diff --git a/src/3d/symbols/qgspointcloud3dsymbol_p.cpp b/src/3d/symbols/qgspointcloud3dsymbol_p.cpp
index e58ed16d8f0a..be64d38785f5 100644
--- a/src/3d/symbols/qgspointcloud3dsymbol_p.cpp
+++ b/src/3d/symbols/qgspointcloud3dsymbol_p.cpp
@@ -525,6 +525,9 @@ std::unique_ptr<QgsPointCloudBlock> QgsPointCloud3DSymbolHandler::pointCloudBloc
   }
   else if ( pc->accessType() == QgsPointCloudIndex::AccessType::Remote )
   {
+    if ( pc->nodePointCount( n ) < 1 )
+      return block;
+
     bool loopAborted = false;
     QEventLoop loop;
     QgsPointCloudBlockRequest *req = pc->asyncNodeData( n, request );
diff --git a/src/core/pointcloud/qgscopcpointcloudblockrequest.cpp b/src/core/pointcloud/qgscopcpointcloudblockrequest.cpp
index 6d842ed3c98c..c2568c175a94 100644
--- a/src/core/pointcloud/qgscopcpointcloudblockrequest.cpp
+++ b/src/core/pointcloud/qgscopcpointcloudblockrequest.cpp
@@ -35,6 +35,9 @@ QgsCopcPointCloudBlockRequest::QgsCopcPointCloudBlockRequest( const IndexedPoint
   : QgsPointCloudBlockRequest( node, uri, attributes, requestedAttributes, scale, offset, filterExpression, filterRect ),
     mBlockOffset( blockOffset ), mBlockSize( blockSize ), mPointCount( pointCount ), mLazInfo( lazInfo )
 {
+  // an empty block size will create an invalid range, causing a full request to the server
+  Q_ASSERT( mBlockSize > 0 );
+
   QNetworkRequest nr = QNetworkRequest( QUrl( mUri ) );
   QgsSetRequestInitiatorClass( nr, QStringLiteral( "QgsCopcPointCloudBlockRequest" ) );
   QgsSetRequestInitiatorId( nr, node.toString() );
diff --git a/src/core/pointcloud/qgspointcloudlayerprofilegenerator.cpp b/src/core/pointcloud/qgspointcloudlayerprofilegenerator.cpp
index b5f561253ce4..c38090e5c64a 100644
--- a/src/core/pointcloud/qgspointcloudlayerprofilegenerator.cpp
+++ b/src/core/pointcloud/qgspointcloudlayerprofilegenerator.cpp
@@ -591,7 +591,8 @@ QVector<IndexedPointCloudNode> QgsPointCloudLayerProfileGenerator::traverseTree(
   if ( !mSearchGeometryInLayerCrsGeometryEngine->intersects( nodeMapGeometry.constGet() ) )
     return nodes;
 
-  nodes.append( n );
+  if ( pc->nodePointCount( n ) > 0 )
+    nodes.append( n );
 
   double childrenErrorPixels = nodeErrorPixels / 2.0;
   if ( childrenErrorPixels < maxErrorPixels )
diff --git a/src/core/pointcloud/qgspointcloudstatscalculator.cpp b/src/core/pointcloud/qgspointcloudstatscalculator.cpp
index 15b5d4e19999..6db2204203eb 100644
--- a/src/core/pointcloud/qgspointcloudstatscalculator.cpp
+++ b/src/core/pointcloud/qgspointcloudstatscalculator.cpp
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@ struct StatsProcessor
 
     QgsPointCloudStatistics operator()( IndexedPointCloudNode node )
     {
+      if ( mIndex->nodePointCount( node ) < 1 )
+        return QgsPointCloudStatistics();
+
       std::unique_ptr<QgsPointCloudBlock> block = nullptr;
       if ( mIndex->accessType() == QgsPointCloudIndex::Local )
       {
diff --git a/src/core/pointcloud/qgsremotecopcpointcloudindex.cpp b/src/core/pointcloud/qgsremotecopcpointcloudindex.cpp
index 22826bec145c..65987d368af4 100644
--- a/src/core/pointcloud/qgsremotecopcpointcloudindex.cpp
+++ b/src/core/pointcloud/qgsremotecopcpointcloudindex.cpp
@@ -188,6 +188,8 @@ bool QgsRemoteCopcPointCloudIndex::isValid() const
 
 void QgsRemoteCopcPointCloudIndex::fetchHierarchyPage( uint64_t offset, uint64_t byteSize ) const
 {
+  Q_ASSERT( byteSize > 0 );
+
   QNetworkRequest nr = QNetworkRequest( QUrl( mUri ) );
   QgsSetRequestInitiatorClass( nr, QStringLiteral( "QgsRemoteCopcPointCloudIndex" ) );
   nr.setAttribute( QNetworkRequest::CacheLoadControlAttribute, QNetworkRequest::PreferCache );