diff --git a/src/Vehicle/Vehicle.cc b/src/Vehicle/Vehicle.cc
index c2d265162d51c8fe19118b774976daef3afcb056..2ba2fc255d653bf171a4040c2cadc60093c2d7c4 100644
--- a/src/Vehicle/Vehicle.cc
+++ b/src/Vehicle/Vehicle.cc
@@ -493,6 +493,10 @@ void Vehicle::_mavlinkMessageReceived(LinkInterface* link, mavlink_message_t mes
         }
     }
 
+
+    // Mark this vehicle as active
+    _connectionActive();
+
     // Give the plugin a change to adjust the message contents
     if (!_firmwarePlugin->adjustIncomingMavlinkMessage(this, &message)) {
         return;
@@ -900,8 +904,6 @@ void Vehicle::_handleHeartbeat(mavlink_message_t& message)
         return;
     }
 
-    _connectionActive();
-
     mavlink_heartbeat_t heartbeat;
 
     mavlink_msg_heartbeat_decode(&message, &heartbeat);