diff --git a/src/main/java/org/qortal/ApplyRestart.java b/src/main/java/org/qortal/ApplyRestart.java
index a2d4588d..9488488c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/qortal/ApplyRestart.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/qortal/ApplyRestart.java
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ public class ApplyRestart {
 	private static final String JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS_NAME = "JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS";
 	private static final String JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS_VALUE = "";
 
-	private static final long CHECK_INTERVAL = 10 * 1000L; // ms
+	private static final long CHECK_INTERVAL = 30 * 1000L; // ms
 	private static final int MAX_ATTEMPTS = 12;
 
 	public static void main(String[] args) {
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ public class ApplyRestart {
 		else
 			Settings.getInstance();
 
-		LOGGER.info("Applying restart...");
+		LOGGER.info("Applying restart this can take up to 5 minutes...");
 
 		// Shutdown node using API
 		if (!shutdownNode())
@@ -64,19 +64,19 @@ public class ApplyRestart {
 
 		try {
 			// Give some time for shutdown
-			TimeUnit.SECONDS.sleep(30);
+			TimeUnit.SECONDS.sleep(60);
 
 			// Remove blockchain lock if exist
 			ReentrantLock blockchainLock = Controller.getInstance().getBlockchainLock();
 			if (blockchainLock.isLocked())
 				blockchainLock.unlock();
 
-			// Remove blockchain lock file if exist
+			// Remove blockchain lock file if still exist
 			TimeUnit.SECONDS.sleep(60);
 			deleteLock();
 
 			// Restart node
-			TimeUnit.SECONDS.sleep(30);
+			TimeUnit.SECONDS.sleep(15);
 			restartNode(args);
 
 			LOGGER.info("Restarting...");
@@ -117,10 +117,17 @@ public class ApplyRestart {
 			String response = ApiRequest.perform(baseUri + "admin/stop", params);
 			if (response == null) {
 				// No response - consider node shut down
+				try {
+					TimeUnit.SECONDS.sleep(30);
+				} catch (InterruptedException e) {
+					throw new RuntimeException(e);
+				}
+
 				if (apiKeyNewlyGenerated) {
 					// API key was newly generated for restarting node, so we need to remove it
 					ApplyRestart.removeGeneratedApiKey();
 				}
+
 				return true;
 			}
 
@@ -171,7 +178,7 @@ public class ApplyRestart {
 			LOGGER.debug("Lockfile is: {}", lockFile);
 			FileUtils.forceDelete(FileUtils.getFile(lockFile));
 		} catch (IOException e) {
-			LOGGER.error("Error deleting blockchain lock file: {}", e.getMessage());
+			LOGGER.debug("Error deleting blockchain lock file: {}", e.getMessage());
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/qortal/controller/Controller.java b/src/main/java/org/qortal/controller/Controller.java
index 27341d1e..639c50f7 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/qortal/controller/Controller.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/qortal/controller/Controller.java
@@ -579,26 +579,28 @@ public class Controller extends Thread {
 		// If GUI is enabled, we're no longer starting up but actually running now
 		Gui.getInstance().notifyRunning();
 
-		// Check every 10 minutes if we have enough connected peers
-		Timer checkConnectedPeers = new Timer();
+		if (Settings.getInstance().isAutoRestartEnabled()) {
+			// Check every 10 minutes if we have enough connected peers
+			Timer checkConnectedPeers = new Timer();
 
-		checkConnectedPeers.schedule(new TimerTask() {
-			@Override
-			public void run() {
-				// Get the connected peers
-				int myConnectedPeers = Network.getInstance().getImmutableHandshakedPeers().size();
-				LOGGER.debug("Node have {} connected peers", myConnectedPeers);
-				if (myConnectedPeers == 0) {
-					// Restart node if we have 0 peers
-					LOGGER.info("Node have no connected peers, restarting node");
-					try {
-						RestartNode.attemptToRestart();
-					} catch (Exception e) {
-						LOGGER.error("Unable to restart the node", e);
+			checkConnectedPeers.schedule(new TimerTask() {
+				@Override
+				public void run() {
+					// Get the connected peers
+					int myConnectedPeers = Network.getInstance().getImmutableHandshakedPeers().size();
+					LOGGER.debug("Node have {} connected peers", myConnectedPeers);
+					if (myConnectedPeers == 0) {
+						// Restart node if we have 0 peers
+						LOGGER.info("Node have no connected peers, restarting node");
+						try {
+							RestartNode.attemptToRestart();
+						} catch (Exception e) {
+							LOGGER.error("Unable to restart the node", e);
+						}
 					}
 				}
-			}
-		}, 10*60*1000, 10*60*1000);
+			}, 10*60*1000, 10*60*1000);
+		}
 
 		// Check every 10 minutes to see if the block minter is running
 		Timer checkBlockMinter = new Timer();
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/qortal/settings/Settings.java b/src/main/java/org/qortal/settings/Settings.java
index 4abad781..db59bd2e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/qortal/settings/Settings.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/qortal/settings/Settings.java
@@ -114,6 +114,8 @@ public class Settings {
 
 	/** Whether we check, fetch and install auto-updates */
 	private boolean autoUpdateEnabled = true;
+	/** Whether we check, restart node without connected peers */
+	private boolean autoRestartEnabled = false;
 	/** How long between repository backups (ms), or 0 if disabled. */
 	private long repositoryBackupInterval = 0; // ms
 	/** Whether to show a notification when we backup repository. */
@@ -973,6 +975,10 @@ public class Settings {
 		return this.autoUpdateEnabled;
 	}
 
+	public boolean isAutoRestartEnabled() {
+		return this.autoRestartEnabled;
+	}
+
 	public String[] getAutoUpdateRepos() {
 		return this.autoUpdateRepos;
 	}