diff --git a/src/mqtt/MQTT.cpp b/src/mqtt/MQTT.cpp
index 33e0ee7c..450c8441 100644
--- a/src/mqtt/MQTT.cpp
+++ b/src/mqtt/MQTT.cpp
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ MQTT::MQTT() : concurrency::OSThread("mqtt"), pubSub(mqttClient)
 void MQTT::reconnect()
 {
     // pubSub.setServer("devsrv.ezdevice.net", 1883); or 192.168.10.188
-    const char *serverAddr = "mqtt.meshtastic.org:1883"; // default hostname
+    const char *serverAddr = "mqtt.meshtastic.org"; // default hostname
+    int serverPort = 1883; // default server port
 
     if (*radioConfig.preferences.mqtt_server)
         serverAddr = radioConfig.preferences.mqtt_server; // Override the default
@@ -70,15 +71,16 @@ void MQTT::reconnect()
     String server = String(serverAddr);  
     int delimIndex = server.indexOf(':'); 
     if (delimIndex > 0) {
-        String host = server.substring(0, delimIndex);
         String port = server.substring(delimIndex+1, server.length());
-        pubSub.setServer(host.c_str(), port.toInt());
+        server[delimIndex] = 0;
+        serverPort = port.toInt();
+        pubSub.setServer(server.c_str(), serverPort);
     }
     else {
-        pubSub.setServer(serverAddr, 1883);
+        pubSub.setServer(serverAddr, serverPort);
     }
 
-    DEBUG_MSG("Connecting to MQTT server\n", serverAddr);
+    DEBUG_MSG("Connecting to MQTT server %s, port: %d\n", server.c_str(), serverPort);
     auto myStatus = (statusTopic + owner.id);
     bool connected = pubSub.connect(owner.id, "meshdev", "large4cats", myStatus.c_str(), 1, true, "offline");
     if (connected) {