diff --git a/src/usecases/send-message.js b/src/usecases/send-message.js
index 5bf289b03a..038171327c 100644
--- a/src/usecases/send-message.js
+++ b/src/usecases/send-message.js
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ module.exports = async function sendMessage(session, message) {
     // this selector needs to be the element that has contenteditable=true,
     // not any if its parents, otherwise it behaves flaky at best.
     const composer = await session.waitAndQuery('.mx_MessageComposer_editor');
+    // sometimes the focus that type() does internally doesn't seem to work
+    // and calling click before seems to fix it 🤷
+    await composer.click();
     await composer.type(message);
     const text = await session.innerText(composer);
     assert.equal(text.trim(), message.trim());