diff --git a/src/Playwright/Client.php b/src/Playwright/Client.php
index 876e7af3..792523f6 100644
--- a/src/Playwright/Client.php
+++ b/src/Playwright/Client.php
@@ -4,10 +4,15 @@
 
 namespace Pest\Browser\Playwright;
 
+use Amp\Cancellation;
+use Amp\CancelledException;
+use Amp\TimeoutCancellation;
 use Amp\Websocket\Client\WebsocketConnection;
+use Amp\Websocket\WebsocketMessage;
 use Generator;
 use Pest\Browser\Exceptions\PlaywrightOutdatedException;
 use PHPUnit\Framework\ExpectationFailedException;
+use RuntimeException;
 
 use function Amp\Websocket\Client\connect;
 
@@ -31,6 +36,11 @@ final class Client
      */
     private int $timeout = 5_000;
 
+    /**
+     * Seconds allowed on top of the timeout before a request is given up on.
+     */
+    private float $requestGraceSeconds = 30.0;
+
     /**
      * Returns the current client instance.
      */
@@ -81,13 +91,31 @@ public function execute(string $guid, string $method, array $params = [], array
             'guid' => $guid,
             'method' => $method,
             'params' => ['timeout' => $this->timeout, ...$params],
-            'metadata' => $meta,
+            // Playwright reads the timeout from the metadata since 1.62.0, where an
+            // absent value means no timeout at all. Older servers read it from params.
+            'metadata' => ['timeout' => $this->timeout, ...$meta],
         ]);
 
         $this->websocketConnection->sendText($requestJson);
 
+        $allowance = ($this->timeout / 1000) + $this->requestGraceSeconds;
+        $deadline = microtime(true) + $allowance;
+
+        // The cancellation bounds a request the server never answers, and the deadline
+        // bounds one that only ever receives unrelated messages. Neither covers both.
+        $cancellation = new TimeoutCancellation($allowance);
+
         while (true) {
-            $responseJson = $this->fetch($this->websocketConnection);
+            if (microtime(true) > $deadline) {
+                throw $this->unanswered($method, $allowance);
+            }
+
+            try {
+                $responseJson = $this->fetch($this->websocketConnection, $cancellation);
+            } catch (CancelledException) {
+                throw $this->unanswered($method, $allowance);
+            }
+
             /** @var array{id: string|null, params: array{add: string|null}, error: array{error: array{message: string|null}}} $response */
             $response = json_decode($responseJson, true);
 
@@ -128,11 +156,31 @@ public function timeout(): int
         return $this->timeout;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Builds the failure raised when a request is never answered.
+     */
+    private function unanswered(string $method, float $allowance): RuntimeException
+    {
+        return new RuntimeException(sprintf(
+            'The Playwright server did not answer [%s] within %.1f seconds.',
+            $method,
+            $allowance,
+        ));
+    }
+
     /**
      * Fetches the response from the Playwright server.
      */
-    private function fetch(WebsocketConnection $client): string
+    private function fetch(WebsocketConnection $client, Cancellation $cancellation): string
     {
-        return (string) $client->receive()?->read();
+        $message = $client->receive($cancellation);
+
+        // Without this, the null returned once the connection closes casts to an empty
+        // string and leaves the caller waiting on a response that can never arrive.
+        if (! $message instanceof WebsocketMessage) {
+            throw new RuntimeException('The Playwright server closed the connection unexpectedly.');
+        }
+
+        return (string) $message->read($cancellation);
     }
 }
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Playwright/ClientTest.php b/tests/Unit/Playwright/ClientTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fce5b60b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Unit/Playwright/ClientTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+use Amp\Websocket\Client\WebsocketConnection;
+use Amp\Websocket\WebsocketMessage;
+use Pest\Browser\Playwright\Client;
+
+it('reports a closed connection instead of looping on it', function (): void {
+    $connection = $this->createStub(WebsocketConnection::class);
+    $connection->method('receive')->willReturn(null);
+
+    $client = new Client();
+    $client->setTimeout(100);
+
+    new ReflectionProperty(Client::class, 'websocketConnection')->setValue($client, $connection);
+    new ReflectionProperty(Client::class, 'requestGraceSeconds')->setValue($client, 0.2);
+
+    expect(fn (): array => iterator_to_array($client->execute('page@1', 'goto')))
+        ->toThrow(RuntimeException::class, 'The Playwright server closed the connection unexpectedly.');
+});
+
+it('gives up on a request that only ever receives unrelated messages', function (): void {
+    $connection = $this->createStub(WebsocketConnection::class);
+    $connection->method('receive')->willReturnCallback(
+        fn (): WebsocketMessage => WebsocketMessage::fromText('{"guid":"page@1","method":"console"}')
+    );
+
+    $client = new Client();
+    $client->setTimeout(100);
+
+    new ReflectionProperty(Client::class, 'websocketConnection')->setValue($client, $connection);
+    new ReflectionProperty(Client::class, 'requestGraceSeconds')->setValue($client, 0.2);
+
+    expect(fn (): array => iterator_to_array($client->execute('page@1', 'goto')))
+        ->toThrow('The Playwright server did not answer [goto]');
+});
+
+it('returns the response matching the request id', function (): void {
+    $connection = $this->createStub(WebsocketConnection::class);
+
+    $sent = null;
+    $connection->method('sendText')->willReturnCallback(function (string $payload) use (&$sent): void {
+        $sent = json_decode($payload, true);
+    });
+
+    $connection->method('receive')->willReturnCallback(function () use (&$sent): WebsocketMessage {
+        return WebsocketMessage::fromText((string) json_encode([
+            'id' => $sent['id'],
+            'result' => ['value' => 'pong'],
+        ]));
+    });
+
+    $client = new Client();
+
+    new ReflectionProperty(Client::class, 'websocketConnection')->setValue($client, $connection);
+
+    $messages = iterator_to_array($client->execute('page@1', 'goto'));
+
+    expect($messages)->toHaveCount(1)
+        ->and($messages[0]['result']['value'])->toBe('pong');
+});
+
+it('sends the timeout as metadata so the server enforces it', function (): void {
+    $connection = $this->createStub(WebsocketConnection::class);
+
+    $sent = null;
+    $connection->method('sendText')->willReturnCallback(function (string $payload) use (&$sent): void {
+        $sent = json_decode($payload, true);
+    });
+
+    $connection->method('receive')->willReturnCallback(function () use (&$sent): WebsocketMessage {
+        return WebsocketMessage::fromText((string) json_encode(['id' => $sent['id']]));
+    });
+
+    $client = new Client();
+    $client->setTimeout(100);
+
+    new ReflectionProperty(Client::class, 'websocketConnection')->setValue($client, $connection);
+
+    iterator_to_array($client->execute('page@1', 'click'));
+
+    expect($sent['metadata']['timeout'])->toBe(100)
+        ->and($sent['params']['timeout'])->toBe(100);
+});