diff --git a/src/modules/SX126x/SX126x.cpp b/src/modules/SX126x/SX126x.cpp
index 1cbb5df3..95aeafcd 100644
--- a/src/modules/SX126x/SX126x.cpp
+++ b/src/modules/SX126x/SX126x.cpp
@@ -304,17 +304,31 @@ int16_t SX126x::receive(uint8_t* data, size_t len) {
   RADIOLIB_ASSERT(state);
 
   // wait for packet reception or timeout
+  bool softTimeout = false;
   uint32_t start = this->mod->hal->micros();
   while(!this->mod->hal->digitalRead(this->mod->getIrq())) {
     this->mod->hal->yield();
+    // safety check, the timeout should be done by the radio
     if(this->mod->hal->micros() - start > timeout) {
-      fixImplicitTimeout();
-      clearIrqStatus();
-      standby();
-      return(RADIOLIB_ERR_RX_TIMEOUT);
+      softTimeout = true;
+      break;
     }
   }
 
+  // if it was a timeout, this will return an error code
+  state = standby();
+  if((state != RADIOLIB_ERR_NONE) && (state != RADIOLIB_ERR_SPI_CMD_TIMEOUT)) {
+    return(state);
+  }
+
+  // check whether this was a timeout or not
+  if((getIrqStatus() & RADIOLIB_SX126X_IRQ_TIMEOUT) || softTimeout) {
+    standby();
+    fixImplicitTimeout();
+    clearIrqStatus();
+    return(RADIOLIB_ERR_RX_TIMEOUT);
+  }
+
   // fix timeout in implicit LoRa mode
   if(((this->headerType == RADIOLIB_SX126X_LORA_HEADER_IMPLICIT) && (getPacketType() == RADIOLIB_SX126X_PACKET_TYPE_LORA))) {
     state = fixImplicitTimeout();