diff --git a/ui/util/url.js b/ui/util/url.js
index 7b5d4aea4..0cdfd67eb 100644
--- a/ui/util/url.js
+++ b/ui/util/url.js
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export const formatLbryUrlForWeb = (uri) => {
   return newUrl;
 };
 
-export const formatLbryChannelName = (uri) => uri.replace('lbry://', '').replace(/#/g, ':');
+export const formatLbryChannelName = (uri) => uri && uri.replace('lbry://', '').replace(/#/g, ':');
 
 export const formatFileSystemPath = (path) => {
   if (!path) {