diff --git a/src/remote/libvirtd.service.in b/src/remote/libvirtd.service.in
index 82892b4f70367a0fa6c1918bca18c1b074dac88e..9c8c54a2ef6bff9afa11bee89189b7b872fd288f 100644
--- a/src/remote/libvirtd.service.in
+++ b/src/remote/libvirtd.service.in
@@ -26,11 +26,7 @@ Documentation=https://libvirt.org
 [Service]
 Type=notify
 EnvironmentFile=-@sysconfdir@/sysconfig/libvirtd
-# libvirtd.service is set to run on boot so that autostart of
-# VMs can be performed. We don't want it to stick around if
-# unused though, so we set a timeout. The socket activation
-# then ensures it gets started again if anything needs it
-ExecStart=@sbindir@/libvirtd --timeout 120 $LIBVIRTD_ARGS
+ExecStart=@sbindir@/libvirtd $LIBVIRTD_ARGS
 ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
 KillMode=process
 Restart=on-failure
diff --git a/src/remote/libvirtd.sysconf b/src/remote/libvirtd.sysconf
index 5969518bf2a260f654809bc29099c68ff2dd8c1c..ee9db22bab9aa448eb69dc27eeb708efdb9c8804 100644
--- a/src/remote/libvirtd.sysconf
+++ b/src/remote/libvirtd.sysconf
@@ -1,8 +1,14 @@
 # Customizations for the libvirtd.service systemd unit
 
-# Listen for TCP/IP connections. This is not required if using systemd
-# socket activation.
-# NB. must setup TLS/SSL keys prior to using this
+# Default behaviour is for libvirtd.service to start on boot
+# so that VM autostart can be performed. We then want it to
+# shutdown again if nothing was started and rely on systemd
+# socket activation to start it again when some client app
+# connects.
+LIBVIRTD_ARGS="--timeout 120"
+
+# If systemd socket activation is disabled, then the following
+# can be used to listen on TCP/TLS sockets
 #LIBVIRTD_ARGS="--listen"
 
 # Override Kerberos service keytab for SASL/GSSAPI