diff --git a/virt/kvm/arm/arch_timer.c b/virt/kvm/arm/arch_timer.c
index d43308dc3617..7fc272ecae16 100644
--- a/virt/kvm/arm/arch_timer.c
+++ b/virt/kvm/arm/arch_timer.c
@@ -507,6 +507,14 @@ static void kvm_timer_vcpu_load_nogic(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu)
 {
 	struct arch_timer_context *vtimer = vcpu_vtimer(vcpu);
 
+	/*
+	 * Update the timer output so that it is likely to match the
+	 * state we're about to restore. If the timer expires between
+	 * this point and the register restoration, we'll take the
+	 * interrupt anyway.
+	 */
+	kvm_timer_update_irq(vcpu, kvm_timer_should_fire(vtimer), vtimer);
+
 	/*
 	 * When using a userspace irqchip with the architected timers and a
 	 * host interrupt controller that doesn't support an active state, we
@@ -730,7 +738,6 @@ static void kvm_timer_init_interrupt(void *info)
 int kvm_arm_timer_set_reg(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, u64 regid, u64 value)
 {
 	struct arch_timer_context *timer;
-	bool level;
 
 	switch (regid) {
 	case KVM_REG_ARM_TIMER_CTL:
@@ -758,10 +765,6 @@ int kvm_arm_timer_set_reg(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, u64 regid, u64 value)
 		return -1;
 	}
 
-	level = kvm_timer_should_fire(timer);
-	kvm_timer_update_irq(vcpu, level, timer);
-	timer_emulate(timer);
-
 	return 0;
 }