Allow activate mutation to handle timeout

What does this MR do?

When remote server is unreachable (e.g. timeout), we still want the GraphQL mutation to return the standard connection error message.

Issue: #327255

Does this MR meet the acceptance criteria?

Conformity

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Availability and Testing

• Review and add/update tests for this feature/bug. Consider all test levels. See the Test Planning Process.

Related to #327255