diff --git a/subiquity/models/subiquity.py b/subiquity/models/subiquity.py
index 7f1cc34c..2d45e876 100644
--- a/subiquity/models/subiquity.py
+++ b/subiquity/models/subiquity.py
@@ -517,6 +517,9 @@ class SubiquityModel:
             },
         }
 
+        if self.source.current.variant == "desktop":
+            config["grub"]["replace_linux_default"] = False
+
         if os.path.exists("/run/casper-md5check.json"):
             with open("/run/casper-md5check.json") as fp:
                 config["write_files"]["md5check"] = {