diff --git a/.changeset/happy-garlics-cross.md b/.changeset/happy-garlics-cross.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6d4d833d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/happy-garlics-cross.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'hive': patch
+---
+
+Gracefully handle error when publish lock acquisition fails for clients not supporting retries.
diff --git a/packages/services/api/src/modules/schema/providers/schema-publisher.ts b/packages/services/api/src/modules/schema/providers/schema-publisher.ts
index 39ed8e147..4a1edcc54 100644
--- a/packages/services/api/src/modules/schema/providers/schema-publisher.ts
+++ b/packages/services/api/src/modules/schema/providers/schema-publisher.ts
@@ -1298,10 +1298,24 @@ export class SchemaPublisher {
         },
       )
       .catch((error: unknown) => {
-        if (error instanceof MutexResourceLockedError && input.supportsRetry === true) {
+        if (error instanceof MutexResourceLockedError) {
+          if (input.supportsRetry === true) {
+            return {
+              __typename: 'SchemaPublishRetry',
+              reason: 'Another schema publish is currently in progress.',
+            } satisfies PublishResult;
+          }
+
           return {
-            __typename: 'SchemaPublishRetry',
-            reason: 'Another schema publish is currently in progress.',
+            __typename: 'SchemaPublishError',
+            valid: false,
+            changes: [],
+            errors: [
+              {
+                message:
+                  'Another schema publish is currently in progress. Please retry the publish.',
+              },
+            ],
           } satisfies PublishResult;
         }