diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 21ed0c97b2a4f..2f2d92166c2f8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 - Added autogenerated helptext to `Trainer.add_argparse_args` ([#4344](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/pull/4344))
 - Added support for string values in `Trainer`'s `profiler` parameter ([#3656](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/pull/3656))
 
+- Added timeout for `tpu_device_exists` to ensure process does not hang indefinitely ([#4340](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/pull/4340))
+
 ### Changed
 
 - Improved error messages for invalid `configure_optimizers` returns ([#3587](https://github.com/PyTorchLightning/pytorch-lightning/pull/3587))
diff --git a/pytorch_lightning/utilities/xla_device_utils.py b/pytorch_lightning/utilities/xla_device_utils.py
index 5687992981ae6..14a59fd105c5a 100644
--- a/pytorch_lightning/utilities/xla_device_utils.py
+++ b/pytorch_lightning/utilities/xla_device_utils.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 import functools
 import importlib
+import queue as q
 from multiprocessing import Process, Queue
 
 import torch
@@ -24,10 +25,10 @@
     xm = None
 
 
-def inner_f(queue, func, **kwargs):  # pragma: no cover
+def inner_f(queue, func, *args, **kwargs):  # pragma: no cover
     try:
-        queue.put(func(**kwargs))
-    except Exception as _e:
+        queue.put(func(*args, **kwargs))
+    except Exception:
         import traceback
 
         traceback.print_exc()
@@ -38,10 +39,13 @@ def pl_multi_process(func):
     @functools.wraps(func)
     def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
         queue = Queue()
-        proc = Process(target=inner_f, args=(queue, func,), kwargs=kwargs)
+        proc = Process(target=inner_f, args=(queue, func, *args), kwargs=kwargs)
         proc.start()
-        proc.join()
-        return queue.get()
+        proc.join(10)
+        try:
+            return queue.get_nowait()
+        except q.Empty:
+            return False
 
     return wrapper
 
diff --git a/tests/utilities/test_xla_device_utils.py b/tests/utilities/test_xla_device_utils.py
index b0a3497a0f3be..10de63db049e7 100644
--- a/tests/utilities/test_xla_device_utils.py
+++ b/tests/utilities/test_xla_device_utils.py
@@ -11,13 +11,16 @@
 # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
+import time
+
 import pytest
 
-from pytorch_lightning.utilities.xla_device_utils import XLADeviceUtils as xdu
+import pytorch_lightning.utilities.xla_device_utils as xla_utils
 from tests.base.develop_utils import pl_multi_process_test
 
 try:
     import torch_xla.core.xla_model as xm
+
     XLA_AVAILABLE = True
 except ImportError as e:
     XLA_AVAILABLE = False
@@ -26,13 +29,13 @@
 @pytest.mark.skipif(XLA_AVAILABLE, reason="test requires torch_xla to be absent")
 def test_tpu_device_absence():
     """Check tpu_device_exists returns None when torch_xla is not available"""
-    assert xdu.tpu_device_exists() is None
+    assert xla_utils.XLADeviceUtils.tpu_device_exists() is None
 
 
 @pytest.mark.skipif(not XLA_AVAILABLE, reason="test requires torch_xla to be installed")
 def test_tpu_device_presence():
     """Check tpu_device_exists returns True when TPU is available"""
-    assert xdu.tpu_device_exists() is True
+    assert xla_utils.XLADeviceUtils.tpu_device_exists() is True
 
 
 @pytest.mark.skipif(not XLA_AVAILABLE, reason="test requires torch_xla to be installed")
@@ -42,3 +45,14 @@ def test_xla_device_is_a_tpu():
     device = xm.xla_device()
     device_type = xm.xla_device_hw(device)
     return device_type == "TPU"
+
+
+def test_result_returns_within_10_seconds():
+    """Check that pl_multi_process returns within 10 seconds"""
+
+    start = time.time()
+    result = xla_utils.pl_multi_process(time.sleep)(25)
+    end = time.time()
+    elapsed_time = int(end - start)
+    assert elapsed_time <= 10
+    assert result is False