diff --git a/pkg/file/joiner/joiner.go b/pkg/file/joiner/joiner.go
index 4d9152357c0..313ea21bd2c 100644
--- a/pkg/file/joiner/joiner.go
+++ b/pkg/file/joiner/joiner.go
@@ -65,9 +65,24 @@ func fingerprint(addrs []swarm.Address) string {
 	return string(h.Sum(nil))
 }
 
+// createRemoveCallback returns a function that handles the cleanup after a recovery attempt
+func (g *decoderCache) createRemoveCallback(key string) func(error) {
+	return func(err error) {
+		g.mu.Lock()
+		defer g.mu.Unlock()
+		if err != nil {
+			// signals that a new getter is needed to reattempt to recover the data
+			delete(g.cache, key)
+		} else {
+			// signals that the chunks were fetched/recovered/cached so a future getter is not needed
+			// The nil value indicates a successful recovery
+			g.cache[key] = nil
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 // GetOrCreate returns a decoder for the given chunk address
 func (g *decoderCache) GetOrCreate(addrs []swarm.Address, shardCnt int) storage.Getter {
-
 	// since a recovery decoder is not allowed, simply return the underlying netstore
 	if g.config.Strict && g.config.Strategy == getter.NONE {
 		return g.fetcher
@@ -83,22 +98,31 @@ func (g *decoderCache) GetOrCreate(addrs []swarm.Address, shardCnt int) storage.
 	d, ok := g.cache[key]
 	if ok {
 		if d == nil {
-			return g.fetcher
+			// The nil value indicates a previous successful recovery
+			// Create a new decoder but only use it as fallback if network fetch fails
+			decoderCallback := g.createRemoveCallback(key)
+
+			// Create a factory function that will instantiate the decoder only when needed
+			recovery := func() storage.Getter {
+				g.config.Logger.Debug("lazy-creating recovery decoder after fetch failed", "key", key)
+				g.mu.Lock()
+				defer g.mu.Unlock()
+				d, ok := g.cache[key]
+				if ok && d != nil {
+					return d
+				}
+				d = getter.New(addrs, shardCnt, g.fetcher, g.putter, decoderCallback, g.config)
+				g.cache[key] = d
+				return d
+			}
+
+			return getter.NewReDecoder(g.fetcher, recovery, g.config.Logger)
 		}
 		return d
 	}
-	remove := func(err error) {
-		g.mu.Lock()
-		defer g.mu.Unlock()
-		if err != nil {
-			// signals that a new getter is needed to reattempt to recover the data
-			delete(g.cache, key)
-		} else {
-			// signals that the chunks were fetched/recovered/cached so a future getter is not needed
-			g.cache[key] = nil
-		}
-	}
-	d = getter.New(addrs, shardCnt, g.fetcher, g.putter, remove, g.config)
+
+	removeCallback := g.createRemoveCallback(key)
+	d = getter.New(addrs, shardCnt, g.fetcher, g.putter, removeCallback, g.config)
 	g.cache[key] = d
 	return d
 }
diff --git a/pkg/file/joiner/redecoder_test.go b/pkg/file/joiner/redecoder_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7df041de76d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/file/joiner/redecoder_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,209 @@
+// Copyright 2025 The Swarm Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+package joiner_test
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"strconv"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/ethersphere/bee/v2/pkg/cac"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/bee/v2/pkg/file/joiner"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/bee/v2/pkg/file/redundancy/getter"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/bee/v2/pkg/log"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/bee/v2/pkg/storage"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/bee/v2/pkg/storage/inmemchunkstore"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/bee/v2/pkg/swarm"
+	"github.com/klauspost/reedsolomon"
+)
+
+// TestReDecoderFlow tests the complete flow of:
+// 1. Loading data with redundancy getter
+// 2. Successful recovery which nulls the decoder
+// 3. Chunk eviction from cache
+// 4. Reloading the same data through ReDecoder fallback
+func TestReDecoderFlow(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	dataShardCount := 4
+	parityShardCount := 2
+	totalShardCount := dataShardCount + parityShardCount
+
+	// Create real data chunks with proper content
+	dataShards := make([][]byte, dataShardCount)
+	for i := 0; i < dataShardCount; i++ {
+		// Create chunks with simpler test data
+		dataShards[i] = make([]byte, swarm.ChunkWithSpanSize)
+		// Create a unique string for this shard
+		testData := []byte("test-data-" + strconv.Itoa(i))
+		// Copy as much as will fit
+		copy(dataShards[i], testData)
+	}
+
+	// Create parity chunks using Reed-Solomon encoding
