diff --git a/src/calibre/srv/opts.py b/src/calibre/srv/opts.py
index 7fd43c5b43..ae9f81c8ba 100644
--- a/src/calibre/srv/opts.py
+++ b/src/calibre/srv/opts.py
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ raw_options = (
     None,
 
     _('Time (in seconds) to wait for a response from the server when making queries'),
-    'ajax_timeout', 60.0,
+    'ajax_timeout', 300.0,
     None,
 
     _('Total time in seconds to wait for clean shutdown'),