diff --git a/src/api/groups.js b/src/api/groups.js
index 5aa9c04f64..95074c4b6a 100644
--- a/src/api/groups.js
+++ b/src/api/groups.js
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ groupsAPI.listMembers = async (caller, data) => {
 	const { query } = data;
 	const after = parseInt(data.after || 0, 10);
 	let response;
-	if (query) {
+	if (query && query.length) {
 		response = await groups.searchMembers({
 			uid: caller.uid,
 			query,
diff --git a/test/groups.js b/test/groups.js
index 00bd044e85..3fc70f009a 100644
--- a/test/groups.js
+++ b/test/groups.js
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ const db = require('./mocks/databasemock');
 const helpers = require('./helpers');
 const Groups = require('../src/groups');
 const User = require('../src/user');
+const plugins = require('../src/plugins');
 const utils = require('../src/utils');
 const socketGroups = require('../src/socket.io/groups');
 const apiGroups = require('../src/api/groups');
@@ -20,6 +21,12 @@ describe('Groups', () => {
 	let adminUid;
 	let testUid;
 	before(async () => {
+		// Attach an emailer hook so related requests do not error
+		plugins.hooks.register('emailer-test', {
+			hook: 'static:email.send',
+			method: dummyEmailerHook,
+		});
+
 		const navData = require('../install/data/navigation.json');
 		await navigation.save(navData);
 
@@ -76,6 +83,14 @@ describe('Groups', () => {
 		await Groups.join('administrators', adminUid);
 	});
 
+	async function dummyEmailerHook(data) {
+		// pretend to handle sending emails
+	}
+
+	after(async () => {
+		plugins.hooks.unregister('emailer-test', 'static:email.send');
+	});
+
 	describe('.list()', () => {
 		it('should list the groups present', (done) => {
 			Groups.getGroupsFromSet('groups:visible:createtime', 0, -1, (err, groups) => {
@@ -167,16 +182,13 @@ describe('Groups', () => {
 			}
 			await createAndJoinGroup('newuser', 'newuser@b.com');
 			await createAndJoinGroup('bob', 'bob@b.com');
-			const data = await socketGroups.searchMembers({ uid: adminUid }, { groupName: 'Test', query: '' });
-			assert.equal(data.users.length, 3);
+			const { users } = await apiGroups.listMembers({ uid: adminUid }, { slug: 'test', query: '' });
+			assert.equal(users.length, 3);
 		});
 
-		it('should search group members', (done) => {
-			socketGroups.searchMembers({ uid: adminUid }, { groupName: 'Test', query: 'test' }, (err, data) => {
-				assert.ifError(err);
-				assert.strictEqual('testuser', data.users[0].username);
-				done();
-			});
+		it('should search group members', async () => {
+			const { users } = await apiGroups.listMembers({ uid: adminUid }, { slug: 'test', query: 'test' });
+			assert.strictEqual('testuser', users[0].username);
 		});
 
 		it('should not return hidden groups', async () => {
@@ -1050,34 +1062,25 @@ describe('Groups', () => {
 			}
 		});
 
-		it('should fail to load more groups with invalid data', (done) => {
-			socketGroups.loadMore({ uid: adminUid }, {}, (err) => {
-				assert.equal(err.message, '[[error:invalid-data]]');
-				done();
-			});
+		it('should load initial set of groups when passed no arguments', async () => {
+			const { groups } = await apiGroups.list({ uid: adminUid }, {});
+			assert(Array.isArray(groups));
 		});
 
-		it('should load more groups', (done) => {
-			socketGroups.loadMore({ uid: adminUid }, { after: 0, sort: 'count' }, (err, data) => {
-				assert.ifError(err);
-				assert(Array.isArray(data.groups));
-				done();
-			});
+		it('should load more groups', async () => {
+			const { groups } = await apiGroups.list({ uid: adminUid }, { after: 0, sort: 'count' });
+			assert(Array.isArray(groups));
 		});
 
-		it('should fail to load more members with invalid data', (done) => {
-			socketGroups.loadMoreMembers({ uid: adminUid }, {}, (err) => {
-				assert.equal(err.message, '[[error:invalid-data]]');
-				done();
-			});
+		it('should load initial set of group members when passed no arguments', async () => {
+			const { users } = await apiGroups.listMembers({ uid: adminUid }, {});
+			assert(users);
+			assert(Array.isArray(users));
 		});
 
-		it('should load more members', (done) => {
-			socketGroups.loadMoreMembers({ uid: adminUid }, { after: 0, groupName: 'PrivateCanJoin' }, (err, data) => {
-				assert.ifError(err);
-				assert(Array.isArray(data.users));
-				done();
-			});
+		it('should load more members', async () => {
+			const { users } = await apiGroups.listMembers({ uid: adminUid }, { after: 0, groupName: 'PrivateCanJoin' });
+			assert(Array.isArray(users));
 		});
 	});