diff --git a/main/cli/serial_cli.c b/main/cli/serial_cli.c
index 584caad..a1d6a65 100644
--- a/main/cli/serial_cli.c
+++ b/main/cli/serial_cli.c
@@ -552,11 +552,11 @@ esp_err_t serial_cli_init(void)
     repl_config.prompt = "mimi> ";
     repl_config.max_cmdline_length = 256;
 
-    /* USB Serial JTAG */
-    esp_console_dev_usb_serial_jtag_config_t hw_config =
-        ESP_CONSOLE_DEV_USB_SERIAL_JTAG_CONFIG_DEFAULT();
+    /* UART console (primary), USB Serial/JTAG available as secondary */
+    esp_console_dev_uart_config_t hw_config =
+        ESP_CONSOLE_DEV_UART_CONFIG_DEFAULT();
 
-    ESP_ERROR_CHECK(esp_console_new_repl_usb_serial_jtag(&hw_config, &repl_config, &repl));
+    ESP_ERROR_CHECK(esp_console_new_repl_uart(&hw_config, &repl_config, &repl));
 
     /* Register commands */
     esp_console_register_help_command();
diff --git a/sdkconfig.defaults.esp32s3 b/sdkconfig.defaults.esp32s3
index f85efab..4774cd9 100644
--- a/sdkconfig.defaults.esp32s3
+++ b/sdkconfig.defaults.esp32s3
@@ -35,5 +35,7 @@ CONFIG_HTTPD_WS_SUPPORT=y
 CONFIG_PARTITION_TABLE_CUSTOM=y
 CONFIG_PARTITION_TABLE_CUSTOM_FILENAME="partitions.csv"
 
-# Console/UART for CLI
-CONFIG_ESP_CONSOLE_USB_SERIAL_JTAG=y
+# Console: UART primary (non-blocking), USB Serial/JTAG secondary
+# Prevents device hang when no USB host is connected (issue #60)
+CONFIG_ESP_CONSOLE_UART_DEFAULT=y
+CONFIG_ESP_CONSOLE_SECONDARY_USB_SERIAL_JTAG=y