diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 7f4a9b5a..8d57f911 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ jobs:
         run: ARDUINO_LIBRARY_ENABLE_UNSAFE_INSTALL=true arduino-cli lib install --git-url https://github.com/mathieucarbou/esphome-ESPAsyncTCP#v2.0.0
 
       - name: Install ESPAsyncWebServer
-        run: ARDUINO_LIBRARY_ENABLE_UNSAFE_INSTALL=true arduino-cli lib install --git-url https://github.com/mathieucarbou/ESPAsyncWebServer#v2.10.1
+        run: ARDUINO_LIBRARY_ENABLE_UNSAFE_INSTALL=true arduino-cli lib install --git-url https://github.com/mathieucarbou/ESPAsyncWebServer#v3.0.2
 
       - name: Install ArduinoJson
         run: ARDUINO_LIBRARY_ENABLE_UNSAFE_INSTALL=true arduino-cli lib install --git-url https://github.com/bblanchon/ArduinoJson#v7.0.4
@@ -97,31 +97,31 @@ jobs:
           - name: esp32dev|arduino
             board: esp32dev
             platform: espressif32
-            opts:
+            opts: "--project-option 'lib_compat_mode = strict'"
           - name: esp32dev|arduino-2
             board: esp32dev
             platform: espressif32@6.7.0
-            opts:
+            opts: "--project-option 'lib_compat_mode = strict'"
           - name: esp32dev|arduino-3
             board: esp32dev
             platform: espressif32
-            opts: "--project-option 'platform_packages=platformio/framework-arduinoespressif32 @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32.git#3.0.0, platform_packages=platformio/framework-arduinoespressif32-libs @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/releases/download/3.0.0/esp32-arduino-libs-3.0.0.zip'"
+            opts: "--project-option 'lib_compat_mode = strict' --project-option 'platform_packages=platformio/framework-arduinoespressif32 @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32.git#3.0.2, platform_packages=platformio/framework-arduinoespressif32-libs @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/releases/download/3.0.2/esp32-arduino-libs-3.0.2.zip'"
           - name: esp32-s3-devkitc-1|arduino
             board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1
             platform: espressif32
-            opts:
+            opts: "--project-option 'lib_compat_mode = strict'"
           - name: esp32-s3-devkitc-1|arduino-2
             board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1
             platform: espressif32@6.7.0
-            opts:
+            opts: "--project-option 'lib_compat_mode = strict'"
           - name: esp32-s3-devkitc-1|arduino-3
             board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1
             platform: espressif32
-            opts: "--project-option 'platform_packages=platformio/framework-arduinoespressif32 @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32.git#3.0.0, platform_packages=platformio/framework-arduinoespressif32-libs @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/releases/download/3.0.0/esp32-arduino-libs-3.0.0.zip'"
+            opts: "--project-option 'lib_compat_mode = strict' --project-option 'platform_packages=platformio/framework-arduinoespressif32 @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32.git#3.0.2, platform_packages=platformio/framework-arduinoespressif32-libs @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/releases/download/3.0.2/esp32-arduino-libs-3.0.2.zip'"
           - name: huzzah|espressif8266
             board: huzzah
             platform: espressif8266
-            opts:
+            opts: "--project-option 'lib_compat_mode = strict'"
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - name: Set up cache
diff --git a/.github/workflows/stale.yml b/.github/workflows/stale.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4279cc6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/stale.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+name: 'Close stale issues and PR'
+on:
+  schedule:
+    - cron: '30 6 * * *'
+
+jobs:
+  stale:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/stale@v9
+        with:
+          stale-issue-message: 'This issue is stale because it has been open 30 days with no activity. Remove stale label or comment or this will be closed in 5 days.'
+          stale-pr-message: 'This PR is marked as stale because it has been open 45 days with no activity. You can remove stale label or comment if this PR is still valid.'
+          close-issue-message: 'This issue was closed because it has been stalled for 5 days with no activity.'
+          days-before-stale: 30
+          days-before-close: 5
+          days-before-pr-close: -1
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 170d062c..d678e6be 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ ESP-DASH Pro comes with the following extended functionality:
 
 <h2>License</h2>
 
-ESP-DASH is licensed under General Public License v3 ( GPLv3 ). If you are intending to use ESP-DASH in a commercial project, please consider buying the [ESP-DASH Pro](https://espdash.pro) which comes with a less restrictive SCL-1.0 license ( SOFTT Commercial License 1.0 ).
+ESP-DASH is licensed under General Public License v3 ( GPLv3 ). If you are intending to use ESP-DASH in a commercial project, please consider buying the [ESP-DASH Pro](https://espdash.pro) which comes with a less restrictive SCL-1.1 license ( SOFTT Commercial License 1.1 ).
 
