diff --git a/ci/testnet-deploy.sh b/ci/testnet-deploy.sh
index 68870a302..62ead0b16 100755
--- a/ci/testnet-deploy.sh
+++ b/ci/testnet-deploy.sh
@@ -264,10 +264,19 @@ client_start() {
   declare vmPublicIp=$3
   declare count=$4
 
+  nodeConfig="\
+      rust-log=$RUST_LOG \
+      default-metrics-rate=$SOLANA_DEFAULT_METRICS_RATE \
+      metrics-config=$SOLANA_METRICS_CONFIG \
+      setup-args=$SOLANA_SETUP_ARGS \
+      leader-ip=$publicIp \
+    "
+
   vm_exec "$vmName" "$vmZone" "$vmPublicIp" \
     "Starting client $count:" \
     "\
       set -x;
+      sudo snap set solana $nodeConfig; \
       snap info solana; \
       sudo snap get solana; \
       threadCount=\$(nproc); \
diff --git a/multinode-demo/common.sh b/multinode-demo/common.sh
index bf2529bbc..3e141332f 100644
--- a/multinode-demo/common.sh
+++ b/multinode-demo/common.sh
@@ -166,9 +166,6 @@ find_leader() {
   declare shift=0
 
   if [[ -d $SNAP ]]; then
-    # Exit if mode is not yet configured
-    # (typically the case after the Snap is first installed)
-    [[ -n $(snapctl get mode) ]] || exit 0
 
     # Select leader from the Snap configuration
     leader_ip=$(snapctl get leader-ip)
diff --git a/multinode-demo/validator.sh b/multinode-demo/validator.sh
index 999c10f36..e04102261 100755
--- a/multinode-demo/validator.sh
+++ b/multinode-demo/validator.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,12 @@ source "$here"/common.sh
 # shellcheck source=scripts/oom-score-adj.sh
 source "$here"/../scripts/oom-score-adj.sh
 
+if [[ -d "$SNAP" ]]; then
+  # Exit if mode is not yet configured
+  # (typically the case after the Snap is first installed)
+  [[ -n "$(snapctl get mode)" ]] || exit 0
+fi
+
 usage() {
   if [[ -n $1 ]]; then
     echo "$*"