diff --git a/hw/qxl.c b/hw/qxl.c
index b544f31052..5c6b5565dc 100644
--- a/hw/qxl.c
+++ b/hw/qxl.c
@@ -1471,7 +1471,7 @@ static void qxl_dirty_surfaces(PCIQXLDevice *qxl)
     intptr_t vram_start;
     int i;
 
-    if (qxl->mode != QXL_MODE_NATIVE) {
+    if (qxl->mode != QXL_MODE_NATIVE && qxl->mode != QXL_MODE_COMPAT) {
         return;
     }