 <br>
 <br>
diff --git a/library.json b/library.json
index c94c45c8..c7f4d770 100644
--- a/library.json
+++ b/library.json
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
       "maintainer": true
     }
   ],
-  "version": "4.0.4",
+  "version": "4.0.5",
   "frameworks": "arduino",
   "platforms": ["espressif32", "espressif8266"],
   "dependencies": [
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
     {
       "owner": "mathieucarbou",
       "name": "ESP Async WebServer",
-      "version": "^2.10.1",
+      "version": "^3.0.2",
       "platforms": ["espressif8266", "espressif32"]
     }
   ]
diff --git a/library.properties b/library.properties
index f571f9ab..aace960f 100644
--- a/library.properties
+++ b/library.properties
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name=ESP-DASH
-version=4.0.4
+version=4.0.5
 author=Ayush Sharma
 category=Communication
 maintainer=Ayush Sharma <asrocks5@gmail.com>
diff --git a/platformio.ini b/platformio.ini
index 0c1b21e0..44003c8d 100644
--- a/platformio.ini
+++ b/platformio.ini
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ build_flags =
 lib_deps = 
   bblanchon/ArduinoJson @ 7.0.4
   mathieucarbou/Async TCP @ ^3.1.4
-  mathieucarbou/ESP Async WebServer @ 2.10.1
+  mathieucarbou/ESP Async WebServer @ 3.0.2
 upload_protocol = esptool
 monitor_speed = 115200
 monitor_filters = esp32_exception_decoder, log2file
@@ -32,8 +32,8 @@ board = esp32-s3-devkitc-1
 [env:arduino-3]
 platform = espressif32
 platform_packages=
-  platformio/framework-arduinoespressif32 @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32.git#3.0.0
-  platformio/framework-arduinoespressif32-libs @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/releases/download/3.0.0/esp32-arduino-libs-3.0.0.zip
+  platformio/framework-arduinoespressif32 @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32.git#3.0.2
+  platformio/framework-arduinoespressif32-libs @ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/releases/download/3.0.2/esp32-arduino-libs-3.0.2.zip
 board = esp32-s3-devkitc-1
 
 [env:esp8266]
@@ -41,5 +41,5 @@ platform = espressif8266
 board = huzzah
 lib_deps = 
   bblanchon/ArduinoJson @ 7.0.4
-  mathieucarbou/ESP Async WebServer @ 2.10.1
+  mathieucarbou/ESP Async WebServer @ 3.0.2
   esphome/ESPAsyncTCP-esphome @ 2.0.0
diff --git a/src/ESPDash.cpp b/src/ESPDash.cpp
index f7b52b41..3a469990 100644
--- a/src/ESPDash.cpp
+++ b/src/ESPDash.cpp
@@ -36,18 +36,18 @@ ESPDash::ESPDash(AsyncWebServer* server, const char* uri, bool enable_default_st
   // Attach AsyncWebServer Routes
   _server->on(uri, HTTP_GET, [this](AsyncWebServerRequest *request){
     if(basic_auth){
-      if(!request->authenticate(username, password))
+      if(!request->authenticate(username.c_str(), password.c_str()))
       return request->requestAuthentication();
     }
     // respond with the compressed frontend
-    AsyncWebServerResponse *response = request->beginResponse_P(200, "text/html", DASH_HTML, sizeof(DASH_HTML));
+    AsyncWebServerResponse *response = request->beginResponse(200, "text/html", DASH_HTML, sizeof(DASH_HTML));
     response->addHeader("Content-Encoding", "gzip");
     response->addHeader("Cache-Control", "public, max-age=900");
     request->send(response);
   });
 
   // Websocket Callback Handler
-  _ws->onEvent([&](AsyncWebSocket *server, AsyncWebSocketClient *client, AwsEventType type, void *arg, uint8_t *data, size_t len){
+  _ws->onEvent([&](__unused AsyncWebSocket *server, AsyncWebSocketClient *client, AwsEventType type, void *arg, uint8_t *data, size_t len){
   // Request Buffer
 #if ARDUINOJSON_VERSION_MAJOR == 7
     JsonDocument json;
@@ -64,6 +64,8 @@ ESPDash::ESPDash(AsyncWebServer* server, const char* uri, bool enable_default_st
           // client side commands parsing
           if (json["command"] == "get:layout") {
             _asyncAccessInProgress = true;
+            if (_beforeUpdateCallback)
+              _beforeUpdateCallback(false);
             generateLayoutJSON(client, false);
             _asyncAccessInProgress = false;
           } else if (json["command"] == "ping") {
@@ -105,11 +107,11 @@ ESPDash::ESPDash(AsyncWebServer* server, const char* uri, bool enable_default_st
 }
 
 void ESPDash::setAuthentication(const char *user, const char *pass) {
-  basic_auth = strlen(user) > 0 && strlen(pass) > 0;
+  username = user;
+  password = pass;
+  basic_auth = username.length() && password.length();
   if(basic_auth) {
-    strncpy(username, user, sizeof(username));
-    strncpy(password, pass, sizeof(password));
-    _ws->setAuthentication(user, pass);
+    _ws->setAuthentication(username.c_str(), password.c_str());
   }
 }
 
