diff --git a/public/locales/en.json b/public/locales/en.json
index f2b5aa9..b47691a 100644
--- a/public/locales/en.json
+++ b/public/locales/en.json
@@ -1058,5 +1058,10 @@
 
   "purchaseKrist": {
     "modalTitle": "Purchase Krist"
+  },
+
+  "syncWallets": {
+    "errorMessage": "Error syncing wallets",
+    "errorDescription": "There was an error while syncing your wallets. See console for details."
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/components/wallets/SyncWallets.tsx b/src/components/wallets/SyncWallets.tsx
index bb819c7..5a85511 100644
--- a/src/components/wallets/SyncWallets.tsx
+++ b/src/components/wallets/SyncWallets.tsx
@@ -2,21 +2,38 @@
 // This file is part of KristWeb 2 under AGPL-3.0.
 // Full details: https://github.com/tmpim/KristWeb2/blob/master/LICENSE.txt
 import { useEffect } from "react";
-import { message } from "antd";
+import { message, notification } from "antd";
 
+import { useSelector } from "react-redux";
+import { RootState } from "@store";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 
 import { syncWallets, useWallets, ADDRESS_LIST_LIMIT } from "@wallets";
-import { useMountEffect } from "@utils";
 
-/** Sync the wallets with the Krist node on startup. */
+import Debug from "debug";
+const debug = Debug("kristweb:sync-wallets");
+
+/** Sync the wallets with the Krist node when connected. */
 export function SyncWallets(): JSX.Element | null {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
 
-  useMountEffect(() => {
-    // TODO: show errors to the user?
-    syncWallets().catch(console.error);
-  });
+  const connectionState = useSelector((s: RootState) => s.websocket.connectionState);
+
+  // When the websocket connects (usually just on startup), perform the initial
+  // sync. This replaces `WebsocketConnection.refreshBalances`.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (connectionState !== "connected") return;
+    debug("syncing wallets (ws is %s)", connectionState);
+    syncWallets()
+      .then(() => debug("synced"))
+      .catch(err => {
+        console.error(err);
+        notification.error({
+          message: t("syncWallets.errorMessage"),
+          description: t("syncWallets.errorDescription"),
+        });
+      });
+  }, [t, connectionState]);
 
   // This is an appropriate place to perform the wallet limit check too. Warn
   // the user if they have more wallets than ADDRESS_LIST_LIMIT; bypassing this
diff --git a/src/global/ws/WebsocketConnection.ts b/src/global/ws/WebsocketConnection.ts
index b9acee3..14492c4 100644
--- a/src/global/ws/WebsocketConnection.ts
+++ b/src/global/ws/WebsocketConnection.ts
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@
   }
 
   private setConnectionState(state: WSConnectionState) {
+    debug("ws conn state: %s", state);
     store.dispatch(wsActions.setConnectionState(state));
   }
 
@@ -120,7 +121,6 @@
     if (data.type === "hello") {
       // Initial connection
       debug("connected");
-      this.setConnectionState("connected");
 
       // Subscribe to all the events
       this.subscribe("transactions");
@@ -128,8 +128,7 @@
       this.subscribe("names");
       this.subscribe("motd");
 
-      // Re-sync all balances just in case
-      this.refreshBalances();
+      this.setConnectionState("connected");
     } else if (data.address && this.wallets) {
       // Probably a response to `refreshBalance`
       const address: KristAddress = data.address;
@@ -269,18 +268,6 @@
     });
   }
 
-  /** Re-syncs balances for all the wallets, just in case. */
-  refreshBalances(): void {
-    debug("refreshing all balances");
-
-    const { wallets } = this;
-    if (!wallets) return;
-
-    for (const id in wallets) {
-      this.refreshBalance(wallets[id].address);
-    }
-  }
-
   /** Subscribe to a Krist WS event. */
   subscribe(event: WSSubscriptionLevel): void {
     this.ws?.sendPacked({ type: "subscribe", event, id: this.messageID++ });