diff --git a/src/static/js/pad_userlist.js b/src/static/js/pad_userlist.js
index 7ac960d074b..11b95880ac7 100644
--- a/src/static/js/pad_userlist.js
+++ b/src/static/js/pad_userlist.js
@@ -809,6 +809,7 @@ function closeColorPicker(accept)
 function showColorPicker()
 {
   previousColorId = myUserInfo.colorId;
+  $.farbtastic('#colorpicker').setColor(myUserInfo.colorId)
 
   if (!colorPickerOpen)
   {
diff --git a/tests/frontend/specs/change_user_color.js b/tests/frontend/specs/change_user_color.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..46a63637d69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/frontend/specs/change_user_color.js
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+describe("change user color", function(){
+  //create a new pad before each test run
+  beforeEach(function(cb){
+    helper.newPad(cb);
+    this.timeout(60000);
+  });
+
+  it("Color picker matches original color and remembers the user color after a refresh", function(done) {
+    this.timeout(60000);
+    var chrome$ = helper.padChrome$;
+
+    //click on the settings button to make settings visible
+    var $userButton = chrome$(".buttonicon-showusers");
+    $userButton.click();
+    
+    var $userSwatch = chrome$("#myswatch");
+    $userSwatch.click();
+
+    var fb = chrome$.farbtastic('#colorpicker')
+    var $colorPickerSave = chrome$("#mycolorpickersave");
+    var $colorPickerPreview = chrome$("#mycolorpickerpreview");
+
+    // Same color represented in two different ways
+    const testColorHash = '#abcdef'
+    const testColorRGB = 'rgb(171, 205, 239)'
+
+    // Check that the color picker matches the automatically assigned random color on the swatch.
+    // NOTE: This has a tiny chance of creating a false positive for passing in the
+    // off-chance the randomly assigned color is the same as the test color.
+    expect($colorPickerPreview.css('background-color')).to.be($userSwatch.css('background-color'))
+
+    // The swatch updates as the test color is picked.
+    fb.setColor(testColorHash)
+    expect($colorPickerPreview.css('background-color')).to.be(testColorRGB)
+    $colorPickerSave.click();
+    expect($userSwatch.css('background-color')).to.be(testColorRGB)
+
+    setTimeout(function(){ //give it a second to save the color on the server side
+      helper.newPad({ // get a new pad, but don't clear the cookies
+        clearCookies: false
+        , cb: function(){
+          var chrome$ = helper.padChrome$;
+
+          //click on the settings button to make settings visible
+          var $userButton = chrome$(".buttonicon-showusers");
+          $userButton.click();
+
+          var $userSwatch = chrome$("#myswatch");
+          $userSwatch.click();
+
+          var $colorPickerPreview = chrome$("#mycolorpickerpreview");
+
+          expect($colorPickerPreview.css('background-color')).to.be(testColorRGB)
+          expect($userSwatch.css('background-color')).to.be(testColorRGB)
+
+          done();
+        }
+      });
+    }, 1000);
+  });
+
+  it("Own user color is shown when you enter a chat", function(done) {
+    var inner$ = helper.padInner$;
+    var chrome$ = helper.padChrome$;
+
+    //click on the settings button to make settings visible
+    var $userButton = chrome$(".buttonicon-showusers");
+    $userButton.click();
+    
+    var $userSwatch = chrome$("#myswatch");
+    $userSwatch.click();
+
+    var fb = chrome$.farbtastic('#colorpicker')
+    var $colorPickerSave = chrome$("#mycolorpickersave");
+
+    // Same color represented in two different ways
+    const testColorHash = '#abcdef'
+    const testColorRGB = 'rgb(171, 205, 239)'
+
+    fb.setColor(testColorHash)
+    $colorPickerSave.click();
+
+    //click on the chat button to make chat visible
+    var $chatButton = chrome$("#chaticon");
+    $chatButton.click();
+    var $chatInput = chrome$("#chatinput");
+    $chatInput.sendkeys('O hi'); // simulate a keypress of typing user
+    $chatInput.sendkeys('{enter}'); // simulate a keypress of enter actually does evt.which = 10 not 13
+
+    //check if chat shows up
+    helper.waitFor(function(){
+      return chrome$("#chattext").children("p").length !== 0; // wait until the chat message shows up
+    }).done(function(){
+      var $firstChatMessage = chrome$("#chattext").children("p");
+      expect($firstChatMessage.css('background-color')).to.be(testColorRGB); // expect the first chat message to be of the user's color
+      done();
+    });
+  });
+});