diff --git a/backport-changelog/6.8/7687.md b/backport-changelog/6.8/7687.md
index f1505645df20c6..0b5af190964df1 100644
--- a/backport-changelog/6.8/7687.md
+++ b/backport-changelog/6.8/7687.md
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/pull/7687
 
 * https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/66488
+* https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/67497
diff --git a/lib/compat/wordpress-6.8/preload.php b/lib/compat/wordpress-6.8/preload.php
index 879e263f5a1892..0a36ea7f7227d4 100644
--- a/lib/compat/wordpress-6.8/preload.php
+++ b/lib/compat/wordpress-6.8/preload.php
@@ -86,6 +86,9 @@ function gutenberg_block_editor_preload_paths_6_8( $paths, $context ) {
 		 */
 		$context = current_user_can( 'edit_theme_options' ) ? 'edit' : 'view';
 		$paths[] = "/wp/v2/global-styles/$global_styles_id?context=$context";
+
+		// Used by getBlockPatternCategories in useBlockEditorSettings.
+		$paths[] = '/wp/v2/block-patterns/categories';
 	}
 	return $paths;
 }
diff --git a/test/e2e/specs/site-editor/preload.spec.js b/test/e2e/specs/site-editor/preload.spec.js
index 1e93f783a8a91d..2cd61283fbd9e8 100644
--- a/test/e2e/specs/site-editor/preload.spec.js
+++ b/test/e2e/specs/site-editor/preload.spec.js
@@ -16,26 +16,38 @@ test.describe( 'Preload', () => {
 		page,
 		admin,
 	} ) => {
-		// Do not use `visitSiteEditor` because it waits for the iframe to load.
-		await admin.visitAdminPage( 'site-editor.php' );
-
 		const requests = [];
-		let isLoaded = false;
 
-		page.on( 'request', ( request ) => {
-			if ( request.resourceType() === 'document' ) {
-				// The iframe also "requests" a blob document. This is the most
-				// reliable way to wait for the iframe to start loading.
-				// `waitForSelector` is always a bit delayed, and we don't want
-				// to detect requests after the iframe mounts.
-				isLoaded = true;
-			} else if ( ! isLoaded && request.resourceType() === 'fetch' ) {
-				requests.push( request.url() );
+		function onRequest( request ) {
+			if (
+				request.resourceType() === 'document' &&
+				request.url().startsWith( 'blob:' )
+			) {
+				// Stop recording when the iframe is initialized.
+				page.off( 'request', onRequest );
+			} else if ( request.resourceType() === 'fetch' ) {
+				const url = request.url();
+				const urlObject = new URL( url );
+				const restRoute = urlObject.searchParams.get( 'rest_route' );
+				if ( restRoute ) {
+					requests.push( restRoute );
+				} else {
+					requests.push( url );
+				}
 			}
-		} );
+		}
+
+		page.on( 'request', onRequest );
 
-		await page.waitForFunction( ( _isLoaded ) => _isLoaded, [ isLoaded ] );
+		await admin.visitSiteEditor();
 
-		expect( requests ).toEqual( [] );
+		// To do: these should all be removed or preloaded.
+		expect( requests ).toEqual( [
+			// There are two separate settings OPTIONS requests. We should fix
+			// so the one for canUser and getEntityRecord are reused.
+			'/wp/v2/settings',
+			// Seems to be coming from `enableComplementaryArea`.
+			'/wp/v2/users/me',
+		] );
 	} );
 } );