diff --git a/src/fu-engine.c b/src/fu-engine.c
index 9c2a7d33a..3b319c1ea 100644
--- a/src/fu-engine.c
+++ b/src/fu-engine.c
@@ -7318,10 +7318,10 @@ fu_engine_update_history_device(FuEngine *self, FuDevice *dev_history, GError **
 	metadata_device = fu_device_report_metadata_post(dev);
 	if (metadata_device != NULL && g_hash_table_size(metadata_device) > 0) {
 		fwupd_release_add_metadata(rel_history, metadata_device);
-		if (!fu_history_set_device_metadata(self->history,
-						    fu_device_get_id(dev_history),
-						    fwupd_release_get_metadata(rel_history),
-						    error)) {
+		if (!fu_history_modify_device_release(self->history,
+						      dev_history,
+						      rel_history,
+						      error)) {
 			g_prefix_error(error, "failed to set metadata: ");
 			return FALSE;
 		}
@@ -7353,7 +7353,10 @@ fu_engine_update_history_device(FuEngine *self, FuDevice *dev_history, GError **
 		fu_device_set_version(dev_history, fu_device_get_version(dev));
 		fu_device_remove_flag(dev_history, FWUPD_DEVICE_FLAG_NEEDS_ACTIVATION);
 		fu_device_set_update_state(dev_history, FWUPD_UPDATE_STATE_SUCCESS);
-		return fu_history_modify_device(self->history, dev_history, error);
+		return fu_history_modify_device_release(self->history,
+							dev_history,
+							rel_history,
+							error);
 	}
 
 	/* does the plugin know the update failure */
@@ -7372,7 +7375,7 @@ fu_engine_update_history_device(FuEngine *self, FuDevice *dev_history, GError **
 	}
 
 	/* update the state in the database */
-	return fu_history_modify_device(self->history, dev_history, error);
+	return fu_history_modify_device_release(self->history, dev_history, rel_history, error);
 }
 
 static gboolean
diff --git a/src/fu-history.c b/src/fu-history.c
index 61060d24e..4f2d1735d 100644
--- a/src/fu-history.c
+++ b/src/fu-history.c
@@ -581,7 +581,80 @@ gboolean
 fu_history_modify_device(FuHistory *self, FuDevice *device, GError **error)
 {
 #ifdef HAVE_SQLITE
-	FwupdRelease *release;
+	gint rc;
+	g_autoptr(sqlite3_stmt) stmt = NULL;
+	g_autoptr(GRWLockWriterLocker) locker = NULL;
+
+	g_return_val_if_fail(FU_IS_HISTORY(self), FALSE);
+	g_return_val_if_fail(FU_IS_DEVICE(device), FALSE);
+
+	/* lazy load */
+	if (!fu_history_load(self, error))
+		return FALSE;
+
+	/* overwrite entry if it exists */
+	locker = g_rw_lock_writer_locker_new(&self->db_mutex);
+	g_return_val_if_fail(locker != NULL, FALSE);
+	g_debug("modifying device %s [%s]", fu_device_get_name(device), fu_device_get_id(device));
+	rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(self->db,
+				"UPDATE history SET "
+				"update_state = ?1, "
+				"update_error = ?2, "
+				"checksum_device = ?6, "
+				"device_modified = ?7, "
+				"flags = ?3 "
+				"WHERE device_id = ?4;",
+				-1,
+				&stmt,
+				NULL);
+	if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
+		g_set_error(error,
+			    FWUPD_ERROR,
+			    FWUPD_ERROR_INTERNAL,
+			    "Failed to prepare SQL to update history: %s",
+			    sqlite3_errmsg(self->db));
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+
+	sqlite3_bind_int(stmt, 1, fu_device_get_update_state(device));
+	sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, fu_device_get_update_error(device), -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
+	sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 3, fu_history_get_device_flags_filtered(device));
+	sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 4, fu_device_get_id(device), -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
+	sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 5, fu_device_get_version(device), -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
+	sqlite3_bind_text(
+	    stmt,
+	    6,
+	    fwupd_checksum_get_by_kind(fu_device_get_checksums(device), G_CHECKSUM_SHA1),
+	    -1,
+	    SQLITE_STATIC);
+	sqlite3_bind_int64(stmt, 7, fu_device_get_modified(device));
+
+	return fu_history_stmt_exec(self, stmt, NULL, error);
+#else
+	return TRUE;
+#endif
+}
+
+/**
+ * fu_history_modify_device_release:
+ * @self: a #FuHistory
+ * @device: a #FuDevice
+ * @release: a #FwupdRelease
+ * @error: (nullable): optional return location for an error
+ *
+ * Modify a device in the history database, also changing metadata from the new release.
+ *
+ * Returns: @TRUE if successful, @FALSE for failure
+ *
+ * Since: 1.8.8
+ **/
+gboolean
+fu_history_modify_device_release(FuHistory *self,
+				 FuDevice *device,
+				 FwupdRelease *release,
+				 GError **error)
+{
+#ifdef HAVE_SQLITE
 	gint rc;
 	g_autofree gchar *metadata = NULL;
 	g_autoptr(sqlite3_stmt) stmt = NULL;
@@ -595,7 +668,6 @@ fu_history_modify_device(FuHistory *self, FuDevice *device, GError **error)
 		return FALSE;
 
