diff --git a/nixos/modules/tasks/filesystems/zfs.nix b/nixos/modules/tasks/filesystems/zfs.nix
index 60db7399cdda..4644d007ebec 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/tasks/filesystems/zfs.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/tasks/filesystems/zfs.nix
@@ -358,19 +358,18 @@ in
 
       forceImportRoot = lib.mkOption {
         type = lib.types.bool;
-        default = true;
+        default = lib.versionOlder config.system.stateVersion "26.11";
+        defaultText = lib.literalExpression ''lib.versionOlder config.system.stateVersion "26.11"'';
         description = ''
           Forcibly import the ZFS root pool(s) during early boot.
 
-          This is enabled by default for backwards compatibility purposes, but it is highly
-          recommended to disable this option, as it bypasses some of the safeguards ZFS uses
-          to protect your ZFS pools.
+          It is highly recommended to keep this option disabled as it bypasses ZFS
+          safeguard that protect your pools.
 
-          If you set this option to `false` and NixOS subsequently fails to
-          boot because it cannot import the root pool, you should boot with the
-          `zfs_force=1` option as a kernel parameter (e.g. by manually
-          editing the kernel params in grub during boot). You should only need to do this
-          once.
+          If NixOS fails to boot because it cannot import the root pool, you should boot
+          with the `zfs_force=1` option as a kernel parameter (e.g. by manually
+          editing the kernel params via your bootloader).
+          You should only need to do this after unclean shutdowns.
         '';
       };
 
@@ -380,10 +379,10 @@ in
         description = ''
           Forcibly import all ZFS pool(s).
 
-          If you set this option to `false` and NixOS subsequently fails to
-          import your non-root ZFS pool(s), you should manually import each pool with
-          "zpool import -f \<pool-name\>", and then reboot. You should only need to do
-          this once.
+          It is highly recommended to keep this option disabled as it bypasses ZFS
+          safeguard that protect your pools.
+
+          See {option}`boot.zfs.forceImportRoot` for details.
         '';
       };
 
@@ -680,7 +679,7 @@ in
           message = "ZFS requires networking.hostId to be set";
         }
         {
-          assertion = !cfgZfs.forceImportAll || cfgZfs.forceImportRoot;
+          assertion = cfgZfs.forceImportAll -> cfgZfs.forceImportRoot;
           message = "If you enable boot.zfs.forceImportAll, you must also enable boot.zfs.forceImportRoot";
         }
         {
@@ -698,6 +697,18 @@ in
         }
       ];
 
+      warnings =
+        lib.optional
+          (
+            options.boot.zfs.forceImportRoot.definitionsWithLocations == [
+              {
+                inherit (__curPos) file;
+                value = true;
+              }
+            ]
+          )
+          "`boot.zfs.forceImportRoot` is using the default value of `true`. It is highly recommended to set it to `false`, the new default from 26.11 on, to reduce the risk of data loss. Alternatively, you can silence this warning by explicitly setting it to `true`.";
+
       boot = {
         kernelModules = [ "zfs" ];
         # https://github.com/openzfs/zfs/issues/260
diff --git a/nixos/tests/zfs.nix b/nixos/tests/zfs.nix
index 5a7c493e42b1..7851368075a0 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/zfs.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/zfs.nix
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ let
 
       nodes.machine =
         {
-          config,
           pkgs,
           lib,
           ...
@@ -54,6 +53,8 @@ let
           # /dev/disk/by-id doesn't get populated in the NixOS test framework
           boot.zfs.devNodes = "/dev/disk/by-uuid";
 
+          boot.zfs.forceImportRoot = lib.mkDefault false;
+
           specialisation.samba.configuration = {
             services.samba = {
               enable = true;
@@ -101,6 +102,7 @@ let
             systemd.services.zfs-import-forcepool.wantedBy = lib.mkVMOverride [ "forcepool.mount" ];
             systemd.targets.zfs.wantedBy = lib.mkVMOverride [ ];
             boot.zfs.forceImportAll = true;
+            boot.zfs.forceImportRoot = true;
             virtualisation.fileSystems."/forcepool" = {
               device = "forcepool";
               fsType = "zfs";
@@ -203,7 +205,6 @@ let
 
 in
 {
-
   series_2_3 = makeZfsTest {
     zfsPackage = pkgs.zfs_2_3;
     kernelPackages = pkgs.linuxPackages;