diff --git a/src/qt/test/apptests.cpp b/src/qt/test/apptests.cpp
index a900ec019..49e9e072a 100644
--- a/src/qt/test/apptests.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/test/apptests.cpp
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@
 #include <qt/networkstyle.h>
 #include <qt/rpcconsole.h>
 #include <shutdown.h>
+#include <test/setup_common.h>
+#include <univalue.h>
 #include <validation.h>
 
 #if defined(HAVE_CONFIG_H)
@@ -26,8 +28,6 @@
 #include <QtGlobal>
 #include <QtTest/QtTestWidgets>
 #include <QtTest/QtTestGui>
-#include <string>
-#include <univalue.h>
 
 namespace {
 //! Call getblockchaininfo RPC and check first field of JSON output.
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ void AppTests::appTests()
     }
 #endif
 
+    BasicTestingSetup test{CBaseChainParams::REGTEST}; // Create a temp data directory to backup the gui settings to
     ECC_Stop(); // Already started by the common test setup, so stop it to avoid interference
     LogInstance().DisconnectTestLogger();
 
diff --git a/src/qt/test/paymentservertests.cpp b/src/qt/test/paymentservertests.cpp
index f0eca899f..6cafe0546 100644
--- a/src/qt/test/paymentservertests.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/test/paymentservertests.cpp
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 #include <random.h>
 #include <script/script.h>
 #include <script/standard.h>
-#include <util/system.h>
+#include <test/setup_common.h>
 #include <util/strencodings.h>
 
 #include <openssl/x509.h>
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ static SendCoinsRecipient handleRequest(PaymentServer* server, std::vector<unsig
 
 void PaymentServerTests::paymentServerTests()
 {
-    SelectParams(CBaseChainParams::MAIN);
+    BasicTestingSetup testing_setup(CBaseChainParams::MAIN);
     auto node = interfaces::MakeNode();
     OptionsModel optionsModel(*node);
     PaymentServer* server = new PaymentServer(nullptr, false);
diff --git a/src/qt/test/rpcnestedtests.cpp b/src/qt/test/rpcnestedtests.cpp
index 3735f41f9..3c2ffa6c0 100644
--- a/src/qt/test/rpcnestedtests.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/test/rpcnestedtests.cpp
@@ -34,9 +34,6 @@ void RPCNestedTests::rpcNestedTests()
     tableRPC.appendCommand("rpcNestedTest", &vRPCCommands[0]);
     //mempool.setSanityCheck(1.0);
 
-    ECC_Stop(); // Already started by the common test setup, so stop it to avoid interference
-    LogInstance().DisconnectTestLogger();
-
     TestingSetup test;
 
     if (RPCIsInWarmup(nullptr)) SetRPCWarmupFinished();
diff --git a/src/qt/test/test_main.cpp b/src/qt/test/test_main.cpp
index 79d88ab74..6bda8dc6e 100644
--- a/src/qt/test/test_main.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/test/test_main.cpp
@@ -42,12 +42,18 @@ Q_IMPORT_PLUGIN(QCocoaIntegrationPlugin);
 #endif
 #endif
 
-extern void noui_connect();
-
 // This is all you need to run all the tests
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-    BasicTestingSetup test{CBaseChainParams::REGTEST};
+    // Initialize persistent globals with the testing setup state for sanity.
+    // E.g. -datadir in gArgs is set to a temp directory dummy value (instead
+    // of defaulting to the default datadir), or globalChainParams is set to
+    // regtest params.
+    //
+    // All tests must use their own testing setup (if needed).
+    {
+        BasicTestingSetup dummy{CBaseChainParams::REGTEST};
+    }
 
     auto node = interfaces::MakeNode();
 
diff --git a/src/test/setup_common.cpp b/src/test/setup_common.cpp
index e3ba9cddb..24c7d5189 100644
--- a/src/test/setup_common.cpp
+++ b/src/test/setup_common.cpp
@@ -73,7 +73,6 @@ TestingSetup::TestingSetup(const std::string& chainName) : BasicTestingSetup(cha
     const CChainParams& chainparams = Params();
     // Ideally we'd move all the RPC tests to the functional testing framework
     // instead of unit tests, but for now we need these here.
-
     RegisterAllCoreRPCCommands(tableRPC);
 
     // We have to run a scheduler thread to prevent ActivateBestChain