diff --git a/nixos/tests/podman/default.nix b/nixos/tests/podman/default.nix
index 164f769b1fb0..35bb0f3980e8 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/podman/default.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/podman/default.nix
@@ -205,6 +205,7 @@ import ../make-test-python.nix (
           rootless.succeed(su_cmd(f"mkdir -p {dir}"))
           rootless.succeed(su_cmd(f"cp -f ${quadletContainerFile} {dir}/quadlet.container"))
           rootless.systemctl("daemon-reload", "alice")
+          rootless.systemctl("start network-online.target")
           rootless.systemctl("start quadlet", "alice")
           rootless.wait_until_succeeds(su_cmd("podman ps | grep quadlet"), timeout=20)
           rootless.systemctl("stop quadlet", "alice")