diff --git a/src/irc/core/server-reconnect.c b/src/irc/core/server-reconnect.c
index 832d55cd..d736ef29 100644
--- a/src/irc/core/server-reconnect.c
+++ b/src/irc/core/server-reconnect.c
@@ -345,8 +345,15 @@ static int sig_set_user_mode(IRC_SERVER_REC *server)
 
 	newmode = server->usermode == NULL ? NULL :
 		modes_join(server->usermode, mode);
-	if (server->usermode != NULL && strcmp(newmode, server->usermode) != 0)
-		irc_send_cmdv(server, "MODE %s -%s+%s", server->nick, server->usermode, mode);
+
+	if (server->usermode == NULL) {
+		/* server didn't set user mode, just set the new one */
+		irc_send_cmdv(server, "MODE %s %s", server->nick, mode);
+	} else {
+		if (strcmp(newmode, server->usermode) != 0)
+			irc_send_cmdv(server, "MODE %s -%s+%s", server->nick, server->usermode, mode);
+	}
+
 	g_free_not_null(newmode);
 	return 0;
 }