diff --git a/release/tools/ec2.conf b/release/tools/ec2.conf
index 744ac24a3f0f..62d7d1957aaf 100644
--- a/release/tools/ec2.conf
+++ b/release/tools/ec2.conf
@@ -41,9 +41,11 @@ ec2_common() {
 	metalog_add_data ./boot.config
 
 	# Booting quickly is more important than giving users a chance to
-	# access the boot loader via the serial port.
+	# access the boot loader via the serial port; but if users turn the
+	# boot loader back on, avoid ASCII since it breaks the EC2 web console.
 	echo 'autoboot_delay="-1"' >> ${DESTDIR}/boot/loader.conf
 	echo 'beastie_disable="YES"' >> ${DESTDIR}/boot/loader.conf
+	echo 'loader_menu_frame="ascii"' >> ${DESTDIR}/boot/loader.conf
 
 	# The EFI RNG on Graviton 2 is particularly slow if we ask for the
 	# default 2048 bytes of entropy; ask for 64 bytes instead.