diff --git a/lib/internal/inspector/_inspect.js b/lib/internal/inspector/_inspect.js
index 528416c75aaee1..924b5a7f8a9bb9 100644
--- a/lib/internal/inspector/_inspect.js
+++ b/lib/internal/inspector/_inspect.js
@@ -91,8 +91,9 @@ async function portIsFree(host, port, timeout = 9999) {
 
   setTimeout(timeout).then(() => ac.abort());
 
-  // eslint-disable-next-line no-unused-vars
-  for await (const _ of setInterval(retryDelay)) {
+  const asyncIterator = setInterval(retryDelay);
+  while (true) {
+    await asyncIterator.next();
     if (signal.aborted) {
       throw new StartupError(
         `Timeout (${timeout}) waiting for ${host}:${port} to be free`);