diff --git a/meshtastic/serial_interface.py b/meshtastic/serial_interface.py
index 8d1397c6..e80bc2d6 100644
--- a/meshtastic/serial_interface.py
+++ b/meshtastic/serial_interface.py
@@ -35,8 +35,6 @@ def __init__(
             debugOut {stream} -- If a stream is provided, any debug serial output from the device will be emitted to that stream. (default: {None})
             timeout -- How long to wait for replies (default: 300 seconds)
         """
-        self.noProto = noProto
-
         self.devPath: Optional[str] = devPath
 
         if self.devPath is None:
@@ -52,6 +50,11 @@ def __init__(
             else:
                 self.devPath = ports[0]
 
+        StreamInterface.__init__(
+            self, debugOut=debugOut, noProto=noProto, connectNow=connectNow, noNodes=noNodes, timeout=timeout
+        )
+
+    def connect(self) -> None:
         logger.debug(f"Connecting to {self.devPath}")
 
         if sys.platform != "win32":
@@ -65,9 +68,7 @@ def __init__(
         self.stream.flush()	# type: ignore[attr-defined]
         time.sleep(0.1)
 
-        StreamInterface.__init__(
-            self, debugOut=debugOut, noProto=noProto, connectNow=connectNow, noNodes=noNodes, timeout=timeout
-        )
+        super().connect()
 
     def _set_hupcl_with_termios(self, f: TextIOWrapper):
         """first we need to set the HUPCL so the device will not reboot based on RTS and/or DTR
diff --git a/meshtastic/stream_interface.py b/meshtastic/stream_interface.py
index 06ee28a3..a13404d2 100644
--- a/meshtastic/stream_interface.py
+++ b/meshtastic/stream_interface.py
@@ -39,15 +39,14 @@ def __init__( # pylint: disable=R0917
             timeout -- How long to wait for replies (default: 300 seconds)
 
         Raises:
-            Exception: [description]
-            Exception: [description]
+            RuntimeError: Raised if StreamInterface is instantiated when noProto is false.
         """
 
-        if not hasattr(self, "stream") and not noProto:
-            raise Exception( # pylint: disable=W0719
+        if not noProto and type(self) == StreamInterface: # pylint: disable=C0123
+            raise RuntimeError(
                 "StreamInterface is now abstract (to update existing code create SerialInterface instead)"
             )
-        self.stream: Optional[serial.Serial] # only serial uses this, TCPInterface overrides the relevant methods instead
+        self.stream: Optional[serial.Serial] = None  # only serial uses this, TCPInterface overrides the relevant methods instead
         self._rxBuf = bytes()  # empty
         self._wantExit = False
 
diff --git a/meshtastic/tcp_interface.py b/meshtastic/tcp_interface.py
index 732f37ef..9fbd7fec 100644
--- a/meshtastic/tcp_interface.py
+++ b/meshtastic/tcp_interface.py
@@ -31,19 +31,11 @@ def __init__(
             hostname {string} -- Hostname/IP address of the device to connect to
             timeout -- How long to wait for replies (default: 300 seconds)
         """
-
-        self.stream = None
-
         self.hostname: str = hostname
         self.portNumber: int = portNumber
 
         self.socket: Optional[socket.socket] = None
 
-        if connectNow:
-            self.myConnect()
-        else:
-            self.socket = None
-
         super().__init__(debugOut=debugOut, noProto=noProto, connectNow=connectNow, noNodes=noNodes, timeout=timeout)
 
     def __repr__(self):
@@ -68,8 +60,13 @@ def _socket_shutdown(self) -> None:
         if self.socket is not None:
             self.socket.shutdown(socket.SHUT_RDWR)
 
+    def connect(self) -> None:
+        """Connect the interface"""
+        self.myConnect()
+        super().connect()
+
     def myConnect(self) -> None:
-        """Connect to socket"""
+        """Connect to socket (without attempting to start the interface's receive thread"""
         logger.debug(f"Connecting to {self.hostname}") # type: ignore[str-bytes-safe]
         server_address = (self.hostname, self.portNumber)
         self.socket = socket.create_connection(server_address)
diff --git a/meshtastic/tests/test_stream_interface.py b/meshtastic/tests/test_stream_interface.py
index 3411ffb8..1e1d5e3c 100644
--- a/meshtastic/tests/test_stream_interface.py
+++ b/meshtastic/tests/test_stream_interface.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ def test_StreamInterface():
     """Test that we cannot instantiate a StreamInterface based on noProto"""
     with pytest.raises(Exception) as pytest_wrapped_e:
         StreamInterface()
-    assert pytest_wrapped_e.type == Exception
+    assert pytest_wrapped_e.type == RuntimeError
 
 
 # Note: This takes a bit, so moving from unit to slow