diff --git a/src/com/android/exchange/adapter/AbstractSyncParser.java b/src/com/android/exchange/adapter/AbstractSyncParser.java
index 69d4ba4..a67b916 100644
--- a/src/com/android/exchange/adapter/AbstractSyncParser.java
+++ b/src/com/android/exchange/adapter/AbstractSyncParser.java
@@ -142,8 +142,10 @@
                         mAdapter.wipe();
                         // Indicate there's more so that we'll start syncing again
                         moreAvailable = true;
-                    } else if (status == 16) {
-                        // Status 16 indicates a transient server error
+                    } else if (status == 16 || status == 5) {
+                        // Status 16 indicates a transient server error (indeterminate state)
+                        // Status 5 indicates "server error"; this tends to loop for a while so
+                        // throwing IOException will at least provide backoff behavior
                         throw new IOException();
                     } else if (status == 8 || status == 12) {
                         // Status 8 is Bad; it means the server doesn't recognize the serverId it