diff --git a/app.js b/app.js
index d37a883c8..45e70c8b5 100644
--- a/app.js
+++ b/app.js
@@ -309,9 +309,15 @@ process.on('uncaughtException', function (err) {
   process.exit(1)
 })
 
+let alreadyHandlingTermSignals = false
 // install exit handler
 function handleTermSignals () {
+  if (alreadyHandlingTermSignals) {
+    logger.info('Forcefully exiting.')
+    process.exit(1)
+  }
   logger.info('HedgeDoc has been killed by signal, try to exit gracefully...')
+  alreadyHandlingTermSignals = true
   realtime.maintenance = true
   // disconnect all socket.io clients
   Object.keys(io.sockets.sockets).forEach(function (key) {
@@ -331,17 +337,28 @@ function handleTermSignals () {
       }
     })
   }
+  const maxCleanTries = 30
+  let currentCleanTry = 1
   const checkCleanTimer = setInterval(function () {
     if (realtime.isReady()) {
       models.Revision.checkAllNotesRevision(function (err, notes) {
-        if (err) return logger.error(err)
+        if (err) {
+          logger.error('Error while saving note revisions: ' + err)
+          if (currentCleanTry <= maxCleanTries) {
+            logger.warn(`Trying again. Try ${currentCleanTry} of ${maxCleanTries}`)
+            currentCleanTry++
+            return null
+          }
+          logger.error(`Could not save note revisions after ${maxCleanTries} tries! Exiting.`)
+          process.exit(1)
+        }
         if (!notes || notes.length <= 0) {
           clearInterval(checkCleanTimer)
-          return process.exit(0)
+          process.exit(0)
         }
       })
     }
-  }, 100)
+  }, 200)
 }
 process.on('SIGINT', handleTermSignals)
 process.on('SIGTERM', handleTermSignals)
diff --git a/public/docs/release-notes.md b/public/docs/release-notes.md
index 58b945fea..7134a3d92 100644
--- a/public/docs/release-notes.md
+++ b/public/docs/release-notes.md
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 
 ### Bugfixes
 - Fix crash when trying to read the current Git commit on startup 
+- Fix endless loop on shutdown when HedgeDoc can't connect to the database
 
 ## <i class="fa fa-tag"></i> 1.8.2 <i class="fa fa-calendar-o"></i> 2021-05-11