diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 3b0b3ab..f70905b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ vet: ## Run go vet against code.
 .PHONY: test
 test: manifests generate fmt vet envtest ## Run tests.
 	GOBIN=$(LOCALBIN) go install github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2/ginkgo@v2.12.1
-	KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS="$(shell $(ENVTEST) use $(ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION) --bin-dir $(LOCALBIN) -p path)" $(GINKGO) -r -p -coverprofile cover.out
+	KUBEBUILDER_ASSETS="$(shell $(ENVTEST) use $(ENVTEST_K8S_VERSION) --bin-dir $(LOCALBIN) -p path)" $(GINKGO)  -vv -r -p -coverprofile cover.out
 
 ##@ Build
 
diff --git a/e2e/dragonfly_controller_test.go b/e2e/dragonfly_controller_test.go
index 183dffe..c433816 100644
--- a/e2e/dragonfly_controller_test.go
+++ b/e2e/dragonfly_controller_test.go
@@ -189,8 +189,12 @@ var _ = Describe("Dragonfly Lifecycle tests", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func()
 
 		It("Check for connectivity", func() {
 			stopChan := make(chan struct{}, 1)
-			_, err := checkAndK8sPortForwardRedis(ctx, clientset, cfg, stopChan, name, namespace, password)
+			rc, err := checkAndK8sPortForwardRedis(ctx, clientset, cfg, stopChan, name, namespace, password)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
+
+			// Insert test data
+			Expect(rc.Set(ctx, "foo", "bar", 0).Err()).To(BeNil())
+
 			defer close(stopChan)
 		})
 
@@ -294,8 +298,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Dragonfly Lifecycle tests", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func()
 			Expect(podRoles[resources.Replica]).To(HaveLen(2))
 		})
 
-		It("Update to image should be propagated successfully", func() {
-			newImage := resources.DragonflyImage + ":v1.9.0"
+		It("Updates should be propagated successfully", func() {
 			// Update df to the latest
 			err := k8sClient.Get(ctx, types.NamespacedName{
 				Name:      name,
@@ -303,14 +306,14 @@ var _ = Describe("Dragonfly Lifecycle tests", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func()
 			}, &df)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
 
-			df.Spec.Image = newImage
+			df.Spec.Image = fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", resources.DragonflyImage, "v1.9.0")
 			err = k8sClient.Update(ctx, &df)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
+		})
 
-			time.Sleep(30 * time.Second)
-
-			// Wait until Dragonfly object is marked resources-created
-			err = waitForDragonflyPhase(ctx, k8sClient, name, namespace, controller.PhaseReady, 3*time.Minute)
+		It("Check for values in statefulset", func() {
+			// Wait until Dragonfly object is marked ready
+			err := waitForDragonflyPhase(ctx, k8sClient, name, namespace, controller.PhaseReady, 3*time.Minute)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
 			err = waitForStatefulSetReady(ctx, k8sClient, name, namespace, 3*time.Minute)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
@@ -323,8 +326,8 @@ var _ = Describe("Dragonfly Lifecycle tests", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func()
 			}, &ss)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
 
-			// check for pod image
-			Expect(ss.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers[0].Image).To(Equal(newImage))
+			// check for image
+			Expect(ss.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers[0].Image).To(Equal(df.Spec.Image))
 
 			// Check if there are relevant pods with expected roles
 			var pods corev1.PodList
@@ -337,11 +340,13 @@ var _ = Describe("Dragonfly Lifecycle tests", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func()
 			// Get the pods along with their roles
 			podRoles := make(map[string][]string)
 			for _, pod := range pods.Items {
+				Expect(pod.Spec.Containers[0].Image).To(Equal(df.Spec.Image))
 				role, ok := pod.Labels[resources.Role]
 				// error if there is no label
 				Expect(ok).To(BeTrue())
 				// verify the role to match the label
 				podRoles[role] = append(podRoles[role], pod.Name)
+
 			}
 
 			// One Master & Two Replicas
@@ -414,7 +419,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Dragonfly Lifecycle tests", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func()
 			err = k8sClient.Update(ctx, &df)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
 
-			// Wait until Dragonfly object is marked resources-created
+			// Wait until Dragonfly object is marked ready
 			err = waitForDragonflyPhase(ctx, k8sClient, name, namespace, controller.PhaseReady, 3*time.Minute)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
 			err = waitForStatefulSetReady(ctx, k8sClient, name, namespace, 3*time.Minute)
@@ -446,6 +451,46 @@ var _ = Describe("Dragonfly Lifecycle tests", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func()
 
