diff --git a/tests/helpers/fixtures.py b/tests/helpers/fixtures.py
index 749f0d4f0..651f30ed6 100644
--- a/tests/helpers/fixtures.py
+++ b/tests/helpers/fixtures.py
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ def fake_args():
 
 @pytest.yield_fixture
 def mode_manager(win_registry, config_stub, qapp):
-    config_stub.data = {'input': {'forward-unbound-keys': 'auto'}}
+    config_stub.data.update({'input': {'forward-unbound-keys': 'auto'}})
     mm = modeman.ModeManager(0)
     objreg.register('mode-manager', mm, scope='window', window=0)
     yield mm