diff --git a/changelog/3962.fixed.md b/changelog/3962.fixed.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1d326cd05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/3962.fixed.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- Fixed `SmallWebRTCConnection` silently discarding messages sent before the data channel is open by queuing them and flushing once the channel is ready. A bounded queue (`MAX_MESSAGE_QUEUE_SIZE = 50`) prevents unbounded memory growth, and a 10-second timeout after connection clears the queue and falls back to discard mode if the data channel never opens.
diff --git a/src/pipecat/transports/smallwebrtc/connection.py b/src/pipecat/transports/smallwebrtc/connection.py
index b9b6538f1..3f0d6a9ee 100644
--- a/src/pipecat/transports/smallwebrtc/connection.py
+++ b/src/pipecat/transports/smallwebrtc/connection.py
@@ -41,6 +41,11 @@ AUDIO_TRANSCEIVER_INDEX = 0
 VIDEO_TRANSCEIVER_INDEX = 1
 SCREEN_VIDEO_TRANSCEIVER_INDEX = 2
 
+# Maximum number of messages to queue while the data channel is not yet open.
+MAX_MESSAGE_QUEUE_SIZE = 50
+# Seconds to wait for the data channel to open after the peer connection is established.
+DATA_CHANNEL_TIMEOUT_SECS = 10
+
 
 class TrackStatusMessage(BaseModel):
     """Message for updating track enabled/disabled status.
@@ -283,8 +288,11 @@ class SmallWebRTCConnection(BaseObject):
         self._data_channel = None
         self._renegotiation_in_progress = False
         self._last_received_time = None
+        self._outgoing_messages_queue = []
+        self._data_channel_enabled = True
         self._pending_app_messages = []
         self._connecting_timeout_task = None
+        self._data_channel_timeout_task = None
 
     def _setup_listeners(self):
         """Set up event listeners for the peer connection."""
@@ -297,6 +305,7 @@ class SmallWebRTCConnection(BaseObject):
             @channel.on("open")
             async def on_open():
                 logger.debug("Data channel is open!")
+                self._flush_message_queue()
 
             @channel.on("message")
             async def on_message(message):
@@ -499,9 +508,12 @@ class SmallWebRTCConnection(BaseObject):
         self._track_map.clear()
         if self._pc:
             await self._pc.close()
+        self._outgoing_messages_queue.clear()
+        self._data_channel_enabled = True
         self._pending_app_messages.clear()
         self._track_map = {}
         self._cancel_monitoring_connecting_state()
+        self._cancel_data_channel_timeout()
 
     def get_answer(self):
         """Get the SDP answer for the current connection.
@@ -550,6 +562,44 @@ class SmallWebRTCConnection(BaseObject):
             self._connecting_timeout_task.cancel()
         self._connecting_timeout_task = None
 
+    def _start_data_channel_timeout(self) -> None:
+        """Start a timeout to detect if the data channel fails to open after connection.
+
+        Schedules a background task that fires ``DATA_CHANNEL_TIMEOUT_SECS`` seconds after
+        the peer connection reaches the *connected* state.  If the data channel has not
+        opened by then, the queued messages are discarded, a warning is logged, and future
+        calls to :meth:`send_app_message` will silently drop messages instead of queuing
+        them (fall-back to "discard" mode).
+
+        The task is automatically cancelled when the data channel opens successfully (see
+        :meth:`_flush_message_queue`) or when the connection is closed (see
+        :meth:`_close`).
+        """
+
+        async def timeout_handler():
+            await asyncio.sleep(DATA_CHANNEL_TIMEOUT_SECS)
+            if not self._data_channel or self._data_channel.readyState != "open":
+                logger.warning(
+                    f"Data channel not established within {DATA_CHANNEL_TIMEOUT_SECS}s after "
+                    "connection. Clearing message queue and disabling future queueing."
+                )
+                self._outgoing_messages_queue.clear()
+                self._data_channel_enabled = False
+
+        self._data_channel_timeout_task = asyncio.create_task(timeout_handler())
+
+    def _cancel_data_channel_timeout(self) -> None:
+        """Cancel the data-channel open timeout task, if any.
+
+        Should be called when the data channel opens successfully (the timeout is no longer
+        needed) or when the connection is being torn down.  If the task is still pending it
+        will be cancelled and the reference cleared.
+        """
+        if self._data_channel_timeout_task and not self._data_channel_timeout_task.done():
+            logger.debug("Cancelling the data channel timeout task")
+            self._data_channel_timeout_task.cancel()
+        self._data_channel_timeout_task = None
+
     async def _handle_new_connection_state(self):
         """Handle changes in the peer connection state."""
         state = self._pc.connectionState
@@ -558,6 +608,9 @@ class SmallWebRTCConnection(BaseObject):
         else:
             self._cancel_monitoring_connecting_state()
 
+        if state == "connected" and not self._data_channel_timeout_task:
+            self._start_data_channel_timeout()
+
         if state == "connected" and not self._connect_invoked:
             # We are going to wait until the pipeline is ready before triggering the event
             return
@@ -657,15 +710,47 @@ class SmallWebRTCConnection(BaseObject):
     def send_app_message(self, message: Any):
         """Send an application message through the data channel.
 
+        If the data channel is open the message is sent immediately.  Otherwise,
+        the message is placed in an in-memory queue so it can be flushed once the
+        channel opens, subject to the following constraints:
+
+        * Queueing is only attempted when ``_data_channel_enabled`` is ``True``.  It is
+          set to ``False`` when the data-channel open timeout fires (see
+          :meth:`_start_data_channel_timeout`), after which messages are silently
+          discarded.
+        * The queue will not grow beyond ``MAX_MESSAGE_QUEUE_SIZE`` entries.
+          Messages that arrive when the queue is full are discarded with a warning.
+
         Args:
             message: The message to send (will be JSON serialized).
         """
         json_message = json.dumps(message)
         if self._data_channel and self._data_channel.readyState == "open":
             self._data_channel.send(json_message)
+        elif self._data_channel_enabled:
+            if len(self._outgoing_messages_queue) < MAX_MESSAGE_QUEUE_SIZE:
+                logger.debug("Data channel not ready, queuing message")
+                self._outgoing_messages_queue.append(json_message)
+            else:
+                logger.warning(
+                    f"Message queue is full ({MAX_MESSAGE_QUEUE_SIZE} messages). Discarding message."
+                )
         else:
             # The client might choose never to create a data channel.
-            logger.trace("Data channel not ready, discarding message!")
+            logger.trace("Data channel unavailable and queueing disabled. Discarding message.")
+
+    def _flush_message_queue(self):
+        """Flush all queued messages through the now-open data channel.
+
+        Called when the data channel transitions to the *open* state.  Cancels
+        the data-channel open timeout (it is no longer needed) and sends every
+        message that was buffered while the channel was unavailable.
+        """
+        self._cancel_data_channel_timeout()
+        logger.debug("Data channel is open, flushing queued messages")
+        while self._outgoing_messages_queue:
+            message = self._outgoing_messages_queue.pop(0)
+            self._data_channel.send(message)
 
     def ask_to_renegotiate(self):
         """Request renegotiation of the WebRTC connection."""