diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d922586198b..418c20a938a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+### Fixes
+
+- Avoid stopping appStartProfiler after application creation ([#3630](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-java/pull/3630))
+
 *Breaking changes*:
 
 - `options.experimental.sessionReplay.errorSampleRate` was renamed to `options.experimental.sessionReplay.onErrorSampleRate` ([#3637](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-java/pull/3637))
diff --git a/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/performance/AppStartMetrics.java b/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/performance/AppStartMetrics.java
index 90c49ed07a6..461ee5eed65 100644
--- a/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/performance/AppStartMetrics.java
+++ b/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/performance/AppStartMetrics.java
@@ -255,13 +255,14 @@ private void checkCreateTimeOnMain(final @NotNull Application application) {
               // if no activity has ever been created, app was launched in background
               if (onCreateTime == null) {
                 appLaunchedInForeground = false;
+
+                // we stop the app start profiler, as it's useless and likely to timeout
+                if (appStartProfiler != null && appStartProfiler.isRunning()) {
+                  appStartProfiler.close();
+                  appStartProfiler = null;
+                }
               }
               application.unregisterActivityLifecycleCallbacks(instance);
-              // we stop the app start profiler, as it's useless and likely to timeout
-              if (appStartProfiler != null && appStartProfiler.isRunning()) {
-                appStartProfiler.close();
-                appStartProfiler = null;
-              }
             });
   }
 
diff --git a/sentry-android-core/src/test/java/io/sentry/android/core/performance/AppStartMetricsTest.kt b/sentry-android-core/src/test/java/io/sentry/android/core/performance/AppStartMetricsTest.kt
index 1f2eab8a9a8..eb0e85dc28e 100644
--- a/sentry-android-core/src/test/java/io/sentry/android/core/performance/AppStartMetricsTest.kt
+++ b/sentry-android-core/src/test/java/io/sentry/android/core/performance/AppStartMetricsTest.kt
@@ -196,6 +196,20 @@ class AppStartMetricsTest {
         verify(profiler).close()
     }
 
+    @Test
+    fun `if activity is started, does not stop app start profiler if running`() {
+        val profiler = mock<ITransactionProfiler>()
+        whenever(profiler.isRunning).thenReturn(true)
+        AppStartMetrics.getInstance().appStartProfiler = profiler
+        AppStartMetrics.getInstance().onActivityCreated(mock(), mock())
+
+        AppStartMetrics.getInstance().registerApplicationForegroundCheck(mock())
+        // Job on main thread checks if activity was launched
+        Shadows.shadowOf(Looper.getMainLooper()).idle()
+
+        verify(profiler, never()).close()
+    }
+
     @Test
     fun `if app start span is longer than 1 minute, appStartTimeSpanWithFallback returns an empty span`() {
         val appStartTimeSpan = AppStartMetrics.getInstance().appStartTimeSpan