diff --git a/birdnet-go/CHANGELOG.md b/birdnet-go/CHANGELOG.md
index 0b6751232b..ecbb5564ce 100644
--- a/birdnet-go/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/birdnet-go/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ## nightly-20260615-2 (2026-06-23)
-- MariaDB auto-config: ensure the `birdnet` database exists before starting — birdnet-go does not create it automatically; if `CREATE DATABASE` fails due to insufficient privileges the script falls back to checking whether the database was pre-created manually, and exits with a clear instruction if it is missing
+- MariaDB auto-config: resolve MariaDB hostname to IPv4 before connecting — on HAOS >=17.3 the Supervisor network gained IPv6 but the MariaDB addon only grants the service user from the IPv4 subnet, causing authentication failures and `CREATE DATABASE` errors; also add `--skip-ssl` to match the connection approach used by other addons
 - MariaDB auto-config: disabling `mariadb_auto_config` now reverts to SQLite only when `output.mysql.host` in config.yaml matches the HA MariaDB host (avoids clobbering manually-configured MySQL pointing at a different server)
 - Added `mariadb-client` to the addon packages so the `mysql` CLI used for database creation is available inside the container
 
diff --git a/birdnet-go/rootfs/etc/cont-init.d/33-mariadb.sh b/birdnet-go/rootfs/etc/cont-init.d/33-mariadb.sh
index d6cee19216..29d1e30772 100755
--- a/birdnet-go/rootfs/etc/cont-init.d/33-mariadb.sh
+++ b/birdnet-go/rootfs/etc/cont-init.d/33-mariadb.sh
@@ -68,30 +68,27 @@ bashio::log.blue "User:     ${MYSQL_USER}"
 bashio::log.blue "Database: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}"
 bashio::log.green "---"
 
-# Ensure the database exists. birdnet-go connects to an existing schema and
-# does NOT create it automatically. MYSQL_PWD avoids password in process list.
-# The HA MariaDB service user may lack global CREATE DATABASE privilege, so if
-# CREATE DATABASE fails we fall back to checking whether the database already
-# exists (pre-created manually or by a previous run with broader privileges).
+# Resolve MariaDB hostname to IPv4: on HAOS >=17.3 the Supervisor network
+# gained IPv6, but the MariaDB addon only grants its user from the IPv4
+# subnet. Fall back to the raw hostname if resolution fails.
+MYSQL_HOST_RESOLVED="$(getent ahostsv4 "${MYSQL_HOST}" 2>/dev/null | awk '{print $1; exit}')"
+MYSQL_HOST_RESOLVED="${MYSQL_HOST_RESOLVED:-${MYSQL_HOST}}"
+if [ "${MYSQL_HOST_RESOLVED}" != "${MYSQL_HOST}" ]; then
+    bashio::log.blue "Resolved ${MYSQL_HOST} -> ${MYSQL_HOST_RESOLVED} (forcing IPv4)"
+fi
+
+# Create the database — birdnet-go connects to an existing schema and does NOT
+# create it automatically. MYSQL_PWD avoids exposing the password via the
+# process command line.
 if ! MYSQL_PWD="${MYSQL_PASS}" mysql \
-    --host="${MYSQL_HOST}" \
+    --skip-ssl \
+    --host="${MYSQL_HOST_RESOLVED}" \
     --port="${MYSQL_PORT}" \
     --user="${MYSQL_USER}" \
     --connect-timeout=10 \
-    -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS \`${MYSQL_DATABASE}\` CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;" 2>/dev/null; then
-    bashio::log.warning "Could not CREATE DATABASE '${MYSQL_DATABASE}' (insufficient privileges?) — checking if it already exists"
-    if ! MYSQL_PWD="${MYSQL_PASS}" mysql \
-        --host="${MYSQL_HOST}" \
-        --port="${MYSQL_PORT}" \
-        --user="${MYSQL_USER}" \
-        --connect-timeout=10 \
-        "${MYSQL_DATABASE}" \
-        -e "SELECT 1;" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        bashio::log.error "Database '${MYSQL_DATABASE}' does not exist and could not be created."
-        bashio::log.error "Create it manually in MariaDB: CREATE DATABASE \`${MYSQL_DATABASE}\` CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;"
-        exit 1
-    fi
-    bashio::log.yellow "Database '${MYSQL_DATABASE}' already exists — skipping creation"
+    -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS \`${MYSQL_DATABASE}\` CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;"; then
+    bashio::log.error "Failed to create MariaDB database '${MYSQL_DATABASE}' — verify the MariaDB addon is running and the user has CREATE DATABASE privileges"
+    exit 1
 fi
 bashio::log.blue "Database '${MYSQL_DATABASE}' is ready"