diff --git a/test/client/submit.js b/test/client/submit.js
index 6523880a8..e2c90c20c 100644
--- a/test/client/submit.js
+++ b/test/client/submit.js
@@ -509,6 +509,7 @@ describe('client submit', function() {
   });
 
   it('submits fail above the backend.maxSubmitRetries threshold', function(done) {
+    var backend = this.backend;
     this.backend.maxSubmitRetries = 0;
     var doc = this.backend.connect().get('dogs', 'fido');
     var doc2 = this.backend.connect().get('dogs', 'fido');
@@ -516,18 +517,36 @@ describe('client submit', function() {
       if (err) return done(err);
       doc2.fetch(function(err) {
         if (err) return done(err);
-        var count = 0;
-        var cb = function(err) {
-          count++;
-          if (count === 1) {
-            if (err) return done(err);
-          } else {
-            expect(err).ok();
-            done();
+        var docCallback;
+        var doc2Callback;
+        // The submit retry happens just after an op is committed. This hook into the middleware
+        // catches both ops just before they're about to be committed. This ensures that both ops
+        // are certainly working on the same snapshot (ie one op hasn't been committed before the
+        // other fetches the snapshot to apply to). By storing the callbacks, we can then
+        // manually trigger the callbacks, first calling doc, and when we know that's been committed,
+        // we then commit doc2.
+        backend.use('commit', function (request, callback) {
+          if (request.op.op[0].na === 2) docCallback = callback;
+          if (request.op.op[0].na === 7) doc2Callback = callback;
+
+          // Wait until both ops have been applied to the same snapshot and are about to be committed
+          if (docCallback && doc2Callback) {
+            // Trigger the first op's commit and then the second one later, which will cause the
+            // second op to retry
+            docCallback();
           }
-        };
-        doc.submitOp({p: ['age'], na: 2}, cb);
-        doc2.submitOp({p: ['age'], na: 7}, cb);
+        });
+        doc.submitOp({p: ['age'], na: 2}, function (error) {
+          if (error) return done(error);
+          // When we know the first op has been committed, we try to commit the second op, which will
+          // fail because it's working on an out-of-date snapshot. It will retry, but exceed the
+          // maxSubmitRetries limit of 0
+          doc2Callback();
+        });
+        doc2.submitOp({p: ['age'], na: 7}, function (error) {
+          expect(error).ok();
+          done();
+        });
       });
     });
   });