diff --git a/collect_app/src/androidTest/java/org/odk/collect/android/feature/formentry/ExternalSelectsTest.kt b/collect_app/src/androidTest/java/org/odk/collect/android/feature/formentry/ExternalSelectsTest.kt
index 35ab9601b82..4d8e59c04b0 100644
--- a/collect_app/src/androidTest/java/org/odk/collect/android/feature/formentry/ExternalSelectsTest.kt
+++ b/collect_app/src/androidTest/java/org/odk/collect/android/feature/formentry/ExternalSelectsTest.kt
@@ -56,4 +56,31 @@ class ExternalSelectsTest {
             .assertText("File: $formsDirPath/search_and_select-media/nombre.csv is missing.")
             .assertText("File: $formsDirPath/search_and_select-media/nombre2.csv is missing.")
     }
+
+    @Test // https://github.com/getodk/collect/issues/6801
+    fun searchFunctionWorksWellWithLastSaved() {
+        rule.startAtMainMenu()
+            // Fill out and finalize the first form
+            .copyForm("search-with-last-saved.xml", listOf("fruits.csv"))
+            .startBlankForm("Search with last-saved")
+            .clickOnText("Mango")
+            .swipeToNextQuestion("Select fruit 2")
+            .clickOnText("Oranges")
+            .swipeToEndScreen()
+            .clickFinalize()
+
+            // Start a new form to verify that answers from the previous form are retained
+            .startBlankForm("Search with last-saved")
+            .swipeToNextQuestion("Select fruit 2")
+            .clickGoToArrow()
+            .assertHierarchyItem(0, "Select fruit 1", "Mango")
+            .assertHierarchyItem(1, "Select fruit 2", "Oranges")
+
+            // Change an answer in a field-list and verify no errors occur
+            .clickOnQuestion("Select fruit 2")
+            .clickOnText("Strawberries")
+            .clickGoToArrow()
+            .assertHierarchyItem(0, "Select fruit 1", "Mango")
+            .assertHierarchyItem(1, "Select fruit 2", "Strawberries")
+    }
 }
diff --git a/collect_app/src/main/java/org/odk/collect/android/dynamicpreload/ExternalDataUtil.java b/collect_app/src/main/java/org/odk/collect/android/dynamicpreload/ExternalDataUtil.java
index fddf9501431..84740cf97bb 100644
--- a/collect_app/src/main/java/org/odk/collect/android/dynamicpreload/ExternalDataUtil.java
+++ b/collect_app/src/main/java/org/odk/collect/android/dynamicpreload/ExternalDataUtil.java
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@
 
 import org.javarosa.core.model.SelectChoice;
 import org.javarosa.core.model.condition.EvaluationContext;
+import org.javarosa.core.model.data.IAnswerData;
+import org.javarosa.core.model.data.helper.Selection;
 import org.javarosa.core.model.instance.FormInstance;
 import org.javarosa.form.api.FormEntryCaption;
 import org.javarosa.form.api.FormEntryPrompt;
@@ -166,12 +168,18 @@ public static XPathFuncExpr getSearchXPathExpression(String appearance) {
     public static ArrayList<SelectChoice> populateExternalChoices(FormEntryPrompt formEntryPrompt,
             XPathFuncExpr xpathfuncexpr, FormController formController) throws FileNotFoundException {
         try {
+            IAnswerData selectedValue = formEntryPrompt.getAnswerValue();
+            Selection selection = null;
+            if (selectedValue != null) {
+                selection = (Selection) selectedValue.getValue();
+            }
             List<SelectChoice> selectChoices = formEntryPrompt.getSelectChoices();
             ArrayList<SelectChoice> returnedChoices = new ArrayList<>();
             for (SelectChoice selectChoice : selectChoices) {
                 String value = selectChoice.getValue();
                 if (isAnInteger(value)) {
                     // treat this as a static choice
+                    attachChoiceToSelectionIfMatch(selection, selectChoice);
                     returnedChoices.add(selectChoice);
                 } else {
                     String displayColumns = formEntryPrompt.getSelectChoiceText(selectChoice);
@@ -201,6 +209,7 @@ public static ArrayList<SelectChoice> populateExternalChoices(FormEntryPrompt fo
                         @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
                         List<SelectChoice> dynamicChoices = (ArrayList<SelectChoice>) eval;
                         for (SelectChoice dynamicChoice : dynamicChoices) {
+                            attachChoiceToSelectionIfMatch(selection, dynamicChoice);
                             returnedChoices.add(dynamicChoice);
                         }
                     } else {
@@ -228,6 +237,16 @@ public static ArrayList<SelectChoice> populateExternalChoices(FormEntryPrompt fo
         }
     }
 
