diff --git a/src/components/structures/ThreadPanel.tsx b/src/components/structures/ThreadPanel.tsx
index 245c604c0aff..7d7371e55693 100644
--- a/src/components/structures/ThreadPanel.tsx
+++ b/src/components/structures/ThreadPanel.tsx
@@ -230,6 +230,7 @@ const ThreadPanel: React.FC<IProps> = ({
 
     useEffect(() => {
         if (timelineSet && !Thread.hasServerSideSupport) {
+            timelineSet.resetLiveTimeline();
             timelinePanel.current.refreshTimeline();
         }
     }, [timelineSet, timelinePanel]);
diff --git a/src/components/structures/ThreadView.tsx b/src/components/structures/ThreadView.tsx
index 042b8b3b9246..5b9e28b7b598 100644
--- a/src/components/structures/ThreadView.tsx
+++ b/src/components/structures/ThreadView.tsx
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ import { Room } from 'matrix-js-sdk/src/models/room';
 import { IEventRelation, MatrixEvent } from 'matrix-js-sdk/src/models/event';
 import { TimelineWindow } from 'matrix-js-sdk/src/timeline-window';
 import { Direction } from 'matrix-js-sdk/src/models/event-timeline';
-import { IRelationsRequestOpts } from 'matrix-js-sdk/src/@types/requests';
 import { logger } from 'matrix-js-sdk/src/logger';
 import classNames from 'classnames';
 
@@ -195,9 +194,7 @@ export default class ThreadView extends React.Component<IProps, IState> {
                 thread,
             }, async () => {
                 thread.emit(ThreadEvent.ViewThread);
-                await thread.fetchInitialEvents();
-                this.nextBatch = thread.liveTimeline.getPaginationToken(Direction.Backward);
-                this.timelinePanel.current?.refreshTimeline();
+                this.timelinePanel.current?.refreshTimeline(this.props.initialEvent?.getId());
             });
         }
     };
@@ -242,35 +239,12 @@ export default class ThreadView extends React.Component<IProps, IState> {
         }
     };
 
-    private nextBatch: string;
-
     private onPaginationRequest = async (
         timelineWindow: TimelineWindow | null,
         direction = Direction.Backward,
         limit = 20,
     ): Promise<boolean> => {
-        if (!Thread.hasServerSideSupport) {
-            timelineWindow.extend(direction, limit);
-            return true;
-        }
-
-        const opts: IRelationsRequestOpts = {
-            limit,
-        };
-
-        if (this.nextBatch) {
-            opts.from = this.nextBatch;
-        }
-
-        const { nextBatch } = await this.state.thread.fetchEvents(opts);
-
-        this.nextBatch = nextBatch;
-
-        // Advances the marker on the TimelineWindow to define the correct
-        // window of events to display on screen
-        timelineWindow.extend(direction, limit);
-
-        return !!nextBatch;
+        return timelineWindow.paginate(direction, limit);
     };
 
     private onFileDrop = (dataTransfer: DataTransfer) => {
diff --git a/src/stores/widgets/StopGapWidgetDriver.ts b/src/stores/widgets/StopGapWidgetDriver.ts
index f0b496f0b7e2..b799c79a951c 100644
--- a/src/stores/widgets/StopGapWidgetDriver.ts
+++ b/src/stores/widgets/StopGapWidgetDriver.ts
@@ -443,12 +443,8 @@ export class StopGapWidgetDriver extends WidgetDriver {
             eventId,
             relationType ?? null,
             eventType ?? null,
-            {
-                from,
-                to,
-                limit,
-                direction: dir,
-            });
+            { from, to, limit, dir },
+        );
 
         return {
             originalEvent: originalEvent?.getEffectiveEvent(),
diff --git a/src/utils/EventUtils.ts b/src/utils/EventUtils.ts
index d8cf66e55736..5d2dcb2af36e 100644
--- a/src/utils/EventUtils.ts
+++ b/src/utils/EventUtils.ts
@@ -238,8 +238,12 @@ export async function fetchInitialEvent(
     ) {
         const threadId = initialEvent.threadRootId;
         const room = client.getRoom(roomId);
+        const mapper = client.getEventMapper();
+        const rootEvent = room.findEventById(threadId)
+            ?? mapper(await client.fetchRoomEvent(roomId, threadId));
         try {
-            room.createThread(threadId, room.findEventById(threadId), [initialEvent], true);
+            const thread = room.createThread(threadId, rootEvent, [initialEvent], true);
+            initialEvent.setThread(thread);
         } catch (e) {
             logger.warn("Could not find root event: " + threadId);
         }
diff --git a/test/components/views/context_menus/MessageContextMenu-test.tsx b/test/components/views/context_menus/MessageContextMenu-test.tsx
index 38c646cfe850..c9ee0b310d25 100644
--- a/test/components/views/context_menus/MessageContextMenu-test.tsx
+++ b/test/components/views/context_menus/MessageContextMenu-test.tsx
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ import {
     EventType,
 } from 'matrix-js-sdk/src/matrix';
 import { ExtensibleEvent, MessageEvent, M_POLL_KIND_DISCLOSED, PollStartEvent } from 'matrix-events-sdk';
-import { Thread } from "matrix-js-sdk/src/models/thread";
+import { FeatureSupport, Thread } from "matrix-js-sdk/src/models/thread";
 import { mocked } from "jest-mock";
 import { act } from '@testing-library/react';
 
@@ -469,7 +469,7 @@ describe('MessageContextMenu', () => {
             const eventContent = MessageEvent.from("hello");
             const mxEvent = new MatrixEvent(eventContent.serialize());
 
-            Thread.hasServerSideSupport = true;
+            Thread.hasServerSideSupport = FeatureSupport.Experimental;
             const context = {
                 canSendMessages: true,
             };
diff --git a/test/components/views/messages/MessageActionBar-test.tsx b/test/components/views/messages/MessageActionBar-test.tsx
index d4dcb1a2dff9..5d257d0eb312 100644
--- a/test/components/views/messages/MessageActionBar-test.tsx
+++ b/test/components/views/messages/MessageActionBar-test.tsx
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import {
     MsgType,
     Room,
 } from 'matrix-js-sdk/src/matrix';
-import { Thread } from 'matrix-js-sdk/src/models/thread';
+import { FeatureSupport, Thread } from 'matrix-js-sdk/src/models/thread';
 
 import MessageActionBar from '../../../../src/components/views/messages/MessageActionBar';
 import {
@@ -388,13 +388,13 @@ describe('<MessageActionBar />', () => {
 
     describe('thread button', () => {
         beforeEach(() => {
-            Thread.setServerSideSupport(true, false);
+            Thread.setServerSideSupport(FeatureSupport.Experimental);
         });
 
         describe('when threads feature is not enabled', () => {
             it('does not render thread button when threads does not have server support', () => {
                 jest.spyOn(SettingsStore, 'getValue').mockReturnValue(false);
-                Thread.setServerSideSupport(false, false);
+                Thread.setServerSideSupport(FeatureSupport.None);
                 const { queryByLabelText } = getComponent({ mxEvent: alicesMessageEvent });
                 expect(queryByLabelText('Reply in thread')).toBeFalsy();
             });