diff --git a/packages/live-preview/src/handleMessage.ts b/packages/live-preview/src/handleMessage.ts
index dbf517f7a9..ed7ebeb47f 100644
--- a/packages/live-preview/src/handleMessage.ts
+++ b/packages/live-preview/src/handleMessage.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,15 @@
+import type { FieldSchemaJSON } from 'payload'
+
 import type { LivePreviewMessageEvent } from './types.js'
 
 import { isLivePreviewEvent } from './isLivePreviewEvent.js'
 import { mergeData } from './mergeData.js'
 
-const _payloadLivePreview = {
+const _payloadLivePreview: {
+  fieldSchema: FieldSchemaJSON | undefined
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+  previousData: any
+} = {
   /**
    * For performance reasons, `fieldSchemaJSON` will only be sent once on the initial message
    * We need to cache this value so that it can be used across subsequent messages
@@ -18,7 +24,7 @@ const _payloadLivePreview = {
   previousData: undefined,
 }
 
-export const handleMessage = async <T>(args: {
+export const handleMessage = async <T extends Record<string, any>>(args: {
   apiRoute?: string
   depth?: number
   event: LivePreviewMessageEvent<T>
diff --git a/packages/live-preview/src/mergeData.ts b/packages/live-preview/src/mergeData.ts
index ee7b7cf38d..1448377475 100644
--- a/packages/live-preview/src/mergeData.ts
+++ b/packages/live-preview/src/mergeData.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,15 @@ import type { PopulationsByCollection } from './types.js'
 
 import { traverseFields } from './traverseFields.js'
 
-const defaultRequestHandler = ({ apiPath, endpoint, serverURL }) => {
+const defaultRequestHandler = ({
+  apiPath,
+  endpoint,
+  serverURL,
+}: {
+  apiPath: string
+  endpoint: string
+  serverURL: string
+}) => {
   const url = `${serverURL}${apiPath}/${endpoint}`
   return fetch(url, {
     credentials: 'include',
@@ -19,7 +27,7 @@ const defaultRequestHandler = ({ apiPath, endpoint, serverURL }) => {
 // Instead, we keep track of the old locale ourselves and trigger a re-population when it changes
 let prevLocale: string | undefined
 
-export const mergeData = async <T>(args: {
+export const mergeData = async <T extends Record<string, any>>(args: {
   apiRoute?: string
   collectionPopulationRequestHandler?: ({
     apiPath,
@@ -86,7 +94,7 @@ export const mergeData = async <T>(args: {
 
         if (res?.docs?.length > 0) {
           res.docs.forEach((doc) => {
-            populationsByCollection[collection].forEach((population) => {
+            populationsByCollection[collection]?.forEach((population) => {
               if (population.id === doc.id) {
                 population.ref[population.accessor] = doc
               }
diff --git a/packages/live-preview/src/subscribe.ts b/packages/live-preview/src/subscribe.ts
index 2f09121be4..6cbe1bf4e7 100644
--- a/packages/live-preview/src/subscribe.ts
+++ b/packages/live-preview/src/subscribe.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { handleMessage } from './handleMessage.js'
 
-export const subscribe = <T>(args: {
+export const subscribe = <T extends Record<string, any>>(args: {
   apiRoute?: string
   callback: (data: T) => void
   depth?: number
diff --git a/packages/live-preview/src/traverseFields.ts b/packages/live-preview/src/traverseFields.ts
index d9f9bbb528..caa024efb4 100644
--- a/packages/live-preview/src/traverseFields.ts
+++ b/packages/live-preview/src/traverseFields.ts
@@ -1,17 +1,16 @@
-import type { DocumentEvent } from 'payload'
-import type { fieldSchemaToJSON } from 'payload/shared'
+import type { DocumentEvent, FieldSchemaJSON } from 'payload'
 
 import type { PopulationsByCollection } from './types.js'
 
 import { traverseRichText } from './traverseRichText.js'
 
