diff --git a/src/mesh/NextHopRouter.cpp b/src/mesh/NextHopRouter.cpp
index f21974a2e..860250f75 100644
--- a/src/mesh/NextHopRouter.cpp
+++ b/src/mesh/NextHopRouter.cpp
@@ -165,10 +165,15 @@ bool NextHopRouter::stopRetransmission(GlobalPacketId key)
         /* Only when we already transmitted a packet via LoRa, we will cancel the packet in the Tx queue
           to avoid canceling a transmission if it was ACKed super fast via MQTT */
         if (old->numRetransmissions < NUM_RELIABLE_RETX - 1) {
-            // remove the 'original' (identified by originator and packet->id) from the txqueue and free it
-            cancelSending(getFrom(p), p->id);
-            // now free the pooled copy for retransmission too
-            packetPool.release(p);
+            // We only cancel it if we are the original sender or if we're not a router(_late)/repeater
+            if (isFromUs(p) || (config.device.role != meshtastic_Config_DeviceConfig_Role_ROUTER &&
+                                config.device.role != meshtastic_Config_DeviceConfig_Role_REPEATER &&
+                                config.device.role != meshtastic_Config_DeviceConfig_Role_ROUTER_LATE)) {
+                // remove the 'original' (identified by originator and packet->id) from the txqueue and free it
+                cancelSending(getFrom(p), p->id);
+                // now free the pooled copy for retransmission too
+                packetPool.release(p);
+            }
         }
         auto numErased = pending.erase(key);
         assert(numErased == 1);