 			// check for affinity
 			Expect(ss.Spec.Template.Spec.Affinity.NodeAffinity.PreferredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution).To(Equal(newAffinity.NodeAffinity.PreferredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution))
+
+			// check for pods too
+			var pods corev1.PodList
+			err = k8sClient.List(ctx, &pods, client.InNamespace(namespace), client.MatchingLabels{
+				"app":                              name,
+				resources.KubernetesPartOfLabelKey: "dragonfly",
+			})
+			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
+
+			for _, pod := range pods.Items {
+				// check for pod args
+				Expect(pod.Spec.Containers[0].Args).To(Equal(expectedArgs))
+
+				// check for pod resources
+				Expect(pod.Spec.Containers[0].Resources.Limits[corev1.ResourceCPU].Equal(newResources.Limits[corev1.ResourceCPU])).To(BeTrue())
+				Expect(pod.Spec.Containers[0].Resources.Limits[corev1.ResourceMemory].Equal(newResources.Limits[corev1.ResourceMemory])).To(BeTrue())
+				Expect(pod.Spec.Containers[0].Resources.Requests[corev1.ResourceCPU].Equal(newResources.Requests[corev1.ResourceCPU])).To(BeTrue())
+				Expect(pod.Spec.Containers[0].Resources.Requests[corev1.ResourceMemory].Equal(newResources.Requests[corev1.ResourceMemory])).To(BeTrue())
+
+				// check for annotations
+				Expect(pod.ObjectMeta.Annotations).To(Equal(newAnnotations))
+
+				// check for tolerations
+				Expect(pod.Spec.Tolerations).To(ContainElements(newTolerations))
+
+				// check for affinity
+				Expect(pod.Spec.Affinity.NodeAffinity.PreferredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution).To(Equal(newAffinity.NodeAffinity.PreferredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution))
+			}
+		})
+
+		It("Check for data", func() {
+			stopChan := make(chan struct{}, 1)
+			rc, err := checkAndK8sPortForwardRedis(ctx, clientset, cfg, stopChan, name, namespace, password)
+			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
+
+			// Check for test data
+			data, err := rc.Get(ctx, "foo").Result()
+			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
+			Expect(data).To(Equal("bar"))
+			defer close(stopChan)
 		})
 
 		It("Cleanup", func() {
@@ -609,12 +654,20 @@ var _ = Describe("Dragonfly Server TLS tests", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func()
 			TLSSecretRef: &corev1.SecretReference{
 				Name: "df-tls",
 			},
+			Authentication: &resourcesv1.Authentication{
+				PasswordFromSecret: &corev1.SecretKeySelector{
+					LocalObjectReference: corev1.LocalObjectReference{
+						Name: "df-password",
+					},
+					Key: "password",
+				},
+			},
 		},
 	}
 
 	Context("Dragonfly TLS creation", func() {
 		It("Should create successfully", func() {
-			// create the secret
+			// create the secrets
 			cert, key, err := generateSelfSignedCert(name)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
 
@@ -630,6 +683,17 @@ var _ = Describe("Dragonfly Server TLS tests", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func()
 			})
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
 
+			err = k8sClient.Create(ctx, &corev1.Secret{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+					Name:      "df-password",
+					Namespace: namespace,
+				},
+				StringData: map[string]string{
+					"password": "df-pass-1",
+				},
+			})
+			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
+
 			err = k8sClient.Create(ctx, &df)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
 
diff --git a/e2e/dragonfly_pod_lifecycle_controller_test.go b/e2e/dragonfly_pod_lifecycle_controller_test.go
index 682ca61..6955b7d 100644
--- a/e2e/dragonfly_pod_lifecycle_controller_test.go
+++ b/e2e/dragonfly_pod_lifecycle_controller_test.go
@@ -56,6 +56,9 @@ var _ = Describe("DF Pod Lifecycle Reconciler", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func(
 		It("Initial Master is elected", func() {
 			err := k8sClient.Create(ctx, &df)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
+		})
+
+		It("Check for resources, functional pods and status", func() {
 
 			// Wait until Dragonfly object is marked initialized
 			waitForDragonflyPhase(ctx, k8sClient, name, namespace, controller.PhaseResourcesCreated, 2*time.Minute)
@@ -63,7 +66,7 @@ var _ = Describe("DF Pod Lifecycle Reconciler", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func(
 
