PR55-17B doesn't do what is configured

Using a PR55-17B 900 MHz to network: I configure the network device to connect when data comes in, but it connects on power-up and stays connected forever. Our server doesn’t work this way - we need it to establish the TCP connection when data arrives as the configuration says. Are we doing something wrong? Have tried everything. Radios work fine, but the PR55 just doesn’t act like it is configured to.