 	/* metadata is stored as a simple string */
-	release = fu_device_get_release_default(device);
 	metadata = _convert_hash_to_string(fwupd_release_get_metadata(release));
 
 	/* overwrite entry if it exists */
@@ -643,69 +715,6 @@ fu_history_modify_device(FuHistory *self, FuDevice *device, GError **error)
 #endif
 }
 
-/**
- * fu_history_set_device_metadata:
- * @self: a #FuHistory
- * @device_id: a DeviceID string
- * @metadata: a #GHashTable of string:string
- * @error: (nullable): optional return location for an error
- *
- * Modify a device in the history database
- *
- * Returns: @TRUE if successful, @FALSE for failure
- *
- * Since: 1.5.0
- **/
-gboolean
-fu_history_set_device_metadata(FuHistory *self,
-			       const gchar *device_id,
-			       GHashTable *metadata,
-			       GError **error)
-{
-#ifdef HAVE_SQLITE
-	gint rc;
-	g_autofree gchar *metadata_str = NULL;
-	g_autoptr(GRWLockWriterLocker) locker = NULL;
-	g_autoptr(sqlite3_stmt) stmt = NULL;
-
-	g_return_val_if_fail(FU_IS_HISTORY(self), FALSE);
-	g_return_val_if_fail(device_id != NULL, FALSE);
-
-	/* lazy load */
-	if (!fu_history_load(self, error))
-		return FALSE;
-
-	/* overwrite entry if it exists */
-	locker = g_rw_lock_writer_locker_new(&self->db_mutex);
-	g_return_val_if_fail(locker != NULL, FALSE);
-	g_debug("modifying %s", device_id);
-	rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(self->db,
-				"UPDATE history SET "
-				"metadata = ?1 "
-				"WHERE device_id = ?2;",
-				-1,
-				&stmt,
-				NULL);
-	if (rc != SQLITE_OK) {
-		g_set_error(error,
-			    FWUPD_ERROR,
-			    FWUPD_ERROR_INTERNAL,
-			    "failed to prepare SQL to update history: %s",
-			    sqlite3_errmsg(self->db));
-		return FALSE;
-	}
-
-	/* metadata is stored as a simple string */
-	metadata_str = _convert_hash_to_string(metadata);
-	sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 1, metadata_str, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-	sqlite3_bind_text(stmt, 2, device_id, -1, SQLITE_STATIC);
-
-	return fu_history_stmt_exec(self, stmt, NULL, error);
-#else
-	return TRUE;
-#endif
-}
-
 /**
  * fu_history_add_device:
  * @self: a #FuHistory
diff --git a/src/fu-history.h b/src/fu-history.h
index b7442e335..d584ec14f 100644
--- a/src/fu-history.h
+++ b/src/fu-history.h
@@ -19,10 +19,10 @@ fu_history_add_device(FuHistory *self, FuDevice *device, FwupdRelease *release,
 gboolean
 fu_history_modify_device(FuHistory *self, FuDevice *device, GError **error);
 gboolean
-fu_history_set_device_metadata(FuHistory *self,
-			       const gchar *device_id,
-			       GHashTable *metadata,
-			       GError **error);
+fu_history_modify_device_release(FuHistory *self,
+				 FuDevice *device,
+				 FwupdRelease *release,
+				 GError **error);
 gboolean
 fu_history_remove_device(FuHistory *self, FuDevice *device, GError **error);
 gboolean