diff --git a/.changeset/young-bikes-compete.md b/.changeset/young-bikes-compete.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..65e9e2b3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/young-bikes-compete.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'preact-cli': patch
+---
+
+Fixes HMR / `--refresh` flag in watch mode
diff --git a/packages/cli/lib/lib/webpack/webpack-client-config.js b/packages/cli/lib/lib/webpack/webpack-client-config.js
index dac17d00d..0ffb77a3d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/lib/lib/webpack/webpack-client-config.js
+++ b/packages/cli/lib/lib/webpack/webpack-client-config.js
@@ -332,6 +332,7 @@ function isDev(env) {
 
 		devServer: {
 			hot: true,
+			liveReload: !env.refresh,
 			compress: true,
 			devMiddleware: {
 				publicPath: '/',