diff --git a/docusaurus/docs/React/components/core-components/message-list.mdx b/docusaurus/docs/React/components/core-components/message-list.mdx
index 8b76c63f9..99792cf03 100644
--- a/docusaurus/docs/React/components/core-components/message-list.mdx
+++ b/docusaurus/docs/React/components/core-components/message-list.mdx
@@ -476,6 +476,10 @@ Array of allowed message actions (ex: 'edit', 'delete', 'reply'). To disable all
 
 The limit to use when paginating new messages (the page size).
 
+:::caution
+After mounting, the `MessageList` component checks if the list is completely filled with messages. If there is some space left in the list, `MessageList` will load the next page of messages, but it will do so _only once_. This means that if your `messageLimit` is too low, or if your viewport is very large, the list will not be completely filled. Set the limit with this in mind.
+:::
+
 | Type   | Default |
 | ------ | ------- |
 | number | 100     |
diff --git a/docusaurus/docs/React/components/core-components/virtualized-list.mdx b/docusaurus/docs/React/components/core-components/virtualized-list.mdx
index 7ede49006..48f0a1509 100644
--- a/docusaurus/docs/React/components/core-components/virtualized-list.mdx
+++ b/docusaurus/docs/React/components/core-components/virtualized-list.mdx
@@ -186,6 +186,10 @@ Custom UI component to display an individual message.
 
 The limit to use when paginating messages (the page size).
 
+:::caution
+After mounting, the `VirtualizedMessageList` component checks if the list is completely filled with messages. If there is some space left in the list, `VirtualizedMessageList` will load the next page of messages, but it will do so _only once_. This means that if your `messageLimit` is too low, or if your viewport is very large, the list will not be completely filled. Set the limit with this in mind.
+:::
+
 | Type   | Default |
 | ------ | ------- |
 | number | 100     |
diff --git a/examples/typescript/src/index.tsx b/examples/typescript/src/index.tsx
index 0a9c84979..a6e481519 100644
--- a/examples/typescript/src/index.tsx
+++ b/examples/typescript/src/index.tsx
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import * as serviceWorker from './serviceWorker';
 createRoot(document.getElementById('root')!).render(
   <React.StrictMode>
     <App />
-  </React.StrictMode>
+  </React.StrictMode>,
 );
 
 // If you want your app to work offline and load faster, you can change
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 297008ec1..0def1d0bb 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@
     "isomorphic-ws": "^4.0.1",
     "linkifyjs": "^4.1.0",
     "lodash.debounce": "^4.0.8",
+    "lodash.defaultsdeep": "^4.6.1",
     "lodash.throttle": "^4.1.1",
     "lodash.uniqby": "^4.7.0",
     "nanoid": "^3.3.4",
@@ -155,6 +156,7 @@
     "@types/jsdom": "^21.1.5",
     "@types/linkifyjs": "^2.1.3",
     "@types/lodash.debounce": "^4.0.7",
+    "@types/lodash.defaultsdeep": "^4.6.9",
     "@types/lodash.throttle": "^4.1.7",
     "@types/lodash.uniqby": "^4.7.7",
     "@types/moment": "^2.13.0",
diff --git a/src/components/Channel/Channel.tsx b/src/components/Channel/Channel.tsx
index b7c560164..35e41b0e1 100644
--- a/src/components/Channel/Channel.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Channel/Channel.tsx
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import React, {
 } from 'react';
 
 import debounce from 'lodash.debounce';
+import defaultsDeep from 'lodash.defaultsdeep';
 import throttle from 'lodash.throttle';
 import {
   ChannelAPIResponse,
@@ -346,7 +347,7 @@ const ChannelInner = <
     acceptedFiles,
     activeUnreadHandler,
     channel,
-    channelQueryOptions,
+    channelQueryOptions: propChannelQueryOptions,
     children,
     doDeleteMessageRequest,
     doMarkReadRequest,
@@ -366,6 +367,16 @@ const ChannelInner = <
     skipMessageDataMemoization,
   } = props;
 
+  const channelQueryOptions: ChannelQueryOptions<StreamChatGenerics> & {
+    messages: { limit: number };
+  } = useMemo(
+    () =>
+      defaultsDeep(propChannelQueryOptions, {
+        messages: { limit: DEFAULT_INITIAL_CHANNEL_PAGE_SIZE },
+      }),
+    [propChannelQueryOptions],
+  );
+
   const {
     client,
     customClasses,
@@ -546,6 +557,7 @@ const ChannelInner = <
   useLayoutEffect(() => {
     let errored = false;
     let done = false;
+    let channelInitializedExternally = true;
 
