diff --git a/websocket/client.go b/websocket/client.go
index 8b8893a..dd3f39a 100644
--- a/websocket/client.go
+++ b/websocket/client.go
@@ -661,7 +661,57 @@ func (c *Client) setupPKCS12TLS() (*tls.Config, error) {
 }
 
 // pingMonitor sends pings at a short interval and triggers reconnect on failure
+func (c *Client) sendPing() {
+	if c.conn == nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Skip ping if a message is currently being processed
+	c.processingMux.RLock()
+	isProcessing := c.processingMessage
+	c.processingMux.RUnlock()
+	if isProcessing {
+		logger.Debug("Skipping ping, message is being processed")
+		return
+	}
+
+	c.configVersionMux.RLock()
+	configVersion := c.configVersion
+	c.configVersionMux.RUnlock()
+
+	pingMsg := WSMessage{
+		Type:          "newt/ping",
+		Data:          map[string]interface{}{},
+		ConfigVersion: configVersion,
+	}
+
+	c.writeMux.Lock()
+	err := c.conn.WriteJSON(pingMsg)
+	if err == nil {
+		telemetry.IncWSMessage(c.metricsContext(), "out", "ping")
+	}
+	c.writeMux.Unlock()
+
+	if err != nil {
+		// Check if we're shutting down before logging error and reconnecting
+		select {
+		case <-c.done:
+			// Expected during shutdown
+			return
+		default:
+			logger.Error("Ping failed: %v", err)
+			telemetry.IncWSKeepaliveFailure(c.metricsContext(), "ping_write")
+			telemetry.IncWSReconnect(c.metricsContext(), "ping_write")
+			c.reconnect()
+			return
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func (c *Client) pingMonitor() {
+	// Send an immediate ping as soon as we connect
+	c.sendPing()
+
 	ticker := time.NewTicker(c.pingInterval)
 	defer ticker.Stop()
 
@@ -670,50 +720,7 @@ func (c *Client) pingMonitor() {
 		case <-c.done:
 			return
 		case <-ticker.C:
-			if c.conn == nil {
-				return
-			}
-
-			// Skip ping if a message is currently being processed
-			c.processingMux.RLock()
-			isProcessing := c.processingMessage
-			c.processingMux.RUnlock()
-			if isProcessing {
-				logger.Debug("Skipping ping, message is being processed")
-				continue
-			}
-
-			c.configVersionMux.RLock()
-			configVersion := c.configVersion
-			c.configVersionMux.RUnlock()
-
-			pingMsg := WSMessage{
-				Type:          "newt/ping",
-				Data:          map[string]interface{}{},
-				ConfigVersion: configVersion,
-			}
-
-			c.writeMux.Lock()
-			err := c.conn.WriteJSON(pingMsg)
-			if err == nil {
-				telemetry.IncWSMessage(c.metricsContext(), "out", "ping")
-			}
-			c.writeMux.Unlock()
-
-			if err != nil {
-				// Check if we're shutting down before logging error and reconnecting
-				select {
-				case <-c.done:
-					// Expected during shutdown
-					return
-				default:
-					logger.Error("Ping failed: %v", err)
-					telemetry.IncWSKeepaliveFailure(c.metricsContext(), "ping_write")
-					telemetry.IncWSReconnect(c.metricsContext(), "ping_write")
-					c.reconnect()
-					return
-				}
-			}
+			c.sendPing()
 		}
 	}
 }