diff --git a/client/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpListener.java b/client/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpListener.java
index ec02f90fb7..0f7d0869a2 100644
--- a/client/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpListener.java
+++ b/client/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpListener.java
@@ -505,7 +505,7 @@ private void initToolTips() {
         receiveTimeoutField.setToolTipText("The amount of time, in milliseconds, to wait without receiving a message before closing a connection.");
         bufferSizeField.setToolTipText("<html>Use larger values for larger messages, and smaller values <br>for smaller messages. Generally, the default value is fine.</html>");
 
-        toolTipText = "<html>Select No to close the listening socket after a received message has finished processing.<br/>Otherwise the socket will remain open until the sending system closes it. In that case,<br/>messages will only be processed if data is received and either the receive timeout is reached,<br/>the client closes the socket, or an end of message byte sequence has been detected.</html>";
+        toolTipText = "<html>Select No to close the listening socket after a received message has finished processing.<br/>Otherwise the socket will remain open until the sending system closes it. In that case,<br/>messages will only be processed if data is received and either the receive timeout is reached,<br/>the client closes the socket, or an end of message byte sequence has been detected.<br/><br/>With Yes, TCP keepalive probes start after the connection has been idle for 120 seconds,<br/>or for the server's OS keepalive time if that is lower. The server's oie.tcp.keepalive.idle<br/>system property changes the 120 seconds.</html>";
         keepConnectionOpenYesRadio.setToolTipText(toolTipText);
         keepConnectionOpenNoRadio.setToolTipText(toolTipText);
 
diff --git a/client/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpSender.java b/client/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpSender.java
index 7712d19cf7..ea80e17473 100644
--- a/client/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpSender.java
+++ b/client/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpSender.java
@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@ public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt) {
         keepConnectionOpenYesRadio.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(0, 0, 0, 0));
         keepConnectionOpenGroup.add(keepConnectionOpenYesRadio);
         keepConnectionOpenYesRadio.setText("Yes");
-        keepConnectionOpenYesRadio.setToolTipText("<html>Select Yes to keep the connection to the host open across multiple messages.<br>Select No to immediately the close the connection to the host after sending each message.</html>");
+        keepConnectionOpenYesRadio.setToolTipText("<html>Select Yes to keep the connection to the host open across multiple messages.<br>Select No to immediately the close the connection to the host after sending each message.<br><br>With Yes, TCP keepalive probes start after the connection has been idle for 120 seconds,<br>or for the server's OS keepalive time if that is lower. The server's oie.tcp.keepalive.idle<br>system property changes the 120 seconds.</html>");
         keepConnectionOpenYesRadio.setMargin(new Insets(0, 0, 0, 0));
         keepConnectionOpenYesRadio.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
             public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt) {
@@ -452,7 +452,7 @@ public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt) {
         keepConnectionOpenNoRadio.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(0, 0, 0, 0));
         keepConnectionOpenGroup.add(keepConnectionOpenNoRadio);
         keepConnectionOpenNoRadio.setText("No");
-        keepConnectionOpenNoRadio.setToolTipText("<html>Select Yes to keep the connection to the host open across multiple messages.<br>Select No to immediately the close the connection to the host after sending each message.</html>");
+        keepConnectionOpenNoRadio.setToolTipText("<html>Select Yes to keep the connection to the host open across multiple messages.<br>Select No to immediately the close the connection to the host after sending each message.<br><br>With Yes, TCP keepalive probes start after the connection has been idle for 120 seconds,<br>or for the server's OS keepalive time if that is lower. The server's oie.tcp.keepalive.idle<br>system property changes the 120 seconds.</html>");
         keepConnectionOpenNoRadio.setMargin(new Insets(0, 0, 0, 0));
         keepConnectionOpenNoRadio.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
             public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt) {
diff --git a/server/conf/custom.vmoptions b/server/conf/custom.vmoptions
index e838de0905..3a84d62473 100644
--- a/server/conf/custom.vmoptions
+++ b/server/conf/custom.vmoptions
@@ -22,6 +22,14 @@
 #
 # Any lines which do not match the special directives above will be passed through directly as
 # arguments to the java binary.
+#
+# Engine options set with -D:
+#
+# -Doie.tcp.keepalive.idle=<seconds>
+#     : seconds a TCP connection with keepalive enabled can sit idle before the first
+#     : keepalive probe is sent. Defaults to 120, which keeps idle connections alive
+#     : through NAT devices and load balancers. Only lowers the OS default; a lower OS
+#     : setting is kept. 0 or less always uses the OS default.
 
