diff --git a/gui_client.py b/gui_client.py
index ca4b84b..ea2cd13 100644
--- a/gui_client.py
+++ b/gui_client.py
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ class TcpReader(QObject):
         """Open connection; returns error string or None on success."""
         try:
             self._sock = socket.create_connection((host, port), timeout=5)
+            self._sock.settimeout(None)  # blocking reads after connect
         except OSError as exc:
             return str(exc)
         self._running = True