diff --git a/src/terminal.c b/src/terminal.c
index 5379edb..fd39e13 100644
--- a/src/terminal.c
+++ b/src/terminal.c
@@ -555,6 +555,8 @@ main (int argc, char **argv)
 
 	working_directory = g_get_current_dir ();
 
+	gdk_set_allowed_backends ("x11");
+
 	/* Now change directory to $HOME so we don't prevent unmounting, e.g. if the
 	 * factory is started by caja-open-terminal. See bug #565328.
 	 * On failure back to /.