diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/misc/matrix-synapse.nix b/nixos/modules/services/misc/matrix-synapse.nix
index 216898d50886..a01e34d73629 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/misc/matrix-synapse.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/misc/matrix-synapse.nix
@@ -695,6 +695,7 @@ in {
             ${ concatMapStringsSep "\n  " (x: "--config-path ${x} \\") ([ configFile ] ++ cfg.extraConfigFiles) }
             --keys-directory ${cfg.dataDir}
         '';
+        ExecReload = "${pkgs.utillinux}/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID";
         Restart = "on-failure";
       };
     };