diff --git a/package/network/utils/uqmi/files/lib/netifd/proto/qmi.sh b/package/network/utils/uqmi/files/lib/netifd/proto/qmi.sh
index 6c5104bccd..eab7f1ea13 100755
--- a/package/network/utils/uqmi/files/lib/netifd/proto/qmi.sh
+++ b/package/network/utils/uqmi/files/lib/netifd/proto/qmi.sh
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@ proto_qmi_setup() {
 
 	echo "Waiting for SIM initialization"
 	local uninitialized_timeout=0
+	# timeout 3s for first call to avoid hanging uqmi
+	uqmi -d "$device" --get-pin-status -t 3000 > /dev/null 2>&1
 	while uqmi -s -d "$device" --get-pin-status | grep '"UIM uninitialized"' > /dev/null; do
 		[ -e "$device" ] || return 1
 		if [ "$uninitialized_timeout" -lt "$timeout" -o "$timeout" = "0" ]; then