diff --git a/modules/nixos/base/nix.nix b/modules/nixos/base/nix.nix
index 35af9390..1dbb1622 100644
--- a/modules/nixos/base/nix.nix
+++ b/modules/nixos/base/nix.nix
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
   # nix.package = pkgs.lix;
 
   # to install chrome, you need to enable unfree packages
-  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = lib.mkForce true;
+  nixpkgs.config.allowUnfree = lib.mkDefault true;
 
   # do garbage collection weekly to keep disk usage low
   nix.gc = {
diff --git a/modules/nixos/desktop/misc.nix b/modules/nixos/desktop/misc.nix
index 683757fc..7c5e8dfa 100644
--- a/modules/nixos/desktop/misc.nix
+++ b/modules/nixos/desktop/misc.nix
@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@
   ...
 }:
 {
-  boot.loader.timeout = lib.mkForce 10; # wait for x seconds to select the boot entry
+  # Normal priority on purpose: it must beat the base module's
+  # `lib.mkDefault 8` without forcing (two mkDefault definitions would conflict).
+  boot.loader.timeout = 10; # wait for x seconds to select the boot entry
 
   # add user's shell into /etc/shells
   environment.shells = with pkgs; [