diff --git a/src/firsttimewizard.cpp b/src/firsttimewizard.cpp
index 94d839e..a98a281 100644
--- a/src/firsttimewizard.cpp
+++ b/src/firsttimewizard.cpp
@@ -309,7 +309,9 @@ void NewSeedPage::initializePage() {
             qDebug() << __func__ << ": new server is " << parent->server;
 
             // retry with the new server
-            char* resp = litelib_initialize_new(parent->dangerous,parent->server.toStdString().c_str());
+            // we use litelib_initialize_existing because the call to litelib_initialize_new above
+            // has already created a wallet on disk
+            char* resp = litelib_initialize_existing(parent->dangerous,parent->server.toStdString().c_str());
             reply = litelib_process_response(resp);
     }