diff --git a/.changeset/autoconnect-query-parsing.md b/.changeset/autoconnect-query-parsing.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..348e50de2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/autoconnect-query-parsing.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"webpack-dev-middleware": patch
+---
+
+Fixed `autoConnect` on the client's query being read differently from every other boolean there. It tested `=== "true"` while the rest test `!== "false"`, so a value it did not recognise — `?autoConnect=1` — turned the client off rather than leaving it on, and since the default is already on, turning it off is the only thing anyone writes it for.
diff --git a/client-src/index.js b/client-src/index.js
index 77df4f2aa..d4645227e 100644
--- a/client-src/index.js
+++ b/client-src/index.js
@@ -170,7 +170,10 @@ function turnedOffByUrl(setting) {
  */
 function setOverrides(overrides) {
   if (overrides.autoConnect) {
-    options.autoConnect = overrides.autoConnect === "true";
+    // `!== "false"` like every other boolean here, not `=== "true"`: the
+    // default is already on, so the only thing anyone writes this for is
+    // turning it off, and `?autoConnect=1` used to do that by accident.
+    options.autoConnect = overrides.autoConnect !== "false";
   }
   if (overrides.transport === "sse" || overrides.transport === "ws") {
     options.transport = overrides.transport;
diff --git a/test/e2e/client.test.js b/test/e2e/client.test.js
index 076a19c04..73e86ebfd 100644
--- a/test/e2e/client.test.js
+++ b/test/e2e/client.test.js
@@ -100,6 +100,46 @@ describe("hot client (browser)", () => {
     expect(await readReloadMarker(page)).toBeUndefined();
   });
 
+  // Every boolean on the query turns off on `false` and is left alone by
+  // anything else. `autoConnect` read `=== "true"` instead, so a value it did
+  // not recognise turned it off — and since the default is on, turning it off
+  // is the only thing anyone writes it for.
+  it("stays connected for an autoConnect value that is not `false`", async () => {
+    app = await createHotApp({
+      query: "?autoConnect=1",
+      code: acceptedApp("v1"),
+    });
+    ({ page, browser } = await runBrowser());
+    const console_ = collectConsole(page);
+
+    await page.goto(app.url);
+    await waitForAppText(page, "v1");
+    await console_.waitFor("connected");
+
+    // Connected, so a build reaches the page.
+    app.edit(acceptedApp("v2"));
+    await waitForAppText(page, "v2");
+
+    expect(
+      await page.evaluate(() => document.getElementById("app").textContent),
+    ).toBe("v2");
+    expect(console_.messages.join("\n")).toContain("connected");
+  });
+
+  it("does not connect when autoConnect is `false`", async () => {
+    app = await createHotApp({
+      query: "?autoConnect=false",
+      code: acceptedApp("v1"),
+    });
+    ({ page, browser } = await runBrowser());
+    const console_ = collectConsole(page);
+
+    await page.goto(app.url);
+    await waitForAppText(page, "v1");
+
+    expect(console_.messages.join("\n")).not.toContain("connected");
+  });
+
   it("warns instead of reloading when reload=false", async () => {
     app = await createHotApp({
       query: "?reload=false",