diff --git a/api/clients/disperser_client.go b/api/clients/disperser_client.go
index dc937db33..c2422ea00 100644
--- a/api/clients/disperser_client.go
+++ b/api/clients/disperser_client.go
@@ -26,6 +26,15 @@ type Config struct {
 	// TODO: do we want to add config timeouts for those separate requests?
 	Timeout           time.Duration
 	UseSecureGrpcFlag bool
+	// MaxRetrieveBlobSizeBytes is the maximum size of a blob that can be retrieved by using
+	// the RetrieveBlob method. This is used to set the max message size for the grpc client.
+	// DisperserClient uses a single underlying grpc channel shared for all methods,
+	// but all other methods use the default 4MiB max message size, whereas RetrieveBlob
+	// potentially needs a larger size.
+	//
+	// If not set, default value is 100MiB for forward compatibility.
+	// Check official documentation for current max blob size on mainnet.
+	MaxRetrieveBlobSizeBytes int
 }
 
 // Deprecated: Use &Config{...} directly instead
@@ -64,6 +73,9 @@ type disperserClient struct {
 	// This means a conservative estimate of 100-1000MB/sec, which should be amply sufficient.
 	// If we ever need to increase this, we could either consider asking the disperser to increase its limit,
 	// or to use a pool of connections here.
+	// TODO: we should refactor or make a new constructor which allows setting conn and/or client
+	//       via dependency injection. This would allow for testing via https://pkg.go.dev/google.golang.org/grpc/test/bufconn
+	//       instead of a real network connection for eg.
 	conn   *grpc.ClientConn
 	client disperser_rpc.DisperserClient
 }
@@ -90,12 +102,36 @@ var _ DisperserClient = &disperserClient{}
 //
 //	// Subsequent calls will use the existing connection
 //	status2, requestId2, err := client.DisperseBlob(ctx, otherData, otherQuorums)
-func NewDisperserClient(config *Config, signer core.BlobRequestSigner) *disperserClient {
+func NewDisperserClient(config *Config, signer core.BlobRequestSigner) (*disperserClient, error) {
+	if err := checkConfigAndSetDefaults(config); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid config: %w", err)
+	}
 	return &disperserClient{
 		config: config,
 		signer: signer,
 		// conn and client are initialized lazily
+	}, nil
+}
+
+func checkConfigAndSetDefaults(c *Config) error {
+	if c == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("config is nil")
+	}
+	if c.Hostname == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("config.Hostname is empty")
+	}
+	if c.Port == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("config.Port is empty")
 	}
+	if c.Timeout == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("config.Timeout is 0")
+	}
+	if c.MaxRetrieveBlobSizeBytes == 0 {
+		// Set to 100MiB for forward compatibility.
+		// Check official documentation for current max blob size on mainnet.
+		c.MaxRetrieveBlobSizeBytes = 100 * 1024 * 1024
+	}
+	return nil
 }
 
 // Close closes the grpc connection to the disperser server.
@@ -281,10 +317,12 @@ func (c *disperserClient) RetrieveBlob(ctx context.Context, batchHeaderHash []by
 
 	ctxTimeout, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, time.Second*60)
 	defer cancel()
-	reply, err := c.client.RetrieveBlob(ctxTimeout, &disperser_rpc.RetrieveBlobRequest{
-		BatchHeaderHash: batchHeaderHash,
-		BlobIndex:       blobIndex,
-	})
+	reply, err := c.client.RetrieveBlob(ctxTimeout,
+		&disperser_rpc.RetrieveBlobRequest{
+			BatchHeaderHash: batchHeaderHash,
+			BlobIndex:       blobIndex,
+		},
+		grpc.MaxCallRecvMsgSize(c.config.MaxRetrieveBlobSizeBytes)) // for client
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/api/clients/disperser_client_test.go b/api/clients/disperser_client_test.go
index 28d98dea7..00277657b 100644
--- a/api/clients/disperser_client_test.go
+++ b/api/clients/disperser_client_test.go
@@ -14,12 +14,13 @@ import (
 
 func TestPutBlobNoopSigner(t *testing.T) {
 	config := clients.NewConfig("nohost", "noport", time.Second, false)
-	disperserClient := clients.NewDisperserClient(config, auth.NewLocalNoopSigner())
+	disperserClient, err := clients.NewDisperserClient(config, auth.NewLocalNoopSigner())
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
 	test := []byte("test")
 	test[0] = 0x00 // make sure the first byte of the requst is always 0
 	quorums := []uint8{0}
-	_, _, err := disperserClient.DisperseBlobAuthenticated(context.Background(), test, quorums)
+	_, _, err = disperserClient.DisperseBlobAuthenticated(context.Background(), test, quorums)
 	st, isGRPCError := status.FromError(err)
 	assert.True(t, isGRPCError)
 	assert.Equal(t, codes.InvalidArgument.String(), st.Code().String())
diff --git a/api/clients/eigenda_client.go b/api/clients/eigenda_client.go
index 5d12a3f54..81d771680 100644
--- a/api/clients/eigenda_client.go
+++ b/api/clients/eigenda_client.go
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ type IEigenDAClient interface {
 }
 
