diff --git a/core/java/android/app/ActivityThread.java b/core/java/android/app/ActivityThread.java
index dbc6c841b7d59..9cee815516706 100644
--- a/core/java/android/app/ActivityThread.java
+++ b/core/java/android/app/ActivityThread.java
@@ -5077,26 +5077,6 @@ public final class ActivityThread {
          */
         TimeZone.setDefault(null);
 
-        synchronized (mResourcesManager) {
-            /*
-             * Initialize the default locales in this process for the reasons we set the time zone.
-             *
-             * We do this through ResourcesManager, since we need to do locale negotiation.
-             */
-            mResourcesManager.setDefaultLocalesLocked(data.config.getLocales());
-
-            /*
-             * Update the system configuration since its preloaded and might not
-             * reflect configuration changes. The configuration object passed
-             * in AppBindData can be safely assumed to be up to date
-             */
-            mResourcesManager.applyConfigurationToResourcesLocked(data.config, data.compatInfo);
-            mCurDefaultDisplayDpi = data.config.densityDpi;
-
-            // This calls mResourcesManager so keep it within the synchronized block.
-            applyCompatConfiguration(mCurDefaultDisplayDpi);
-        }
-
         data.info = getPackageInfoNoCheck(data.appInfo, data.compatInfo);
 
         /**
@@ -5221,6 +5201,26 @@ public final class ActivityThread {
         }
 
         final ContextImpl appContext = ContextImpl.createAppContext(this, data.info);
+        synchronized (mResourcesManager) {
+            /*
+             * Initialize the default locales in this process for the reasons we set the time zone.
+             *
+             * We do this through ResourcesManager, since we need to do locale negotiation.
+             */
+            mResourcesManager.setDefaultLocalesLocked(data.config.getLocales());
+
+            /*
+             * Update the system configuration since its preloaded and might not
+             * reflect configuration changes. The configuration object passed
+             * in AppBindData can be safely assumed to be up to date
+             */
+            mResourcesManager.applyConfigurationToResourcesLocked(data.config, data.compatInfo);
+            mCurDefaultDisplayDpi = data.config.densityDpi;
+
+            // This calls mResourcesManager so keep it within the synchronized block.
+            applyCompatConfiguration(mCurDefaultDisplayDpi);
+        }
+
         if (!Process.isIsolated() && !"android".equals(appContext.getPackageName())) {
             // This cache location probably points at credential-encrypted
             // storage which may not be accessible yet; assign it anyway instead
diff --git a/core/java/android/app/ResourcesManager.java b/core/java/android/app/ResourcesManager.java
index 54d813dee6d71..1a31332ba5160 100644
--- a/core/java/android/app/ResourcesManager.java
+++ b/core/java/android/app/ResourcesManager.java
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ public class ResourcesManager {
                 }
             };
 
-    private String[] mSystemLocales = {};
+    private String[] mSystemLocales = null;
     private final HashSet<String> mNonSystemLocales = new HashSet<>();
     private boolean mHasNonSystemLocales = false;
 
@@ -431,7 +431,7 @@ public class ResourcesManager {
         final boolean findSystemLocales;
         final boolean hasNonSystemLocales;
         synchronized (this) {
-            findSystemLocales = (mSystemLocales.length == 0);
+            findSystemLocales = (mSystemLocales == null || mSystemLocales.length == 0);
             hasNonSystemLocales = mHasNonSystemLocales;
 
             if (DEBUG) {
@@ -483,7 +483,7 @@ public class ResourcesManager {
                 LocaleList.isPseudoLocalesOnly(nonSystemLocales);
 
         synchronized (this) {
-            if (mSystemLocales.length == 0) {
+            if (mSystemLocales == null || mSystemLocales.length == 0) {
                 mSystemLocales = systemLocales;
             }
             mNonSystemLocales.addAll(Arrays.asList(nonSystemLocales));
@@ -552,6 +552,9 @@ public class ResourcesManager {
     }
 
     /* package */ void setDefaultLocalesLocked(@NonNull LocaleList locales) {
+        if (mSystemLocales == null) {
+            throw new RuntimeException("ResourcesManager is not ready to negotiate locales.");
+        }
         final int bestLocale;
         if (mHasNonSystemLocales) {
             bestLocale = locales.getFirstMatchIndexWithEnglishSupported(mNonSystemLocales);
@@ -649,4 +652,4 @@ public class ResourcesManager {
 
         return changes != 0;
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}