+	parityShards := make([][]byte, parityShardCount)
+	for i := 0; i < parityShardCount; i++ {
+		parityShards[i] = make([]byte, swarm.ChunkWithSpanSize)
+	}
+
+	// Create Reed-Solomon encoder
+	enc, err := reedsolomon.New(dataShardCount, parityShardCount)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to create Reed-Solomon encoder: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Combine data and parity shards
+	allShards := make([][]byte, totalShardCount)
+	copy(allShards, dataShards)
+	copy(allShards[dataShardCount:], parityShards)
+
+	// Encode to generate parity chunks
+	if err := enc.Encode(allShards); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to encode data: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Create content-addressed chunks for all shards
+	addresses := make([]swarm.Address, totalShardCount)
+	chunks := make([]swarm.Chunk, totalShardCount)
+
+	for i := 0; i < totalShardCount; i++ {
+		// Create proper content-addressed chunks
+		chunk, err := cac.NewWithDataSpan(allShards[i])
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("Failed to create content-addressed chunk %d: %v", i, err)
+		}
+		chunks[i] = chunk
+		addresses[i] = chunk.Address()
+	}
+
+	// Select a data chunk to be missing (which will be recovered)
+	missingChunkIndex := 2 // The third data chunk will be missing
+	mockStore := inmemchunkstore.New()
+	netFetcher := newMockNetworkFetcher(addresses, addresses[missingChunkIndex])
+	config := getter.Config{
+		Strategy: getter.RACE,
+		Logger:   log.Noop,
+	}
+
+	j := joiner.NewDecoderCache(netFetcher, mockStore, config)
+
+	// Step 1: Initializing decoder and triggering recovery
+	decoder := j.GetOrCreate(addresses, dataShardCount)
+	if decoder == nil {
+		t.Fatal("Failed to create decoder")
+	}
+
+	// Verify we can now fetch the previously missing chunk through recovery
+	recoveredChunk, err := decoder.Get(ctx, addresses[missingChunkIndex])
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to recover missing chunk: %v", err)
+	}
+	// Verify the recovered chunk has the correct content
+	if !recoveredChunk.Address().Equal(addresses[missingChunkIndex]) {
+		t.Fatalf("Recovered chunk has incorrect address")
+	}
+
+	// Verify the recovered chunk has the correct content
+	recoveredData := recoveredChunk.Data()
+	expectedData := chunks[missingChunkIndex].Data()
+	if len(recoveredData) != len(expectedData) {
+		t.Fatalf("Recovered chunk has incorrect data length: got %d, want %d", len(recoveredData), len(expectedData))
+	}
+	if !bytes.Equal(recoveredData, expectedData) {
+		t.Fatalf("Recovered chunk has incorrect data")
+	}
+	// Check if the recovered chunk is now in the store
+	_, err = mockStore.Get(ctx, addresses[missingChunkIndex])
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Recovered chunk not saved to store: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Step 2: The original decoder should be automatically nulled after successful recovery
+	// This is an internal state check, we can't directly test it but we can verify that
+	// we can still access the chunks
+
+	// Sanity check - verify we can still fetch chunks through the cache
+	for i := 0; i < dataShardCount; i++ {
+		_, err := decoder.Get(ctx, addresses[i])
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("Failed to get chunk %d after recovery: %v", i, err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Step 3: Testing ReDecoder fallback
+	newDecoder := j.GetOrCreate(addresses, dataShardCount)
+	if newDecoder == nil {
+		t.Fatal("Failed to create ReDecoder")
+	}
+
+	// Verify all chunks can be fetched through the ReDecoder
+	for i := 0; i < dataShardCount; i++ {
+		_, err := newDecoder.Get(ctx, addresses[i])
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("Failed to get chunk %d through ReDecoder: %v", i, err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Verify that we can also access the first missing chunk - now from the store
+	// This would be using the local store and not network or recovery mechanisms
+	retrievedChunk, err := newDecoder.Get(ctx, addresses[missingChunkIndex])
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to retrieve previously recovered chunk: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if !retrievedChunk.Address().Equal(addresses[missingChunkIndex]) {
+		t.Fatalf("Retrieved chunk has incorrect address")
+	}
+
+	// Also verify the data content matches
+	retrievedData := retrievedChunk.Data()
+	expectedData = chunks[missingChunkIndex].Data()
