diff --git a/src/libstore/download.hh b/src/libstore/download.hh
index e2e16b361..62f3860b9 100644
--- a/src/libstore/download.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/download.hh
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ struct DownloadRequest
     bool verifyTLS = true;
     enum { yes, no, automatic } showProgress = yes;
     bool head = false;
-    size_t tries = 1;
+    size_t tries = 5;
     unsigned int baseRetryTimeMs = 250;
 
     DownloadRequest(const std::string & uri) : uri(uri) { }