diff --git a/roles/kiwix/templates/kiwix-serve.service.j2 b/roles/kiwix/templates/kiwix-serve.service.j2
index b4d160db4..14dc96bc8 100644
--- a/roles/kiwix/templates/kiwix-serve.service.j2
+++ b/roles/kiwix/templates/kiwix-serve.service.j2
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ After=syslog.target network.target local-fs.target
 [Service]
 Type=forking
 ExecStart={{ iiab_base }}/kiwix/bin/kiwix-serve --daemon --port {{ kiwix_port }} --nolibrarybutton --library {{ kiwix_library_xml }} --urlRootLocation={{ kiwix_url }}
+TimeoutStartSec=180
 Restart=on-abort
 RestartSec=5s