diff --git a/nixos/tests/xfce4-14.nix b/nixos/tests/xfce4-14.nix
index d9b10aabaa1f..9dfedc6fbb97 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/xfce4-14.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/xfce4-14.nix
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ import ./make-test.nix ({ pkgs, ...} : {
       services.xserver.displayManager.auto.user = "alice";
 
       services.xserver.desktopManager.xfce4-14.enable = true;
+
+      hardware.pulseaudio.enable = true; # needed for the factl test, /dev/snd/* exists without them but udev doesn't care then
     };
 
   testScript =