diff --git a/src/cyclic.cpp b/src/cyclic.cpp
index a927a21e..88d618e5 100644
--- a/src/cyclic.cpp
+++ b/src/cyclic.cpp
@@ -20,16 +20,9 @@ void setCyclicIRQ() {
 // do all housekeeping
 void doHousekeeping() {
 
-  // check if update mode trigger switch was set
-  if (RTC_runmode == RUNMODE_UPDATE) {
-    // check battery status if we can before doing ota
-    if (batt_sufficient()) {
-      do_reset(true); // warmstart to runmode update
-    } else {
-      ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Battery level %d%% is too low for OTA", batt_level);
-      RTC_runmode = RUNMODE_NORMAL; // keep running in normal mode
-    }
-  }
+  // check if update mode trigger switch was set by rcommand
+  if (RTC_runmode == RUNMODE_UPDATE)
+    do_reset(true);
 
   // heap and task storage debugging
   ESP_LOGD(TAG, "Heap: Free:%d, Min:%d, Size:%d, Alloc:%d, StackHWM:%d",
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index b52ce977..b5f69647 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -29,11 +29,11 @@ Task          Core  Prio  Purpose
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ledloop       0     3     blinks LEDs
 spiloop       0     2     reads/writes data on spi interface
-mqttloop      0     2     reads/writes data on ETH interface
 IDLE          0     0     ESP32 arduino scheduler -> runs wifi sniffer
 
 lmictask      1     2     MCCI LMiC LORAWAN stack
 clockloop     1     4     generates realtime telegrams for external clock
+mqttloop      1     2     reads/writes data on ETH interface
 timesync_proc 1     3     processes realtime time sync requests
 irqhandler    1     2     cyclic tasks (i.e. displayrefresh) triggered by timers
 gpsloop       1     1     reads data from GPS via serial or i2c
diff --git a/src/mqttclient.cpp b/src/mqttclient.cpp
index 867f06db..f66456ec 100644
--- a/src/mqttclient.cpp
+++ b/src/mqttclient.cpp
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ esp_err_t mqtt_init(void) {
            SEND_QUEUE_SIZE * PAYLOAD_BUFFER_SIZE);
 
   ESP_LOGI(TAG, "Starting MQTTloop...");
-  xTaskCreate(mqtt_client_task, "mqttloop", 4096, (void *)NULL, 1, &mqttTask);
+  xTaskCreatePinnedToCore(mqtt_client_task, "mqttloop", 4096, (void *)NULL, 1, &mqttTask, 1);
 
   return ESP_OK;
 }
diff --git a/src/rcommand.cpp b/src/rcommand.cpp
index d69bb0cc..9aad91ff 100644
--- a/src/rcommand.cpp
+++ b/src/rcommand.cpp
@@ -35,7 +35,11 @@ void set_reset(uint8_t val[]) {
   case 9: // reset and ask for software update via Wifi OTA
     ESP_LOGI(TAG, "Remote command: software update via Wifi");
 #if (USE_OTA)
-    RTC_runmode = RUNMODE_UPDATE;
+    // check power status before scheduling ota update
+    if (batt_sufficient())
+      RTC_runmode = RUNMODE_UPDATE;
+    else
+      ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Battery level %d%% is too low for OTA", batt_level);
 #endif // USE_OTA
     break;
 
diff --git a/src/reset.cpp b/src/reset.cpp
index 89720993..998367b1 100644
--- a/src/reset.cpp
+++ b/src/reset.cpp
@@ -49,7 +49,6 @@ void do_after_reset(void) {
     break;
 
   case DEEPSLEEP_RESET: // 0x05 Deep Sleep reset digital core
-    RTC_runmode = RUNMODE_WAKEUP;
     // calculate time spent in deep sleep
     gettimeofday(&sleep_stop_time, NULL);
     sleep_time_ms =
@@ -57,6 +56,9 @@ void do_after_reset(void) {
         (sleep_stop_time.tv_usec - RTC_sleep_start_time.tv_usec) / 1000;
     ESP_LOGI(TAG, "Time spent in deep sleep: %d ms", sleep_time_ms);
     RTC_millis += sleep_time_ms; // increment system monotonic time
+    // set wakeup state, not if we have pending OTA update
+    if (RTC_runmode == RUNMODE_SLEEP)
+      RTC_runmode = RUNMODE_WAKEUP;
     break;
 
   case SW_RESET:         // 0x03 Software reset digital core
@@ -103,7 +105,7 @@ void enter_deepsleep(const uint64_t wakeup_sec = 60,
   // stop further enqueuing of senddata and MAC processing
   sendTimer.detach();
 
-  // switch off radio
+  // switch off radio and other power consuming hardware
 #if (WIFICOUNTER)
   switch_wifi_sniffer(0);
 #endif
@@ -111,6 +113,9 @@ void enter_deepsleep(const uint64_t wakeup_sec = 60,
   stop_BLEscan();
   btStop();
 #endif
+#if (HAS_SDS011)
+  sds011_sleep(void);
+#endif
 
   // stop MAC processing
   vTaskDelete(macProcessTask);