diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d96c13bc0..7f1769c25 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ Option | Default value | Description
 server | api.streamr.com | Address of the server to connect to.
 autoConnect | true | If set to `true`, the client connects automatically on the first call to `subscribe()`. Otherwise an explicit call to `connect()` is required.
 autoDisconnect | true  | If set to `true`, the client automatically disconnects when the last channel is unsubscribed. Otherwise the connection is left open and can be disconnected explicitly by calling `disconnect()`.
+transports | null | Override default transport selection / upgrade scheme. For example, value `["websocket"]` will force use of sockets right from the beginning, while value `["polling"]` will allow only long-polling to be used.
+
 
 ## Resend options
 
diff --git a/streamr-client.js b/streamr-client.js
index 7fa2c1ac5..502d3d67b 100644
--- a/streamr-client.js
+++ b/streamr-client.js
@@ -256,7 +256,9 @@ function StreamrClient(options) {
 		// Automatically connect on first subscribe
 		autoConnect: true,
 		// Automatically disconnect on last unsubscribe
-		autoDisconnect: true
+		autoDisconnect: true,
+		// Allow client socket library to choose appropriate transport
+		transports: null
 	}
 	this.subsByStream = {}
 	this.subById = {}
@@ -384,7 +386,10 @@ StreamrClient.prototype.connect = function(reconnect) {
 	this.connecting = true
 	this.disconnecting = false
 
-	this.socket = io(this.options.server, {forceNew: true})
+	this.socket = io(this.options.server, {
+		forceNew: true,
+		transports: this.options.transports
+	})
 
 	this.socket.on('ui', function(data) {
 		if (typeof data == 'string' || data instanceof String) {
diff --git a/test/test.streamr-client.js b/test/test.streamr-client.js
index 47bf9940a..7b2c157af 100644
--- a/test/test.streamr-client.js
+++ b/test/test.streamr-client.js
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ describe('StreamrClient', function() {
 		socket = createSocketMock()
 
 		var ioCalls = 0
-		global.io = function() {
+		global.io = function(uri, opts) {
 			ioCalls++
 
 			// Create new sockets for subsequent calls
@@ -112,6 +112,9 @@ describe('StreamrClient', function() {
 				socket.emit('connect')
 			})
 
+			socket.uri = uri;
+			socket.opts = opts;
+
 			return socket
 		}
 
@@ -121,6 +124,30 @@ describe('StreamrClient', function() {
 	})
 
 	describe("connect", function() {
+		it('should not pass transport details in io() call', function(done) {
+			client.connect()
+			client.socket.on("connect", function() {
+				assert.strictEqual(client.socket.opts["transports"], null)
+				done()
+			})
+		})
+
+		context('when client initialized with transport details', function () {
+			beforeEach(function () {
+				client = new StreamrClient({
+					transports: ["websocket"]
+				})
+			})
+
+			it('should pass transport details in io() call', function(done) {
+				client.connect()
+				client.socket.on("connect", function() {
+					assert.deepEqual(client.socket.opts["transports"], ["websocket"])
+					done()
+				})
+			})
+		})
+
 		it('should emit pending subscribes', function(done) {
 			var subscription = client.subscribe("stream1", function(message) {})
 			client.connect()