diff --git a/openbsc/src/bsc_hack.c b/openbsc/src/bsc_hack.c
index 2b0af2e..54c8942 100644
--- a/openbsc/src/bsc_hack.c
+++ b/openbsc/src/bsc_hack.c
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@
 	signal(SIGPIPE, SIG_IGN);
 
 	/* start the SMS queue */
-	if (sms_queue_start(bsc_gsmnet, 5) != 0)
+	if (sms_queue_start(bsc_gsmnet, 20) != 0)
 		return -1;
 
 	if (daemonize) {
diff --git a/openbsc/src/sms_queue.c b/openbsc/src/sms_queue.c
index c03b369..41b9ecc 100644
--- a/openbsc/src/sms_queue.c
+++ b/openbsc/src/sms_queue.c
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@
 
 	network->sms_queue = sms;
 	INIT_LLIST_HEAD(&sms->pending_sms);
-	sms->max_fail = 3;
+	sms->max_fail = 1;
 	sms->network = network;
 	sms->max_pending = max_pending;
 	sms->push_queue.data = sms;