diff --git a/src/gui/tray/notificationhandler.cpp b/src/gui/tray/notificationhandler.cpp
index 46e876b66..b2a9fc78b 100644
--- a/src/gui/tray/notificationhandler.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/tray/notificationhandler.cpp
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ void ServerNotificationHandler::slotNotificationsReceived(const QJsonDocument &j
     // In theory the server should five us a 304 Not Modified if there are no new notifications.
     // But in practice, the server doesn't always do that. So we need to compare the ETag headers.
     const auto postFetchEtagHeader = _accountState->notificationsEtagResponseHeader();
-    if (_preFetchEtagHeader == postFetchEtagHeader) {
+    if (!_preFetchEtagHeader.isEmpty() || _preFetchEtagHeader == postFetchEtagHeader) {
         qCInfo(lcServerNotification) << "Notifications ETag header is the same as before, no new notifications.";
         deleteLater();
         emit jobFinished();