diff --git a/src/fe-gtk/gtkutil.c b/src/fe-gtk/gtkutil.c
index d18baacc..7e416db8 100644
--- a/src/fe-gtk/gtkutil.c
+++ b/src/fe-gtk/gtkutil.c
@@ -1120,7 +1120,9 @@ gtkutil_treeview_get_selected (GtkTreeView *view, GtkTreeIter *iter_ret, ...)
 gboolean
 gtkutil_tray_icon_supported (GtkWindow *window)
 {
-#ifdef GDK_WINDOWING_X11
+#if defined(HAVE_AYATANA_APPINDICATOR) || defined(HAVE_APPINDICATOR)
+	return TRUE;
+#elif defined(GDK_WINDOWING_X11)
 	GdkScreen *screen = gtk_window_get_screen (window);
 	GdkDisplay *display = gdk_screen_get_display (screen);
 	if (!GDK_IS_X11_DISPLAY (display))
diff --git a/src/fe-gtk/meson.build b/src/fe-gtk/meson.build
index 561016ae..06b71ce0 100644
--- a/src/fe-gtk/meson.build
+++ b/src/fe-gtk/meson.build
@@ -65,8 +65,8 @@ if host_machine.system() != 'windows'
       if appindicator_dep.found()
         zoitechat_gtk_deps += appindicator_dep
         zoitechat_gtk_cflags += '-DHAVE_APPINDICATOR'
-      elif appindicator_opt.enabled()
-        error('appindicator=enabled, but neither ayatana-appindicator3-0.1 nor appindicator3-0.1 was found')
+      elif appindicator_opt.enabled() or (appindicator_opt.auto() and host_machine.system() == 'linux')
+        error('tray support requires ayatana-appindicator3-0.1 or appindicator3-0.1 on Linux (use -Dappindicator=disabled to override)')
       endif
     endif
   endif
diff --git a/src/fe-gtk/plugin-tray.c b/src/fe-gtk/plugin-tray.c
index dbc0653d..2ba4bae8 100644
--- a/src/fe-gtk/plugin-tray.c
+++ b/src/fe-gtk/plugin-tray.c
@@ -364,8 +364,8 @@ tray_app_indicator_set_icon (TrayIcon icon)
 	if (!icon_name)
 		return;
 
-	app_indicator_set_icon_full (tray_indicator, icon_name, _(DISPLAY_NAME));
 	app_indicator_set_status (tray_indicator, APP_INDICATOR_STATUS_ACTIVE);
+	app_indicator_set_icon_full (tray_indicator, icon_name, _(DISPLAY_NAME));
 
 	g_free (icon_name_alloc);
 }
@@ -431,7 +431,6 @@ tray_app_indicator_init (void)
 	g_signal_connect (G_OBJECT (tray_menu), "map",
 		G_CALLBACK (tray_menu_show_cb), NULL);
 	app_indicator_set_menu (tray_indicator, GTK_MENU (tray_menu));
-	app_indicator_set_status (tray_indicator, APP_INDICATOR_STATUS_ACTIVE);
 
 	klass = G_OBJECT_GET_CLASS (tray_indicator);
 	if (klass && g_object_class_find_property (klass, "connected"))
@@ -1390,9 +1389,14 @@ tray_apply_setup (void)
 	}
 	else
 	{
+#if HAVE_APPINDICATOR_BACKEND
+		if (prefs.hex_gui_tray)
+			tray_init ();
+#else
 		GtkWindow *window = GTK_WINDOW(zoitechat_get_info (ph, "gtkwin_ptr"));
 		if (prefs.hex_gui_tray && gtkutil_tray_icon_supported (window))
 			tray_init ();
+#endif
 	}
 }
 
@@ -1439,7 +1443,11 @@ tray_plugin_init (zoitechat_plugin *plugin_handle, char **plugin_name,
 			G_CALLBACK (tray_window_visibility_cb), NULL);
 	}
 
+#if HAVE_APPINDICATOR_BACKEND
+	if (prefs.hex_gui_tray)
+#else
 	if (prefs.hex_gui_tray && gtkutil_tray_icon_supported (window))
+#endif
 		tray_init ();
 
 	return 1;       /* return 1 for success */