diff --git a/release/Makefile.ec2 b/release/Makefile.ec2
--- a/release/Makefile.ec2
+++ b/release/Makefile.ec2
@@ -25,11 +25,14 @@
 EC2ARCH=	--${TARGET_ARCH:S/aarch64/arm64/}
 .endif
 .if !defined(AMIBOOTMETHOD)
-AMIBOOTMETHOD=	UEFI
+AMIBOOTMETHOD=	UEFI-PREFERRED
 .endif
 .if ${AMIBOOTMETHOD} == "UEFI" && ${TARGET_ARCH} == "amd64"
 BOOTMODEOPT=	--uefi
 .endif
+.if ${AMIBOOTMETHOD} == "UEFI-PREFERRED" && ${TARGET_ARCH} == "amd64"
+BOOTMODEOPT=	--uefi-preferred
+.endif
 
 CLEANFILES+=		ec2ami