diff --git a/nixos/tests/misc.nix b/nixos/tests/misc.nix
index ac26e0e4e40..17260ce6406 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/misc.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/misc.nix
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ import ./make-test-python.nix ({ pkgs, ...} : rec {
           machine.succeed('[ -x "$(cat /proc/sys/kernel/poweroff_cmd)" ]')
 
       with subtest("whether the blkio controller is properly enabled"):
-          machine.succeed('[ -n "$(cat /sys/fs/cgroup/blkio/blkio.sectors)" ]')
+          machine.succeed("[ -e /sys/fs/cgroup/blkio/blkio.reset_stats ]")
 
       with subtest("whether we have a reboot record in wtmp"):
           machine.shutdown