diff --git a/peerprep/backend/collab-service/src/server.js b/peerprep/backend/collab-service/src/server.js
index b6c9e53c2e..08842368fd 100644
--- a/peerprep/backend/collab-service/src/server.js
+++ b/peerprep/backend/collab-service/src/server.js
@@ -17,7 +17,10 @@ dotenv.config();
 const app = express();
 
 let server;
-if (process.env.SSL_KEY_PATH && process.env.SSL_CERT_PATH && process.env.SSL_CA_PATH) {
+if (process.env.SSL_KEY_PATH && process.env.SSL_CERT_PATH && process.env.SSL_CA_PATH &&
+    fs.existsSync(process.env.SSL_KEY_PATH) &&
+    fs.existsSync(process.env.SSL_CERT_PATH) &&
+    fs.existsSync(process.env.SSL_CA_PATH)) {
     // Load SSL/TLS certificates from environment variables
     const options = {
         key: fs.readFileSync(process.env.SSL_KEY_PATH),
@@ -45,6 +48,11 @@ connectDB();
 
 app.use('/api', gptRoutes);
 
+// Sanity testing endpoint
+app.get('/hello', (req, res) => {
+    res.status(200).json({ message: 'Hello, world!' });
+});
+
 // Endpoint to save a document to MongoDB
 app.post('/api/saveDocument', async(req, res) => {
     try {
@@ -118,7 +126,6 @@ io.on("connection", (socket) => {
     });
 });
 
-
 const PORT = process.env.PORT || 1234;
 server.listen(PORT, () => {
     console.log(`Server is running at http://localhost:${PORT}`);
diff --git a/peerprep/backend/docker-compose.yaml b/peerprep/backend/docker-compose.yaml
index 080bc4c870..4a28b9ba1d 100644
--- a/peerprep/backend/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/peerprep/backend/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -24,12 +24,10 @@ services:
       context: ./matching-service
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
     ports:
-      - "3000:3000"
+      - "3333:3333"
     env_file:
       - ./matching-service/.env
     restart: always
-    volumes:
-      - /etc/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt
 
   collab-service:
     build:
@@ -41,6 +39,8 @@ services:
     env_file:
       - ./collab-service/.env
     restart: always
+    volumes:
+      - "/etc/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt"
 
 networks:
   my-network:
diff --git a/peerprep/backend/matching-service/.env b/peerprep/backend/matching-service/.env
index f0b7a2596f..0495a88ec3 100644
--- a/peerprep/backend/matching-service/.env
+++ b/peerprep/backend/matching-service/.env
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 REDIS_CLOUD_URI=redis://default:TRXhRgutyzRMWWE8Mpl0RAYTECWRuxFH@redis-14179.c295.ap-southeast-1-1.ec2.redns.redis-cloud.com:14179/0
 NODE_ENV=development
-PORT=3000
+PORT=3333
diff --git a/peerprep/backend/matching-service/src/controllers/requestController.ts b/peerprep/backend/matching-service/src/controllers/requestController.ts
index 5da340b530..bbb4908d4d 100644
--- a/peerprep/backend/matching-service/src/controllers/requestController.ts
+++ b/peerprep/backend/matching-service/src/controllers/requestController.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export const createRequest = async (req: Request, res: Response): Promise<void>
 
     // find within 30 seconds
     let matchedUser = null;
-    const timeout = 30000;
+    const timeout = 33330;
     const startTime = Date.now();
 
     while (!matchedUser && Date.now() - startTime < timeout) {
diff --git a/peerprep/backend/matching-service/src/controllers/sseController.ts b/peerprep/backend/matching-service/src/controllers/sseController.ts
index 435fb826ad..3580ebf49e 100644
--- a/peerprep/backend/matching-service/src/controllers/sseController.ts
+++ b/peerprep/backend/matching-service/src/controllers/sseController.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ export const matchStatusStream = (req: Request, res: Response) => {
     res.flushHeaders(); // Ensure headers are sent immediately
 
     const userId = req.params.userId as string; // Get userId from URL parameters
-    const timeout = 30000; // 30-second timeout for example
+    const timeout = 33330; // 30-second timeout for example
     const startTime = Date.now();
 
     // Function to send data to client
diff --git a/peerprep/backend/matching-service/src/server.ts b/peerprep/backend/matching-service/src/server.ts
index bd1c8efd3a..64003fb506 100644
--- a/peerprep/backend/matching-service/src/server.ts
+++ b/peerprep/backend/matching-service/src/server.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import apiRoutes from './routes/apiRoutes'; // Import your routes
 
 dotenv.config();
 
-const PORT = process.env.PORT ?? 3000;
+const PORT = process.env.PORT ?? 3333;
 
 const app = express();
 
diff --git a/peerprep/frontend/.env.development b/peerprep/frontend/.env.development
index 794be3a003..1b21ad7875 100644
--- a/peerprep/frontend/.env.development
+++ b/peerprep/frontend/.env.development
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 VITE_AUTH_API_URL=http://localhost:3001/auth
-VITE_MATCHING_API_URL=http://localhost:3000/matchingrequest
+VITE_MATCHING_API_URL=http://localhost:3333/matchingrequest
 VITE_USER_API_URL=http://localhost:3001/api/users
 VITE_USERS_API_URL=http://localhost:3001/users
 VITE_ASSESSCODE_API_URL=http://localhost:1234/api/gpt/assess