diff --git a/runtime/lua/nvim/autoread.lua b/runtime/lua/nvim/autoread.lua
index 2691e8ccc2..5016c43f03 100644
--- a/runtime/lua/nvim/autoread.lua
+++ b/runtime/lua/nvim/autoread.lua
@@ -140,13 +140,19 @@ local function ensure_watcher(bufnr)
           set_pending(bufnr, false)
           return
         end
-        vim.cmd.checktime(bufnr)
+        -- Use pcall: autocmds (e.g. ftplugin) may throw during reload for any reason.
+        local ok, err = pcall(vim.cmd.checktime, bufnr) ---@type any, any
         set_pending(bufnr, false)
         -- On rename events (e.g. atomic save by another editor), the watcher
         -- is now stale (watching the old inode). Re-establish it.
         if change_type ~= watch.FileChangeType.Changed then
           ensure_watcher(bufnr)
         end
+        if not ok then
+          vim.api.nvim_echo({
+            { ('autoread: :checktime failed for buffer %d: %s'):format(bufnr, err) },
+          }, true, { err = true })
+        end
       end)
     end)
   end)
diff --git a/test/functional/options/autoread_spec.lua b/test/functional/options/autoread_spec.lua
index ad9bc13d2c..d3c7ab2052 100644
--- a/test/functional/options/autoread_spec.lua
+++ b/test/functional/options/autoread_spec.lua
@@ -199,6 +199,26 @@ describe('autoread file watcher', function()
     end)
   end)
 
+  it('handles autocmd error during reload', function()
+    local path = open_watched('original\n')
+    local bufnr = api.nvim_get_current_buf()
+
+    -- Define a broken autocmd.
+    n.exec_lua([[
+      vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd('FileChangedShellPost', {
+        callback = function() error('boom from test autocmd') end,
+      })
+    ]])
+
+    write_file(path, 'changed\n')
+
+    -- autoread should surface the error, and do its cleanup despite the failed autocmd.
+    retry(nil, 3000, function()
+      t.matches('autoread:.*boom from test autocmd', n.eval('v:errmsg'))
+      eq(0, api.nvim_get_option_value('busy', { buf = bufnr }))
+    end)
+  end)
+
   it('detects changes after atomic rename (external editor save)', function()
     local path = open_watched('original\n')