diff --git a/src/mesh/Channels.cpp b/src/mesh/Channels.cpp
index 3e9c782419..93dec7e7d3 100644
--- a/src/mesh/Channels.cpp
+++ b/src/mesh/Channels.cpp
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 
 #include <assert.h>
 
+#include "mqtt/MQTT.h"
+
 /// 16 bytes of random PSK for our _public_ default channel that all devices power up on (AES128)
 static const uint8_t defaultpsk[] = {0xd4, 0xf1, 0xbb, 0x3a, 0x20, 0x29, 0x07, 0x59,
                                      0xf0, 0xbc, 0xff, 0xab, 0xcf, 0x4e, 0x69, 0x01};
@@ -193,6 +195,10 @@ void Channels::onConfigChanged()
         if (ch.role == meshtastic_Channel_Role_PRIMARY)
             primaryIndex = i;
     }
+    if (channels.anyMqttEnabled() && mqtt && !mqtt->isEnabled()) {
+        LOG_DEBUG("MQTT is enabled on at least one channel, so set MQTT thread to run immediately\n");
+        mqtt->start();
+    }
 }
 
 meshtastic_Channel &Channels::getByIndex(ChannelIndex chIndex)
@@ -237,6 +243,16 @@ void Channels::setChannel(const meshtastic_Channel &c)
     old = c; // slam in the new settings/role
 }
 
+bool Channels::anyMqttEnabled()
+{
+    for (int i = 0; i < getNumChannels(); i++)
+        if (channelFile.channels[i].role != meshtastic_Channel_Role_DISABLED && channelFile.channels[i].has_settings &&
+            (channelFile.channels[i].settings.downlink_enabled || channelFile.channels[i].settings.uplink_enabled))
+            return true;
+
+    return false;
+}
+
 const char *Channels::getName(size_t chIndex)
 {
     // Convert the short "" representation for Default into a usable string
diff --git a/src/mesh/Channels.h b/src/mesh/Channels.h
index 0e11605c49..a1c4ba1711 100644
--- a/src/mesh/Channels.h
+++ b/src/mesh/Channels.h
@@ -105,6 +105,9 @@ class Channels
     // Returns true if we can be reached via a channel with the default settings given a region and modem preset
     bool hasDefaultChannel();
 
+    // Returns true if any of our channels have enabled MQTT uplink or downlink
+    bool anyMqttEnabled();
+
   private:
     /** Given a channel index, change to use the crypto key specified by that index
      *
diff --git a/src/mesh/PhoneAPI.cpp b/src/mesh/PhoneAPI.cpp
index 270bf613f3..8e8d691568 100644
--- a/src/mesh/PhoneAPI.cpp
+++ b/src/mesh/PhoneAPI.cpp
@@ -105,8 +105,12 @@ bool PhoneAPI::handleToRadio(const uint8_t *buf, size_t bufLength)
             break;
         case meshtastic_ToRadio_mqttClientProxyMessage_tag:
             LOG_INFO("Got MqttClientProxy message\n");
-            if (mqtt && moduleConfig.mqtt.proxy_to_client_enabled) {
+            if (mqtt && moduleConfig.mqtt.proxy_to_client_enabled && moduleConfig.mqtt.enabled &&
+                (channels.anyMqttEnabled() || moduleConfig.mqtt.map_reporting_enabled)) {
                 mqtt->onClientProxyReceive(toRadioScratch.mqttClientProxyMessage);
+            } else {
+                LOG_WARN("MqttClientProxy received but proxy is not enabled, no channels have up/downlink, or map reporting "
+                         "not enabled\n");
             }
             break;
         default:
diff --git a/src/mqtt/MQTT.cpp b/src/mqtt/MQTT.cpp
index c518bc4b5c..0d99a3cfdc 100644
--- a/src/mqtt/MQTT.cpp
+++ b/src/mqtt/MQTT.cpp
@@ -371,22 +371,9 @@ void MQTT::sendSubscriptions()
 
 bool MQTT::wantsLink() const
 {
-    bool hasChannelorMapReport = false;
+    bool hasChannelorMapReport =
+        moduleConfig.mqtt.enabled && (moduleConfig.mqtt.map_reporting_enabled || channels.anyMqttEnabled());
 
-    if (moduleConfig.mqtt.enabled) {
-        hasChannelorMapReport = moduleConfig.mqtt.map_reporting_enabled;
-        if (!hasChannelorMapReport) {
-            // No need for link if no channel needed it
-            size_t numChan = channels.getNumChannels();
-            for (size_t i = 0; i < numChan; i++) {
-                const auto &ch = channels.getByIndex(i);
-                if (ch.settings.uplink_enabled || ch.settings.downlink_enabled) {
-                    hasChannelorMapReport = true;
-                    break;
-                }
-            }
-        }
-    }
     if (hasChannelorMapReport && moduleConfig.mqtt.proxy_to_client_enabled)
         return true;
 
@@ -401,7 +388,7 @@ bool MQTT::wantsLink() const
 
 int32_t MQTT::runOnce()
 {
-    if (!moduleConfig.mqtt.enabled)
+    if (!moduleConfig.mqtt.enabled || !(moduleConfig.mqtt.map_reporting_enabled || channels.anyMqttEnabled()))
         return disable();
 
     bool wantConnection = wantsLink();
@@ -915,4 +902,4 @@ bool MQTT::isValidJsonEnvelope(JSONObject &json)
            (json["from"]->AsNumber() == nodeDB.getNodeNum()) &&             // only accept message if the "from" is us
            (json.find("type") != json.end()) && json["type"]->IsString() && // should specify a type
            (json.find("payload") != json.end());                            // should have a payload
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/mqtt/MQTT.h b/src/mqtt/MQTT.h
index eeeb00d92e..dbc0c77b3e 100644
--- a/src/mqtt/MQTT.h
+++ b/src/mqtt/MQTT.h
@@ -71,6 +71,10 @@ class MQTT : private concurrency::OSThread
 
     void onClientProxyReceive(meshtastic_MqttClientProxyMessage msg);
 
+    bool isEnabled() { return this->enabled; };
+
+    void start() { setIntervalFromNow(0); };
+
   protected:
     PointerQueue<meshtastic_ServiceEnvelope> mqttQueue;