diff --git a/net/mqtt/mqtt.go b/net/mqtt/mqtt.go
index 1c0c0734c..c18641ba9 100644
--- a/net/mqtt/mqtt.go
+++ b/net/mqtt/mqtt.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ package mqtt
 import (
 	"errors"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/eclipse/paho.mqtt.golang/packets"
@@ -19,20 +20,32 @@ import (
 func NewClient(o *ClientOptions) Client {
 	c := &mqttclient{opts: o, adaptor: o.Adaptor}
 	c.msgRouter, c.stopRouter = newRouter()
+
+	c.inboundPacketChan = make(chan packets.ControlPacket, 10)
+	c.stopInbound = make(chan struct{})
+	c.incomingPubChan = make(chan *packets.PublishPacket, 10)
+	// this launches a goroutine, so only call once per client:
+	c.msgRouter.matchAndDispatch(c.incomingPubChan, c.opts.Order, c)
 	return c
 }
 
 type mqttclient struct {
-	adaptor         net.Adapter
-	conn            net.Conn
-	connected       bool
-	opts            *ClientOptions
-	mid             uint16
-	inbound         chan packets.ControlPacket
-	stop            chan struct{}
-	msgRouter       *router
-	stopRouter      chan bool
-	incomingPubChan chan *packets.PublishPacket
+	adaptor           net.Adapter
+	conn              net.Conn
+	connected         bool
+	opts              *ClientOptions
+	mid               uint16
+	inboundPacketChan chan packets.ControlPacket
+	stopInbound       chan struct{}
+	msgRouter         *router
+	stopRouter        chan bool
+	incomingPubChan   chan *packets.PublishPacket
+	// stats for keepalive
+	lastReceive time.Time
+	lastSend    time.Time
+	// keep track of routines and signal a shutdown
+	workers  sync.WaitGroup
+	shutdown bool
 }
 
 // AddRoute allows you to add a handler for messages on a specific topic
@@ -56,6 +69,9 @@ func (c *mqttclient) IsConnectionOpen() bool {
 
 // Connect will create a connection to the message broker.
 func (c *mqttclient) Connect() Token {
+	if c.IsConnected() {
+		return &mqtttoken{}
+	}
 	var err error
 
 	// make connection
@@ -77,10 +93,6 @@ func (c *mqttclient) Connect() Token {
 	}
 
 	c.mid = 1
-	c.inbound = make(chan packets.ControlPacket, 10)
-	c.stop = make(chan struct{})
-	c.incomingPubChan = make(chan *packets.PublishPacket, 10)
-	c.msgRouter.matchAndDispatch(c.incomingPubChan, c.opts.Order, c)
 
 	// send the MQTT connect message
 	connectPkt := packets.NewControlPacket(packets.Connect).(*packets.ConnectPacket)
@@ -98,7 +110,7 @@ func (c *mqttclient) Connect() Token {
 	connectPkt.ClientIdentifier = c.opts.ClientID
 	connectPkt.ProtocolVersion = byte(c.opts.ProtocolVersion)
 	connectPkt.ProtocolName = "MQTT"
-	connectPkt.Keepalive = 60
+	connectPkt.Keepalive = uint16(c.opts.KeepAlive)
 
 	connectPkt.WillFlag = c.opts.WillEnabled
 	connectPkt.WillTopic = c.opts.WillTopic
@@ -110,6 +122,7 @@ func (c *mqttclient) Connect() Token {
 	if err != nil {
 		return &mqtttoken{err: err}
 	}
+	c.lastSend = time.Now()
 
 	// TODO: handle timeout as ReadPacket blocks until it gets a packet.
 	// CONNECT response.
@@ -127,20 +140,36 @@ func (c *mqttclient) Connect() Token {
 		}
 	}
 
-	go readMessages(c)
 	go processInbound(c)
+	go readMessages(c)
+	go keepAlive(c)
 
 	return &mqtttoken{}
 }
 
 // Disconnect will end the connection with the server, but not before waiting
 // the specified number of milliseconds to wait for existing work to be
-// completed.
+// completed. Blocks until disconnected.
 func (c *mqttclient) Disconnect(quiesce uint) {
-	c.conn.Close()
+	c.shutdownRoutines()
+	// block until all done
+	for c.connected {
+		time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 10)
+	}
 	return
 }
 
+// shutdownRoutines will disconnect and shut down all processes. If you want to trigger a
+// disconnect internally, make sure you call this instead of Disconnect() to avoid deadlocks
+func (c *mqttclient) shutdownRoutines() {
+	if c.shutdown {
+		return
+	}
+	c.shutdown = true
+	c.conn.Close()
+	c.stopInbound <- struct{}{}
+}
+
 // Publish will publish a message with the specified QoS and content
 // to the specified topic.
 // Returns a token to track delivery of the message to the broker
@@ -153,6 +182,7 @@ func (c *mqttclient) Publish(topic string, qos byte, retained bool, payload inte
 	pub.Qos = qos
 	pub.TopicName = topic
 	pub.Retain = retained
+
 	switch payload.(type) {
 	case string:
 		pub.Payload = []byte(payload.(string))
@@ -168,6 +198,8 @@ func (c *mqttclient) Publish(topic string, qos byte, retained bool, payload inte
 	if err != nil {
 		return &mqtttoken{err: err}
 	}
+	// update this for every control message that is sent successfully, for keepalive
+	c.lastSend = time.Now()
 
