diff --git a/ui/vnc.c b/ui/vnc.c
index ca02ff872a..a6bf8442d5 100644
--- a/ui/vnc.c
+++ b/ui/vnc.c
@@ -2336,6 +2336,7 @@ static void pixel_format_message (VncState *vs) {
     char pad[3] = { 0, 0, 0 };
 
     vs->client_pf = qemu_default_pixelformat(32);
+    vs->client_endian = G_BYTE_ORDER;
 
     vnc_write_u8(vs, vs->client_pf.bits_per_pixel); /* bits-per-pixel */
     vnc_write_u8(vs, vs->client_pf.depth); /* depth */