diff --git a/docs/Config.md b/docs/Config.md
index 951686073..77685a378 100644
--- a/docs/Config.md
+++ b/docs/Config.md
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ os:
   openCommand: ''
 refresher:
   refreshInterval: 10 # File/submodule refresh interval in seconds. Auto-refresh can be disabled via option 'git.autoRefresh'.
-  fetchInterval: 60 # re-fetch interval in seconds
+  fetchInterval: 60 # Re-fetch interval in seconds. Auto-fetch can be disabled via option 'git.autoFetch'.
 update:
   method: prompt # can be: prompt | background | never
   days: 14 # how often an update is checked for
diff --git a/pkg/gui/gui.go b/pkg/gui/gui.go
index 3848f2bd9..ba2d85a27 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/gui.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/gui.go
@@ -583,8 +583,16 @@ func (gui *Gui) Run(filterPath string) error {
 	}
 
 	gui.waitForIntro.Add(1)
-	if gui.c.UserConfig.Git.AutoFetch {
-		go utils.Safe(gui.startBackgroundFetch)
+
+	if userConfig.Git.AutoFetch {
+		fetchInterval := userConfig.Refresher.FetchInterval
+		if fetchInterval > 0 {
+			go utils.Safe(gui.startBackgroundFetch)
+		} else {
+			gui.c.Log.Errorf(
+				"Value of config option 'refresher.fetchInterval' (%d) is invalid, disabling auto-fetch",
+				fetchInterval)
+		}
 	}
 
 	if userConfig.Git.AutoRefresh {