diff --git a/routes.go b/routes.go
index 36d67a90..221db60f 100644
--- a/routes.go
+++ b/routes.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"net/netip"
 
+	"github.com/rs/zerolog/log"
 	"gorm.io/gorm"
 )
 
@@ -34,6 +35,10 @@ func (r *Route) String() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", r.Machine, netip.Prefix(r.Prefix).String())
 }
 
+func (r *Route) isExitRoute() bool {
+	return netip.Prefix(r.Prefix) == ExitRouteV4 || netip.Prefix(r.Prefix) == ExitRouteV6
+}
+
 func (rs Routes) toPrefixes() []netip.Prefix {
 	prefixes := make([]netip.Prefix, len(rs))
 	for i, r := range rs {
@@ -54,6 +59,23 @@ func (h *Headscale) isUniquePrefix(route Route) bool {
 	return count == 0
 }
 
+func (h *Headscale) getPrimaryRoute(prefix netip.Prefix) (*Route, error) {
+	var route Route
+	err := h.db.
+		Preload("Machine").
+		Where("prefix = ? AND advertised = ? AND enabled = ? AND is_primary = ?", IPPrefix(prefix), true, true, true).
+		First(&route).Error
+	if err != nil && err != gorm.ErrRecordNotFound {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	if err == gorm.ErrRecordNotFound {
+		return nil, gorm.ErrRecordNotFound
+	}
+
+	return &route, nil
+}
+
 // getMachinePrimaryRoutes returns the routes that are enabled and marked as primary (for subnet failover)
 // Exit nodes are not considered for this, as they are never marked as Primary
 func (h *Headscale) getMachinePrimaryRoutes(m *Machine) ([]Route, error) {
@@ -120,3 +142,104 @@ func (h *Headscale) processMachineRoutes(machine *Machine) error {
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+func (h *Headscale) handlePrimarySubnetFailover() error {
+	// first, get all the enabled routes
+	var routes []Route
+	err := h.db.
+		Preload("Machine").
+		Where("advertised = ? AND enabled = ?", true, true).
+		Find(&routes).Error
+	if err != nil && err != gorm.ErrRecordNotFound {
+		log.Error().Err(err).Msg("error getting routes")
+	}
+
+	for _, route := range routes {
+		if route.isExitRoute() {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		if !route.IsPrimary {
+			_, err := h.getPrimaryRoute(netip.Prefix(route.Prefix))
+			if h.isUniquePrefix(route) || err == gorm.ErrRecordNotFound {
+				route.IsPrimary = true
+				err := h.db.Save(&route).Error
+				if err != nil {
+					log.Error().Err(err).Msg("error marking route as primary")
+
+					return err
+				}
+				continue
+			}
+		}
+
+		if route.IsPrimary {
+			if route.Machine.isOnline() {
+				continue
+			}
+
+			// machine offline, find a new primary
+			log.Info().
+				Str("machine", route.Machine.Hostname).
+				Str("prefix", netip.Prefix(route.Prefix).String()).
+				Msgf("machine offline, finding a new primary subnet")
+
+			// find a new primary route
+			var newPrimaryRoutes []Route
+			err := h.db.
+				Preload("Machine").
+				Where("prefix = ? AND machine_id != ? AND advertised = ? AND enabled = ?",
+					route.Prefix,
+					route.MachineID,
+					true, true).
+				Find(&newPrimaryRoutes).Error
+			if err != nil && err != gorm.ErrRecordNotFound {
+				log.Error().Err(err).Msg("error finding new primary route")
+
+				return err
+			}
+
+			var newPrimaryRoute *Route
+			for _, r := range newPrimaryRoutes {
+				if r.Machine.isOnline() {
+					newPrimaryRoute = &r
+					break
+				}
+			}
+
+			if newPrimaryRoute == nil {
+				log.Warn().
+					Str("machine", route.Machine.Hostname).
+					Str("prefix", netip.Prefix(route.Prefix).String()).
+					Msgf("no alternative primary route found")
+				continue
+			}
+
+			log.Info().
+				Str("old_machine", route.Machine.Hostname).
+				Str("prefix", netip.Prefix(route.Prefix).String()).
+				Str("new_machine", newPrimaryRoute.Machine.Hostname).
+				Msgf("found new primary route")
+
+			// disable the old primary route
+			route.IsPrimary = false
+			err = h.db.Save(&route).Error
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Error().Err(err).Msg("error disabling old primary route")
+
+				return err
+			}
+
+			// enable the new primary route
+			newPrimaryRoute.IsPrimary = true
+			err = h.db.Save(&newPrimaryRoute).Error
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Error().Err(err).Msg("error enabling new primary route")
+
+				return err
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}