     (async () => {
       if (!channel.initialized && initializeOnMount) {
@@ -571,6 +583,7 @@ const ChannelInner = <
           await getChannel({ channel, client, members, options: channelQueryOptions });
           const config = channel.getConfig();
           setChannelConfig(config);
+          channelInitializedExternally = false;
         } catch (e) {
           dispatch({ error: e as Error, type: 'setError' });
           errored = true;
@@ -583,10 +596,12 @@ const ChannelInner = <
       if (!errored) {
         dispatch({
           channel,
-          hasMore: hasMoreMessagesProbably(
-            channel.state.messages.length,
-            channelQueryOptions?.messages?.limit ?? DEFAULT_INITIAL_CHANNEL_PAGE_SIZE,
-          ),
+          hasMore:
+            channelInitializedExternally ||
+            hasMoreMessagesProbably(
+              channel.state.messages.length,
+              channelQueryOptions.messages.limit,
+            ),
           type: 'initStateFromChannel',
         });
 
diff --git a/src/components/Channel/__tests__/Channel.test.js b/src/components/Channel/__tests__/Channel.test.js
index d7fdf6bd3..151cebba5 100644
--- a/src/components/Channel/__tests__/Channel.test.js
+++ b/src/components/Channel/__tests__/Channel.test.js
@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@ describe('Channel', () => {
 
     await waitFor(() => {
       expect(watchSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-      expect(watchSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(undefined);
+      expect(watchSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ messages: { limit: 25 } });
     });
   });
 
diff --git a/src/components/ChannelList/hooks/usePaginatedChannels.ts b/src/components/ChannelList/hooks/usePaginatedChannels.ts
index ad79cdaa9..8387bdc09 100644
--- a/src/components/ChannelList/hooks/usePaginatedChannels.ts
+++ b/src/components/ChannelList/hooks/usePaginatedChannels.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { useChatContext } from '../../../context/ChatContext';
 
 import type { DefaultStreamChatGenerics } from '../../../types/types';
 import type { ChannelsQueryState } from '../../Chat/hooks/useChannelsQueryState';
+import { DEFAULT_INITIAL_CHANNEL_PAGE_SIZE } from '../../../constants/limits';
 
 const RECOVER_LOADED_CHANNELS_THROTTLE_INTERVAL_IN_MS = 5000;
 const MIN_RECOVER_LOADED_CHANNELS_THROTTLE_INTERVAL_IN_MS = 2000;
@@ -79,6 +80,7 @@ export const usePaginatedChannels = <
 
         const newOptions = {
           limit: options?.limit ?? MAX_QUERY_CHANNELS_LIMIT,
+          message_limit: options?.message_limit ?? DEFAULT_INITIAL_CHANNEL_PAGE_SIZE,
           offset,
           ...options,
         };
diff --git a/src/components/InfiniteScrollPaginator/InfiniteScroll.tsx b/src/components/InfiniteScrollPaginator/InfiniteScroll.tsx
index 156c4f1e9..c8941fb25 100644
--- a/src/components/InfiniteScrollPaginator/InfiniteScroll.tsx
+++ b/src/components/InfiniteScrollPaginator/InfiniteScroll.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import React, { PropsWithChildren, useCallback, useEffect, useLayoutEffect, useRef } from 'react';
+import React, { PropsWithChildren, useEffect, useLayoutEffect, useRef } from 'react';
 import type { PaginatorProps } from '../../types/types';
 import { deprecationAndReplacementWarning } from '../../utils/deprecationWarning';
 
@@ -73,7 +73,8 @@ export const InfiniteScroll = (props: PropsWithChildren<InfiniteScrollProps>) =>
 
   const scrollComponent = useRef<HTMLElement>();
 
-  const scrollListener = useCallback(() => {
+  const scrollListenerRef = useRef<() => void>();
+  scrollListenerRef.current = () => {
     const element = scrollComponent.current;
 
     if (!element || element.offsetParent === null) {
@@ -103,15 +104,7 @@ export const InfiniteScroll = (props: PropsWithChildren<InfiniteScrollProps>) =>
     if (offset < Number(threshold) && typeof loadNextPageFn === 'function' && hasNextPageFlag) {
       loadNextPageFn();
     }
-  }, [
-    hasPreviousPageFlag,
-    hasNextPageFlag,
-    isLoading,
-    listenToScroll,
-    loadPreviousPageFn,
-    loadNextPageFn,
-    threshold,
-  ]);
+  };
 
   useEffect(() => {
     deprecationAndReplacementWarning(
@@ -130,14 +123,17 @@ export const InfiniteScroll = (props: PropsWithChildren<InfiniteScrollProps>) =>
     const scrollElement = scrollComponent.current?.parentNode;
     if (!scrollElement) return;
 
