A method for a dispersed storage network (DSN) receives a data request and issues a read threshold number of read slice requests to storage units of a storage set, by receiving read slice responses from at least some of the storage units within a response timeframe and, when the received read slice responses include less than a decode threshold number of encoded data slices of a set of encoded data slices, generating at least one forced read slice request for an encoded data slice other than the received encoded data slices. The method continues by sending the at least one forced read slice requests to at least one other storage unit of the storage set and, when receiving the decode threshold number of encoded data slices, dispersed storage error decoding the received decode threshold number of encoded data slices to reproduce a data segment of the data reduce recovered data.