diff --git a/.changeset/fix-connectws-timeout-socket-leak.md b/.changeset/fix-connectws-timeout-socket-leak.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1e9abbdf3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fix-connectws-timeout-socket-leak.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@livekit/agents': patch
+---
+
+Fix orphaned WebSocket leak in `connectWs`: when the connection timeout fires, the socket is now terminated so it cannot connect and linger without an owner. Also fixes a hang where a normal (code 1000) close during the handshake left the promise unsettled — it now rejects on any close before the socket opens. Uses `APITimeoutError` instead of `APIConnectionError` for clearer retry semantics.
diff --git a/agents/src/inference/utils.ts b/agents/src/inference/utils.ts
index 8a9b8319e..334b9e3ec 100644
--- a/agents/src/inference/utils.ts
+++ b/agents/src/inference/utils.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 import { ThrowsPromise } from '@livekit/throws-transformer/throws';
 import { AccessToken } from 'livekit-server-sdk';
 import { WebSocket } from 'ws';
-import { APIConnectionError, APIStatusError } from '../_exceptions.js';
+import { APIConnectionError, APIStatusError, APITimeoutError } from '../_exceptions.js';
 import { getJobContext } from '../job.js';
 import { version } from '../version.js';
 
@@ -90,12 +90,16 @@ export async function connectWs(
   return new ThrowsPromise<WebSocket, APIConnectionError | APIStatusError>((resolve, reject) => {
     const socket = new WebSocket(url, { headers: { ...buildMetadataHeaders(), ...headers } });
 
+    let opened = false;
+
     const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
-      reject(new APIConnectionError({ message: 'Timeout connecting to LiveKit WebSocket' }));
+      socket.terminate();
+      reject(new APITimeoutError({ message: 'Timeout connecting to LiveKit WebSocket' }));
     }, timeoutMs);
 
     const onOpen = () => {
       clearTimeout(timeout);
+      opened = true;
       resolve(socket);
     };
 
@@ -113,9 +117,9 @@ export async function connectWs(
       }
     };
 
-    const onClose = (code: number) => {
+    const onClose = () => {
       clearTimeout(timeout);
-      if (code !== 1000) {
+      if (!opened) {
         reject(
           new APIConnectionError({
             message: 'Connection closed unexpectedly',