diff --git a/AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/AnkiFragment.kt b/AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/AnkiFragment.kt
index f7901212b84e..ccebca9e59a8 100644
--- a/AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/AnkiFragment.kt
+++ b/AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/AnkiFragment.kt
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ import androidx.appcompat.widget.Toolbar
 import androidx.fragment.app.DialogFragment
 import androidx.fragment.app.Fragment
 import com.ichi2.anki.android.input.ShortcutGroup
-import com.ichi2.async.CollectionLoader
 import com.ichi2.libanki.Collection
 import com.ichi2.themes.Themes
 import com.ichi2.utils.increaseHorizontalPaddingOfOverflowMenuIcons
@@ -61,13 +60,6 @@ open class AnkiFragment(@LayoutRes layout: Int) : Fragment(layout), AnkiActivity
 
     // Open function: These can be overridden to react to specific parts of the lifecycle
 
-    /**
-     * Callback for [startLoadingCollection], executed once the collection is available.
-     */
-    protected open fun onCollectionLoaded(col: Collection) {
-        hideProgressBar()
-    }
-
     @Suppress("deprecation", "API35 properly handle edge-to-edge")
     override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
         requireActivity().window.statusBarColor = Themes.getColorFromAttr(requireContext(), R.attr.appBarColor)
@@ -111,16 +103,6 @@ open class AnkiFragment(@LayoutRes layout: Int) : Fragment(layout), AnkiActivity
         return requireView().findViewById(id)
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Hides progress bar.
-     */
-    private fun hideProgressBar() = ankiActivity.hideProgressBar()
-
-    /**
-     * Shows progress bar.
-     */
-    private fun showProgressBar() = ankiActivity.showProgressBar()
-
     /**
      * Unregisters a previously registered broadcast receiver.
      *
@@ -163,32 +145,6 @@ open class AnkiFragment(@LayoutRes layout: Int) : Fragment(layout), AnkiActivity
         mainToolbar.setTitle(title)
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Starts loading the Anki collection asynchronously if it hasn't been opened yet.
-     * If the collection is already open, calls `onCollectionLoaded` synchronously.
-     * Shows a progress bar during loading.
-     */
-    protected fun startLoadingCollection() {
-        Timber.d("AnkiFragment.startLoadingCollection()")
-        if (CollectionManager.isOpenUnsafe()) {
-            Timber.d("Synchronously calling onCollectionLoaded")
-            onCollectionLoaded(getColUnsafe)
-            return
-        }
-        // Open collection asynchronously if it hasn't already been opened
-        showProgressBar()
-        CollectionLoader.load(
-            this
-        ) { col: Collection? ->
-            if (col != null) {
-                Timber.d("Asynchronously calling onCollectionLoaded")
-                onCollectionLoaded(col)
-            } else {
-                ankiActivity.onCollectionLoadError()
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
     /**
      * Method to show dialog fragment including adding it to back stack
      *
diff --git a/AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/NoteEditor.kt b/AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/NoteEditor.kt
index be13af4e3f0f..6dc7545fcbe9 100644
--- a/AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/NoteEditor.kt
+++ b/AnkiDroid/src/main/java/com/ichi2/anki/NoteEditor.kt
@@ -495,7 +495,12 @@ class NoteEditor : AnkiFragment(R.layout.note_editor), DeckSelectionListener, Su
             )
             setIconColor(MaterialColors.getColor(requireContext(), R.attr.toolbarIconColor, 0))
         }
-        startLoadingCollection()
+        try {
+            setupEditor(getColUnsafe)
+        } catch (ex: RuntimeException) {
+            ankiActivity.onCollectionLoadError()
+            return
+        }
         // TODO this callback doesn't handle predictive back navigation!
         // see #14678, added to temporarily fix for a bug
         requireActivity().onBackPressedDispatcher.addCallback(this) {
@@ -574,8 +579,7 @@ class NoteEditor : AnkiFragment(R.layout.note_editor), DeckSelectionListener, Su
         get() = NoteService.getFieldsAsBundleForPreview(editFields, shouldReplaceNewlines())
 
     // Finish initializing the fragment after the collection has been correctly loaded
-    override fun onCollectionLoaded(col: Collection) {
-        super.onCollectionLoaded(col)
+    private fun setupEditor(col: Collection) {
         val intent = requireActivity().intent
         Timber.d("NoteEditor() onCollectionLoaded: caller: %d", caller)
         ankiActivity.registerReceiver()
diff --git a/AnkiDroid/src/main/res/layout/note_editor.xml b/AnkiDroid/src/main/res/layout/note_editor.xml
index 5595a966bde9..fdad897f5833 100644
--- a/AnkiDroid/src/main/res/layout/note_editor.xml
+++ b/AnkiDroid/src/main/res/layout/note_editor.xml
@@ -148,6 +148,4 @@
         android:id="@+id/editor_toolbar"
         android:layout_width="match_parent"
         android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>
-
-    <include layout="@layout/anki_progress"/>
 </androidx.coordinatorlayout.widget.CoordinatorLayout>