+    private static void attachChoiceToSelectionIfMatch(Selection selection, SelectChoice selectChoice) {
+        if (selection == null || selection.index != -1) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        if (selection.getValue().equals(selectChoice.getValue())) {
+            selection.attachChoice(selectChoice);
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * We could simple return new String(displayColumns + "," + valueColumn) but we want to handle
      * the cases
diff --git a/collect_app/src/main/java/org/odk/collect/android/formentry/ODKView.java b/collect_app/src/main/java/org/odk/collect/android/formentry/ODKView.java
index 48f520738d2..7ba6776e141 100644
--- a/collect_app/src/main/java/org/odk/collect/android/formentry/ODKView.java
+++ b/collect_app/src/main/java/org/odk/collect/android/formentry/ODKView.java
@@ -161,7 +161,6 @@ public ODKView(
             LifecycleOwner viewLifecycle
     ) {
         super(context);
-        updateQuestions(questionPrompts);
 
         this.viewLifecycle = viewLifecycle;
         this.audioPlayer = audioPlayer;
@@ -209,6 +208,7 @@ public ODKView(
 
         setupAudioErrors();
         autoplayIfNeeded(advancingPage);
+        updateQuestions(questionPrompts);
     }
 
     private void setupAudioErrors() {
diff --git a/test-forms/src/main/resources/forms/search-with-last-saved.xml b/test-forms/src/main/resources/forms/search-with-last-saved.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4fab2fed89c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-forms/src/main/resources/forms/search-with-last-saved.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+<?xml version="1.0"?>
+<h:html
+    xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2002/xforms"
+    xmlns:h="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
+    xmlns:ev="http://www.w3.org/2001/xml-events"
+    xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
+    xmlns:jr="http://openrosa.org/javarosa"
+    xmlns:orx="http://openrosa.org/xforms"
+    xmlns:odk="http://www.opendatakit.org/xforms">
+    <h:head>
+        <h:title>Search with last-saved</h:title>
+        <model odk:xforms-version="1.0.0">
+            <instance>
+                <data id="search-with-last-saved">
+                    <fruit/>
+                    <group>
+                        <fruit2/>
+                        <details/>
+                    </group>
+                    <meta>
+                        <instanceID/>
+                    </meta>
+                </data>
+            </instance>
+            <instance id="__last-saved" src="jr://instance/last-saved"/>
+            <bind nodeset="/data/fruit" type="string"/>
+            <setvalue ref="/data/fruit" value=" instance('__last-saved')/data/fruit " event="odk-instance-first-load"/>
+            <bind nodeset="/data/group/fruit2" type="string"/>
+            <setvalue ref="/data/group/fruit2" value=" instance('__last-saved')/data/group/fruit2 " event="odk-instance-first-load"/>
+            <bind nodeset="/data/group/details" type="string"/>
+            <bind nodeset="/data/meta/instanceID" type="string" readonly="true()" jr:preload="uid"/>
+        </model>
+    </h:head>
+    <h:body>
+        <select1 ref="/data/fruit" appearance="search('fruits')">
+            <label>Select fruit 1</label>
+            <item>
+                <label>name</label>
+                <value>name_key</value>
+            </item>
+        </select1>
+        <group appearance="field-list" ref="/data/group">
+            <select1 ref="/data/group/fruit2" appearance="search('fruits')">
+                <label>Select fruit 2</label>
+                <item>
+                    <label>name</label>
+                    <value>name_key</value>
+                </item>
+            </select1>
+            <input ref="/data/group/details">
+                <label>Fruit details</label>
+            </input>
+        </group>
+    </h:body>
+</h:html>
\ No newline at end of file