diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/networking/wpa_supplicant.nix b/nixos/modules/services/networking/wpa_supplicant.nix
index a7dea95056a0..08a17d20ed7f 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/networking/wpa_supplicant.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/networking/wpa_supplicant.nix
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ with lib;
 
 let
   cfg = config.networking.wireless;
-  configFile = if cfg.networks != {} then pkgs.writeText "wpa_supplicant.conf" ''
+  configFile = if cfg.networks != {} || cfg.extraConfig != "" || cfg.userControlled.enable then pkgs.writeText "wpa_supplicant.conf" ''
     ${optionalString cfg.userControlled.enable ''
       ctrl_interface=DIR=/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=${cfg.userControlled.group}
       update_config=1''}