diff --git a/launcher/Application.cpp b/launcher/Application.cpp
index ff4013b1c..efd63714d 100644
--- a/launcher/Application.cpp
+++ b/launcher/Application.cpp
@@ -937,15 +937,6 @@ Application::Application(int& argc, char** argv) : QApplication(argc, argv)
         qInfo() << "<> Network done.";
     }
 
-    // load translations
-    {
-        m_translations.reset(new TranslationsModel("translations"));
-        auto bcp47Name = m_settings->get("Language").toString();
-        m_translations->selectLanguage(bcp47Name);
-        qInfo() << "Your language is" << bcp47Name;
-        qInfo() << "<> Translations loaded.";
-    }
-
     // Instance icons
     {
         auto setting = APPLICATION->settings()->getSetting("IconsDir");
@@ -1024,8 +1015,13 @@ Application::Application(int& argc, char** argv) : QApplication(argc, argv)
         qInfo() << "<> Cache initialized.";
     }
 
-    // now we have network, download translation updates
-    m_translations->downloadIndex();
+    // load translations
+    {
+        m_translations.reset(new TranslationsModel("translations"));
+        m_translations->downloadIndex();
+        qInfo() << "Your language is" << m_translations->selectedLanguage();
+        qInfo() << "<> Translations loaded.";
+    }
 
     // FIXME: what to do with these?
     m_profilers.insert("jprofiler", std::shared_ptr<BaseProfilerFactory>(new JProfilerFactory()));
diff --git a/launcher/translations/TranslationsModel.cpp b/launcher/translations/TranslationsModel.cpp
index ebbd7cdb6..7f905608b 100644
--- a/launcher/translations/TranslationsModel.cpp
+++ b/launcher/translations/TranslationsModel.cpp
@@ -179,6 +179,7 @@ TranslationsModel::TranslationsModel(const QString& path, QObject* parent) : QAb
 {
     d = std::make_unique<Private>();
     d->m_dir.setPath(path);
+    d->m_selectedLanguage = APPLICATION->settings()->get("Language").toString();
     FS::ensureFolderPathExists(path);
     reloadLocalFiles();
 
@@ -202,22 +203,20 @@ void TranslationsModel::indexReceived()
 {
     qDebug() << "Got translations index!";
     d->m_indexJob.reset();
+    reloadLocalFiles();
 
     if (d->m_noLanguageSet) {
-        reloadLocalFiles();
-
         auto language = getSystemLocaleName();
         if (!findLanguageAsOptional(language).has_value()) {
             language = getSystemLanguage();
         }
         selectLanguage(language);
-        if (selectedLanguage() != g_defaultLangCode) {
-            updateLanguage(selectedLanguage());
-        }
         APPLICATION->settings()->set("Language", selectedLanguage());
         d->m_noLanguageSet = false;
-    } else if (d->m_selectedLanguage != g_defaultLangCode) {
-        downloadTranslation(d->m_selectedLanguage);
+    }
+
+    if (selectedLanguage() != g_defaultLangCode) {
+        updateLanguage(selectedLanguage());
     }
 }
 
@@ -267,7 +266,12 @@ void TranslationsModel::reloadLocalFiles()
 {
     QMap<QString, Language> languages = { { g_defaultLangCode, Language(g_defaultLangCode) } };
 
-    readIndex(d->m_dir.absoluteFilePath("index_v2.json"), languages);
+    const auto indexPath = d->m_dir.absoluteFilePath("index_v2.json");
+    if (!QFileInfo::exists(indexPath)) {
+        downloadIndex();
+        return;
+    }
+    readIndex(indexPath, languages);
     auto entries = d->m_dir.entryInfoList({ "mmc_*.qm", "*.po" }, QDir::Files | QDir::NoDotAndDotDot);
     for (auto& entry : entries) {
         auto completeSuffix = entry.completeSuffix();