diff --git a/lib/index.js b/lib/index.js
index 0232fce..75f5484 100644
--- a/lib/index.js
+++ b/lib/index.js
@@ -38,7 +38,10 @@ class Backend {
     this.options = { ...getDefaults(), ...(this.options || {}), ...options }
     this.allOptions = allOptions
     if (this.services && this.options.reloadInterval) {
-      setInterval(() => this.reload(), this.options.reloadInterval)
+      const timer = setInterval(() => this.reload(), this.options.reloadInterval)
+      if (typeof timer === 'object') {
+        timer.unref()
+      }
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 50df799..4a28a81 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -77,8 +77,8 @@
     "compile": "npm run compile:esm && npm run compile:cjs",
     "browser": "browserify --ignore cross-fetch --standalone i18nextHttpBackend cjs/index.js -o i18nextHttpBackend.js && uglifyjs i18nextHttpBackend.js --compress --mangle -o i18nextHttpBackend.min.js",
     "build": "npm run compile && npm run browser",
-    "test:xmlhttpreq": "mocha test -R spec --require test/fixtures/xmlHttpRequest.cjs --exit --experimental-modules",
-    "test:fetch": "mocha test -R spec --exit --experimental-modules",
+    "test:xmlhttpreq": "mocha test -R spec --require test/fixtures/xmlHttpRequest.cjs --experimental-modules",
+    "test:fetch": "mocha test -R spec --experimental-modules",
     "test": "npm run lint && npm run build && npm run test:fetch && npm run test:xmlhttpreq && npm run test:typescript",
     "test:typescript": "tslint --project tsconfig.json && tsd",
     "test:deno": "deno test --allow-net test/deno/*.js",
diff --git a/test/fixtures/server.js b/test/fixtures/server.js
index aace61b..c1e305f 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/server.js
+++ b/test/fixtures/server.js
@@ -6,6 +6,11 @@ const server = (done) => {
   if (js) return done(null, js)
 
   js = jsonServer.create()
+  js.use((req, res, next)=> {
+    // disable keep alive so the test server can close quickly.
+    res.setHeader('Connection', 'close')
+    next()
+  })
   js.use(jsonServer.bodyParser)
 
   js.get('/locales/en/testqs', (req, res) => {
@@ -54,7 +59,7 @@ const server = (done) => {
   js.listen(5001, () => {
     console.log('JSON Server is running')
     done(null, js)
-  })
+  }).unref()
 }
 
 export default server
diff --git a/test/http.spec.js b/test/http.spec.js
index 71caca6..b77be7a 100644
--- a/test/http.spec.js
+++ b/test/http.spec.js
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@ describe(`http backend using ${hasXMLHttpRequest() ? 'XMLHttpRequest' : 'fetch'}
             errO = err
             dataO = data
             resolve(true)
-            setTimeout(() => reject(new Error('timeout')), 1500)
           })
+          setTimeout(() => reject(new Error('timeout')), 1500).unref()
         })
         // evaluate outside callback to get actuall error when something is wrong
         expect(errO).to.be(null)
@@ -72,8 +72,8 @@ describe(`http backend using ${hasXMLHttpRequest() ? 'XMLHttpRequest' : 'fetch'}
             errO = err
             dataO = data
             resolve(true)
-            setTimeout(() => reject(new Error('timeout')), 1500)
           })
+          setTimeout(() => reject(new Error('timeout')), 1500).unref()
         })
         // evaluate outside callback to get actuall error when something is wrong
         expect(errO).to.be(null)