diff --git a/test/topology_custom/test_rpc_compression.py b/test/topology_custom/test_rpc_compression.py
index a56a9dd2dd..e6b3e51ac2 100644
--- a/test/topology_custom/test_rpc_compression.py
+++ b/test/topology_custom/test_rpc_compression.py
@@ -208,11 +208,15 @@ async def test_external_dicts(manager: ManagerClient) -> None:
         assert approximately_equal(compressed, expected_ratio * volume, 0.8)
 
     await with_retries(functools.partial(test_once, "lz4", 0.5), timeout=600)
-
     await live_update_config(manager, servers, "internode_compression_zstd_max_cpu_fraction", "1.0"),
-
     await with_retries(functools.partial(test_once, "zstd", 0.25), timeout=600)
 
+    # Test that the dicts are loaded on startup.
+    await asyncio.gather(*[manager.server_stop_gracefully(s.server_id) for s in servers])
+    await asyncio.gather(*[manager.server_update_config(s.server_id, 'rpc_dict_training_when', 'never') for s in servers])
+    await asyncio.gather(*[manager.server_start(s.server_id) for s in servers])
+    await with_retries(functools.partial(test_once, "lz4", 0.5), timeout=10)
+
 # Similar to test_external_dicts, but simpler.
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_external_dicts_sanity(manager: ManagerClient) -> None: