diff --git a/utils/qemu/Makefile b/utils/qemu/Makefile
index 386684403..f846141c5 100644
--- a/utils/qemu/Makefile
+++ b/utils/qemu/Makefile
@@ -261,6 +261,7 @@ config QEMU_UI_SPICE
 
 config QEMU_DEV_USB
 	bool "QEMU USB passthrough support"
+	default y
 
 config QEMU_SECCOMP
 	bool "Enable support for seccomp in QEMU"