diff --git a/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/ManifestMetadataReader.java b/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/ManifestMetadataReader.java
index 29f325de7..c7f50cf36 100644
--- a/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/ManifestMetadataReader.java
+++ b/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/ManifestMetadataReader.java
@@ -55,10 +55,15 @@ static void applyMetadata(Context context, SentryAndroidOptions options) {
         options.setAnrTimeoutIntervalMills(anrTimeoutIntervalMills);
 
         String dsn = metadata.getString(DSN_KEY, null);
-        if (dsn != null) {
+        if (dsn == null) {
+          logIfNotNull(options.getLogger(), SentryLevel.FATAL, "DSN is required. Use empty string to disable SDK.");
+        } else if (dsn.isEmpty()) {
+          logIfNotNull(
+              options.getLogger(), SentryLevel.DEBUG, "DSN is empty, disabling sentry-android");
+        } else {
           logIfNotNull(options.getLogger(), SentryLevel.DEBUG, "DSN read: %s", dsn);
-          options.setDsn(dsn);
         }
+        options.setDsn(dsn);
 
         boolean ndk = metadata.getBoolean(ENABLE_NDK, options.isEnableNdk());
         logIfNotNull(options.getLogger(), SentryLevel.DEBUG, "NDK read: %s", ndk);
diff --git a/sentry-android-core/src/test/java/io/sentry/android/core/SentryInitProviderTest.kt b/sentry-android-core/src/test/java/io/sentry/android/core/SentryInitProviderTest.kt
index 86b53e314..678d9f0a0 100644
--- a/sentry-android-core/src/test/java/io/sentry/android/core/SentryInitProviderTest.kt
+++ b/sentry-android-core/src/test/java/io/sentry/android/core/SentryInitProviderTest.kt
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ class SentryInitProviderTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    fun `when applicationId is defined, dsn in meta-data is not set or null, SDK doesnt initialize`() {
+    fun `when applicationId is defined, dsn in meta-data is not set or null, SDK throws exception`() {
         val providerInfo = ProviderInfo()
 
         assertFalse(Sentry.isEnabled())
@@ -92,9 +92,7 @@ class SentryInitProviderTest {
 
         metaData.putString(ManifestMetadataReader.DSN_KEY, null)
 
-        sentryInitProvider.attachInfo(mockContext, providerInfo)
-
-        assertFalse(Sentry.isEnabled())
+        assertFailsWith<IllegalArgumentException> { sentryInitProvider.attachInfo(mockContext, providerInfo) }
     }
 
     @Test
diff --git a/sentry-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/core/Sentry.java b/sentry-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/core/Sentry.java
index 3eca18014..19a12d002 100644
--- a/sentry-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/core/Sentry.java
+++ b/sentry-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/core/Sentry.java
@@ -50,7 +50,9 @@ public static void init(@NotNull OptionsConfiguration<SentryOptions> optionsConf
 
   private static synchronized <T extends SentryOptions> void init(@NotNull T options) {
     String dsn = options.getDsn();
-    if (dsn == null || dsn.isEmpty()) {
+    if (dsn == null) {
+      throw new IllegalArgumentException("DSN is required. Use empty string to disable SDK.");
+    } else if (dsn.isEmpty()) {
       close();
       return;
     }