diff --git a/hiredis.c b/hiredis.c
index 6f60294..ddc6374 100644
--- a/hiredis.c
+++ b/hiredis.c
@@ -685,7 +685,9 @@ redisContext *redisConnectWithOptions(const redisOptions *options) {
         return NULL;
     }
     if (options->timeout != NULL && (c->flags & REDIS_BLOCK) && c->fd != REDIS_INVALID_FD) {
-        redisContextSetTimeout(c, *options->timeout);
+        if (!(options->options & REDIS_OPT_NORDWRTIMEOUT)) {
+            redisContextSetTimeout(c, *options->timeout);
+        }
     }
     return c;
 }
@@ -703,6 +705,7 @@ redisContext *redisConnectWithTimeout(const char *ip, int port, const struct tim
     redisOptions options = {0};
     REDIS_OPTIONS_SET_TCP(&options, ip, port);
     options.timeout = &tv;
+    options.options |= REDIS_OPT_NORDWRTIMEOUT;
     return redisConnectWithOptions(&options);
 }
 
diff --git a/hiredis.h b/hiredis.h
index 6e56c5e..efd3e64 100644
--- a/hiredis.h
+++ b/hiredis.h
@@ -133,6 +133,13 @@ struct redisSsl;
  */
 #define REDIS_OPT_NOAUTOFREE 0x04
 
+/**
+ * When using connectWithOptions, have the timeout only apply to the
+ * initial connect, not subsequent read/write attempts. This option
+ * is here to support the legacy connectWithTimeout()
+ */
+#define REDIS_OPT_NORDWRTIMEOUT 0x08
+
 /* In Unix systems a file descriptor is a regular signed int, with -1
  * representing an invalid descriptor. In Windows it is a SOCKET
  * (32- or 64-bit unsigned integer depending on the architecture), where