+    const scrollListener = () => scrollListenerRef.current?.();
+
     scrollElement.addEventListener('scroll', scrollListener, useCapture);
     scrollElement.addEventListener('resize', scrollListener, useCapture);
+    scrollListener();
 
     return () => {
       scrollElement.removeEventListener('scroll', scrollListener, useCapture);
       scrollElement.removeEventListener('resize', scrollListener, useCapture);
     };
-  }, [initialLoad, scrollListener, useCapture]);
+  }, [initialLoad, useCapture]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     const scrollElement = scrollComponent.current?.parentNode;
diff --git a/src/components/MessageList/MessageList.tsx b/src/components/MessageList/MessageList.tsx
index 047fd3390..34fc34dc7 100644
--- a/src/components/MessageList/MessageList.tsx
+++ b/src/components/MessageList/MessageList.tsx
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import type { MessageProps } from '../Message/types';
 import type { StreamMessage } from '../../context/ChannelStateContext';
 
 import type { DefaultStreamChatGenerics } from '../../types/types';
+import { DEFAULT_NEXT_CHANNEL_PAGE_SIZE } from '../../constants/limits';
 
 type MessageListWithContextProps<
   StreamChatGenerics extends DefaultStreamChatGenerics = DefaultStreamChatGenerics
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ const MessageListWithContext = <
     headerPosition,
     read,
     renderMessages = defaultRenderMessages,
-    messageLimit = 100,
+    messageLimit = DEFAULT_NEXT_CHANNEL_PAGE_SIZE,
     loadMore: loadMoreCallback,
     loadMoreNewer: loadMoreNewerCallback,
     hasMoreNewer = false,
diff --git a/src/components/MessageList/VirtualizedMessageList.tsx b/src/components/MessageList/VirtualizedMessageList.tsx
index 5b8a9deae..acc046b2b 100644
--- a/src/components/MessageList/VirtualizedMessageList.tsx
+++ b/src/components/MessageList/VirtualizedMessageList.tsx
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ import { ComponentContextValue, useComponentContext } from '../../context/Compon
 
 import type { Channel, ChannelState as StreamChannelState, UserResponse } from 'stream-chat';
 import type { DefaultStreamChatGenerics, UnknownType } from '../../types/types';
+import { DEFAULT_NEXT_CHANNEL_PAGE_SIZE } from '../../constants/limits';
 
 type VirtualizedMessageListPropsForContext =
   | 'additionalMessageInputProps'
@@ -184,7 +185,7 @@ const VirtualizedMessageListWithContext = <
     loadMoreNewer,
     Message: MessageUIComponentFromProps,
     messageActions,
-    messageLimit = 100,
+    messageLimit = DEFAULT_NEXT_CHANNEL_PAGE_SIZE,
     messages,
     notifications,
     // TODO: refactor to scrollSeekPlaceHolderConfiguration and components.ScrollSeekPlaceholder, like the Virtuoso Component
@@ -386,7 +387,9 @@ const VirtualizedMessageListWithContext = <
     }
   };
   const atTopStateChange = (isAtTop: boolean) => {
-    if (isAtTop) loadMore?.(messageLimit);
+    if (isAtTop) {
+      loadMore?.(messageLimit);
+    }
   };
 
   useEffect(() => {
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index c564a5c71..3a76886d1 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -2497,6 +2497,13 @@
   dependencies:
     "@types/lodash" "*"
 
+"@types/lodash.defaultsdeep@^4.6.9":
+  version "4.6.9"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/lodash.defaultsdeep/-/lodash.defaultsdeep-4.6.9.tgz#050fbe389a7a6e245b15da9ee83a8a62f047a1c4"
+  integrity sha512-pLtCFK0YkHfGtGLYLNMTbFB5/G5+RsmQCIbbHH8GOAXjv+gDkVilY98kILfe8JH2Kev0OCReYxp1AjxEjP8ixA==
+  dependencies:
+    "@types/lodash" "*"
+
 "@types/lodash.throttle@^4.1.7":
   version "4.1.7"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/lodash.throttle/-/lodash.throttle-4.1.7.tgz#4ef379eb4f778068022310ef166625f420b6ba58"
@@ -9391,6 +9398,11 @@ lodash.deburr@^4.1.0:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/lodash.deburr/-/lodash.deburr-4.1.0.tgz#ddb1bbb3ef07458c0177ba07de14422cb033ff9b"
   integrity sha1-3bG7s+8HRYwBd7oH3hRCLLAz/5s=
 
+lodash.defaultsdeep@^4.6.1:
+  version "4.6.1"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/lodash.defaultsdeep/-/lodash.defaultsdeep-4.6.1.tgz#512e9bd721d272d94e3d3a63653fa17516741ca6"
+  integrity sha512-3j8wdDzYuWO3lM3Reg03MuQR957t287Rpcxp1njpEa8oDrikb+FwGdW3n+FELh/A6qib6yPit0j/pv9G/yeAqA==
+
 lodash.escaperegexp@^4.1.2:
   version "4.1.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/lodash.escaperegexp/-/lodash.escaperegexp-4.1.2.tgz#64762c48618082518ac3df4ccf5d5886dae20347"