diff --git a/include/faabric/transport/tcp/Socket.h b/include/faabric/transport/tcp/Socket.h
index f32cde763..746b74cd5 100644
--- a/include/faabric/transport/tcp/Socket.h
+++ b/include/faabric/transport/tcp/Socket.h
@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@
 #include <sys/socket.h>
 
 namespace faabric::transport::tcp {
+
+const int SocketTimeoutMs = 3000;
+
 class Socket
 {
   public:
diff --git a/include/faabric/transport/tcp/SocketOptions.h b/include/faabric/transport/tcp/SocketOptions.h
index 6c3dc5a0c..e49a404fc 100644
--- a/include/faabric/transport/tcp/SocketOptions.h
+++ b/include/faabric/transport/tcp/SocketOptions.h
@@ -12,4 +12,7 @@ bool isNonBlocking(int connFd);
 
 // Enable busy polling for non-blocking sockets
 void setBusyPolling(int connFd);
+
+// Set timeout for blocking sockets
+void setTimeoutMs(int connFd, int timeoutMs);
 }
diff --git a/src/transport/tcp/RecvSocket.cpp b/src/transport/tcp/RecvSocket.cpp
index c397e171c..d87d8c66f 100644
--- a/src/transport/tcp/RecvSocket.cpp
+++ b/src/transport/tcp/RecvSocket.cpp
@@ -105,9 +105,13 @@ void RecvSocket::setSocketOptions(int connFd)
     // TODO: not clear if this helps or not
     // setBusyPolling(connFd);
 #else
+    // Set the socket as blocking
     if (isNonBlocking(connFd)) {
         setBlocking(connFd);
     }
+
+    // Set the timeout
+    setTimeoutMs(connFd, SocketTimeoutMs);
 #endif
 }
 
diff --git a/src/transport/tcp/SocketOptions.cpp b/src/transport/tcp/SocketOptions.cpp
index 39390e635..fb7043b87 100644
--- a/src/transport/tcp/SocketOptions.cpp
+++ b/src/transport/tcp/SocketOptions.cpp
@@ -103,4 +103,20 @@ void setBusyPolling(int connFd)
         throw std::runtime_error("Error setting kernel busy poll");
     }
 }
+
+void setTimeoutMs(int connFd, int timeoutMs)
+{
+    struct timeval timeVal;
+    timeVal.tv_sec = timeoutMs / 1000;
+    timeVal.tv_usec = 0;
+
+    int ret = ::setsockopt(
+      connFd, SOL_SOCKET, SO_RCVTIMEO, (const char*)&timeVal, sizeof(timeVal));
+    if (ret == -1) {
+        SPDLOG_ERROR("Error setting recv timeout for socket {}: {}",
+                     connFd,
+                     std::strerror(errno));
+        throw std::runtime_error("Error setting recv timeout");
+    }
+}
 }
diff --git a/tests/test/transport/test_tcp_sockets.cpp b/tests/test/transport/test_tcp_sockets.cpp
index b4d01e8b1..e0ca61f5f 100644
--- a/tests/test/transport/test_tcp_sockets.cpp
+++ b/tests/test/transport/test_tcp_sockets.cpp
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ TEST_CASE("Test setting socket options", "[transport]")
         setBusyPolling(conn);
         setNonBlocking(conn);
         setBlocking(conn);
+        setTimeoutMs(conn, SocketTimeoutMs);
 
         REQUIRE(!isNonBlocking(conn));
 
@@ -87,6 +88,7 @@ TEST_CASE("Test setting socket options", "[transport]")
     REQUIRE_THROWS(setBusyPolling(conn));
     REQUIRE_THROWS(setNonBlocking(conn));
     REQUIRE_THROWS(setBlocking(conn));
+    REQUIRE_THROWS(setTimeoutMs(conn, SocketTimeoutMs));
 }
 
 TEST_CASE("Test send/recv one message using raw TCP sockets", "[transport]")