-export const traverseFields = <T>(args: {
+export const traverseFields = <T extends Record<string, any>>(args: {
   externallyUpdatedRelationship?: DocumentEvent
-  fieldSchema: ReturnType<typeof fieldSchemaToJSON>
+  fieldSchema: FieldSchemaJSON
   incomingData: T
   localeChanged: boolean
   populationsByCollection: PopulationsByCollection
-  result: T
+  result: Record<string, any>
 }): void => {
   const {
     externallyUpdatedRelationship,
@@ -48,7 +47,7 @@ export const traverseFields = <T>(args: {
 
               traverseFields({
                 externallyUpdatedRelationship,
-                fieldSchema: fieldSchema.fields,
+                fieldSchema: fieldSchema.fields!,
                 incomingData: incomingRow,
                 localeChanged,
                 populationsByCollection,
@@ -64,7 +63,7 @@ export const traverseFields = <T>(args: {
         case 'blocks':
           if (Array.isArray(incomingData[fieldName])) {
             result[fieldName] = incomingData[fieldName].map((incomingBlock, i) => {
-              const incomingBlockJSON = fieldSchema.blocks[incomingBlock.blockType]
+              const incomingBlockJSON = fieldSchema.blocks?.[incomingBlock.blockType]
 
               if (!result[fieldName]) {
                 result[fieldName] = []
@@ -82,7 +81,7 @@ export const traverseFields = <T>(args: {
 
               traverseFields({
                 externallyUpdatedRelationship,
-                fieldSchema: incomingBlockJSON.fields,
+                fieldSchema: incomingBlockJSON!.fields!,
                 incomingData: incomingBlock,
                 localeChanged,
                 populationsByCollection,
@@ -106,7 +105,7 @@ export const traverseFields = <T>(args: {
 
           traverseFields({
             externallyUpdatedRelationship,
-            fieldSchema: fieldSchema.fields,
+            fieldSchema: fieldSchema.fields!,
             incomingData: incomingData[fieldName] || {},
             localeChanged,
             populationsByCollection,
@@ -166,11 +165,11 @@ export const traverseFields = <T>(args: {
                   incomingRelation === externallyUpdatedRelationship?.id
 
                 if (hasChanged || hasUpdated || localeChanged) {
-                  if (!populationsByCollection[fieldSchema.relationTo]) {
-                    populationsByCollection[fieldSchema.relationTo] = []
+                  if (!populationsByCollection[fieldSchema.relationTo!]) {
+                    populationsByCollection[fieldSchema.relationTo!] = []
                   }
 
-                  populationsByCollection[fieldSchema.relationTo].push({
+                  populationsByCollection[fieldSchema.relationTo!]?.push({
                     id: incomingRelation,
                     accessor: i,
                     ref: result[fieldName],
@@ -265,11 +264,11 @@ export const traverseFields = <T>(args: {
                 // if the new value is not empty, populate it
                 // otherwise set the value to null
                 if (newID) {
-                  if (!populationsByCollection[fieldSchema.relationTo]) {
-                    populationsByCollection[fieldSchema.relationTo] = []
+                  if (!populationsByCollection[fieldSchema.relationTo!]) {
+                    populationsByCollection[fieldSchema.relationTo!] = []
                   }
 
-                  populationsByCollection[fieldSchema.relationTo].push({
+                  populationsByCollection[fieldSchema.relationTo!]?.push({
                     id: newID,
                     accessor: fieldName,
                     ref: result as Record<string, unknown>,
diff --git a/packages/live-preview/src/traverseRichText.ts b/packages/live-preview/src/traverseRichText.ts
index 5eca16b5a4..878595b01e 100644
--- a/packages/live-preview/src/traverseRichText.ts
+++ b/packages/live-preview/src/traverseRichText.ts
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ export const traverseRichText = ({
             populationsByCollection[incomingData.relationTo] = []
           }
 
-          populationsByCollection[incomingData.relationTo].push({
+          populationsByCollection[incomingData.relationTo]?.push({
             id:
               incomingData[key] && typeof incomingData[key] === 'object'
                 ? incomingData[key].id
diff --git a/packages/live-preview/tsconfig.json b/packages/live-preview/tsconfig.json
index 14564e0715..45209999a2 100644
--- a/packages/live-preview/tsconfig.json
+++ b/packages/live-preview/tsconfig.json
@@ -1,9 +1,4 @@
 {
   "extends": "../../tsconfig.base.json",
-  "compilerOptions": {
-    /* TODO: remove the following lines */
-    "strict": false,
-    "noUncheckedIndexedAccess": false,
-  },
   "references": [{ "path": "../payload" }]
 }