diff --git a/MQTT_IMPLEMENTATION.md b/MQTT_IMPLEMENTATION.md
index 4ec105f4..2e855457 100644
--- a/MQTT_IMPLEMENTATION.md
+++ b/MQTT_IMPLEMENTATION.md
@@ -328,10 +328,11 @@ For community brokers that support the MeshCore JWT auth protocol (same as the b
 ```bash
 set mqtt3.preset custom
 set mqtt3.server wss://my-broker.example.com:443/mqtt
-set mqtt3.port 443
 set mqtt3.audience my-broker.example.com
 ```
 
+When the server is given as a full URL with a scheme (`mqtt://`, `mqtts://`, `ws://`, `wss://`), `set mqttN.port` is optional — an explicit port in the URL is used as-is, and without one the scheme's default port applies.
+
 When `audience` is set, the device will:
 - Connect with username `v1_{PUBLIC_KEY}` and an Ed25519-signed JWT as the password
 - Automatically renew tokens before expiry (default 24h lifetime)
@@ -342,6 +343,17 @@ To revert a slot back to username/password auth, clear the audience:
 set mqtt3.audience
 ```
 
+#### Example: Local Development Broker (plain WebSocket, no TLS)
+
+For local development (e.g. a LAN broker without SSL termination), use a full `ws://` URL. Non-TLS transports (`ws://`, `mqtt://`) skip certificate verification entirely:
+```bash
+set mqtt3.preset custom
+set mqtt3.server ws://192.168.1.50:9001/mqtt
+set mqtt3.audience my-local-broker
+```
+
+The `audience` line is optional — set it if your local broker uses the same JWT auth as the production presets, or use `set mqtt3.username` / `set mqtt3.password` instead.
+
 #### Example: Custom Broker with Custom Topic Template
 ```bash
 set mqtt3.preset custom
diff --git a/src/helpers/bridges/MQTTBridge.cpp b/src/helpers/bridges/MQTTBridge.cpp
index 9dcf5561..98876e56 100644
--- a/src/helpers/bridges/MQTTBridge.cpp
+++ b/src/helpers/bridges/MQTTBridge.cpp
@@ -107,13 +107,20 @@ static bool isWiFiConfigValid(const NodePrefs* prefs) {
 
 #ifdef WITH_MQTT_BRIDGE
 
+// A custom slot endpoint is complete if a port is set, or if the host is a
+// full URI with a scheme (esp-mqtt applies scheme default ports, and the URI
+// builder in setupSlot() preserves any embedded port/path).
+static bool customEndpointComplete(const char* host, uint16_t port) {
+  return host[0] != '\0' && (port != 0 || strstr(host, "://") != nullptr);
+}
+
 bool MQTTBridge::isConfigValid(const NodePrefs* prefs) {
   if (!prefs || !isWiFiConfigValid(prefs)) return false;
   for (int i = 0; i < RUNTIME_MQTT_SLOTS; i++) {
     const char* preset_name = prefs->mqtt_slot_preset[i];
     if (preset_name[0] == '\0' || strcmp(preset_name, MQTT_PRESET_NONE) == 0) continue;
     if (strcmp(preset_name, MQTT_PRESET_CUSTOM) == 0) {
-      if (prefs->mqtt_slot_host[i][0] != '\0' && prefs->mqtt_slot_port[i] != 0) return true;
+      if (customEndpointComplete(prefs->mqtt_slot_host[i], prefs->mqtt_slot_port[i])) return true;
     } else if (findMQTTPreset(preset_name) != nullptr) {
       return true;
     }
@@ -1925,7 +1932,7 @@ void MQTTBridge::applySlotPreset(int slot_index, const char* preset_name) {
     slot.enabled = true;
     slot.preset = nullptr;
     // Custom broker settings should already be set via setSlotCustomBroker
-    if (_initialized && strlen(slot.host) > 0 && slot.port > 0) {
+    if (_initialized && customEndpointComplete(slot.host, slot.port)) {
       setupSlot(slot_index);
     }
     return;