diff --git a/ESPMegaPRO-firmware/lib/ESPMegaPRO/ESPMegaIoT.cpp b/ESPMegaPRO-firmware/lib/ESPMegaPRO/ESPMegaIoT.cpp
index 2384bfc..995351d 100644
--- a/ESPMegaPRO-firmware/lib/ESPMegaPRO/ESPMegaIoT.cpp
+++ b/ESPMegaPRO-firmware/lib/ESPMegaPRO/ESPMegaIoT.cpp
@@ -454,7 +454,8 @@ MqttConfig *ESPMegaIoT::getMqttConfig()
 
 bool ESPMegaIoT::mqttConnected()
 {
-    return mqtt_connected;
+    //return mqtt_connected;
+    return mqtt.connected();
 }
 
 bool ESPMegaIoT::networkConnected()
diff --git a/ESPMegaPRO-firmware/src/main.cpp b/ESPMegaPRO-firmware/src/main.cpp
index 8a07e59..887c441 100644
--- a/ESPMegaPRO-firmware/src/main.cpp
+++ b/ESPMegaPRO-firmware/src/main.cpp
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 #include <ClimateCard.hpp>
 
 // #define FRAM_DEBUG
+#define MQTT_DEBUG
 
 // Demo PLC firmware using the ESPMegaPRO OOP library
 
@@ -122,4 +123,21 @@ void loop()
         espmega.dumpFRAMtoSerialASCII(0, 500);
     }
 #endif
+
+// Every 5 seconds, publish "I'm alive" to MQTT
+#ifdef MQTT_DEBUG
+    static uint32_t last_mqtt_publish = 0;
+    if (millis() - last_mqtt_publish >= 5000)
+    {
+        last_mqtt_publish = millis();
+        espmega.iot->publishToTopic("/espmegai/alive", "true");
+    }
+    static uint32_t last_mqtt_status = 0;
+    if (millis() - last_mqtt_status >= 1000)
+    {
+        last_mqtt_status = millis();
+        Serial.print("MQTT Status: ");
+        Serial.println(espmega.iot->mqttConnected() ? "Connected" : "Disconnected");
+    }
+#endif
 }
\ No newline at end of file