diff --git a/lib/framework/OTASettingsService.cpp b/lib/framework/OTASettingsService.cpp
index 76c85bc..7702d60 100644
--- a/lib/framework/OTASettingsService.cpp
+++ b/lib/framework/OTASettingsService.cpp
@@ -25,14 +25,9 @@ void OTASettingsService::onConfigUpdated() {
 }
 
 void OTASettingsService::readFromJsonObject(JsonObject& root) {
-  _enabled = root["enabled"];
-  _port = root["port"];
+  _enabled = root["enabled"] | DEFAULT_OTA_ENABLED;
+  _port = root["port"] | DEFAULT_OTA_PORT;
   _password = root["password"] | DEFAULT_OTA_PASSWORD;
-
-  // provide defaults
-  if (_port < 0) {
-    _port = DEFAULT_OTA_PORT;
-  }
 }
 
 void OTASettingsService::writeToJsonObject(JsonObject& root) {
diff --git a/lib/framework/OTASettingsService.h b/lib/framework/OTASettingsService.h
index 1de9e4b..7478924 100644
--- a/lib/framework/OTASettingsService.h
+++ b/lib/framework/OTASettingsService.h
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 // Emergency defaults
 #define DEFAULT_OTA_PORT 8266
 #define DEFAULT_OTA_PASSWORD "esp-react"
+#define DEFAULT_OTA_ENABLED true
 
 #define OTA_SETTINGS_FILE "/config/otaSettings.json"
 #define OTA_SETTINGS_SERVICE_PATH "/rest/otaSettings"