diff --git a/src/net/nl_http_server.c b/src/net/nl_http_server.c
index 89e7cf0..9eb7020 100644
--- a/src/net/nl_http_server.c
+++ b/src/net/nl_http_server.c
@@ -96,6 +96,11 @@ static void server_task(void *arg)
         if (ls < 0 || bind(ls, (struct sockaddr *)&addr, sizeof addr) != 0 || listen(ls, 4) != 0) {
             if (ls >= 0)
                 closesocket(ls);
+            /* I4: keep the heartbeat ticking while retrying. app_task only feeds the watchdog
+             * once all three heartbeats moved, so without this a failing socket()/bind()/listen()
+             * (e.g. no netif yet, or lwIP temporarily out of memory) would reset the chip after
+             * 20 s, boot, fail again - forever. The retry itself is the recovery, not a reboot. */
+            nl_http_beat++;
             tls_os_time_delay(HZ);
             continue;
         }