diff --git a/nix/host-modules/otel.nix b/nix/host-modules/otel.nix
index 84e6a81a..9cc0745b 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/otel.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/otel.nix
@@ -626,35 +626,21 @@ in
         };
       };
 
-      systemd.services.opentelemetry-collector = lib.mkMerge [
-        # ⚠️ `StartLimit*` are `[Unit]` settings; systemd IGNORES them under
-        # `[Service]` — in `serviceConfig` they render, deploy and do
-        # nothing. `checks.module-eval-hive-otel` pins them in `unitConfig`.
-        # `Restart` is deliberately NOT set: nixpkgs' own module defines it
-        # at normal priority, so a second definition is a module-system
-        # conflict. The window must exceed `RestartSec × burst`.
-        {
-          startLimitBurst = 12;
-          startLimitIntervalSec = 120;
-          serviceConfig.RestartSec = 5;
-        }
+      # `LoadCredential` and not a copy-oneshot: this collector is a HOST
+      # unit, so there is no container boundary to cross and therefore no
+      # reason for a second on-disk copy of the secret. systemd hands it to
+      # the process in a private tmpfs and exports the directory, which is
+      # what the config above names.
+      systemd.services.opentelemetry-collector = lib.optionalAttrs senderAuth {
+        serviceConfig.LoadCredential = [ "${credName}:${otel.clientSecretFile}" ];
 
-        # `LoadCredential` and not a copy-oneshot: this collector is a HOST
-        # unit, so there is no container boundary to cross and therefore no
-        # reason for a second on-disk copy of the secret. systemd hands it to
-        # the process in a private tmpfs and exports the directory, which is
-        # what the config above names.
-        (lib.mkIf senderAuth {
-          serviceConfig.LoadCredential = [ "${credName}:${otel.clientSecretFile}" ];
-
-          # `requires`, not merely `after`: ordering without gating leaves the
-          # collector starting anyway and failing on its own `LoadCredential`,
-          # which is the failure the wait exists to prevent. Same reasoning
-          # `lib/hive-ca-trust.nix` records for its bundle consumers.
-          requires = [ "${secretWaitUnit}.service" ];
-          after = [ "${secretWaitUnit}.service" ];
-        })
-      ];
+        # `requires`, not merely `after`: ordering without gating leaves the
+        # collector starting anyway and failing on its own `LoadCredential`,
+        # which is the failure the wait exists to prevent. Same reasoning
+        # `lib/hive-ca-trust.nix` records for its bundle consumers.
+        requires = [ "${secretWaitUnit}.service" ];
+        after = [ "${secretWaitUnit}.service" ];
+      };
 
       # Wait for the credential rather than racing it.
       #
diff --git a/nix/module-eval/hive-otel.nix b/nix/module-eval/hive-otel.nix
index 656483ec..2d9c603d 100644
--- a/nix/module-eval/hive-otel.nix
+++ b/nix/module-eval/hive-otel.nix
@@ -111,27 +111,6 @@ let
         in
         !(m ? address) && (lib.head m.readers).pull.exporter.prometheus.port == 8888;
     }
-    {
-      # A bind that loses the race with the outgoing process is the whole
-      # failure: nixpkgs ships `Restart = "always"` with no `RestartSec`, so
-      # without this the unit spends its five default attempts inside two
-      # seconds and lands in `start-limit-hit`, where it stops retrying. The
-      # third clause is the one that has to hold — `StartLimit*` are `[Unit]`
-      # settings that systemd ignores under `[Service]`, so a bound written
-      # into `serviceConfig` renders, deploys and does nothing. Asserted
-      # where nixpkgs puts it rather than where it was written, same as
-      # ./bao-grants.nix.
-      name = "the hive collector backs off a failed bind from [Unit], not [Service]";
-      ok =
-        let
-          u = hiveOtel.systemd.services.opentelemetry-collector;
-        in
-        u.serviceConfig.RestartSec or 0 > 0
-        && toString u.unitConfig.StartLimitBurst == "12"
-        && !(u.serviceConfig ? StartLimitBurst)
-        # The window has to outlast every attempt, or the burst is unreachable.
-        && u.startLimitIntervalSec or 0 > u.serviceConfig.RestartSec * u.startLimitBurst;
-    }
     {
       # Both collectors share a network namespace whenever they are
       # co-located, and this port appears in no config the port-collision