@@ -314,7 +316,7 @@ void ESPDash::generateLayoutJSON(AsyncWebSocketClient* client, bool changes_only
 
     doc["stats"][idx]["i"] = s->_id;
     doc["stats"][idx]["k"] = s->_key;
-    if (changes_only || strlen(s->_value) > 0)
+    if (changes_only || s->_value.length() > 0)
       doc["stats"][idx]["v"] = s->_value;
     doc["stats"][idx]["v"] = s->_value;
     idx++;
@@ -487,6 +489,8 @@ void ESPDash::sendUpdates(bool force) {
   if (!hasClient()) {
     return;
   }
+  if (_beforeUpdateCallback)
+    _beforeUpdateCallback(!force);
   generateLayoutJSON(nullptr, !force);
 }
 
@@ -495,6 +499,8 @@ void ESPDash::refreshCard(Card *card) {
   if (!hasClient()) {
     return;
   }
+  if (_beforeUpdateCallback)
+    _beforeUpdateCallback(true);
   generateLayoutJSON(nullptr, true, card);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/ESPDash.h b/src/ESPDash.h
index ab54d14f..9ed17f29 100644
--- a/src/ESPDash.h
+++ b/src/ESPDash.h
@@ -68,6 +68,11 @@ class Statistic;
 
 // ESPDASH Class
 class ESPDash{
+  public:
+    // changes_only: true (equivalent to sendUpdates(false)) - when sending updates to the client
+    // changes_only: false (equivalent to sendUpdates(true)) - when sending the entire layout to the client or when forcing a full update
+    typedef std::function<void(bool changes_only)> BeforeUpdateCallback;
+
   private:
     AsyncWebServer* _server = nullptr;
     AsyncWebSocket* _ws = nullptr;
@@ -77,9 +82,10 @@ class ESPDash{
     Vector<Statistic*> statistics;
     bool default_stats_enabled = false;
     bool basic_auth = false;
-    char username[64];
-    char password[64];
+    String username;
+    String password;
     uint32_t _idCounter = 0;
+    BeforeUpdateCallback _beforeUpdateCallback = nullptr;
 
     volatile bool _asyncAccessInProgress = false;
 
@@ -129,6 +135,12 @@ class ESPDash{
     // in which case you should not modify them
     bool isAsyncAccessInProgress() { return _asyncAccessInProgress; }
 
+    // Register a callback that will be called before some updates will be sent to the client.
+    // This callback can be used for example to refresh some card values that never change after only when a full layout is request (i.e. on page reload).
+    // This allows to avoid spending time refreshing cards that never change, but still allows them to be refreshed hen the user refresh the dashboard.
+    // If called from the async_http task, isAsyncAccessInProgress() will return true while in this callback.
+    void onBeforeUpdate(BeforeUpdateCallback callback) { _beforeUpdateCallback = callback; }
+
     ~ESPDash();
 };
 
diff --git a/src/Statistic.cpp b/src/Statistic.cpp
index b32bddc2..46995903 100644
--- a/src/Statistic.cpp
+++ b/src/Statistic.cpp
@@ -5,16 +5,15 @@ Statistic::Statistic(ESPDash *dashboard, const char *key, const char *value) {
     _id = dashboard->nextId();
     // Safe copy
     _key = key;
-    strncpy(_value, value, sizeof(_value));
+    _value = value;
     _dashboard->add(this);
 }
 
 void Statistic::set(const char *value) {
     // Safe copy
-    _changed = strcmp(_value, value) != 0;
+    _changed = _value != value;
     if(_changed)
-        strncpy(_value, value, sizeof(_value));
-    
+        _value = value;
 }
 
 Statistic::~Statistic() {
diff --git a/src/Statistic.h b/src/Statistic.h
index bf796dc4..819343a5 100644
--- a/src/Statistic.h
+++ b/src/Statistic.h
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ class Statistic {
         ESPDash *_dashboard;
         uint32_t _id;
         const char *_key;
-        char _value[64];
+        String _value;
         bool _changed = false;
 
     public: