diff --git a/src/restic/backend/s3/config.go b/src/restic/backend/s3/config.go
index 45a040d86..673b1aaad 100644
--- a/src/restic/backend/s3/config.go
+++ b/src/restic/backend/s3/config.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	Layout        string `option:"layout" help:"use this backend layout (default: auto-detect)"`
 
 	Connections uint `option:"connections" help:"set a limit for the number of concurrent connections (default: 5)"`
+	MaxRetries  uint `option:"retries" help:"set the number of retries attempted"`
 }
 
 // NewConfig returns a new Config with the default values filled in.
diff --git a/src/restic/backend/s3/s3.go b/src/restic/backend/s3/s3.go
index 2fb88d2a6..5d7166679 100644
--- a/src/restic/backend/s3/s3.go
+++ b/src/restic/backend/s3/s3.go
@@ -39,6 +39,10 @@ const defaultLayout = "default"
 func Open(cfg Config) (restic.Backend, error) {
 	debug.Log("open, config %#v", cfg)
 
+	if cfg.MaxRetries > 0 {
+		minio.MaxRetry = int(cfg.MaxRetries)
+	}
+
 	client, err := minio.New(cfg.Endpoint, cfg.KeyID, cfg.Secret, !cfg.UseHTTP)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "minio.New")