diff --git a/src/conf/domain_conf.c b/src/conf/domain_conf.c
index ee25e01f9e..11ec80dcf4 100644
--- a/src/conf/domain_conf.c
+++ b/src/conf/domain_conf.c
@@ -2885,29 +2885,21 @@ virDomainObjWaitUntil(virDomainObjPtr vm,
 
 
 /*
- * Mark the running VM config as transient. Ensures transient hotplug
+ * Mark the current VM config as transient. Ensures transient hotplug
  * operations do not persist past shutdown.
  *
  * @param caps pointer to capabilities info
  * @param xmlopt pointer to XML parser configuration object
  * @param domain domain object pointer
- * @param live if true, run this operation even for an inactive domain.
- *   this allows freely updated domain->def with runtime defaults before
- *   starting the VM, which will be discarded on VM shutdown. Any cleanup
- *   paths need to be sure to handle newDef if the domain is never started.
  * @return 0 on success, -1 on failure
  */
 int
 virDomainObjSetDefTransient(virCapsPtr caps,
                             virDomainXMLOptionPtr xmlopt,
-                            virDomainObjPtr domain,
-                            bool live)
+                            virDomainObjPtr domain)
 {
     int ret = -1;
 
-    if (!virDomainObjIsActive(domain) && !live)
-        return 0;
-
     if (!domain->persistent)
         return 0;
 
@@ -2937,7 +2929,7 @@ virDomainObjGetPersistentDef(virCapsPtr caps,
                              virDomainObjPtr domain)
 {
     if (virDomainObjIsActive(domain) &&
-        virDomainObjSetDefTransient(caps, xmlopt, domain, false) < 0)
+        virDomainObjSetDefTransient(caps, xmlopt, domain) < 0)
         return NULL;
 
     if (domain->newDef)
diff --git a/src/conf/domain_conf.h b/src/conf/domain_conf.h
index b1953b3143..c182747b66 100644
--- a/src/conf/domain_conf.h
+++ b/src/conf/domain_conf.h
@@ -2525,8 +2525,7 @@ void virDomainObjAssignDef(virDomainObjPtr domain,
                            virDomainDefPtr *oldDef);
 int virDomainObjSetDefTransient(virCapsPtr caps,
                                 virDomainXMLOptionPtr xmlopt,
-                                virDomainObjPtr domain,
-                                bool live);
+                                virDomainObjPtr domain);
 virDomainDefPtr
 virDomainObjGetPersistentDef(virCapsPtr caps,
                              virDomainXMLOptionPtr xmlopt,
diff --git a/src/libxl/libxl_domain.c b/src/libxl/libxl_domain.c
index 8a3866f90f..9fe8be04ee 100644
--- a/src/libxl/libxl_domain.c
+++ b/src/libxl/libxl_domain.c
@@ -1096,8 +1096,7 @@ libxlDomainStart(libxlDriverPrivatePtr driver,
         VIR_FREE(managed_save_path);
     }
 
-    if (virDomainObjSetDefTransient(cfg->caps, driver->xmlopt,
-                                    vm, true) < 0)
+    if (virDomainObjSetDefTransient(cfg->caps, driver->xmlopt, vm) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
     if (virDomainLockProcessStart(driver->lockManager,
diff --git a/src/lxc/lxc_process.c b/src/lxc/lxc_process.c
index 058c3e1e7e..07eb22af02 100644
--- a/src/lxc/lxc_process.c
+++ b/src/lxc/lxc_process.c
@@ -1286,7 +1286,7 @@ int virLXCProcessStart(virConnectPtr conn,
      * report implicit runtime defaults in the XML, like vnc listen/socket
      */
     VIR_DEBUG("Setting current domain def as transient");
-    if (virDomainObjSetDefTransient(caps, driver->xmlopt, vm, true) < 0)
+    if (virDomainObjSetDefTransient(caps, driver->xmlopt, vm) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
     /* Run an early hook to set-up missing devices */
diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_process.c b/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
index e847cd1f13..7a4a2caeb4 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
@@ -4447,7 +4447,7 @@ qemuProcessInit(virQEMUDriverPtr driver,
      * report implicit runtime defaults in the XML, like vnc listen/socket
      */
     VIR_DEBUG("Setting current domain def as transient");
-    if (virDomainObjSetDefTransient(caps, driver->xmlopt, vm, true) < 0)
+    if (virDomainObjSetDefTransient(caps, driver->xmlopt, vm) < 0)
         goto stop;
 
     if (!(flags & VIR_QEMU_PROCESS_START_PRETEND)) {
@@ -5944,7 +5944,7 @@ int qemuProcessAttach(virConnectPtr conn ATTRIBUTE_UNUSED,
      * report implicit runtime defaults in the XML, like vnc listen/socket
      */
     VIR_DEBUG("Setting current domain def as transient");
-    if (virDomainObjSetDefTransient(caps, driver->xmlopt, vm, true) < 0)
+    if (virDomainObjSetDefTransient(caps, driver->xmlopt, vm) < 0)
         goto error;
 
     vm->def->id = qemuDriverAllocateID(driver);
diff --git a/src/test/test_driver.c b/src/test/test_driver.c
index a51eb09993..fb40e87c62 100644
--- a/src/test/test_driver.c
+++ b/src/test/test_driver.c
@@ -601,7 +601,7 @@ testDomainStartState(testDriverPtr privconn,
 
     if (virDomainObjSetDefTransient(privconn->caps,
                                     privconn->xmlopt,
-                                    dom, false) < 0) {
+                                    dom) < 0) {
         goto cleanup;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/uml/uml_driver.c b/src/uml/uml_driver.c
index d68054e0aa..a674c1203e 100644
--- a/src/uml/uml_driver.c
+++ b/src/uml/uml_driver.c
@@ -1099,8 +1099,7 @@ static int umlStartVMDaemon(virConnectPtr conn,
      * report implicit runtime defaults in the XML, like vnc listen/socket
      */
     VIR_DEBUG("Setting current domain def as transient");
-    if (virDomainObjSetDefTransient(driver->caps, driver->xmlopt,
-                                    vm, true) < 0) {
+    if (virDomainObjSetDefTransient(driver->caps, driver->xmlopt, vm) < 0) {
         VIR_FORCE_CLOSE(logfd);
         return -1;
     }