 			// Check for service and statefulset
 			var ss appsv1.StatefulSet
-			err = k8sClient.Get(ctx, types.NamespacedName{
+			err := k8sClient.Get(ctx, types.NamespacedName{
 				Name:      name,
 				Namespace: namespace,
 			}, &ss)
@@ -104,7 +107,7 @@ var _ = Describe("DF Pod Lifecycle Reconciler", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func(
 			Expect(podRoles[resources.Replica]).To(HaveLen(replicas - 1))
 		})
 
-		It("New Master is elected as old one dies", func() {
+		It("Delete old master", func() {
 
 			// Get & Delete the old master
 			var pod corev1.Pod
@@ -116,12 +119,15 @@ var _ = Describe("DF Pod Lifecycle Reconciler", Ordered, FlakeAttempts(3), func(
 
 			err = k8sClient.Delete(ctx, &pod)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
+		})
+
+		It("New master is elected", func() {
 
 			// Wait until the loop is reconciled. This is needed as status is ready previously
 			// and the test might move forward even before the reconcile loop is triggered
 			time.Sleep(1 * time.Minute)
 
-			err = waitForStatefulSetReady(ctx, k8sClient, name, namespace, 1*time.Minute)
+			err := waitForStatefulSetReady(ctx, k8sClient, name, namespace, 1*time.Minute)
 			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
 
 			err = waitForDragonflyPhase(ctx, k8sClient, name, namespace, controller.PhaseReady, 1*time.Minute)
diff --git a/e2e/util.go b/e2e/util.go
index 84605db..342ed46 100644
--- a/e2e/util.go
+++ b/e2e/util.go
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ func isStatefulSetReady(ctx context.Context, c client.Client, name, namespace st
 		return false, nil
 	}
 
-	if statefulSet.Status.ReadyReplicas == *statefulSet.Spec.Replicas {
+	if statefulSet.Status.ReadyReplicas == *statefulSet.Spec.Replicas && statefulSet.Status.UpdatedReplicas == statefulSet.Status.Replicas {
 		return true, nil
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/controller/dragonfly_controller.go b/internal/controller/dragonfly_controller.go
index 6f51555..48a594e 100644
--- a/internal/controller/dragonfly_controller.go
+++ b/internal/controller/dragonfly_controller.go
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ func (r *DragonflyReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request) (
 			}
 		}
 
-		log.Info(fmt.Sprintf("%d/%d are in stable state", fullSyncedUpdatedReplicas, len(replicas)))
+		log.Info(fmt.Sprintf("%d/%d replicas are in stable state", fullSyncedUpdatedReplicas, len(replicas)))
 
 		// if we are here it means that all latest replicas are in stable sync
 		// delete older version replicas
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ func (r *DragonflyReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request) (
 				log.Error(err, "could not delete master")
 				return ctrl.Result{Requeue: true}, err
 			}
-			r.EventRecorder.Event(&df, corev1.EventTypeNormal, "Rollout", "Deleting master %s")
+			r.EventRecorder.Event(&df, corev1.EventTypeNormal, "Rollout", fmt.Sprintf("Deleting master %s", master.Name))
 		}
 
 		// If we are here all are on latest version
@@ -216,24 +216,6 @@ func (r *DragonflyReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request) (
 
 		return ctrl.Result{}, nil
 	} else {
-		// This is an Update
-		log.Info("updating existing resources")
-		newResources, err := resources.GetDragonflyResources(ctx, &df)
-		if err != nil {
-			log.Error(err, "could not get resources")
-			return ctrl.Result{}, err
-		}
-
-		// update all resources
-		for _, resource := range newResources {
-			if err := r.Update(ctx, resource); err != nil {
-				log.Error(err, fmt.Sprintf("could not update resource %s/%s/%s", resource.GetObjectKind(), resource.GetNamespace(), resource.GetName()))
-				return ctrl.Result{}, err
-			}
-		}
-
-		log.Info("Updated resources for object")
-
 		// perform a rollout only if the pod spec has changed
 		var statefulSet appsv1.StatefulSet
 		if err := r.Get(ctx, client.ObjectKey{Namespace: df.Namespace, Name: df.Name}, &statefulSet); err != nil {
@@ -241,6 +223,8 @@ func (r *DragonflyReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request) (
 			return ctrl.Result{}, err
 		}
 
+		// Check if the pod spec has changed
+		log.Info("Checking if pod spec has changed", "updatedReplicas", statefulSet.Status.UpdatedReplicas, "currentReplicas", statefulSet.Status.Replicas)
 		if statefulSet.Status.UpdatedReplicas != statefulSet.Status.Replicas {
 			log.Info("Pod spec has changed, performing a rollout")
 			r.EventRecorder.Event(&df, corev1.EventTypeNormal, "Rollout", "Starting a rollout")
@@ -253,12 +237,31 @@ func (r *DragonflyReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request) (
 				return ctrl.Result{Requeue: true}, err
 			}
 