 // See the NewEigenDAClient constructor's documentation for details and usage examples.
+// TODO: Refactor this struct and interface above to use same naming convention as disperser client.
+//       Also need to make the fields private and use the constructor in the tests.
 type EigenDAClient struct {
 	// TODO: all of these should be private, to prevent users from using them directly,
 	// which breaks encapsulation and makes it hard for us to do refactors or changes
@@ -83,16 +85,16 @@ func NewEigenDAClient(log log.Logger, config EigenDAClientConfig) (*EigenDAClien
 	var edasmCaller *edasm.ContractEigenDAServiceManagerCaller
 	ethClient, err = ethclient.Dial(config.EthRpcUrl)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to dial ETH RPC node: %w", err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("dial ETH RPC node: %w", err)
 	}
 	edasmCaller, err = edasm.NewContractEigenDAServiceManagerCaller(common.HexToAddress(config.SvcManagerAddr), ethClient)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to create EigenDAServiceManagerCaller: %w", err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("new EigenDAServiceManagerCaller: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	host, port, err := net.SplitHostPort(config.RPC)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse EigenDA RPC: %w", err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("parse EigenDA RPC: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	var signer core.BlobRequestSigner
@@ -106,11 +108,14 @@ func NewEigenDAClient(log log.Logger, config EigenDAClientConfig) (*EigenDAClien
 	}
 
 	disperserConfig := NewConfig(host, port, config.ResponseTimeout, !config.DisableTLS)
-	disperserClient := NewDisperserClient(disperserConfig, signer)
+	disperserClient, err := NewDisperserClient(disperserConfig, signer)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("new disperser-client: %w", err)
+	}
 
 	lowLevelCodec, err := codecs.BlobEncodingVersionToCodec(config.PutBlobEncodingVersion)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error initializing EigenDA client: %w", err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("create low level codec: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	var codec codecs.BlobCodec
diff --git a/api/clients/mock/disperser_server.go b/api/clients/mock/disperser_server.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4ebcf44b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/clients/mock/disperser_server.go
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+package mock
+
+import (
+	"context"
+
+	disperser_rpc "github.com/Layr-Labs/eigenda/api/grpc/disperser"
+)
+
+// Currently only implements the RetrieveBlob RPC
+type DisperserServer struct {
+	disperser_rpc.UnimplementedDisperserServer
+}
+
+// RetrieveBlob returns a ~5MiB(+header_size) blob. It is used to test that the client correctly sets the max message size,
+// to be able to support large blobs (default grpc max message size is 4MiB).
+func (m *DisperserServer) RetrieveBlob(ctx context.Context, req *disperser_rpc.RetrieveBlobRequest) (*disperser_rpc.RetrieveBlobReply, error) {
+	// Create a blob larger than default max size (4MiB)
+	largeBlob := make([]byte, 5*1024*1024) // 5MiB
+	for i := range largeBlob {
+		largeBlob[i] = byte(i % 256)
+	}
+
+	return &disperser_rpc.RetrieveBlobReply{
+		Data: largeBlob,
+	}, nil
+}
diff --git a/inabox/tests/integration_test.go b/inabox/tests/integration_test.go
index 4bfdfa22f..d7dd44a7c 100644
--- a/inabox/tests/integration_test.go
+++ b/inabox/tests/integration_test.go
@@ -36,12 +36,12 @@ var _ = Describe("Inabox Integration", func() {
 		privateKeyHex := "0x0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcded"
 		signer := auth.NewLocalBlobRequestSigner(privateKeyHex)
 
-		disp := clients.NewDisperserClient(&clients.Config{
+		disp, err := clients.NewDisperserClient(&clients.Config{
 			Hostname: "localhost",
 			Port:     "32003",
 			Timeout:  10 * time.Second,
 		}, signer)
-
+		Expect(err).To(BeNil())
 		Expect(disp).To(Not(BeNil()))
 
 		data := make([]byte, 1024)
diff --git a/inabox/tests/ratelimit_test.go b/inabox/tests/ratelimit_test.go
index 47a93decb..1f72cbe01 100644
--- a/inabox/tests/ratelimit_test.go
+++ b/inabox/tests/ratelimit_test.go
@@ -107,15 +107,16 @@ func testRatelimit(t *testing.T, testConfig *deploy.Config, c ratelimitTestCase)
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), time.Minute)
 	defer cancel()
 
