diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2029057..c456343 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -61,11 +61,11 @@ Set up poke-mail (https://github.com/kacperkwapisz/poke-mail) for me — clone t
 cp config.example.yml config.yml
 ```
 
-Edit `config.yml` with your email credentials and Poke API key (from [poke.com/settings/advanced](https://poke.com/settings/advanced)):
+Edit `config.yml` with your email credentials and Poke API key (from [poke.com/kitchen](https://poke.com/kitchen) → API Keys — **not** Settings → Advanced or the Recipes page; those issue a legacy `pk_` key that only works with the deprecated `inbound-sms/webhook` endpoint, not the one below):
 
 ```yaml
 webhook_url: https://poke.com/api/v1/inbound/api-message
-poke_api_key: your-api-key  # from https://poke.com/settings/advanced
+poke_api_key: your-api-key  # from https://poke.com/kitchen → API Keys (V2 key required for this endpoint)
 
 accounts:
   # iCloud Mail — login is @icloud.com, send as your custom domain
diff --git a/src/server.py b/src/server.py
index 3deb8d5..2559ea3 100644
--- a/src/server.py
+++ b/src/server.py
@@ -445,6 +445,14 @@ async def forward_to_poke(
             async with httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=30) as http:
                 resp = await http.post(webhook_url, json=payload, headers=headers)
                 resp.raise_for_status()
+                # A 2xx status doesn't guarantee delivery — Poke can return
+                # HTTP 200 with {"success": false, ...} on a soft failure, so
+                # the status code alone isn't sufficient confirmation.
+                result = resp.json()
+                if not result.get("success", True):
+                    raise RuntimeError(
+                        f"Poke reported failure: {result.get('message', 'unknown error')}"
+                    )
                 logger.info(
                     "Forwarded email '%s' to Poke (status %d)",
                     email_data["subject"],
diff --git a/start.sh b/start.sh
index cf89bf6..29524a1 100644
--- a/start.sh
+++ b/start.sh
@@ -183,7 +183,9 @@ PYEOF
     echo ""
   else
     echo "  ⚠  poke_api_key not set in config.yml."
-    echo "     Run 'npx poke login' then restart, or paste your key from poke.com/settings/advanced"
+    echo "     Run 'npx poke login' then restart, or paste a V2 key from poke.com/kitchen -> API Keys"
+    echo "     (Settings > Advanced and the Recipes page issue a different, incompatible key —"
+    echo "      the webhook_url above requires a V2 key created in Kitchen)"
     echo ""
     printf "  Poke API key (leave blank to set manually later): "
     read -r POKE_TOKEN_INPUT