diff --git a/testsuite/gtk/test-focus-chain.c b/testsuite/gtk/test-focus-chain.c
index 3846ac525d..0ab28caee9 100644
--- a/testsuite/gtk/test-focus-chain.c
+++ b/testsuite/gtk/test-focus-chain.c
@@ -208,14 +208,14 @@ load_ui_file (GFile *ui_file,
   timeout_handle_id = g_timeout_add (2000,
                                      quit_iteration_loop,
                                      &keep_running);
-  while (keep_running)
-    {
-      if (!g_main_context_iteration (NULL, FALSE))
-        break;
-    }
+  while (keep_running && !gtk_window_is_active (GTK_WINDOW (window)))
+    g_main_context_iteration (NULL, TRUE);
+
   if (keep_running)
     g_source_remove (timeout_handle_id);
 
+  g_assert (gtk_window_is_active (GTK_WINDOW (window)));
+
   if (ext)
     {
       int i;