-	disp := clients.NewDisperserClient(&clients.Config{
+	disp, err := clients.NewDisperserClient(&clients.Config{
 		Hostname: "localhost",
 		Port:     testConfig.Dispersers[0].DISPERSER_SERVER_GRPC_PORT,
 		Timeout:  10 * time.Second,
 	}, nil)
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.NotNil(t, disp)
 
 	data := make([]byte, c.blobSize)
-	_, err := rand.Read(data)
+	_, err = rand.Read(data)
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
 	dispersalTicker := time.NewTicker(c.dispersalInterval)
diff --git a/tools/traffic/generator.go b/tools/traffic/generator.go
index 2f8731ffd..5afdf0b56 100644
--- a/tools/traffic/generator.go
+++ b/tools/traffic/generator.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"crypto/rand"
 	"encoding/hex"
+	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
 	"sync"
@@ -27,12 +28,16 @@ func NewTrafficGenerator(config *Config, signer core.BlobRequestSigner) (*Traffi
 	loggerConfig := common.DefaultLoggerConfig()
 	logger, err := common.NewLogger(loggerConfig)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("new logger: %w", err)
 	}
 
+	dispserserClient, err := clients.NewDisperserClient(&config.Config, signer)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("new disperser-client: %w", err)
+	}
 	return &TrafficGenerator{
 		Logger:          logger,
-		DisperserClient: clients.NewDisperserClient(&config.Config, signer),
+		DisperserClient: dispserserClient,
 		Config:          config,
 	}, nil
 }
diff --git a/tools/traffic/generator_v2.go b/tools/traffic/generator_v2.go
index 7b2a92159..61575b9c0 100644
--- a/tools/traffic/generator_v2.go
+++ b/tools/traffic/generator_v2.go
@@ -88,7 +88,11 @@ func NewTrafficGeneratorV2(config *config.Config) (*Generator, error) {
 
 	unconfirmedKeyChannel := make(chan *workers.UnconfirmedKey, 100)
 
-	disperserClient := clients.NewDisperserClient(config.DisperserClientConfig, signer)
+	disperserClient, err := clients.NewDisperserClient(config.DisperserClientConfig, signer)
+	if err != nil {
+		cancel()
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("new disperser-client: %w", err)
+	}
 	statusVerifier := workers.NewBlobStatusTracker(
 		&ctx,
 		&waitGroup,
@@ -134,7 +138,7 @@ func NewTrafficGeneratorV2(config *config.Config) (*Generator, error) {
 		waitGroup:        &waitGroup,
 		generatorMetrics: generatorMetrics,
 		logger:           &logger,
-		disperserClient:  clients.NewDisperserClient(config.DisperserClientConfig, signer),
+		disperserClient:  disperserClient,
 		eigenDAClient:    client,
 		config:           config,
 		writers:          writers,
diff --git a/tools/traffic/workers/blob_status_tracker.go b/tools/traffic/workers/blob_status_tracker.go
index 8209b2e6e..15bcca84b 100644
--- a/tools/traffic/workers/blob_status_tracker.go
+++ b/tools/traffic/workers/blob_status_tracker.go
@@ -2,15 +2,16 @@ package workers
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"math/rand"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
 	"github.com/Layr-Labs/eigenda/api/clients"
 	"github.com/Layr-Labs/eigenda/api/grpc/disperser"
 	"github.com/Layr-Labs/eigenda/tools/traffic/config"
 	"github.com/Layr-Labs/eigenda/tools/traffic/metrics"
 	"github.com/Layr-Labs/eigenda/tools/traffic/table"
 	"github.com/Layr-Labs/eigensdk-go/logging"
-	"math/rand"
-	"sync"
-	"time"
 )
 
 // BlobStatusTracker periodically polls the disperser service to verify the status of blobs that were recently written.
diff --git a/tools/traffic/workers/blob_writer.go b/tools/traffic/workers/blob_writer.go
index a8a8e71ad..e0add4b35 100644
--- a/tools/traffic/workers/blob_writer.go
+++ b/tools/traffic/workers/blob_writer.go
@@ -5,13 +5,14 @@ import (
 	"crypto/md5"
 	"crypto/rand"
 	"fmt"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
 	"github.com/Layr-Labs/eigenda/api/clients"
 	"github.com/Layr-Labs/eigenda/encoding/utils/codec"
 	"github.com/Layr-Labs/eigenda/tools/traffic/config"
 	"github.com/Layr-Labs/eigenda/tools/traffic/metrics"
 	"github.com/Layr-Labs/eigensdk-go/logging"
-	"sync"
-	"time"
 )
 
 // BlobWriter sends blobs to a disperser at a configured rate.