diff --git a/.github/workflows/cypress-e2e.yml b/.github/workflows/cypress-e2e.yml
index 06ec7f2cbf..7708d03a43 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cypress-e2e.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cypress-e2e.yml
@@ -154,6 +154,7 @@ jobs:
           php occ config:app:set richdocuments wopi_url --value="http://localhost:9980"
           php occ config:app:set richdocuments public_wopi_url --value="http://localhost:9980"
           php occ config:system:set allow_local_remote_servers --value true --type bool
+          php occ config:app:set core ocm_signed_request_disabled --value="true"
           php occ richdocuments:activate-config
 
           curl http://admin:admin@localhost:8081/ocs/v1.php/cloud/capabilities\?format\=json -H 'OCS-APIRequest: true'
diff --git a/cypress/support/commands.js b/cypress/support/commands.js
index 4b63ef9f6a..73a92ced90 100644
--- a/cypress/support/commands.js
+++ b/cypress/support/commands.js
@@ -145,6 +145,8 @@ Cypress.Commands.add('shareFileToRemoteUser', (user, path, targetUser, shareData
 			url: `${url}/ocs/v2.php/apps/files_sharing/api/v1/remote_shares/pending?format=json`,
 		})
 	}).then(({ body }) => {
+		cy.wrap(body.ocs.data).should('have.length.greaterThan', 0,
+			'No pending federated shares found for recipient — federation setup likely failed')
 		for (const index in body.ocs.data) {
 			cy.ocsRequest(targetUser, {
 				method: 'POST',