diff --git a/apps/web/lib/constants.ts b/apps/web/lib/constants.ts
index 82cc979b36..9db607654a 100644
--- a/apps/web/lib/constants.ts
+++ b/apps/web/lib/constants.ts
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ export const MAX_FILE_UPLOAD_SIZES = {
 // Storage is considered configured if we have the minimum required settings:
 // - S3_REGION and S3_BUCKET_NAME are always required
 // - S3_ACCESS_KEY and S3_SECRET_KEY are optional (for IAM role-based authentication)
-export const IS_STORAGE_CONFIGURED = Boolean(S3_REGION && S3_BUCKET_NAME);
+export const IS_STORAGE_CONFIGURED = Boolean(S3_BUCKET_NAME);
 
 // Colors for Survey Bg
 export const SURVEY_BG_COLORS = [
diff --git a/docs/self-hosting/setup/cluster-setup.mdx b/docs/self-hosting/setup/cluster-setup.mdx
index 496221bc85..1698a68baa 100644
--- a/docs/self-hosting/setup/cluster-setup.mdx
+++ b/docs/self-hosting/setup/cluster-setup.mdx
@@ -133,11 +133,13 @@ REDIS_URL=redis://your-redis-host:6379
 Configure S3 storage by adding the following environment variables to your instances:
 
 ```sh env
-# Required for file uploads in serverless environments
+# Required
+S3_BUCKET_NAME=your-bucket-name
+
+# Optional - if not provided, AWS SDK will use defaults (us-east-1) or auto-detect
 S3_ACCESS_KEY=your-access-key
 S3_SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
 S3_REGION=your-region
-S3_BUCKET_NAME=your-bucket-name
 
 # For S3-compatible storage (e.g., StorJ, MinIO)
 # Leave empty for Amazon S3
diff --git a/packages/storage/src/client.test.ts b/packages/storage/src/client.test.ts
index d8745c3713..495caf3fa4 100644
--- a/packages/storage/src/client.test.ts
+++ b/packages/storage/src/client.test.ts
@@ -227,8 +227,8 @@ describe("client.ts", () => {
       }
     });
 
-    test("should return error when region is missing", async () => {
-      // Mock constants with missing region
+    test("should create S3 client when region is missing (uses AWS SDK defaults)", async () => {
+      // Mock constants with missing region - should still work
       vi.doMock("./constants", () => ({
         ...mockConstants,
         S3_REGION: undefined,
@@ -238,9 +238,44 @@ describe("client.ts", () => {
 
       const result = createS3ClientFromEnv();
 
-      expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
-      if (!result.ok) {
-        expect(result.error.code).toBe("s3_credentials_error");
+      expect(mockS3Client).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+        credentials: {
+          accessKeyId: mockConstants.S3_ACCESS_KEY,
+          secretAccessKey: mockConstants.S3_SECRET_KEY,
+        },
+        endpoint: mockConstants.S3_ENDPOINT_URL,
+        forcePathStyle: mockConstants.S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE,
+      });
+
+      expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
+      if (result.ok) {
+        expect(result.data).toBeDefined();
+      }
+    });
+
+    test("should create S3 client with only bucket name (minimal config for IAM roles)", async () => {
+      // Mock constants with only bucket name - minimal required config
+      vi.doMock("./constants", () => ({
+        S3_ACCESS_KEY: undefined,
+        S3_SECRET_KEY: undefined,
+        S3_REGION: undefined,
+        S3_BUCKET_NAME: "test-bucket",
+        S3_ENDPOINT_URL: undefined,
+        S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE: false,
+      }));
+
+      const { createS3ClientFromEnv } = await import("./client");
+
+      const result = createS3ClientFromEnv();
+
+      expect(mockS3Client).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+        endpoint: undefined,
+        forcePathStyle: false,
+      });
+
+      expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
+      if (result.ok) {
+        expect(result.data).toBeDefined();
       }
     });
 
@@ -318,10 +353,9 @@ describe("client.ts", () => {
     });
 
     test("should return undefined when creating from env fails and no client provided", async () => {
-      // Mock constants with missing required fields (region and bucket)
+      // Mock constants with missing required field (bucket name only)
       vi.doMock("./constants", () => ({
         ...mockConstants,
-        S3_REGION: undefined,
         S3_BUCKET_NAME: undefined,
       }));
 
@@ -354,7 +388,6 @@ describe("client.ts", () => {
     test("returns undefined when env is invalid and does not construct client", async () => {
       vi.doMock("./constants", () => ({
         ...mockConstants,
-        S3_REGION: undefined,
         S3_BUCKET_NAME: undefined,
       }));
 
diff --git a/packages/storage/src/client.ts b/packages/storage/src/client.ts
index b1cdf33f94..fc48827951 100644
--- a/packages/storage/src/client.ts
+++ b/packages/storage/src/client.ts
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ let cachedS3Client: S3Client | undefined;
  */
 export const createS3ClientFromEnv = (): Result<S3Client, StorageError> => {
   try {
-    // S3_REGION and S3_BUCKET_NAME are always required
-    if (!S3_BUCKET_NAME || !S3_REGION) {
-      logger.error("S3 Client: S3_REGION and S3_BUCKET_NAME are required");
+    // Only S3_BUCKET_NAME is required - S3_REGION is optional and will default to AWS SDK defaults
+    if (!S3_BUCKET_NAME) {
+      logger.error("S3 Client: S3_BUCKET_NAME is required");
       return err({
         code: StorageErrorCode.S3CredentialsError,
       });
@@ -29,11 +29,15 @@ export const createS3ClientFromEnv = (): Result<S3Client, StorageError> => {
 
     // Build S3 client configuration
     const s3Config: S3ClientConfig = {
-      region: S3_REGION,
       endpoint: S3_ENDPOINT_URL,
       forcePathStyle: S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE,
     };
 
+    // Only set region if it's provided, otherwise let AWS SDK use its defaults
+    if (S3_REGION) {
+      s3Config.region = S3_REGION;
+    }
+
     // Only add credentials if both access key and secret key are provided
     // This allows the AWS SDK to use IAM roles, instance profiles, or other credential providers
     if (S3_ACCESS_KEY && S3_SECRET_KEY) {