diff --git a/src/DirectoryNode.cpp b/src/DirectoryNode.cpp
index 872046a..369b461 100644
--- a/src/DirectoryNode.cpp
+++ b/src/DirectoryNode.cpp
@@ -550,16 +550,20 @@ void DirectoryNode::streamDirectoryHTML(Print &out) const {
         out.print(F("\"><b>"));
         out.print(name);
         out.println(F("</b></li>"));
+        delay(0);  // Yield to allow network stack to send buffered data
     }
 
-    delay(0);
-
     for (size_t i = 0; i < mp3Files.size(); i++) {
         out.print(F("<li data-id=\""));
         out.print(ids[i]);
         out.print(F("\">"));
         out.print(mp3Files[i]);
         out.println(F("</li>"));
+        
+        // Yield every few items to allow the async web server to send buffered data
+        if (i % 5 == 4) {
+            delay(1);
+        }
     }
 
     for (DirectoryNode* child : subdirectories) {
@@ -568,6 +572,7 @@ void DirectoryNode::streamDirectoryHTML(Print &out) const {
 
     if (name == "/") {
         out.println(F("</ul>"));
+        delay(0);  // Final yield before completing
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index 5f16121..3204ab6 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -618,7 +618,9 @@ void writeSongProgress(const char *filename, uint16_t id, uint32_t seconds)
     file.print(" ");
     file.println(seconds);
     file.close();
+#ifdef DEBUG    
     Serial.println("Progress written: ID " + String(id) + ", s " + String(seconds));
+#endif
   }
   else
   {
@@ -1225,7 +1227,10 @@ server.on("/", HTTP_GET, [](AsyncWebServerRequest *request)
     server.on("/directory", HTTP_GET, [](AsyncWebServerRequest *request)
               {
                 webreq_enter();
-                request->onDisconnect([](){ webreq_exit(); });
+                request->onDisconnect([](){ webreq_exit(); sd_lock_release(); });
+                // Acquire SD lock to prevent concurrent modifications to directory tree
+                // and to prevent audio playback from interrupting the stream
+                sd_lock_acquire();
                 // Stream the response directly from the directory tree to avoid large temporary Strings
                 AsyncResponseStream* stream = request->beginResponseStream(txt_html_charset);
 #ifdef DEBUG                
@@ -1420,9 +1425,9 @@ void setup()
   wifiManager.setRemoveDuplicateAPs(true); // Remove duplicate APs from memory
 
   // Reduce timeouts to free memory faster
-  wifiManager.setTimeout(60);             // Reduced from 180
+  wifiManager.setTimeout(180);             // Reduced from 180
   wifiManager.setConnectTimeout(15);      // Faster connection attempts
-  wifiManager.setConfigPortalTimeout(60); // Shorter portal timeout
+  wifiManager.setConfigPortalTimeout(90); // Shorter portal timeout
 
 #ifdef DEBUG                  
   Serial.println(F("Deactivating Brownout detector..."));
diff --git a/web/script.js b/web/script.js
index e660089..829867f 100644
--- a/web/script.js
+++ b/web/script.js
@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ setInterval(updateProgress, 500); // Update progress every second
     var timeoutMs;
     if ((this.__url || '').indexOf('/upload') !== -1) {
       timeoutMs = 600000; // 10 minutes for uploads
+    } else if ((this.__url || '').indexOf('/directory') !== -1) {
+      timeoutMs = 30000; // 30 seconds for directory listing (can be large)
     } else if (this.__method === 'GET') {
       timeoutMs = 6000;
     } else {
@@ -497,4 +499,3 @@ function deleteFileOnServer() {
   };
   xhr.send();
 }
-