 
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/SocketUtil.java b/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/SocketUtil.java
index a9830e4d7f..5f31ec71d9 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/SocketUtil.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/SocketUtil.java
@@ -13,14 +13,28 @@
 import java.net.InetAddress;
 import java.net.InetSocketAddress;
 import java.net.Socket;
+import java.net.SocketException;
 import java.net.UnknownHostException;
+import java.util.Optional;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
+import org.apache.logging.log4j.LogManager;
+import org.apache.logging.log4j.Logger;
 
 import com.mirth.connect.util.TcpUtil;
 
+import jdk.net.ExtendedSocketOptions;
+
 public class SocketUtil {
 
+    private static final Logger logger = LogManager.getLogger(SocketUtil.class);
+
+    static final String KEEPALIVE_IDLE_PROPERTY = "oie.tcp.keepalive.idle";
+    static final int DEFAULT_KEEPALIVE_IDLE = 120;
+    private static final Optional<Integer> KEEPALIVE_IDLE = initKeepAliveIdle();
+    private static final AtomicBoolean keepAliveIdleFailed = new AtomicBoolean();
+
     public static Socket createSocket(TcpConfiguration configuration) throws UnknownHostException, IOException {
         return createSocket(configuration, null);
     }
@@ -67,6 +81,72 @@ public static void connectSocket(Socket socket, String host, int port, int timeo
         socket.connect(new InetSocketAddress(InetAddress.getByName(TcpUtil.getFixedHost(host)), port), timeout);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Loads this class, which decides and logs the keepalive idle time. Called when the TCP plugin
+     * starts so the decision, and any error in the oie.tcp.keepalive.idle system property, is
+     * logged at server startup instead of at the first TCP connection.
+     */
+    public static void init() {}
+
+    /**
+     * Enables or disables TCP keepalive on a socket. When enabling, also lowers the idle time before
+     * the first keepalive probe to the oie.tcp.keepalive.idle system property (in seconds) if the
+     * OS default was higher when this class was loaded and the socket supports it. A value of 0 or
+     * less leaves the OS default.
+     */
+    public static void setKeepAlive(Socket socket, boolean keepAlive) throws SocketException {
+        socket.setKeepAlive(keepAlive);
+
+        if (keepAlive && KEEPALIVE_IDLE.isPresent() && socket.supportedOptions().contains(ExtendedSocketOptions.TCP_KEEPIDLE)) {
+            Integer idle = KEEPALIVE_IDLE.get();
+            try {
+                socket.setOption(ExtendedSocketOptions.TCP_KEEPIDLE, idle);
+            } catch (IOException | IllegalArgumentException e) {
+                if (keepAliveIdleFailed.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
+                    logger.error("Failed to set TCP_KEEPIDLE to {} seconds; using the OS default. Further failures will be logged at DEBUG.", idle, e);
+                } else {
+                    logger.debug("Failed to set TCP_KEEPIDLE to {} seconds.", idle, e);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static Optional<Integer> initKeepAliveIdle() {
+        int idle = DEFAULT_KEEPALIVE_IDLE;
+        String value = System.getProperty(KEEPALIVE_IDLE_PROPERTY);
+        if (value != null) {
+            try {
+                idle = Integer.parseInt(value.trim());
+            } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
+                logger.error("Invalid value '{}' for {}; using {} seconds.", value, KEEPALIVE_IDLE_PROPERTY, DEFAULT_KEEPALIVE_IDLE);
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (idle <= 0) {
+            logger.info("TCP connectors use the OS keepalive idle time; {} is {}.", KEEPALIVE_IDLE_PROPERTY, idle);
+            return Optional.empty();
+        }
+
+        try (Socket socket = new Socket()) {
+            if (!socket.supportedOptions().contains(ExtendedSocketOptions.TCP_KEEPIDLE)) {
+                logger.info("TCP connectors use the OS keepalive idle time; TCP_KEEPIDLE is not supported.");
+                return Optional.empty();
+            }
+
+            int osIdle = socket.getOption(ExtendedSocketOptions.TCP_KEEPIDLE);
+            if (osIdle <= idle) {
+                logger.info("TCP connectors use the OS keepalive idle time; its current value of {} seconds is not higher than {} ({} seconds). Later changes to the OS value still apply, but {} is not compared again until the server restarts.", osIdle, KEEPALIVE_IDLE_PROPERTY, idle, KEEPALIVE_IDLE_PROPERTY);
+                return Optional.empty();
+            }
+
+            logger.info("TCP connectors use a keepalive idle time of {} seconds instead of the current OS value of {} seconds. Later changes to the OS value are ignored until the server restarts.", idle, osIdle);
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            logger.info("TCP connectors use a keepalive idle time of {} seconds; the current OS value could not be read. Later changes to the OS value are ignored until the server restarts.", idle);
+        }
+
+        return Optional.of(idle);
+    }
+
     public static void closeSocket(Socket socket) throws IOException {
         if (socket != null) {
             /*
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpDispatcher.java b/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpDispatcher.java
index 16dd25a411..192e25a206 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpDispatcher.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpDispatcher.java
@@ -376,7 +376,7 @@ public Response send(ConnectorProperties connectorProperties, ConnectorMessage m
                     socket.setReceiveBufferSize(bufferSize);
                     socket.setSendBufferSize(bufferSize);
                     socket.setSoTimeout(responseTimeout);
-                    socket.setKeepAlive(tcpDispatcherProperties.isKeepConnectionOpen());
+                    SocketUtil.setKeepAlive(socket, tcpDispatcherProperties.isKeepConnectionOpen());
 
