diff --git a/packages/walletconnect-v2/src/index.spec.ts b/packages/walletconnect-v2/src/index.spec.ts
index a27032452..5a36ecf1a 100644
--- a/packages/walletconnect-v2/src/index.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/walletconnect-v2/src/index.spec.ts
@@ -151,12 +151,12 @@ describe('WalletConnect', () => {
       expect(store.getState().chainId).toEqual(2)
     })
 
-    test.skip('should throw an error when activating with an unknown chain', async () => {
+    test('should throw an error when activating with an unknown chain', async () => {
       const { connector } = createTestEnvironment({ chains })
       await expect(connector.activate(99)).rejects.toThrow()
     })
 
-    test.skip('should throw an error when using optional chain as default', async () => {
+    test('should throw an error when using optional chain as default', async () => {
       const { connector } = createTestEnvironment({ chains, optionalChains: [8] }, 8)
       await expect(connector.activate()).rejects.toThrow()
     })
diff --git a/packages/walletconnect-v2/src/index.ts b/packages/walletconnect-v2/src/index.ts
index 722811302..f033bb0ba 100644
--- a/packages/walletconnect-v2/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/walletconnect-v2/src/index.ts
@@ -61,18 +61,25 @@ export class WalletConnect extends Connector {
   public provider?: WalletConnectProvider
   public readonly events = new EventEmitter3()
 
-  private readonly defaultChainId?: number
-  private eagerConnection?: Promise<WalletConnectProvider>
-  private readonly options: Omit<WalletConnectOptions, 'rpcMap'>
+  private readonly options: Omit<WalletConnectOptions, 'rpcMap' | 'chains'>
+
   private readonly rpcMap?: Record<number, string | string[]>
+  private readonly chains: number[] | ArrayOneOrMore<number> | undefined
+  private readonly optionalChains: number[] | ArrayOneOrMore<number> | undefined
+  private readonly defaultChainId?: number
   private readonly timeout: number
 
+  private eagerConnection?: Promise<WalletConnectProvider>
+
   constructor({ actions, defaultChainId, options, timeout = DEFAULT_TIMEOUT, onError }: WalletConnectConstructorArgs) {
     super(actions, onError)
 
-    const { rpcMap, rpc, ...rest } = options
-    this.defaultChainId = defaultChainId
+    const { rpcMap, rpc, chains, optionalChains, ...rest } = options
+
+    this.chains = chains
+    this.optionalChains = optionalChains
     this.options = rest
+    this.defaultChainId = defaultChainId
     this.rpcMap = rpcMap || rpc
     this.timeout = timeout
   }
@@ -118,21 +125,10 @@ export class WalletConnect extends Connector {
     return this.handleProviderEvents(this.provider)
   }
 
-  // Helper function to reorder chains array based on desiredChainId
-  private reorderChainsBasedOnId(
-    chains: number[] | undefined,
-    desiredChainId: number | undefined
-  ): number[] | undefined {
-    if (!chains || !desiredChainId || !chains.includes(desiredChainId) || chains.length === 0) {
-      return chains
-    }
-    return getChainsWithDefault(chains, desiredChainId)
-  }
-
   private getChainProps(desiredChainId: number | undefined = this.defaultChainId): ChainsProps {
     // Reorder chains and optionalChains if necessary
-    const orderedChains = this.reorderChainsBasedOnId(this.options.chains, desiredChainId)
-    const orderedOptionalChains = this.reorderChainsBasedOnId(this.options.optionalChains, desiredChainId)
+    const orderedChains = getChainsWithDefault(this.chains, desiredChainId)
+    const orderedOptionalChains = getChainsWithDefault(this.optionalChains, desiredChainId)
 
     // Validate and return the result
     if (isArrayOneOrMore(orderedChains)) {
diff --git a/packages/walletconnect-v2/src/utils.ts b/packages/walletconnect-v2/src/utils.ts
index d42f686d3..ae555bc8b 100644
--- a/packages/walletconnect-v2/src/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/walletconnect-v2/src/utils.ts
@@ -99,7 +99,13 @@ async function getBestUrl(urls: string | string[], timeout: number): Promise<str
  * @param chains - An array of chain IDs.
  * @param defaultChainId - The chain ID to treat as the default (it will be the first element in the returned array).
  */
-export function getChainsWithDefault(chains: number[], defaultChainId: number) {
+export function getChainsWithDefault(
+  chains: number[] | ArrayOneOrMore<number> | undefined,
+  defaultChainId: number | undefined
+) {
+  if (!chains || !defaultChainId || chains.length === 0) {
+    return chains
+  }
   const idx = chains.indexOf(defaultChainId)
   if (idx === -1) {
     throw new Error(