diff --git a/components/SerialManager/SerialManager/SerialManager.cpp b/components/SerialManager/SerialManager/SerialManager.cpp
index 0967794..081a786 100644
--- a/components/SerialManager/SerialManager/SerialManager.cpp
+++ b/components/SerialManager/SerialManager/SerialManager.cpp
@@ -20,8 +20,15 @@ void SerialManager::setup()
   usb_serial_jtag_driver_install(&usb_serial_jtag_config);
 }
 
+bool SerialManager::isConnected()
+{
+  // in preparation for handling uart as well
+  return usb_serial_jtag_is_connected();
+}
+
 void SerialManager::try_receive()
 {
+  /// @todo: make it so we still read in chunks, but until we get a newline or we timeout - 1s?
   int current_position = 0;
   int len = usb_serial_jtag_read_bytes(this->temp_data, 256, 1000 / 20);
 
@@ -79,11 +86,11 @@ void SerialManager::notify_startup_command_received()
   setStartupCommandReceived(true);
 
   // Cancel the startup timer if it's still running
-  if (timerHandle != nullptr)
+  if (timerHandle != nullptr && *timerHandle != nullptr)
   {
     esp_timer_stop(*timerHandle);
     esp_timer_delete(*timerHandle);
-    timerHandle = nullptr;
+    *timerHandle = nullptr;
     ESP_LOGI("[MAIN]", "Startup timer cancelled, staying in heartbeat mode");
   }
 }
@@ -112,7 +119,7 @@ bool SerialManager::should_send_heartbeat()
   // Always send heartbeat during startup delay or if no WiFi configured
 
   // If startup timer is still running, always send heartbeat
-  if (timerHandle != nullptr)
+  if (timerHandle != nullptr && *timerHandle != nullptr)
   {
     return true;
   }
diff --git a/components/SerialManager/SerialManager/SerialManager.hpp b/components/SerialManager/SerialManager/SerialManager.hpp
index 16b00ff..2ec915d 100644
--- a/components/SerialManager/SerialManager/SerialManager.hpp
+++ b/components/SerialManager/SerialManager/SerialManager.hpp
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ class SerialManager
 public:
   explicit SerialManager(std::shared_ptr<CommandManager> commandManager, esp_timer_handle_t *timerHandle, std::shared_ptr<ProjectConfig> deviceConfig);
   void setup();
+  bool isConnected();
   void try_receive();
   void send_heartbeat();
   bool should_send_heartbeat();
diff --git a/main/openiris_main.cpp b/main/openiris_main.cpp
index fdc49f5..71602a0 100644
--- a/main/openiris_main.cpp
+++ b/main/openiris_main.cpp
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 
 TaskHandle_t serialManagerHandle;
 
-esp_timer_handle_t timerHandle;
+esp_timer_handle_t timerHandle = nullptr;
 QueueHandle_t eventQueue = xQueueCreate(10, sizeof(SystemEvent));
 QueueHandle_t ledStateQueue = xQueueCreate(10, sizeof(uint32_t));
 QueueHandle_t cdcMessageQueue = xQueueCreate(3, sizeof(cdc_command_packet_t));
@@ -201,8 +201,15 @@ void startWiFiMode(bool shouldCloseSerialManager)
     ESP_LOGI("[MAIN]", "Starting WiFi streaming mode.");
     if (shouldCloseSerialManager)
     {
-        ESP_LOGI("[MAIN]", "Closing serial manager task.");
-        vTaskDelete(serialManagerHandle);
+        if (!serialManager->isConnected())
+        {
+            ESP_LOGI("[MAIN]", "We're not connected to serial. Closing serial manager task.");
+            vTaskDelete(serialManagerHandle);
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            ESP_LOGI("[MAIN]", "We're still connected to serial. Serial manager task will remain running.");
+        }
     }
 
     wifiManager->Begin();