                     eventController.dispatchEvent(new ConnectorCountEvent(getChannelId(), getMetaDataId(), getDestinationName(), ConnectionStatusEventType.CONNECTED, SocketUtil.getLocalAddress(socket) + " -> " + SocketUtil.getInetAddress(socket), true));
                 }
@@ -810,7 +810,7 @@ private void initSocket(Socket socket) throws SocketException {
         socket.setReceiveBufferSize(bufferSize);
         socket.setSendBufferSize(bufferSize);
         socket.setSoTimeout(responseTimeout);
-        socket.setKeepAlive(true);
+        SocketUtil.setKeepAlive(socket, true);
         socket.setReuseAddress(true);
         socket.setTcpNoDelay(true);
     }
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpReceiver.java b/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpReceiver.java
index 66f48433db..3c36d18bae 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpReceiver.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpReceiver.java
@@ -1067,7 +1067,7 @@ private void initSocket(Socket socket) throws SocketException {
         socket.setReceiveBufferSize(bufferSize);
         socket.setSendBufferSize(bufferSize);
         socket.setSoTimeout(timeout);
-        socket.setKeepAlive(connectorProperties.isKeepConnectionOpen());
+        SocketUtil.setKeepAlive(socket, connectorProperties.isKeepConnectionOpen());
         socket.setReuseAddress(true);
         socket.setTcpNoDelay(true);
     }
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpServicePlugin.java b/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpServicePlugin.java
index d7ded156cd..e8c3f81aa2 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpServicePlugin.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/TcpServicePlugin.java
@@ -25,7 +25,9 @@ public String getPluginPointName() {
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void start() {}
+    public void start() {
+        SocketUtil.init();
+    }
 
     @Override
     public void stop() {}
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/SocketUtilTest.java b/server/src/test/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/SocketUtilTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..eebfb5e099
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/test/java/com/mirth/connect/connectors/tcp/SocketUtilTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 Tony Germano <tony@germano.name>
+package com.mirth.connect.connectors.tcp;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertNull;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
+
+import java.net.Socket;
+
+import org.junit.Assume;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import jdk.net.ExtendedSocketOptions;
+
+public class SocketUtilTest {
+
+    @Test
+    public void setKeepAliveEnablesKeepAliveAndCapsIdle() throws Exception {
+        assertNull("Test expects " + SocketUtil.KEEPALIVE_IDLE_PROPERTY + " to be unset", System.getProperty(SocketUtil.KEEPALIVE_IDLE_PROPERTY));
+
+        try (Socket socket = new Socket()) {
+            Assume.assumeTrue(socket.supportedOptions().contains(ExtendedSocketOptions.TCP_KEEPIDLE));
+            int osIdle = socket.getOption(ExtendedSocketOptions.TCP_KEEPIDLE);
+
+            SocketUtil.setKeepAlive(socket, true);
+
+            assertTrue(socket.getKeepAlive());
+            assertEquals(Math.min(osIdle, SocketUtil.DEFAULT_KEEPALIVE_IDLE), (int) socket.getOption(ExtendedSocketOptions.TCP_KEEPIDLE));
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void setKeepAliveDisablesKeepAliveAndLeavesIdle() throws Exception {
+        try (Socket socket = new Socket()) {
+            socket.setKeepAlive(true);
+            Integer idle = socket.supportedOptions().contains(ExtendedSocketOptions.TCP_KEEPIDLE) ? socket.getOption(ExtendedSocketOptions.TCP_KEEPIDLE) : null;
+
+            SocketUtil.setKeepAlive(socket, false);
+
+            assertFalse(socket.getKeepAlive());
+            if (idle != null) {
+                assertEquals(idle, socket.getOption(ExtendedSocketOptions.TCP_KEEPIDLE));
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}