diff --git a/src/app/utils.cpp b/src/app/utils.cpp
index 5a12bf33d49cdd0a9e3912d3fe3d81c0263df2fd..cbd725b8748489074a9e6d82ea14791d4b8286b9 100644
--- a/src/app/utils.cpp
+++ b/src/app/utils.cpp
@@ -459,11 +459,10 @@ Utils::conversationAvatar(LRCInstance* instance,
         auto avatarb64 = convModel->avatar(convId);
         if (!avatarb64.isEmpty()) {
             auto photo = imageFromBase64String(avatarb64, true);
-            if (photo.isNull()) {
-                qWarning() << "Invalid image for conversation " << convId;
-                return photo;
+            if (!photo.isNull()) {
+                return scaleAndFrame(photo, size);
             }
-            return scaleAndFrame(photo, size);
+            qWarning() << "Couldn't load image from base 64 data for conversation " << convId;
         }
         // Else, generate an avatar
         auto members = convModel->peersForConversation(convId);