diff --git a/vl.c b/vl.c
index 5c80600c71edcc45edf4a3700e4c35b45bb0883e..4d9e503d7c08620eb4cd5cae690862269e322972 100644
--- a/vl.c
+++ b/vl.c
@@ -3059,9 +3059,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
 
     cpu_synchronize_all_post_init();
 
-    /* must be after terminal init, SDL library changes signal handlers */
-    os_setup_signal_handling();
-
     set_numa_modes();
 
     current_machine = machine;
@@ -3117,6 +3114,9 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
         break;
     }
 
+    /* must be after terminal init, SDL library changes signal handlers */
+    os_setup_signal_handling();
+
 #ifdef CONFIG_VNC
     /* init remote displays */
     if (vnc_display) {