diff --git a/app/controllers/groups_controller.rb b/app/controllers/groups_controller.rb
index a5ad225ddb..0bc45d0ddf 100644
--- a/app/controllers/groups_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/groups_controller.rb
@@ -630,12 +630,13 @@ class GroupsController < ApplicationController
             .permit(:host, :port, :username, :password, :ssl, :debug)
           EmailSettingsValidator.validate_as_user(current_user, "imap", **final_settings.to_h.symbolize_keys)
         end
+
+        render json: success_json
       rescue *EmailSettingsExceptionHandler::EXPECTED_EXCEPTIONS, StandardError => err
-        return render_json_error(
+        render_json_error(
           EmailSettingsExceptionHandler.friendly_exception_message(err, email_host)
         )
       end
-      render json: success_json
     end
   end