diff --git a/src/fu-tool.c b/src/fu-tool.c
index c8af13f0e..8d7584168 100644
--- a/src/fu-tool.c
+++ b/src/fu-tool.c
@@ -3080,6 +3080,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	gboolean ignore_vid_pid = FALSE;
 	g_auto(GStrv) plugin_glob = NULL;
 	g_autoptr(FuUtilPrivate) priv = g_new0(FuUtilPrivate, 1);
+	g_autoptr(GError) error_console = NULL;
 	g_autoptr(GError) error = NULL;
 	g_autoptr(GPtrArray) cmd_array = fu_util_cmd_array_new();
 	g_autofree gchar *cmd_descriptions = NULL;
@@ -3545,11 +3546,12 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	fu_util_cmd_array_sort(cmd_array);
 
 	/* non-TTY consoles cannot answer questions */
-	priv->interactive = isatty(fileno(stdout)) != 0;
-	if (!priv->interactive) {
+	if (!fu_util_setup_interactive_console(&error_console)) {
+		g_debug("failed to initialize interactive console: %s", error_console->message);
 		priv->no_reboot_check = TRUE;
 		priv->no_safety_check = TRUE;
 	} else {
+		priv->interactive = TRUE;
 		/* set our implemented feature set */
 		fu_engine_request_set_feature_flags(
 		    priv->request,
diff --git a/src/fu-util-common.c b/src/fu-util-common.c
index 8beb2f0d8..3bbcf7395 100644
--- a/src/fu-util-common.c
+++ b/src/fu-util-common.c
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include <config.h>
 #include <glib/gi18n.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
 #ifdef HAVE_GUSB
 #include <gusb.h>
 #endif
@@ -18,6 +19,11 @@
 #include <curl/curl.h>
 #endif
 
+#ifdef _WIN32
+#include <wchar.h>
+#include <windows.h>
+#endif
+
 #include "fu-common.h"
 #include "fu-device-private.h"
 #include "fu-device.h"
@@ -2487,3 +2493,63 @@ fu_util_is_url(const gchar *perhaps_url)
 	       g_str_has_prefix(perhaps_url, "https://");
 #endif
 }
+
+gboolean
+fu_util_setup_interactive_console(GError **error)
+{
+#ifdef _WIN32
+	HANDLE hOut;
+	DWORD dwMode = 0;
+
+	/* enable VT sequences */
+	hOut = GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE);
+	if (hOut == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
+		g_set_error(error,
+			    G_IO_ERROR,
+			    G_IO_ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED,
+			    "failed to get stdout [%u]",
+			    (guint)GetLastError());
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+	if (!GetConsoleMode(hOut, &dwMode)) {
+		g_set_error(error,
+			    G_IO_ERROR,
+			    G_IO_ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED,
+			    "failed to get mode [%u]",
+			    (guint)GetLastError());
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+	dwMode |= ENABLE_VIRTUAL_TERMINAL_PROCESSING;
+	if (!SetConsoleMode(hOut, dwMode)) {
+		g_set_error(error,
+			    G_IO_ERROR,
+			    G_IO_ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED,
+			    "failed to set mode [%u]",
+			    (guint)GetLastError());
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+	if (!SetConsoleOutputCP(CP_UTF8)) {
+		g_set_error(error,
+			    G_IO_ERROR,
+			    G_IO_ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED,
+			    "failed to set output UTF-8 [%u]",
+			    (guint)GetLastError());
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+	if (!SetConsoleCP(CP_UTF8)) {
+		g_set_error(error,
+			    G_IO_ERROR,
+			    G_IO_ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED,
+			    "failed to set UTF-8 [%u]",
+			    (guint)GetLastError());
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+#else
+	if (isatty(fileno(stdout)) == 0) {
+		g_set_error_literal(error, G_IO_ERROR, G_IO_ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED, "not a TTY");
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+#endif
+	/* success */
+	return TRUE;
+}
diff --git a/src/fu-util-common.h b/src/fu-util-common.h
index f21d01323..7b100d9be 100644
--- a/src/fu-util-common.h
+++ b/src/fu-util-common.h
@@ -147,3 +147,5 @@ void
 fu_util_show_unsupported_warn(void);
 gboolean
 fu_util_is_url(const gchar *perhaps_url);
+gboolean
+fu_util_setup_interactive_console(GError **error);
diff --git a/src/fu-util.c b/src/fu-util.c
index f62f96f0c..030ad4e9b 100644
--- a/src/fu-util.c
+++ b/src/fu-util.c
@@ -3712,7 +3712,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	gboolean allow_older = FALSE;
 	gboolean allow_reinstall = FALSE;
 	gboolean enable_ipfs = FALSE;
-	gboolean is_interactive = TRUE;
+	gboolean is_interactive = FALSE;
 	gboolean no_history = FALSE;
 	gboolean offline = FALSE;
 	gboolean ret;
@@ -3721,6 +3721,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	g_autoptr(FuUtilPrivate) priv = g_new0(FuUtilPrivate, 1);
 	g_autoptr(GDateTime) dt_now = g_date_time_new_now_utc();
 	g_autoptr(GError) error = NULL;
+	g_autoptr(GError) error_console = NULL;
 	g_autoptr(GPtrArray) cmd_array = fu_util_cmd_array_new();
 	g_autofree gchar *cmd_descriptions = NULL;
 	g_autofree gchar *filter = NULL;
@@ -4209,15 +4210,17 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	}
 
 	/* non-TTY consoles cannot answer questions */
-	if (isatty(fileno(stdout)) == 0) {
-		is_interactive = FALSE;
+	if (!fu_util_setup_interactive_console(&error_console)) {
+		g_debug("failed to initialize interactive console: %s", error_console->message);
 		priv->no_unreported_check = TRUE;
 		priv->no_metadata_check = TRUE;
 		priv->no_reboot_check = TRUE;
 		priv->no_safety_check = TRUE;
 		priv->no_remote_check = TRUE;
-		fu_progressbar_set_interactive(priv->progressbar, FALSE);
+	} else {
+		is_interactive = TRUE;
 	}
+	fu_progressbar_set_interactive(priv->progressbar, is_interactive);
 
 	/* parse filter flags */
 	if (filter != NULL) {