diff --git a/nixos/tests/amazon-init-shell.nix b/nixos/tests/amazon-init-shell.nix
index 3c040841b6d2..da4480ed5778 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/amazon-init-shell.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/amazon-init-shell.nix
@@ -18,16 +18,21 @@ makeTest {
   meta = with maintainers; {
     maintainers = [ urbas ];
   };
-  nodes.machine = { ... }:
+  nodes.machine = { lib, pkgs, ... }:
   {
     imports = [ ../modules/profiles/headless.nix ../modules/virtualisation/amazon-init.nix ];
     services.openssh.enable = true;
+    system.switch.enable = true;
     networking.hostName = "";
     environment.etc."ec2-metadata/user-data" = {
       text = ''
         #!/usr/bin/bash
 
         echo successful > /tmp/evidence
+
+        # Emulate running nixos-rebuild switch, just without any building.
+        # https://github.com/nixos/nixpkgs/blob/4c62505847d88f16df11eff3c81bf9a453a4979e/nixos/modules/virtualisation/amazon-init.nix#L55
+        /run/current-system/bin/switch-to-configuration test
       '';
     };
   };