diff --git a/plugins/uefi-recovery/fu-plugin-uefi-recovery.c b/plugins/uefi-recovery/fu-plugin-uefi-recovery.c
index 63baed8f6..77f6bfff2 100644
--- a/plugins/uefi-recovery/fu-plugin-uefi-recovery.c
+++ b/plugins/uefi-recovery/fu-plugin-uefi-recovery.c
@@ -17,6 +17,15 @@ fu_plugin_init(FuPlugin *plugin)
 	fu_plugin_add_flag(plugin, FWUPD_PLUGIN_FLAG_REQUIRE_HWID);
 }
 
+gboolean
+fu_plugin_startup(FuPlugin *plugin, GError **error)
+{
+	/* are the EFI dirs set up so we can update each device */
+	if (!fu_efivar_supported(error))
+		return FALSE;
+	return TRUE;
+}
+
 gboolean
 fu_plugin_coldplug(FuPlugin *plugin, GError **error)
 {