--- a/mobile/android/base/gfx/LayerRenderer.java
+++ b/mobile/android/base/gfx/LayerRenderer.java
@@ -320,17 +320,17 @@ public class LayerRenderer implements GL
         /* Do this I/O off the main thread to minimize its impact on startup time. */
         new Thread(new Runnable() {
             @Override
             public void run() {
                 Context context = mView.getContext();
                 SharedPreferences preferences = context.getSharedPreferences("GeckoApp", 0);
                 mShowFrameRate = preferences.getBoolean("showFrameRate", false);
             }
-        }).run();
+        }).start();
     }
 
     class FadeRunnable implements Runnable {
         private boolean mStarted;
         private long mRunAt;
 
         void scheduleStartFade(long delay) {
             mRunAt = SystemClock.elapsedRealtime() + delay;