diff --git a/src/helpers/sensors/EnvironmentSensorManager.cpp b/src/helpers/sensors/EnvironmentSensorManager.cpp
index 73842d9eeb..b26fc0380f 100644
--- a/src/helpers/sensors/EnvironmentSensorManager.cpp
+++ b/src/helpers/sensors/EnvironmentSensorManager.cpp
@@ -748,14 +748,18 @@ void EnvironmentSensorManager::initBasicGPS() {
     MESH_DEBUG_PRINTLN("No GPS wake/reset pin found for this board. Continuing on...");
   #endif
 
-  // Give GPS a moment to power up and send data
-  delay(1000);
-
-  // We'll consider GPS detected if we see any data on Serial1
+  // Give the GPS time to power up and emit its first NMEA sentence. Cold-start
+  // modules can take several seconds, so poll for up to ~5s instead of checking
+  // once after a fixed 1s delay -- returning as soon as any data appears, so
+  // fast modules add no boot delay (issue #2258).
 #ifdef ENV_SKIP_GPS_DETECT
   gps_detected = true;
 #else
-  gps_detected = (Serial1.available() > 0);
+  gps_detected = false;
+  for (int i = 0; i < 20 && !gps_detected; i++) {
+    delay(250);
+    gps_detected = (Serial1.available() > 0);
+  }
 #endif
 
   if (gps_detected) {