diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index 9030966..d614b32 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ java {
 }
 
 group = 'cloud.eppo'
-version = '4.0.1-SNAPSHOT'
+version = '5.0.0-SNAPSHOT'
 ext.isReleaseVersion = !version.endsWith("SNAPSHOT")
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.filters.ReplaceTokens
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ repositories {
 }
 
 dependencies {
-  api 'cloud.eppo:sdk-common-jvm:3.6.0'
+  api 'cloud.eppo:sdk-common-jvm:3.8.0'
 
   implementation 'com.github.zafarkhaja:java-semver:0.10.2'
   implementation 'com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind:2.18.2'
diff --git a/src/main/java/cloud/eppo/EppoClient.java b/src/main/java/cloud/eppo/EppoClient.java
index b16d323..2640925 100644
--- a/src/main/java/cloud/eppo/EppoClient.java
+++ b/src/main/java/cloud/eppo/EppoClient.java
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 import cloud.eppo.cache.LRUInMemoryAssignmentCache;
 import cloud.eppo.logging.AssignmentLogger;
 import cloud.eppo.logging.BanditLogger;
-import java.util.Timer;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import org.jetbrains.annotations.Nullable;
 import org.slf4j.Logger;
@@ -26,7 +25,6 @@ public class EppoClient extends BaseEppoClient {
   private static final long DEFAULT_JITTER_INTERVAL_RATIO = 10;
 
   private static EppoClient instance;
-  private static Timer pollTimer;
 
   public static EppoClient getInstance() {
     if (instance == null) {
@@ -62,13 +60,6 @@ private EppoClient(
         banditAssignmentCache);
   }
 
-  /** Stops the client from polling Eppo for updated flag and bandit configurations */
-  public static void stopPolling() {
-    if (pollTimer != null) {
-      pollTimer.cancel();
-    }
-  }
-
   /** Builder pattern to initialize the EppoClient singleton */
   public static class Builder {
     private String apiKey;
@@ -163,6 +154,8 @@ public EppoClient buildAndInit() {
       String sdkVersion = appDetails.getVersion();
 
       if (instance != null) {
+        // Stop any active polling.
+        instance.stopPolling();
         if (forceReinitialize) {
           log.warn(
               "Eppo SDK is already initialized, reinitializing since forceReinitialize is true");
@@ -185,22 +178,13 @@ public EppoClient buildAndInit() {
               assignmentCache,
               banditAssignmentCache);
 
-      // Stop any active polling
-      stopPolling();
-
-      // Set up polling for experiment configurations
-      pollTimer = new Timer(true);
-      FetchConfigurationsTask fetchConfigurationsTask =
-          new FetchConfigurationsTask(
-              () -> instance.loadConfiguration(),
-              pollTimer,
-              pollingIntervalMs,
-              pollingIntervalMs / DEFAULT_JITTER_INTERVAL_RATIO);
-
-      // Kick off the first fetch
-      // Graceful mode is implicit here because `FetchConfigurationsTask` catches and logs errors
-      // without rethrowing.
-      fetchConfigurationsTask.run();
+      // Fetch first configuration
+      instance.loadConfiguration();
+
+      // start polling, if enabled.
+      if (pollingIntervalMs > 0) {
+        instance.startPolling(pollingIntervalMs, pollingIntervalMs / DEFAULT_JITTER_INTERVAL_RATIO);
+      }
 
       return instance;
     }
diff --git a/src/test/java/cloud/eppo/EppoClientTest.java b/src/test/java/cloud/eppo/EppoClientTest.java
index db94f0e..cb971fb 100644
--- a/src/test/java/cloud/eppo/EppoClientTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/cloud/eppo/EppoClientTest.java
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 import cloud.eppo.api.Attributes;
 import cloud.eppo.api.BanditActions;
 import cloud.eppo.api.BanditResult;
+import cloud.eppo.api.Configuration;
 import cloud.eppo.helpers.AssignmentTestCase;
 import cloud.eppo.helpers.BanditTestCase;
 import cloud.eppo.helpers.TestUtils;
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@
 import cloud.eppo.logging.AssignmentLogger;
 import cloud.eppo.logging.BanditAssignment;
 import cloud.eppo.logging.BanditLogger;
+import cloud.eppo.ufc.dto.VariationType;
 import com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.WireMockServer;
 import com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.client.WireMock;
 import com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.junit5.WireMockExtension;
@@ -91,7 +93,11 @@ private static String readConfig(String jsonToReturnFilePath) {
   @AfterEach
   public void cleanUp() {
     TestUtils.setBaseClientHttpClientOverrideField(null);
-    EppoClient.stopPolling();
+    try {
+      EppoClient.getInstance().stopPolling();
+    } catch (IllegalStateException ex) {
+      // pass: Indicates that the singleton Eppo Client has not yet been initialized.
+    }
   }
 
   @AfterAll
@@ -232,7 +238,7 @@ public void testPolling() {
     // Now, the method should have been called twice
     verify(httpClientSpy, times(2)).get(anyString());
 
-    EppoClient.stopPolling();
+    EppoClient.getInstance().stopPolling();
     sleepUninterruptedly(25);
 
     // No more calls since stopped
@@ -257,6 +263,15 @@ public void testClientMakesDefaultAssignmentsAfterFailingToInitialize() {
     }
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void testGetConfiguration() {
+    EppoClient eppoClient = initClient(DUMMY_FLAG_API_KEY);
+    Configuration configuration = eppoClient.getConfiguration();
+    assertNotNull(configuration);
+    assertNotNull(configuration.getFlag("numeric_flag"));
+    assertEquals(VariationType.NUMERIC, configuration.getFlagType("numeric_flag"));
+  }
+
   public static void mockHttpError() {
     // Create a mock instance of EppoHttpClient
     EppoHttpClient mockHttpClient = mock(EppoHttpClient.class);