diff --git a/release/tools/ec2.conf b/release/tools/ec2.conf
index 557e60260dbf..be7891b59855 100644
--- a/release/tools/ec2.conf
+++ b/release/tools/ec2.conf
@@ -62,8 +62,10 @@ vm_extra_pre_umount() {
 	echo 'autoboot_delay="-1"' >> ${DESTDIR}/boot/loader.conf
 	echo 'beastie_disable="YES"' >> ${DESTDIR}/boot/loader.conf
 
-	# The EC2 console is an emulated serial port.
-	echo 'console="comconsole"' >> ${DESTDIR}/boot/loader.conf
+	# EC2 has two consoles: An emulated serial port ("system log"),
+	# which has been present since 2006; and a VGA console ("instance
+	# screenshot") which was introduced in 2016.
+	echo 'boot_multicons="YES"' >> ${DESTDIR}/boot/loader.conf
 
 	# Some older EC2 hardware used a version of Xen with a bug in its
 	# emulated serial port.  It is not clear if EC2 still has any such