diff --git a/public/app/core/utils/explore.test.ts b/public/app/core/utils/explore.test.ts
index 281d17acbea..d6de87958da 100644
--- a/public/app/core/utils/explore.test.ts
+++ b/public/app/core/utils/explore.test.ts
@@ -489,4 +489,10 @@ describe('generateEmptyQuery', () => {
     expect(query.datasource?.type).toBe('loki');
     expect(query.refId).toBe('B');
   });
+
+  it('should generate a query with a unique refId', async () => {
+    const query = await generateEmptyQuery([{ refId: 'A' }], 2);
+
+    expect(query.refId).not.toBe('A');
+  });
 });
diff --git a/public/app/core/utils/explore.ts b/public/app/core/utils/explore.ts
index 9d7de0088e4..fbea62123d7 100644
--- a/public/app/core/utils/explore.ts
+++ b/public/app/core/utils/explore.ts
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ export async function generateEmptyQuery(
     defaultQuery = datasourceInstance.getDefaultQuery?.(CoreApp.Explore);
   }
 
-  return { refId: getNextRefIdChar(queries), key: generateKey(index), datasource: datasourceRef, ...defaultQuery };
+  return { ...defaultQuery, refId: getNextRefIdChar(queries), key: generateKey(index), datasource: datasourceRef };
 }
 
 export const generateNewKeyAndAddRefIdIfMissing = (target: DataQuery, queries: DataQuery[], index = 0): DataQuery => {