 	return &mqtttoken{}
 }
@@ -195,6 +227,7 @@ func (c *mqttclient) Subscribe(topic string, qos byte, callback MessageHandler)
 	if err != nil {
 		return &mqtttoken{err: err}
 	}
+	c.lastSend = time.Now()
 
 	return &mqtttoken{}
 }
@@ -220,12 +253,13 @@ func (c *mqttclient) OptionsReader() ClientOptionsReader {
 }
 
 func processInbound(c *mqttclient) {
+PROCESS:
 	for {
 		select {
-		case msg := <-c.inbound:
+		case msg := <-c.inboundPacketChan:
 			switch m := msg.(type) {
 			case *packets.PingrespPacket:
-				// TODO: handle this
+				// println("pong")
 			case *packets.SubackPacket:
 				// TODO: handle this
 			case *packets.UnsubackPacket:
@@ -242,33 +276,85 @@ func processInbound(c *mqttclient) {
 			case *packets.PubcompPacket:
 				// TODO: handle this
 			}
-		case <-c.stop:
-			return
+		case <-c.stopInbound:
+			break PROCESS
 		}
 	}
+
+	// as this routine could be the last to finish (if a lot of messages are queued in the
+	// channel), it is the last to turn out the lights
+
+	c.workers.Wait()
+	c.connected = false
+	c.shutdown = false
 }
 
 // readMessages reads incoming messages off the wire.
-// incoming messages are then send into inbound channel.
+// incoming messages are then send into inbound buffered channel.
 func readMessages(c *mqttclient) {
+	c.workers.Add(1)
+	defer c.workers.Done()
+
 	var err error
 	var cp packets.ControlPacket
 
-PROCESS:
-	for {
+	for !c.shutdown {
 		if cp, err = c.ReadPacket(); err != nil {
-			break PROCESS
+			c.shutdownRoutines()
+			return
 		}
 		if cp != nil {
-			c.inbound <- cp
-			// TODO: Notify keepalive logic that we recently received a packet
+			c.inboundPacketChan <- cp
+			// notify keepalive logic that we recently received a packet
+			c.lastReceive = time.Now()
 		}
 
 		time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
 	}
+}
 
-	// TODO: handle if we received an error on read.
-	// If disconnect is in progress, swallow error and return
+// keepAlive is a goroutine to handle sending ping requests according to the MQTT spec. If the keepalive time has
+// been reached with no messages being sent, we will send a ping request and check back to see if we've
+// had any activity by the timeout. If not, disconnect.
+func keepAlive(c *mqttclient) {
+	c.workers.Add(1)
+	defer c.workers.Done()
+
+	var err error
+	var ping *packets.PingreqPacket
+	var timeout, pingsent time.Time
+
+	for !c.shutdown {
+		// As long as we haven't reached the keepalive value...
+		if time.Since(c.lastSend) < time.Duration(c.opts.KeepAlive)*time.Second {
+			// ...sleep and check shutdown status again
+			time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 100)
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// value has been reached, so send a ping request
+		ping = packets.NewControlPacket(packets.Pingreq).(*packets.PingreqPacket)
+		if err = ping.Write(c.conn); err != nil {
+			// if connection is lost, report disconnect
+			c.shutdownRoutines()
+			return
+		}
+		// println("ping")
+
+		c.lastSend = time.Now()
+		pingsent = time.Now()
+		timeout = pingsent.Add(c.opts.PingTimeout)
+
+		// as long as we are still connected and haven't received anything after the ping...
+		for !c.shutdown && c.lastReceive.Before(pingsent) {
+			// if the timeout has passed, disconnect
+			if time.Now().After(timeout) {
+				c.shutdownRoutines()
+				return
+			}
+			time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 100)
+		}
+	}
 }
 
 func (c *mqttclient) ackFunc(packet *packets.PublishPacket) func() {
diff --git a/net/mqtt/paho.go b/net/mqtt/paho.go
index 84903630f..c0d57a3e5 100644
--- a/net/mqtt/paho.go
+++ b/net/mqtt/paho.go
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ type ClientOptions struct {
 
 // NewClientOptions returns a new ClientOptions struct.
 func NewClientOptions() *ClientOptions {
-	return &ClientOptions{Adaptor: net.ActiveDevice, ProtocolVersion: 4}
+	return &ClientOptions{Adaptor: net.ActiveDevice, ProtocolVersion: 4, KeepAlive: 60, PingTimeout: time.Second * 10}
 }
 
 // AddBroker adds a broker URI to the list of brokers to be used. The format should be
@@ -257,6 +257,23 @@ func (o *ClientOptions) SetPassword(p string) *ClientOptions {
 	return o
 }
 
+// SetKeepAlive will set the amount of time (in seconds) that the client
+// should wait before sending a PING request to the broker. This will
+// allow the client to know that a connection has not been lost with the
+// server.
+func (o *ClientOptions) SetKeepAlive(k time.Duration) *ClientOptions {
+	o.KeepAlive = int64(k / time.Second)
+	return o
+}
+
+// SetPingTimeout will set the amount of time (in seconds) that the client
+// will wait after sending a PING request to the broker, before deciding
+// that the connection has been lost. Default is 10 seconds.
+func (o *ClientOptions) SetPingTimeout(k time.Duration) *ClientOptions {
+	o.PingTimeout = k
+	return o
+}
+
 // SetWill accepts a string will message to be set. When the client connects,
 // it will give this will message to the broker, which will then publish the
 // provided payload (the will) to any clients that are subscribed to the provided