diff --git a/testnet/stacks-node/src/neon_node.rs b/testnet/stacks-node/src/neon_node.rs
index 28e655277..37cfc82a8 100644
--- a/testnet/stacks-node/src/neon_node.rs
+++ b/testnet/stacks-node/src/neon_node.rs
@@ -4171,7 +4171,11 @@ impl PeerThread {
         net.bind(&p2p_sock, &rpc_sock)
             .expect("BUG: PeerNetwork could not bind or is already bound");
 
-        let poll_timeout = cmp::min(5000, config.miner.first_attempt_time_ms / 2);
+        let poll_timeout = if config.node.miner {
+            cmp::min(5000, config.miner.first_attempt_time_ms / 2)
+        } else {
+            5000
+        };
 
         PeerThread {
             config,