diff --git a/storage_controller/src/service.rs b/storage_controller/src/service.rs
index 3844570b47..9c1b81d261 100644
--- a/storage_controller/src/service.rs
+++ b/storage_controller/src/service.rs
@@ -4761,6 +4761,7 @@ impl Service {
         )
         .await;
 
+        let mut retry_if_not_attached = false;
         let targets = {
             let locked = self.inner.read().unwrap();
             let mut targets = Vec::new();
@@ -4777,6 +4778,24 @@ impl Service {
                         .expect("Pageservers may not be deleted while referenced");
 
                     targets.push((*tenant_shard_id, node.clone()));
+
+                    if let Some(location) = shard.observed.locations.get(node_id) {
+                        if let Some(ref conf) = location.conf {
+                            if conf.mode != LocationConfigMode::AttachedSingle
+                                && conf.mode != LocationConfigMode::AttachedMulti
+                            {
+                                // If the shard is attached as secondary, we need to retry if 404.
+                                retry_if_not_attached = true;
+                            }
+                            // If the shard is attached as primary, we should succeed.
+                        } else {
+                            // Location conf is not available yet, retry if 404.
+                            retry_if_not_attached = true;
+                        }
+                    } else {
+                        // The shard is not attached to the intended pageserver yet, retry if 404.
+                        retry_if_not_attached = true;
+                    }
                 }
             }
             targets
@@ -4807,6 +4826,18 @@ impl Service {
                         valid_until = Some(lease.valid_until);
                     }
                 }
+                Err(mgmt_api::Error::ApiError(StatusCode::NOT_FOUND, _))
+                    if retry_if_not_attached =>
+                {
+                    // This is expected if the attach is not finished yet. Return 503 so that the client can retry.
+                    return Err(ApiError::ResourceUnavailable(
+                        format!(
+                            "Timeline is not attached to the pageserver {} yet, please retry",
+                            node.get_id()
+                        )
+                        .into(),
+                    ));
+                }
                 Err(e) => {
                     return Err(passthrough_api_error(&node, e));
                 }