diff --git a/ts/messages/send.ts b/ts/messages/send.ts
index 9aa9085125..a923de6f6b 100644
--- a/ts/messages/send.ts
+++ b/ts/messages/send.ts
@@ -283,7 +283,8 @@ export async function sendSyncMessageOnly(
   try {
     message.set({
       // This is the same as a normal send()
-      expirationStartTimestamp: Date.now(),
+      expirationStartTimestamp:
+        message.get('expirationStartTimestamp') ?? Date.now(),
       errors: [],
     });
     const result = await sendSyncMessage(message, targetTimestamp);