diff --git a/.eslintrc.json b/.eslintrc.json
index 44b9e0c5ef..cb5775ef1f 100644
--- a/.eslintrc.json
+++ b/.eslintrc.json
@@ -239,7 +239,6 @@
           "method"
         ],
 
-        "rxjs/no-implicit-any-catch": "off",  // todo: investigate how best to solve these
         "rxjs/no-nested-subscribe": "off"     // todo: go over _all_ cases
       }
     },
diff --git a/tsconfig.json b/tsconfig.json
index 1eed699114..4ccd727a64 100644
--- a/tsconfig.json
+++ b/tsconfig.json
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@
       "node",
       "jasmine"
     ],
-    "useDefineForClassFields": false
+    "useDefineForClassFields": false,
+    "useUnknownInCatchVariables": true
   },
   "angularCompilerOptions": {
     "fullTemplateTypeCheck": true,