diff --git a/.changeset/improve-auth-middleware-error-message.md b/.changeset/improve-auth-middleware-error-message.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2f71f2a258d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/improve-auth-middleware-error-message.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@clerk/nextjs": patch
+---
+
+Improved `auth()` error message when `clerkMiddleware()` is not detected to mention that infrastructure issues (e.g. edge runtime errors or platform outages) can also cause this error.
diff --git a/packages/nextjs/src/server/errors.ts b/packages/nextjs/src/server/errors.ts
index 59f13223656..07eb7efdd04 100644
--- a/packages/nextjs/src/server/errors.ts
+++ b/packages/nextjs/src/server/errors.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ export const authAuthHeaderMissing = (helperName = 'auth', prefixSteps?: string[
 - Your ${fileReference} matcher is configured to match this route or page.
 - If you are using the src directory, make sure the ${fileReference} file is inside of it.
 
+If you've verified your configuration and are still seeing this error, there may be a runtime issue or a problem communicating with Clerk.
+
 For more details, see https://clerk.com/err/auth-middleware
 `;
 };