diff --git a/clients/java/signalr/src/main/java/com/microsoft/aspnet/signalr/Transport.java b/clients/java/signalr/src/main/java/com/microsoft/aspnet/signalr/Transport.java
index d8356ae949..e161953f0d 100644
--- a/clients/java/signalr/src/main/java/com/microsoft/aspnet/signalr/Transport.java
+++ b/clients/java/signalr/src/main/java/com/microsoft/aspnet/signalr/Transport.java
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 package com.microsoft.aspnet.signalr;
 
 public interface Transport {
-    void start() throws InterruptedException;
+    void start() throws Exception;
     void send(String message) throws Exception;
     void setOnReceive(OnReceiveCallBack callback);
     void onReceive(String message) throws Exception;
diff --git a/clients/java/signalr/src/main/java/com/microsoft/aspnet/signalr/WebSocketTransport.java b/clients/java/signalr/src/main/java/com/microsoft/aspnet/signalr/WebSocketTransport.java
index 40ce5beb7e..4bc7f5556b 100644
--- a/clients/java/signalr/src/main/java/com/microsoft/aspnet/signalr/WebSocketTransport.java
+++ b/clients/java/signalr/src/main/java/com/microsoft/aspnet/signalr/WebSocketTransport.java
@@ -39,10 +39,14 @@ public class WebSocketTransport implements Transport {
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void start() throws InterruptedException {
-        logger.log(LogLevel.Debug, "Starting Websocket connection");
+    public void start() throws Exception {
+        logger.log(LogLevel.Debug, "Starting Websocket connection.");
         webSocketClient = createWebSocket();
-        webSocketClient.connectBlocking();
+        if (!webSocketClient.connectBlocking()) {
+            String errorMessage = "There was an error starting the Websockets transport.";
+            logger.log(LogLevel.Debug, errorMessage);
+            throw new Exception(errorMessage);
+        }
         logger.log(LogLevel.Information, "WebSocket transport connected to: %s", webSocketClient.getURI());
     }
 
diff --git a/clients/java/signalr/src/test/java/WebSocketTransportTest.java b/clients/java/signalr/src/test/java/WebSocketTransportTest.java
index ba251c9a9f..beb07d9bdd 100644
--- a/clients/java/signalr/src/test/java/WebSocketTransportTest.java
+++ b/clients/java/signalr/src/test/java/WebSocketTransportTest.java
@@ -2,38 +2,22 @@
 // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See License.txt in the project root for license information.
 
 import com.microsoft.aspnet.signalr.NullLogger;
+import com.microsoft.aspnet.signalr.Transport;
 import com.microsoft.aspnet.signalr.WebSocketTransport;
-import java.net.URISyntaxException;
-import java.util.Arrays;
-import java.util.Collection;
+import org.junit.Rule;
 import org.junit.Test;
-import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
-import org.junit.runners.Parameterized;
+import org.junit.rules.ExpectedException;
 
-import static org.junit.Assert.*;
-
-@RunWith(Parameterized.class)
 public class WebSocketTransportTest {
-    private String url;
-    private String expectedUrl;
 
-    public WebSocketTransportTest(String url, String expectedProtocol){
-        this.url = url;
-        this.expectedUrl = expectedProtocol;
-    }
-
-    @Parameterized.Parameters
-    public static Collection protocols(){
-        return Arrays.asList(new String[][] {
-                {"http://example.com", "ws://example.com"},
-                {"https://example.com", "wss://example.com"},
-                {"ws://example.com", "ws://example.com"},
-                {"wss://example.com", "wss://example.com"}});
-    }
+    @Rule
+    public ExpectedException expectedEx = ExpectedException.none();
 
     @Test
-    public void checkWebsocketUrlProtocol() throws URISyntaxException {
-        WebSocketTransport webSocketTransport = new WebSocketTransport(this.url, new NullLogger());
-        assertEquals(this.expectedUrl, webSocketTransport.getUrl().toString());
+    public void WebsocketThrowsIfItCantConnect() throws Exception {
+        expectedEx.expect(Exception.class);
+        expectedEx.expectMessage("There was an error starting the Websockets transport");
+        Transport transport = new WebSocketTransport("www.notarealurl12345.fake", new NullLogger());
+        transport.start();
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/clients/java/signalr/src/test/java/WebSocketTransportUrlFormatTest.java b/clients/java/signalr/src/test/java/WebSocketTransportUrlFormatTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..258c45584b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/clients/java/signalr/src/test/java/WebSocketTransportUrlFormatTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+// Copyright (c) .NET Foundation. All rights reserved.
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See License.txt in the project root for license information.
+
+import com.microsoft.aspnet.signalr.NullLogger;
+import com.microsoft.aspnet.signalr.WebSocketTransport;
+
+import java.net.URISyntaxException;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collection;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
+import org.junit.runners.Parameterized;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.*;
+
+@RunWith(Parameterized.class)
+public class WebSocketTransportUrlFormatTest {
+    private String url;
+    private String expectedUrl;
+
+    public WebSocketTransportUrlFormatTest(String url, String expectedProtocol) {
+        this.url = url;
+        this.expectedUrl = expectedProtocol;
+    }
+
+    @Parameterized.Parameters
+    public static Collection protocols() {
+        return Arrays.asList(new String[][]{
+                {"http://example.com", "ws://example.com"},
+                {"https://example.com", "wss://example.com"},
+                {"ws://example.com", "ws://example.com"},
+                {"wss://example.com", "wss://example.com"}});
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void checkWebsocketUrlProtocol() throws URISyntaxException {
+        WebSocketTransport webSocketTransport = new WebSocketTransport(this.url, new NullLogger());
+        assertEquals(this.expectedUrl, webSocketTransport.getUrl().toString());
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file