@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import asyncio
 import contextlib
 import json
 import logging
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@
 class AsyncWebsocketClient(BaseWebsocketClient):
     _session: AsyncSession
     _ws: AsyncExtensionFromHTTP
+    _reader_task: asyncio.Task[None]
 
     def __init__(
         self,
@@ -65,6 +67,9 @@ def __init__(
     ) -> None:
         super().__init__(api_url, token, max_size=max_size)
         self._session = session if session is not None else AsyncSession()
+        self._new_message = asyncio.Condition()
+        self._fatal_error: BaseException | None = None
+        self._id_errors: dict[int, BaseException] = {}
 
     async def __aenter__(self) -> Self:
         await self._session.__aenter__()
@@ -74,8 +79,11 @@ async def __aenter__(self) -> Self:
             msg = "Server did not upgrade to WebSocket"
             raise ReceivingError(msg)
         self._ws = resp.extension
+        # Authenticate before starting the reader task: these messages have no "id"
+        # and aren't dispatched through it, so nothing else may read the socket yet.
         okay = await self.authentication_phase()
         logger.info("Authenticated with Home Assistant (%s)", okay.ha_version)
+        self._reader_task = asyncio.create_task(self._reader_loop())
         await self.supported_features_phase()
         return self
 
@@ -85,10 +93,50 @@ async def __aexit__(
         exc_value: BaseException | None,
         traceback: TracebackType | None,
     ) -> None:
+        self._reader_task.cancel()
+        with contextlib.suppress(asyncio.CancelledError):
+            await self._reader_task
         await self._ws.close()
         del self._ws
         await self._session.__aexit__(exc_type, exc_value, traceback)
 
+    async def _reader_loop(self) -> None:
+        """
+        Continuously read messages off the socket and dispatch them by id.
+
+        This is the only task allowed to touch the socket directly, so reads can
+        never interleave or starve a waiting `recv()` call.
+        """
+        while True:
+            try:
+                data = await self._async_recv()
+            except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001
+                # No message id is available yet, so there's no single owner to
+                # blame this on: the connection is dead for every pending recv().
+                async with self._new_message:
+                    self._fatal_error = e
+                    self._new_message.notify_all()
+                return
+            await self._dispatch(data)
+
+    async def _dispatch(self, data: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+        """Hand a received message to `handle_recv`, routing any failure to its owner."""
+        try:
+            self.handle_recv(data)
+        except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001
+            data_id = data.get("id")
+            async with self._new_message:
+                if isinstance(data_id, int):
+                    # The message carried its own id, so only the caller waiting
+                    # on that id needs to see the failure.
+                    self._id_errors[data_id] = e
+                else:
+                    self._fatal_error = e
+                self._new_message.notify_all()
+            return
+        async with self._new_message:
+            self._new_message.notify_all()
+
     async def _async_send(self, data: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
         """Send a message to the websocket server."""
         if data.get("type") != "auth":
@@ -147,20 +195,26 @@ async def recv(
         msg_id: int,
     ) -> EventResponse | ResultResponse | PingResponse | None:
         """Receive a response to a message from the websocket server."""
-        while True:
-            ## have we received a message with the id we're looking for?
-            if self._result_responses.get(msg_id) is not None:
-                return self._result_responses.pop(msg_id)
-            if self._event_responses.get(msg_id, []):
-                return self._event_responses[msg_id].pop(0)
-            if (
-                self._ping_responses.get(msg_id) is not None
-                and self._ping_responses[msg_id].end is not None
-            ):
-                return self._ping_responses.pop(msg_id)
-
-            ## if not, keep receiving messages until we do
-            self.handle_recv(await self._async_recv())
+        async with self._new_message:
+            while True:
+                ## have we received a message with the id we're looking for?
+                if self._result_responses.get(msg_id) is not None:
+                    return self._result_responses.pop(msg_id)
+                if self._event_responses.get(msg_id, []):
+                    return self._event_responses[msg_id].pop(0)
+                if (
+                    self._ping_responses.get(msg_id) is not None
+                    and self._ping_responses[msg_id].end is not None
+                ):
+                    return self._ping_responses.pop(msg_id)
+                ## did our own request fail, or did the connection die outright?
+                if msg_id in self._id_errors:
+                    raise self._id_errors.pop(msg_id)
+                if self._fatal_error is not None:
+                    raise self._fatal_error
+
+                ## if not, wait for the reader task to dispatch another message
+                await self._new_message.wait()
 
     async def recv_result(self, msg_id: int) -> ResultResponse:
         """Receive a ResultResponse, raising TypeError if the response is not a ResultResponse."""
 
@@ -43,12 +43,13 @@ dev = [
     "aiosqlite>=0.22",
     "prek>=0.3.8",
     "pre-commit>=4.5.1",
-    "nimax",
+    "nimax>=1.1.1",
 ]
 
 [tool.nimax]
 cassette_library_dir = "tests/cassettes"
 match_on = ["method", "uri"]
+ws_id_extractor = "id"
 
 [tool.pytest.ini_options]
 asyncio_mode = "auto"