diff --git a/api/resolvers/upload.js b/api/resolvers/upload.js
index 80eab701..e239ffe4 100644
--- a/api/resolvers/upload.js
+++ b/api/resolvers/upload.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { USER_ID, IMAGE_PIXELS_MAX, UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX, UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX_AVATAR, UPLOAD_TYPES_ALLOW, AWS_S3_URL_REGEXP } from '@/lib/constants'
+import { USER_ID, IMAGE_PIXELS_MAX, UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX, UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX_AVATAR, UPLOAD_TYPES_ALLOW, AWS_S3_URL_REGEXP, AVATAR_TYPES_ALLOW } from '@/lib/constants'
 import { createPresignedPost } from '@/api/s3'
 import { GqlAuthenticationError, GqlInputError } from '@/lib/error'
 import { msatsToSats } from '@/lib/format'
@@ -12,15 +12,21 @@ export default {
   Mutation: {
     getSignedPOST: async (parent, { type, size, width, height, avatar }, { models, me }) => {
       if (UPLOAD_TYPES_ALLOW.indexOf(type) === -1) {
-        throw new GqlInputError(`image must be ${UPLOAD_TYPES_ALLOW.map(t => t.replace('image/', '')).join(', ')}`)
+        throw new GqlInputError(`upload must be ${UPLOAD_TYPES_ALLOW.map(t => t.replace(/^(image|video)\//, '')).join(', ')}`)
       }
 
       if (size > UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX) {
-        throw new GqlInputError(`image must be less than ${UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX / (1024 ** 2)} megabytes`)
+        throw new GqlInputError(`upload must be less than ${UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX / (1024 ** 2)} megabytes`)
       }
 
-      if (avatar && size > UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX_AVATAR) {
-        throw new GqlInputError(`image must be less than ${UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX_AVATAR / (1024 ** 2)} megabytes`)
+      if (avatar) {
+        if (AVATAR_TYPES_ALLOW.indexOf(type) === -1) {
+          throw new GqlInputError(`avatar must be ${AVATAR_TYPES_ALLOW.map(t => t.replace('image/', '')).join(', ')}`)
+        }
+
+        if (size > UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX_AVATAR) {
+          throw new GqlInputError(`avatar must be less than ${UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX_AVATAR / (1024 ** 2)} megabytes`)
+        }
       }
 
       if (width * height > IMAGE_PIXELS_MAX) {
diff --git a/components/file-upload.js b/components/file-upload.js
index eaf04635..25497153 100644
--- a/components/file-upload.js
+++ b/components/file-upload.js
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ export const FileUpload = forwardRef(({ children, className, onSelect, onUpload,
         } catch (e) {
           toaster.danger('error initiating upload: ' + e.message || e.toString?.())
           onError?.({ ...variables, name: file.name, file })
-          reject(e)
           return
         }
 
diff --git a/lib/constants.js b/lib/constants.js
index ac5cd86a..8a243544 100644
--- a/lib/constants.js
+++ b/lib/constants.js
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ export const NOFOLLOW_LIMIT = 1000
 export const UNKNOWN_LINK_REL = 'noreferrer nofollow noopener'
 export const BOOST_MULT = 5000
 export const BOOST_MIN = BOOST_MULT * 10
-export const UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX = 25 * 1024 * 1024
+export const UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX = 50 * 1024 * 1024
 export const UPLOAD_SIZE_MAX_AVATAR = 5 * 1024 * 1024
 export const IMAGE_PIXELS_MAX = 35000000
 // backwards compatibile with old media domain env var and precedence for docker url if set
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ export const UPLOAD_TYPES_ALLOW = [
   'video/mpeg',
   'video/webm'
 ]
+export const AVATAR_TYPES_ALLOW = UPLOAD_TYPES_ALLOW.filter(t => t.startsWith('image/'))
 export const INVOICE_ACTION_NOTIFICATION_TYPES = ['ITEM_CREATE', 'ZAP', 'DOWN_ZAP', 'POLL_VOTE']
 export const BOUNTY_MIN = 1000
 export const BOUNTY_MAX = 10000000