diff --git a/src/components/MessagesList/MessagesList.vue b/src/components/MessagesList/MessagesList.vue
index 693d9681540..bacdf2953bb 100644
--- a/src/components/MessagesList/MessagesList.vue
+++ b/src/components/MessagesList/MessagesList.vue
@@ -165,11 +165,6 @@ export default {
 
 			isFocusingMessage: false,
 
-			/**
-			 * Quick edit option to fall back to the loading history and then new messages
-			 */
-			loadChatInLegacyMode: getCapabilities()?.spreed?.config?.chat?.legacy || false,
-
 			destroying: false,
 
 			expirationInterval: null,
@@ -619,31 +614,23 @@ export default {
 			let isFocused = null
 			if (focusMessageId) {
 				// scroll to message in URL anchor
-				isFocused = this.focusMessage(focusMessageId, false)
+				isFocused = this.focusMessage(focusMessageId)
+				return
 			}
 
-			if (!isFocused && this.visualLastReadMessageId) {
+			if (this.visualLastReadMessageId) {
 				// scroll to last read message if visible in the current pages
 				isFocused = this.focusMessage(this.visualLastReadMessageId, false, false)
 			}
 
-			// TODO: in case the element is not in a page but does exist in the DB,
-			// we need to scroll up / down to the page where it would exist after
-			// loading said pages
-
 			if (!isFocused) {
-				// if no anchor was present or the message to focus on did not exist,
+				// This is a safeguard in case the message is not found
 				// scroll to bottom
-				this.scrollToBottom({ force: true })
+				this.scrollToBottom({ force: true, smooth: true })
 			}
 
-			// if no scrollbars, clear read marker directly as scrolling is not possible for the user to clear it
-			// also clear in case lastReadMessage is zero which is due to an older bug
-			if (this.visualLastReadMessageId === 0
-				|| (this.$refs.scroller && this.$refs.scroller.scrollHeight <= this.$refs.scroller.offsetHeight)) {
-				// clear after a delay, unless scrolling can resume in-between
-				this.debounceUpdateReadMarkerPosition()
-			}
+			// Update read marker in all cases except when the message is from URL anchor
+			this.debounceUpdateReadMarkerPosition()
 		},
 
 		async handleStartGettingMessagesPreconditions() {
@@ -661,7 +648,7 @@ export default {
 				if (this.$store.getters.getFirstKnownMessageId(this.token) === null) {
 					let startingMessageId = 0
 					// first time load, initialize important properties
-					if (this.loadChatInLegacyMode || focusMessageId === null) {
+					if (focusMessageId === null) {
 						// Start from unread marker
 						this.$store.dispatch('setFirstKnownMessageId', {
 							token: this.token,
@@ -685,53 +672,21 @@ export default {
 						})
 					}
 
-					if (this.loadChatInLegacyMode) {
-						// get history before last read message
-						await this.getOldMessages(true)
-						// at this stage, the read marker will appear at the bottom of the view port since
-						// we haven't fetched the messages that come after it yet
-						// TODO: should we still show a spinner at this stage ?
-
-					} else {
-						// Get chat messages before last read message and after it
-						await this.getMessageContext(startingMessageId)
-						const startingMessageFound = this.focusMessage(startingMessageId, false, focusMessageId !== null)
-
-						if (!startingMessageFound) {
-							const fallbackStartingMessageId = this.$store.getters.getFirstDisplayableMessageIdBeforeReadMarker(this.token, startingMessageId)
-							this.$store.dispatch('setVisualLastReadMessageId', {
-								token: this.token,
-								id: fallbackStartingMessageId,
-							})
-							this.focusMessage(fallbackStartingMessageId, false, false)
-						}
-					}
+					// Get chat messages before last read message and after it
+					await this.getMessageContext(startingMessageId)
 				}
 
-				let hasScrolled = false
-				if (this.loadChatInLegacyMode || focusMessageId === null) {
-					// if lookForNewMessages will long poll instead of returning existing messages,
-					// scroll right away to avoid delays
-					if (!this.hasMoreMessagesToLoad) {
-						hasScrolled = true
-						this.$nextTick(() => {
-							this.scrollToFocusedMessage()
-						})
-					}
-				}
+				this.$nextTick(() => {
+					// basically scrolling to either the last read message or the message in the URL anchor
+					// and there is a fallback to scroll to the bottom if the message is not found
+					this.scrollToFocusedMessage()
+				})
 
 				this.isInitialisingMessages = false
 
 				// get new messages
 				await this.lookForNewMessages()
 
-				if (this.loadChatInLegacyMode || focusMessageId === null) {
-					// don't scroll if lookForNewMessages was polling as we don't want
-					// to scroll back to the read marker after receiving new messages later
-					if (!hasScrolled) {
-						this.scrollToFocusedMessage()
-					}
-				}
 			} else {
 				this.$store.dispatch('cancelLookForNewMessages', { requestId: this.chatIdentifier })
 			}
@@ -904,16 +859,14 @@ export default {
 				return
 			}
 
-			if (!this.loadChatInLegacyMode) {
-				if (this.isInitialisingMessages) {
-					console.debug('Ignore handleScroll as we are initialising the message history')
-					return
-				}
+			if (this.isInitialisingMessages) {
+				console.debug('Ignore handleScroll as we are initialising the message history')
+				return
+			}
 
-				if (this.isFocusingMessage) {
-					console.debug('Ignore handleScroll as we are programmatically scrolling to focus a message')
-					return
-				}
+			if (this.isFocusingMessage) {
+				console.debug('Ignore handleScroll as we are programmatically scrolling to focus a message')
+				return
 			}
 
 			const { scrollHeight, scrollTop, clientHeight } = this.$refs.scroller
@@ -1141,16 +1094,15 @@ export default {
 		focusMessage(messageId, smooth = true, highlightAnimation = true) {
 			const element = document.getElementById(`message_${messageId}`)
 			if (!element) {
-				// TODO: in some cases might need to trigger a scroll up if this is an older message
+				// Message id doesn't exist
 				console.warn('Message to focus not found in DOM', messageId)
-				return false
+				return false // element not found
 			}
 
 			console.debug('Scrolling to a focused message programmatically')
 			this.isFocusingMessage = true
 
 			this.$nextTick(async () => {
-				// FIXME: this doesn't wait for the smooth scroll to end
 				element.scrollIntoView({
 					behavior: smooth ? 'smooth' : 'auto',
 					block: 'center',
@@ -1160,14 +1112,14 @@ export default {
 					// scroll the viewport slightly further to make sure the element is about 1/3 from the top
 					this.$refs.scroller.scrollTop += this.$refs.scroller.offsetHeight / 4
 				}
+
 				if (highlightAnimation) {
 					EventBus.$emit('highlight-message', messageId)
 				}
 				this.isFocusingMessage = false
-				await this.handleScroll()
 			})
 
-			return true
+			return true // element found
 		},
 
 		/**