c..3f9daef61 100644
--- a/test/service/test_llarp_service_name.cpp
+++ b/test/service/test_llarp_service_name.cpp
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #include "catch2/catch.hpp"
 #include <crypto/crypto_libsodium.hpp>
 #include <service/name.hpp>
-#include <oxenmq/hex.h>
+#include <oxenc/hex.h>
 
 using namespace std::literals;
 
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ TEST_CASE("Test LNS name decrypt", "[lns]")
 {
   llarp::sodium::CryptoLibSodium crypto;
   constexpr auto recordhex = "0ba76cbfdb6dc8f950da57ae781912f31c8ad0c55dbf86b88cb0391f563261a9656571a817be4092969f8a78ee0fcee260424acb4a1f4bbdd27348b71de006b6152dd04ed11bf3c4"sv;
-  const auto recordbin = oxenmq::from_hex(recordhex);
+  const auto recordbin = oxenc::from_hex(recordhex);
   CHECK(not recordbin.empty());
   llarp::SymmNonce n{};
   std::vector<byte_t> ciphertext{};