diff --git a/libbeat/idxmgmt/idxmgmt.go b/libbeat/idxmgmt/idxmgmt.go
index efc9de34755..9b65d64529d 100644
--- a/libbeat/idxmgmt/idxmgmt.go
+++ b/libbeat/idxmgmt/idxmgmt.go
@@ -124,11 +124,16 @@ func MakeDefaultSupport(ilmSupport lifecycle.SupportFactory) SupportFactory {
 		if outCfg.Output.IsSet() && outCfg.Output.Name() == "elasticsearch" {
 			esClient, err := eslegclient.NewConnectedClient(outCfg.Output.Config(), info.Beat)
 			if err != nil {
-				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error creating ES client while setting up index support: %w", err)
-			}
-			if esClient.IsServerless() {
-				defaultLifecycle = lifecycle.DefaultDSLConfig(info)
+				// this is for the benefit of tests as well as various retry mechanisms;
+				// if we can't connect to ES, print a warning and fallback to ILM, tests won't care and non-test environments can
+				// retry the connection
+				logp.L().Warnf("could not connect to ES to determine ES type during index setup. Will default to ILM.")
+			} else {
+				if esClient.IsServerless() {
+					defaultLifecycle = lifecycle.DefaultDSLConfig(info)
+				}
 			}
+
 		}
 
 		// now that we have the "correct" default, unpack the rest of the config
diff --git a/libbeat/tests/integration/template_test.go b/libbeat/tests/integration/template_test.go
index d853e9503ac..1812456c9d1 100644
--- a/libbeat/tests/integration/template_test.go
+++ b/libbeat/tests/integration/template_test.go
@@ -87,17 +87,15 @@ setup.template:
 
 // Test that beat stops in case elasticsearch index is modified and name not
 func TestIndexModifiedNoName(t *testing.T) {
-	cfgRaw := `
+	cfg := `
 mockbeat:
 output:
   elasticsearch:
-    hosts: %s
     index: test
 setup.template:
   pattern: test
 `
-	esUrl := GetESURL(t, "http")
-	cfg := fmt.Sprintf(cfgRaw, esUrl.String())
+
 	mockbeat := NewBeat(t, "mockbeat", "../../libbeat.test")
 	mockbeat.WriteConfigFile(cfg)
 	mockbeat.Start()