diff --git a/src/middleware/packages/crypto/keys/migration.js b/src/middleware/packages/crypto/keys/migration.js
index ae54f7193..419912cb0 100644
--- a/src/middleware/packages/crypto/keys/migration.js
+++ b/src/middleware/packages/crypto/keys/migration.js
@@ -111,6 +111,11 @@ module.exports = {
 
     /** Returns true, if the server has migrated to the new keys service yet, i.e. keys are stored in the user dataset, not on fs. */
     async isMigrated() {
+      // If the `actorsKeyPairsDir` setting is not set, we assume migration has happened or was never needed.
+      if (!this.settings.actorsKeyPairsDir) {
+        return true;
+      }
+
       // Check actorsKeyPairsDir for existing keys.
       if (!fs.existsSync(this.settings.actorsKeyPairsDir)) {
         return true;
diff --git a/src/middleware/packages/crypto/signature/keypair.js b/src/middleware/packages/crypto/signature/keypair.js
index 79e1dd458..b0f1b31df 100644
--- a/src/middleware/packages/crypto/signature/keypair.js
+++ b/src/middleware/packages/crypto/signature/keypair.js
@@ -19,10 +19,10 @@ const SignatureService = {
     actorsKeyPairsDir: null
   },
   async created() {
-    if (!this.settings.actorsKeyPairsDir) {
-      throw new Error('You must set the actorsKeyPairsDir setting in the signature service');
-    } else if (!fs.existsSync(this.settings.actorsKeyPairsDir)) {
-      throw new Error(`The actorsKeyPairsDir (${this.settings.actorsKeyPairsDir}) does not exist! Please create it.`);
+    if (this.settings.actorsKeyPairsDir && !fs.existsSync(this.settings.actorsKeyPairsDir)) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `The \`actorsKeyPairsDir\` is configured for the keys legacy service but the directory (${this.settings.actorsKeyPairsDir}) does not exist! Please remove the setting (preferred) or create the directory.`
+      );
     }
   },
   async started() {