diff --git a/Libraries/Utilities/HMRClient.js b/Libraries/Utilities/HMRClient.js
index 03619f60c3ce27..1301c47ecfa768 100644
--- a/Libraries/Utilities/HMRClient.js
+++ b/Libraries/Utilities/HMRClient.js
@@ -40,18 +40,36 @@ const HMRClient = {
 
     const activeWS = new WebSocket(wsUrl);
     activeWS.onerror = (e) => {
-      throw new Error(
+      let error = (
 `Hot loading isn't working because it cannot connect to the development server.
 
-Ensure the following:
-- Node server is running and available on the same network
-- run 'npm start' from react-native root
-- Node server URL is correctly set in AppDelegate
+Try the following to fix the issue:
+- Ensure that the packager server is running and available on the same network`
+      );
+
+      if (Platform.OS === 'ios') {
+        error += (
+`
+- Ensure that the Packager server URL is correctly set in AppDelegate`
+        );
+      } else {
+        error += (
+`
+- Ensure that your device/emulator is connected to your machine and has USB debugging enabled - run 'adb devices' to see a list of connected devices
+- If you're on a physical device connected to the same machine, run 'adb reverse tcp:8081 tcp:8081' to forward requests from your device
+- If your device is on the same Wi-Fi network, set 'Debug server host & port for device' in 'Dev settings' to your machine's IP address and the port of the local dev server - e.g. 10.0.1.1:8081`
+        );
+      }
+
+      error += (
+`
 
 URL: ${host}:${port}
 
 Error: ${e.message}`
       );
+
+      throw new Error(error);
     };
     activeWS.onmessage = ({data}) => {
       // Moving to top gives errors due to NativeModules not being initialized
diff --git a/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/devsupport/DevServerHelper.java b/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/devsupport/DevServerHelper.java
index d8d802320837b6..78b570e6f3c614 100644
--- a/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/devsupport/DevServerHelper.java
+++ b/ReactAndroid/src/main/java/com/facebook/react/devsupport/DevServerHelper.java
@@ -194,12 +194,12 @@ public void onFailure(Request request, IOException e) {
 
         StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
         sb.append("Could not connect to development server.\n\n")
-          .append("URL: ").append(request.urlString()).append("\n\n")
           .append("Try the following to fix the issue:\n")
           .append("\u2022 Ensure that the packager server is running\n")
           .append("\u2022 Ensure that your device/emulator is connected to your machine and has USB debugging enabled - run 'adb devices' to see a list of connected devices\n")
           .append("\u2022 If you're on a physical device connected to the same machine, run 'adb reverse tcp:8081 tcp:8081' to forward requests from your device\n")
-          .append("\u2022 If your device is on the same Wi-Fi network, set 'Debug server host & port for device' in 'Dev settings' to your machine's IP address and the port of the local dev server - e.g. 10.0.1.1:8081");
+          .append("\u2022 If your device is on the same Wi-Fi network, set 'Debug server host & port for device' in 'Dev settings' to your machine's IP address and the port of the local dev server - e.g. 10.0.1.1:8081\n\n")
+          .append("URL: ").append(request.urlString());
         callback.onFailure(new DebugServerException(sb.toString()));
       }