diff --git a/gui/main-kf5.qml b/gui/main-kf5.qml
index ab9f73b..cbbf622 100644
--- a/gui/main-kf5.qml
+++ b/gui/main-kf5.qml
@@ -196,6 +196,9 @@ ApplicationWindow {
         newSessionDialog.backendCombo.currentIndex = 0
         newSessionDialog.agentCombo.currentIndex = 0
         newSessionDialog.modelCombo.editText = ""
+        // Populate model list for the default (first) backend
+        if (newSessionDialog.backendCombo.currentText)
+            newSessionDialog.modelCombo.model = dbus.listModelsByBackend(newSessionDialog.backendCombo.currentText)
         newSessionDialog.open()
     }
 
diff --git a/gui/main.qml b/gui/main.qml
index 610e06b..c99ba4e 100644
--- a/gui/main.qml
+++ b/gui/main.qml
@@ -194,6 +194,9 @@ ApplicationWindow {
         newSessionDialog.backendCombo.currentIndex = 0
         newSessionDialog.agentCombo.currentIndex = 0
         newSessionDialog.modelCombo.editText = ""
+        // Populate model list for the default (first) backend
+        if (newSessionDialog.backendCombo.currentText)
+            newSessionDialog.modelCombo.model = dbus.listModelsByBackend(newSessionDialog.backendCombo.currentText)
         newSessionDialog.open()
     }