diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e52caa35a6..d13e3d309d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 
 ### Fixes
 
+- Fix SIGABRT crash on launch when `mobileReplayIntegration` is not configured and iOS deployment target >= 16.0 ([#5858](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-react-native/pull/5858))
 - Reduce `reactNavigationIntegration` performance overhead ([#5840](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-react-native/pull/5840), [#5842](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-react-native/pull/5842), [#5849](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-react-native/pull/5849))
 - Fix duplicated breadcrumbs on Android ([#5841](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-react-native/pull/5841))
 
diff --git a/packages/core/ios/RNSentryStart.m b/packages/core/ios/RNSentryStart.m
index db86096fe1..e376e6cd7b 100644
--- a/packages/core/ios/RNSentryStart.m
+++ b/packages/core/ios/RNSentryStart.m
@@ -29,7 +29,10 @@ + (void)startWithOptions:(SentryOptions *)options NS_SWIFT_NAME(start(options:))
     [SentrySDK startWithOptions:options];
 
 #if SENTRY_TARGET_REPLAY_SUPPORTED
-    [RNSentryReplay postInit];
+    if (options.sessionReplay.sessionSampleRate > 0
+        || options.sessionReplay.onErrorSampleRate > 0) {
+        [RNSentryReplay postInit];
+    }
 #endif
 
     [self postDidBecomeActiveNotification];