docs: mark IDAA server-side Novi verification resolved in TODO__Agents.md

All Access Denied root causes fixed and deployed 2026-05-19. 503 auto-retry
regression also documented and fixed same session.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

documentation/TODO__Agents.md

@@ -83,11 +83,17 @@ All known root causes fixed across 10+ commits to `src/routes/idaa/(idaa)/+layou
 Deploying as of 2026-05-19. Monitor for further member reports.
 
 #### All fixes applied
+- [x] **Server-side Novi verification migrated (key fix for hotel/VPN/Cloudflare-filtered networks)**
+  `verify_novi_uuid()` now calls `GET /v3/action/idaa/novi_member/{uuid}` through the Aether
+  backend (server-to-server, Redis-cached 4h) instead of making a browser-to-Novi call.
+  Eliminates false Access Denied for members on hotel/conference WiFi, VPNs, and corporate
+  networks where the member's IP was rejected by Novi/Cloudflare.
+  Frontend: `(idaa)/+layout.svelte` | Backend: FastAPI `aether_api_fastapi` | Docs: `GUIDE__AE_API_V3_for_Frontend.md` §12, `CLIENT__IDAA_and_customized_mods.md`
+- [x] Novi TTL extended to **12 hours** (5 min → 45 min → 12 h) — covers a full conference day
 - [x] Access Denied on iframe reload (sessionStorage URL preservation) — `2855e091f`
 - [x] TTL cache bypassed when `$ae_loc` auth flags reset — `2855e091f`
 - [x] "Verification Unavailable" screen distinct from "Access Denied" — `2855e091f`
 - [x] "Try Again" without page reload (`retry_count` pattern) — `2855e091f`
-- [x] Novi TTL extended to 45 minutes (from 5) — `2855e091f` + manual edit
 - [x] 12 s AbortController hard timeout on Novi fetch — `e921ca973`
 - [x] Network/AbortError gets 3 s grace + one retry — `e921ca973`
 - [x] Clear Cache & Reload added to Access Denied state (iframe mode) — `2855e091f`
@@ -111,6 +117,60 @@ below. The TTL + `verify_in_flight` guards are the current mitigation.
 
 ---
 
+### [IDAA] Server-side Novi verification — 503 not auto-retried (regression, 2026-05-19)
+
+**File:** `src/routes/idaa/(idaa)/+layout.svelte` → `verify_novi_uuid()`
+
+**Bug:** After migrating to the Aether server-side proxy, a `503` response (Novi unreachable /
+Novi 5xx) skips the automatic retry that exists for network-level errors.
+
+**Root cause:** The auto-retry branch only fires for `TypeError` and `AbortError`:
+```ts
+const is_network_or_timeout =
+    error instanceof TypeError ||
+    (error instanceof Error && error.name === 'AbortError');
+if (is_network_or_timeout && !is_retry) {
+    // 3s wait → retry
+}
+```
+
+In the old client-to-Novi flow, an unreachable Novi server produced a `TypeError: Failed to
+fetch` — caught above, auto-retried. In the new flow the Aether server returns a clean HTTP
+`503`, which hits `!response.ok` → `throw new Error(...)` — a plain `Error`, not `TypeError`.
+`is_network_or_timeout` is `false` → no retry → `verify_failed_for_uuid` latch is set
+immediately → user sees "Verification Unavailable" requiring a manual "Try Again" click for
+what may be a 2-second Novi hiccup.
+
+**Fix:** Add a `503` check before the generic `!response.ok` throw (or after), applying the
+same 3-second wait + one retry that network errors get:
+```ts
+if (response.status === 503) {
+    if (is_retry) {
+        throw new Error(`Novi verification: Novi unreachable (503) — retry also failed`);
+    }
+    console.warn(`IDAA Layout: Novi unreachable (503) for ${uuid}. Retrying in 3s...`);
+    verifying_status_msg = 'Connection issue — retrying...';
+    await new Promise<void>((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 3_000));
+    await verify_novi_uuid(uuid, true);
+    return;
+}
+
+if (!response.ok) {
+    throw new Error(`Novi verification returned ${response.status} for UUID ${uuid}`);
+}
+```
+
+**Catch block:** After the retry, if 503 still fires, it throws a plain `Error` → caught →
+`is_network_or_timeout = false` → `verify_error_type = 'api_error'` → "Verification
+Unavailable". This is correct — after two attempts the UI should tell the user.
+
+**Note on `verify_error_type` reset:** The recursive retry call resets `verify_error_type =
+null` at its top before checking the response. For 429 this is harmless (re-set on 429 check).
+For 503 after this fix it is also harmless — 503 is caught before `!response.ok`. Worth knowing
+if modifying the flow further.
+
+---
+
 ### [Stores] Svelte 4 → Svelte 5 State Migration (prerequisite for Phase 2c)
 The app uses `svelte-persisted-store` (Svelte 4 store contract) for all core persisted state
 (`ae_loc`, `idaa_loc`, `ae_api`, `ae_sess`, etc.). In Svelte 5 `$effect`, reading **any field**