+	if len(retrievedData) != len(expectedData) {
+		t.Fatalf("Retrieved chunk has incorrect data length: got %d, want %d", len(retrievedData), len(expectedData))
+	}
+	if !bytes.Equal(retrievedData, expectedData) {
+		t.Fatalf("Retrieved chunk has incorrect data")
+	}
+}
+
+// Mock implementation of storage.Getter for testing
+type mockNetworkFetcher struct {
+	allAddresses []swarm.Address
+	missingAddr  swarm.Address
+}
+
+// newMockNetworkFetcher creates a new mock fetcher that will return ErrNotFound for specific addresses
+func newMockNetworkFetcher(allAddrs []swarm.Address, missingAddr swarm.Address) *mockNetworkFetcher {
+	return &mockNetworkFetcher{
+		allAddresses: allAddrs,
+		missingAddr:  missingAddr,
+	}
+}
+
+// Get implements storage.Getter interface
+func (m *mockNetworkFetcher) Get(ctx context.Context, addr swarm.Address) (swarm.Chunk, error) {
+	// Simulate network fetch - fail for the missing chunk
+	if addr.Equal(m.missingAddr) {
+		return nil, storage.ErrNotFound
+	}
+
+	// Find the index of this address in the all addresses list
+	var index int
+	for i, a := range m.allAddresses {
+		if addr.Equal(a) {
+			index = i
+			break
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Generate data using the same pattern as in the test
+	data := make([]byte, swarm.ChunkWithSpanSize)
+	// Create a unique string for this shard
+	testData := []byte("test-data-" + strconv.Itoa(index))
+	// Copy as much as will fit
+	copy(data, testData)
+
+	return swarm.NewChunk(addr, data), nil
+}
diff --git a/pkg/file/redundancy/getter/getter.go b/pkg/file/redundancy/getter/getter.go
index 39bf23f87c3..0953c501dc5 100644
--- a/pkg/file/redundancy/getter/getter.go
+++ b/pkg/file/redundancy/getter/getter.go
@@ -340,7 +340,7 @@ func (g *decoder) setData(i int, chdata []byte) {
 func (g *decoder) getData(i int) []byte {
 	g.mu.Lock()
 	defer g.mu.Unlock()
-	if i == g.shardCnt-1 && g.lastLen > 0 {
+	if i == g.shardCnt-1 && g.lastLen > 0 && g.rsbuf[i] != nil {
 		return g.rsbuf[i][:g.lastLen] // cut padding
 	}
 	return g.rsbuf[i]
diff --git a/pkg/file/redundancy/getter/redecoder.go b/pkg/file/redundancy/getter/redecoder.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0338a069841
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/file/redundancy/getter/redecoder.go
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+// Copyright 2025 The Swarm Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
+// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+
+package getter
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+
+	"github.com/ethersphere/bee/v2/pkg/log"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/bee/v2/pkg/storage"
+	"github.com/ethersphere/bee/v2/pkg/swarm"
+)
+
+// Recovery is a function that creates a recovery decoder on demand
+type Recovery func() storage.Getter
+
+// ReDecoder is a wrapper around a Getter that first attempts to fetch a chunk directly
+// from the network, and only falls back to recovery if the network fetch fails.
+// This is used to handle cases where previously recovered chunks have been evicted from cache.
+type ReDecoder struct {
+	fetcher  storage.Getter // Direct fetcher (usually netstore)
+	recovery Recovery       // Factory function to create recovery decoder on demand
+	logger   log.Logger
+}
+
+// NewReDecoder creates a new ReDecoder instance with the provided fetcher and recovery factory.
+// The recovery decoder will only be created if needed (when network fetch fails).
+func NewReDecoder(fetcher storage.Getter, recovery Recovery, logger log.Logger) *ReDecoder {
+	return &ReDecoder{
+		fetcher:  fetcher,
+		recovery: recovery,
+		logger:   logger,
+	}
+}
+
+// Get implements the storage.Getter interface.
+// It first attempts to fetch the chunk directly from the network.
+// If that fails with ErrNotFound, it then creates the recovery decoder and attempts to recover the chunk.
+func (rd *ReDecoder) Get(ctx context.Context, addr swarm.Address) (swarm.Chunk, error) {
+	// First try to get the chunk directly from the network
+	chunk, err := rd.fetcher.Get(ctx, addr)
+	if err == nil {
+		return chunk, nil
+	}
+
+	// Only attempt recovery if the chunk was not found
+	if !errors.Is(err, storage.ErrNotFound) {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// Log that we're falling back to recovery
+	rd.logger.Debug("chunk not found in network, creating recovery decoder", "address", addr)
+
+	// Create the recovery decoder on demand
+	recovery := rd.recovery()
+
+	// Attempt to recover the chunk
+	return recovery.Get(ctx, addr)
+}