diff --git a/qemu-char.c b/qemu-char.c
index 5430b87048..98d434237f 100644
--- a/qemu-char.c
+++ b/qemu-char.c
@@ -1402,6 +1402,7 @@ static CharDriverState *qemu_chr_open_pty(const char *id,
     }
 
     close(slave_fd);
+    qemu_set_nonblock(master_fd);
 
     chr = qemu_chr_alloc();