diff --git a/anki/sync.py b/anki/sync.py
index dec17e0f5..c7680c742 100644
--- a/anki/sync.py
+++ b/anki/sync.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ from hooks import runHook
 import anki
 
 # syncing vars
+httplib2.RETRIES = 0
 HTTP_TIMEOUT = 30
 HTTP_PROXY = None