diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0b96c52f30..10b6933b27 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,8 +1,18 @@
 # Changelog
 
-## v1.6.2 - 2021-04-26
+## v1.6.3 - 2021-04-28
 
-[full changelog](https://github.com/aiidateam/aiida-core/compare/v1.6.1...v1.6.2) | [GitHub contributors page for this release](https://github.com/aiidateam/aiida-core/graphs/contributors?from=2021-03-31&to=2021-04-26&type=c)
+[full changelog](https://github.com/aiidateam/aiida-core/compare/v1.6.2...v1.6.3) | [GitHub contributors page for this release](https://github.com/aiidateam/aiida-core/graphs/contributors?from=2021-04-281&to=2021-04-28&type=c)
+
+This is a patch release to fix a bug that was introduced in `v1.6.2` that would cause a number of `verdi` commands to fail due to a bug in the `with_dbenv` decorator utility.
+
+### Bug fixes
+- Fix `aiida.cmdline.utils.decorators.load_backend_if_not_loaded` [[#4878]](https://github.com/aiidateam/aiida-core/pull/4878)
+
+
+## v1.6.2 - 2021-04-28
+
+[full changelog](https://github.com/aiidateam/aiida-core/compare/v1.6.1...v1.6.2) | [GitHub contributors page for this release](https://github.com/aiidateam/aiida-core/graphs/contributors?from=2021-03-31&to=2021-04-27&type=c)
 
 ### Bug fixes
 - CLI: Use the proper proxy command for `verdi calcjob gotocomputer` if configured as such [[#4761]](https://github.com/aiidateam/aiida-core/pull/4761)
diff --git a/aiida/__init__.py b/aiida/__init__.py
index fa8655f8ff..e413f46003 100644
--- a/aiida/__init__.py
+++ b/aiida/__init__.py
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
     'For further information please visit http://www.aiida.net/. All rights reserved.'
 )
 __license__ = 'MIT license, see LICENSE.txt file.'
-__version__ = '1.6.2'
+__version__ = '1.6.3'
 __authors__ = 'The AiiDA team.'
 __paper__ = (
     'S. P. Huber et al., "AiiDA 1.0, a scalable computational infrastructure for automated reproducible workflows and '
diff --git a/aiida/cmdline/utils/decorators.py b/aiida/cmdline/utils/decorators.py
index 804f99f957..82bf49f170 100644
--- a/aiida/cmdline/utils/decorators.py
+++ b/aiida/cmdline/utils/decorators.py
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
     code branch gets visited and possibly avoiding the overhead if not
 
 """
-
 from contextlib import contextmanager
 
 from click_spinner import spinner
@@ -33,18 +32,26 @@
 
 
 def load_backend_if_not_loaded():
-    """Load the current profile if necessary while running the spinner to show command hasn't crashed."""
-    from aiida.manage.configuration import load_profile, PROFILE
+    """Load the database backend environment for the currently loaded profile.
+
+    If no profile has been loaded yet, the default profile will be loaded first. A spinner will be shown during both
+    actions to indicate that the function is working and has not crashed, since loading can take a second.
+    """
+    from aiida.manage.configuration import get_profile, load_profile
     from aiida.manage.manager import get_manager
 
-    if PROFILE is None:
+    manager = get_manager()
+
+    if get_profile() is None or not manager.backend_loaded:
         with spinner():
-            load_profile()
-            get_manager().get_backend()
+            load_profile()  # This will load the default profile if no profile has already been loaded
+            manager.get_backend()  # This will load the backend of the loaded profile, if not already loaded
 
 
 def with_dbenv():
-    """Function decorator that will load the database environment only when the function is called.
+    """Function decorator that will load the database environment for the currently loaded profile.
+
+    .. note:: if no profile has been loaded yet, the default profile will be loaded first.
 
     Example::
 
diff --git a/setup.json b/setup.json
index 7fb6a7ebad..94f120eecd 100644
--- a/setup.json
+++ b/setup.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
     "name": "aiida-core",
-    "version": "1.6.2",
+    "version": "1.6.3",
     "url": "http://www.aiida.net/",
     "license": "MIT License",
     "author": "The AiiDA team",