+			r.EventRecorder.Event(&df, corev1.EventTypeNormal, "Resources", "Performing a rollout")
+
 			// requeue so that the rollout is processed
 			return ctrl.Result{RequeueAfter: 5 * time.Second}, nil
 		}
-		r.EventRecorder.Event(&df, corev1.EventTypeNormal, "Resources", "Updated resources")
+
+		// Is this a Dragonfly object update?
+		log.Info("updating existing resources")
+		newResources, err := resources.GetDragonflyResources(ctx, &df)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Error(err, "could not get resources")
+			return ctrl.Result{}, err
+		}
+
+		// update all resources
+		for _, resource := range newResources {
+			if err := r.Update(ctx, resource); err != nil {
+				log.Error(err, fmt.Sprintf("could not update resource %s/%s/%s", resource.GetObjectKind(), resource.GetNamespace(), resource.GetName()))
+				return ctrl.Result{}, err
+			}
+		}
+
+		log.Info("Updated resources for object")
+		return ctrl.Result{Requeue: true}, nil
 	}
-	return ctrl.Result{}, nil
 }
 
 // SetupWithManager sets up the controller with the Manager.
diff --git a/internal/controller/dragonfly_instance.go b/internal/controller/dragonfly_instance.go
index b3331a6..9a16cc0 100644
--- a/internal/controller/dragonfly_instance.go
+++ b/internal/controller/dragonfly_instance.go
@@ -144,6 +144,14 @@ func (dfi *DragonflyInstance) configureReplication(ctx context.Context) error {
 }
 
 func (dfi *DragonflyInstance) updateStatus(ctx context.Context, phase string) error {
+	// get latest df object first
+	if err := dfi.client.Get(ctx, types.NamespacedName{
+		Name:      dfi.df.Name,
+		Namespace: dfi.df.Namespace,
+	}, dfi.df); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	dfi.log.Info("Updating status", "phase", phase)
 	dfi.df.Status.Phase = phase
 	if err := dfi.client.Status().Update(ctx, dfi.df); err != nil {
@@ -252,6 +260,14 @@ func (dfi *DragonflyInstance) checkAndConfigureReplication(ctx context.Context)
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// retry if there are pods that are not running
+	for _, pod := range pods.Items {
+		if pod.Status.Phase != corev1.PodRunning {
+			dfi.log.Info("not all pods are running. retrying", "pod", pod.Name)
+			return nil
+		}
+	}
+
 	// check for one master and all replicas
 	podRoles := make(map[string][]string)
 	for _, pod := range pods.Items {
diff --git a/internal/controller/dragonfly_pod_lifecycle_controller.go b/internal/controller/dragonfly_pod_lifecycle_controller.go
index 17d0af5..a598238 100644
--- a/internal/controller/dragonfly_pod_lifecycle_controller.go
+++ b/internal/controller/dragonfly_pod_lifecycle_controller.go
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ func (r *DfPodLifeCycleReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Reque
 			} else {
 				log.Info(fmt.Sprintf("Master exists. Configuring %s as replica", pod.Status.PodIP))
 				if err := dfi.configureReplica(ctx, &pod); err != nil {
-					log.Error(err, "could not mark replica from db")
+					log.Error(err, "could not mark replica from db. retrying")
 					return ctrl.Result{RequeueAfter: 5 * time.Second}, err
 				}
 
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ func (r *DfPodLifeCycleReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Reque
 		log.Info("Non-deletion event for a pod with an existing role. checking if something is wrong", "pod", fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", pod.Namespace, pod.Name), "role", role)
 
 		if err := dfi.checkAndConfigureReplication(ctx); err != nil {
-			log.Error(err, "could not check and configure replication")
+			log.Error(err, "could not check and configure replication. retrying")
 			return ctrl.Result{RequeueAfter: 5 * time.Second}, err
 		}
 
diff --git a/internal/controller/util.go b/internal/controller/util.go
index eb91857..5a017d1 100644
--- a/internal/controller/util.go
+++ b/internal/controller/util.go
@@ -34,8 +34,6 @@ import (
 const (
 	PhaseResourcesCreated string = "resources-created"
 
-	PhaseResourcesUpdated string = "resources-updated"
-
 	PhaseReady string = "ready"
 )