diff --git a/backend/api/index.php b/backend/api/index.php
index f7037e1..b3b4e34 100644
--- a/backend/api/index.php
+++ b/backend/api/index.php
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ require_once __DIR__ . '/../config/database.php';
 
 $db = getDbConnection();
 
+// Ensure notes column exists
+try { $db->exec("ALTER TABLE network_nodes ADD COLUMN notes TEXT DEFAULT '' AFTER group_name"); } catch (Exception $e) {}
+
 // Auth check (except for session check)
 $path = parse_url($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], PHP_URL_PATH);
 $path = str_replace('/api/', '', $path);
diff --git a/backend/config/database.php b/backend/config/database.php
index 58e3a52..9763434 100644
--- a/backend/config/database.php
+++ b/backend/config/database.php
@@ -39,10 +39,7 @@ function migrate($db) {
         created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
     )");
     try {
-        $r = $db->query("SHOW COLUMNS FROM network_nodes LIKE 'notes'");
-        if ($r->rowCount() === 0) {
-            $db->exec("ALTER TABLE network_nodes ADD COLUMN notes TEXT DEFAULT '' AFTER group_name");
-        }
+        $db->exec("ALTER TABLE network_nodes ADD COLUMN notes TEXT DEFAULT '' AFTER group_name");
     } catch (Exception $e) {
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file