diff --git a/src/fu-engine.c b/src/fu-engine.c
index a7ee61f8c..587272b1b 100644
--- a/src/fu-engine.c
+++ b/src/fu-engine.c
@@ -1467,8 +1467,9 @@ fu_engine_install (FuEngine *self,
 			return FALSE;
 	}
 
-	/* just schedule this for the next reboot  */
-	if (flags & FWUPD_INSTALL_FLAG_OFFLINE)
+	/* schedule this for the next reboot if not in system-update.target */
+	if ((self->app_flags & FU_ENGINE_LOAD_FLAG_IS_OFFLINE) == 0 &&
+	    (flags & FWUPD_INSTALL_FLAG_OFFLINE) > 0)
 		return fu_plugin_runner_schedule_update (plugin, device, blob_cab, error);
 
 	/* install firmware blob */
@@ -4403,6 +4404,13 @@ fu_engine_add_runtime_version (FuEngine *self,
 			     g_strdup (version));
 }
 
+void
+fu_engine_add_app_flag (FuEngine *self, FuAppFlags app_flags)
+{
+	g_return_if_fail (FU_IS_ENGINE (self));
+	self->app_flags |= app_flags;
+}
+
 static void
 fu_engine_idle_status_notify_cb (FuIdle *idle, GParamSpec *pspec, FuEngine *self)
 {
diff --git a/src/fu-engine.h b/src/fu-engine.h
index e212f701e..a61ba2a86 100644
--- a/src/fu-engine.h
+++ b/src/fu-engine.h
@@ -25,10 +25,13 @@ G_DECLARE_FINAL_TYPE (FuEngine, fu_engine, FU, ENGINE, GObject)
 typedef enum {
 	FU_ENGINE_LOAD_FLAG_NONE		= 0,
 	FU_ENGINE_LOAD_FLAG_READONLY_FS		= 1 << 0,
+	FU_ENGINE_LOAD_FLAG_IS_OFFLINE		= 1 << 1,
 	FU_ENGINE_LOAD_FLAG_LAST
 } FuEngineLoadFlags;
 
 FuEngine	*fu_engine_new				(FuAppFlags	 app_flags);
+void		 fu_engine_add_app_flag			(FuEngine	*self,
+							 FuAppFlags	 app_flags);
 void		 fu_engine_add_plugin_filter		(FuEngine	*self,
 							 const gchar	*plugin_glob);
 void		 fu_engine_idle_reset			(FuEngine	*self);
diff --git a/src/fu-main.c b/src/fu-main.c
index cd150b3db..31bc14ecb 100644
--- a/src/fu-main.c
+++ b/src/fu-main.c
@@ -1322,6 +1322,29 @@ fu_main_daemon_get_property (GDBusConnection *connection_, const gchar *sender,
 	return NULL;
 }
 
+static gboolean
+fu_main_is_running_offline_update (FuMainPrivate *priv)
+{
+	const gchar *default_target = NULL;
+	g_autoptr(GError) error = NULL;
+	g_autoptr(GVariant) val = NULL;
+
+	val = g_dbus_connection_call_sync (priv->connection,
+					   "org.freedesktop.systemd1",
+					   "/org/freedesktop/systemd1",
+					   "org.freedesktop.systemd1.Manager",
+					   "GetDefaultTarget",
+					   NULL, NULL,
+					   G_DBUS_CALL_FLAGS_NONE,
+					   1500, NULL, &error);
+	if (val == NULL) {
+		g_warning ("failed to get default.target: %s", error->message);
+		return FALSE;
+	}
+	g_variant_get (val, "(&s)", &default_target);
+	return g_strcmp0 (default_target, "system-update.target") == 0;
+}
+
 static void
 fu_main_on_bus_acquired_cb (GDBusConnection *connection,
 			    const gchar *name,
@@ -1346,6 +1369,10 @@ fu_main_on_bus_acquired_cb (GDBusConnection *connection,
 							     NULL); /* GError** */
 	g_assert (registration_id > 0);
 
+	/* are we running in the offline target */
+	if (fu_main_is_running_offline_update (priv))
+		fu_engine_add_app_flag (priv->engine, FU_ENGINE_LOAD_FLAG_IS_OFFLINE);
+
 	/* connect to D-Bus directly */
 	priv->proxy_uid =
 		g_dbus_proxy_new_sync (priv->connection,
diff --git a/src/fu-offline.c b/src/fu-offline.c
index 1f758bd30..21b1352cc 100644
--- a/src/fu-offline.c
+++ b/src/fu-offline.c
@@ -111,7 +111,8 @@ main (int argc, char *argv[])
 		if (!fwupd_client_install (client,
 					   fwupd_device_get_id (dev),
 					   fwupd_release_get_filename (rel),
-					   FWUPD_INSTALL_FLAG_ALLOW_REINSTALL,
+					   FWUPD_INSTALL_FLAG_ALLOW_REINSTALL |
+					   FWUPD_INSTALL_FLAG_OFFLINE,
 					   NULL,
 					   &error)) {
 			/* TRANSLATORS: we could not install for some reason */