diff --git a/lib/dispatcher/client-h1.js b/lib/dispatcher/client-h1.js
index 60d1b511172..0cb6528ae06 100644
--- a/lib/dispatcher/client-h1.js
+++ b/lib/dispatcher/client-h1.js
@@ -612,7 +612,7 @@ class Parser {
       // have been queued since then.
       util.destroy(socket, new InformationalError('reset'))
       return constants.ERROR.PAUSED
-    } else if (client[kPipelining] === 1) {
+    } else if (client[kPipelining] == null || client[kPipelining] === 1) {
       // We must wait a full event loop cycle to reuse this socket to make sure
       // that non-spec compliant servers are not closing the connection even if they
       // said they won't.
@@ -735,6 +735,7 @@ async function connectH1 (client, socket) {
 
   return {
     version: 'h1',
+    defaultPipelining: 1,
     write (...args) {
       return writeH1(client, ...args)
     },
diff --git a/lib/dispatcher/client-h2.js b/lib/dispatcher/client-h2.js
index c0cfd5c88f6..7202c654397 100644
--- a/lib/dispatcher/client-h2.js
+++ b/lib/dispatcher/client-h2.js
@@ -124,6 +124,7 @@ async function connectH2 (client, socket) {
 
   return {
     version: 'h2',
+    defaultPipelining: Infinity,
     write (...args) {
       // TODO (fix): return
       writeH2(client, ...args)
diff --git a/lib/dispatcher/client.js b/lib/dispatcher/client.js
index 91acddd8371..7c75c2ff239 100644
--- a/lib/dispatcher/client.js
+++ b/lib/dispatcher/client.js
@@ -66,6 +66,10 @@ const connectH2 = require('./client-h2.js')
 
 const kClosedResolve = Symbol('kClosedResolve')
 
+function getPipelining (client) {
+  return client[kPipelining] ?? client[kHTTPContext]?.defaultPipelining ?? 1
+}
+
 /**
  * @type {import('../../types/client.js').default}
  */
@@ -280,7 +284,7 @@ class Client extends DispatcherBase {
     const socket = this[kSocket]
     return (
       (socket && (socket[kReset] || socket[kWriting] || socket[kBlocking])) ||
-      (this[kSize] >= (this[kPipelining] || 1)) ||
+      (this[kSize] >= (getPipelining(this) || 1)) ||
       this[kPending] > 0
     )
   }
@@ -564,10 +568,8 @@ function _resume (client, sync) {
       return
     }
 
-    if (client[kHTTPContext]?.version === 'h1') {
-      if (client[kRunning] >= (client[kPipelining] || 1)) {
-        return
-      }
+    if (client[kRunning] >= (getPipelining(client) || 1)) {
+      return
     }
 
     const request = client[kQueue][client[kPendingIdx]]