diff --git a/courses/views/v1/__init__.py b/courses/views/v1/__init__.py
index d5afaa34a3..8881a3bdb2 100644
--- a/courses/views/v1/__init__.py
+++ b/courses/views/v1/__init__.py
@@ -478,9 +478,22 @@ def partial_update(self, request, *args, **kwargs):  # noqa: ARG002
                     NoEdxApiAuthError,
                     HTTPError,
                     RequestsConnectionError,
-                ) as exc:
-                    log.exception(str(exc))  # noqa: TRY401
-                    return Response(data=str(exc), status=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST)
+                ):
+                    # Log full details for debugging
+                    log.exception(
+                        "Failed to update email subscription for user %s, enrollment %s, receive_emails=%s",
+                        request.user.id,
+                        enrollment.id,
+                        receive_emails,
+                    )
+
+                    # Return user-friendly error
+                    return Response(
+                        data={
+                            "error": "Unable to update email preferences at this time. Please try again later or contact support."
+                        },
+                        status=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST,
+                    )
         else:
             # only designed to update edx_emails_subscription field
             # TODO: In the future please add the implementation  # noqa: FIX002, TD002, TD003
diff --git a/courses/views/v1/views_test.py b/courses/views/v1/views_test.py
index 9a57cde15d..cd7936285f 100644
--- a/courses/views/v1/views_test.py
+++ b/courses/views/v1/views_test.py
@@ -736,6 +736,10 @@ def test_update_user_enrollment_failure(
         data={"receive_emails": "on" if receive_emails else ""},
     )
     assert resp.status_code == status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST
+    # Update assertion to check for the new generic error message
+    assert resp.json() == {
+        "error": "Unable to update email preferences at this time. Please try again later or contact support."
+    }
     patched_email_subscription.assert_called_once_with(user, run_enrollment.run)
     patched_log_exception.assert_called_once()