diff --git a/src/blinkstick/clients/blinkstick.py b/src/blinkstick/clients/blinkstick.py
index ca3d4e8..d03c9d8 100644
--- a/src/blinkstick/clients/blinkstick.py
+++ b/src/blinkstick/clients/blinkstick.py
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ def __getattribute__(self, name):
         if callable(attr) and not getattr(attr, "no_backend_required", False):
 
             def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
-                if self.backend is None:
+                if not getattr(self, "backend", None):
                     raise NotConnected("No backend set")
                 return attr(*args, **kwargs)
 
diff --git a/tests/clients/test_blinkstick.py b/tests/clients/test_blinkstick.py
index 6ac420f..067ac7a 100644
--- a/tests/clients/test_blinkstick.py
+++ b/tests/clients/test_blinkstick.py
@@ -17,10 +17,11 @@ def test_instantiate():
     assert bs is not None
 
 
-def test_all_methods_require_backend(make_blinkstick):
+def test_all_methods_require_backend():
     """Test that all methods require a backend."""
-    bs = make_blinkstick()
-    bs.backend = None  # noqa
+    # Create an instance of BlinkStick. Note that we do not use the mock, or pass a device.
+    # This is deliberate, as we want to test that all methods raise an exception when the backend is not set.
+    bs = BlinkStick()
 
     class_methods = (
         method