diff --git a/js/client/modules/@arangodb/test-utils.js b/js/client/modules/@arangodb/test-utils.js
index f252a1d1df..18b30a6791 100755
--- a/js/client/modules/@arangodb/test-utils.js
+++ b/js/client/modules/@arangodb/test-utils.js
@@ -528,7 +528,11 @@ function filterTestcaseByOptions (testname, options, whichFilter) {
 // //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
 function splitBuckets (options, cases) {
-  if (!options.testBuckets || cases.length === 0) {
+  if (!options.testBuckets) {
+    return cases;
+  }
+  if (cases.length === 0) {
+    didSplitBuckets = true;
     return cases;
   }