diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cfe52ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+"""
+Conftest runs for all tests in this directory and subdirectories. Thereby, we know for
+certain that the SocketSignal.READBACK_TIMEOUT is set to 0 for all tests, which prevents
+hanging tests when a readback is attempted on a non-connected socket.
+"""
+
+# conftest.py
+import pytest
+from ophyd_devices.utils.socket import SocketSignal
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def patch_socket_timeout(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(SocketSignal, "READBACK_TIMEOUT", 0.0)