diff --git a/image-recipe/build-auto-installer-iso.sh b/image-recipe/build-auto-installer-iso.sh
index f028bd50..54f931a9 100755
--- a/image-recipe/build-auto-installer-iso.sh
+++ b/image-recipe/build-auto-installer-iso.sh
@@ -368,6 +368,15 @@ COPY --from=fips-builder /tmp/fips.deb /tmp/fips.deb
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends /tmp/fips.deb && \
     apt-get clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* && rm /tmp/fips.deb
 
+# Enable the upstream fips.service so FIPS status reads "active" on
+# first boot. Without this, fresh installs show "inactive" — the
+# npub is present (debian postinst wrote /etc/fips/fips.pub during
+# package install) but the daemon isn't running, so traffic can't
+# route over FIPS until the user hits Activate. Upstream unit is
+# fine to enable unconditionally: it uses ephemeral identity until
+# a persistent key is written, which is what fresh nodes want.
+RUN systemctl enable fips.service || true
+
 # Configure locale
 RUN echo "en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8" > /etc/locale.gen && locale-gen