diff --git a/internal/devicemapper/devicemapper.go b/internal/devicemapper/devicemapper.go
index 78801d3..c44f030 100644
--- a/internal/devicemapper/devicemapper.go
+++ b/internal/devicemapper/devicemapper.go
@@ -156,6 +156,15 @@ func CreateSnapshot(name, originLoopDev, cowPath string, originSizeBytes int64)
 // The CoW file must have been created with the persistent (P) flag and still
 // contain valid dm-snapshot metadata.
 func RestoreSnapshot(name, originLoopDev, cowPath string, originSizeBytes int64) (*SnapshotDevice, error) {
+	// Defensively remove a stale device with the same name. This can happen
+	// if a previous pause failed to clean up the dm device (e.g. "device busy").
+	if dmDeviceExists(name) {
+		slog.Warn("removing stale dm device before restore", "name", name)
+		if err := dmsetupRemove(name); err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("remove stale device %s: %w", name, err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	cowLoopDev, err := losetupCreateRW(cowPath)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("losetup cow: %w", err)
@@ -293,6 +302,11 @@ func dmsetupCreate(name, originDev, cowDev string, sectors int64) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// dmDeviceExists checks whether a device-mapper device with the given name exists.
+func dmDeviceExists(name string) bool {
+	return exec.Command("dmsetup", "info", name).Run() == nil
+}
+
 // dmsetupRemove removes a device-mapper device.
 func dmsetupRemove(name string) error {
 	cmd := exec.Command("dmsetup", "remove", name)
diff --git a/internal/sandbox/manager.go b/internal/sandbox/manager.go
index c030653..c166ef2 100644
--- a/internal/sandbox/manager.go
+++ b/internal/sandbox/manager.go
@@ -364,7 +364,22 @@ func (m *Manager) Pause(ctx context.Context, sandboxID string) error {
 	// Step 5: Now that FC is gone, safely remove the dm-snapshot and save the CoW.
 	if sb.dmDevice != nil {
 		if err := devicemapper.RemoveSnapshot(sb.dmDevice); err != nil {
-			warnErr("dm-snapshot remove error during pause", sandboxID, err)
+			// Hard error: if the dm device isn't removed, the CoW file is still
+			// in use and we can't safely move it. The snapshot files from step 2-3
+			// are cleaned up, but the sandbox resources remain so the user can retry.
+			warnErr("network cleanup error during pause", sandboxID, network.RemoveNetwork(sb.slot))
+			m.slots.Release(sb.SlotIndex)
+			if sb.baseImagePath != "" {
+				m.loops.Release(sb.baseImagePath)
+			}
+			if sb.uffdSocketPath != "" {
+				os.Remove(sb.uffdSocketPath)
+			}
+			warnErr("snapshot dir cleanup error", sandboxID, snapshot.Remove(m.cfg.SnapshotsDir, sandboxID))
+			m.mu.Lock()
+			delete(m.boxes, sandboxID)
+			m.mu.Unlock()
+			return fmt.Errorf("remove dm-snapshot: %w", err)
 		}
 
 		// Move (not copy) the CoW file into the snapshot directory.