diff --git a/src/mconnect/application.vala b/src/mconnect/application.vala
index 5e1aa6c..4dc9a41 100644
--- a/src/mconnect/application.vala
+++ b/src/mconnect/application.vala
@@ -71,6 +71,8 @@ namespace Mconn {
 
 		protected override void activate() {
 			debug("activate");
+			// reload devices from cache
+			manager.load_cache();
 			hold();
 		}
 
diff --git a/src/mconnect/devicemanager.vala b/src/mconnect/devicemanager.vala
index 37f5c6c..a07a34e 100644
--- a/src/mconnect/devicemanager.vala
+++ b/src/mconnect/devicemanager.vala
@@ -44,10 +44,6 @@ class DeviceManager : GLib.Object
 		debug("device manager..");
 
 		this.devices = new HashMap<string, Device>();
-
-		// TODO: check for network connectivity first, possibly pass
-		// this through the main loop
-		load_cache();
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -68,7 +64,8 @@ class DeviceManager : GLib.Object
 	/**
 	 * Load known devices from cache and attempt pairing.
 	 */
-	private void load_cache() {
+	[DBus (visible = false)]
+	public void load_cache() {
 		debug("try loading devices from device cache");
 
 		var cache_file = get_cache_file();