 After Niobe returned to active service in April 1902, she returned to duty with the I Torpedo-boat Flotilla, and was stationed in the Baltic. On 2 July, she was transferred back to the I Squadron for the annual training exercises and a winter cruise toward the end of the year. During this period, Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain) Franz von Hipper served as the ship's commander. In early 1903, she again returned to the I Torpedo-boat Flotilla, her last stint as the flotilla flagship. The Navy initially planned on sending Niobe to reinforce the squadron participating in the Venezuelan crisis of 1902 – 03, but the incident concluded before she could be sent. Instead, on 1 March, she joined the cruisers of the I Scouting Group for a trip to Norway. She remained in the I Scouting Group for the annual maneuvers that followed later in the year, and through 1904 as well. Following the fleet maneuvers in August and September 1904, Niobe was decommissioned on 29 September. She spent the following two years out of service, during which time she underwent a major overhaul.
