diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-1909.xml b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-1909.xml
index a4419f1c8a17..1a23d8f919cb 100644
--- a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-1909.xml
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-1909.xml
@@ -348,6 +348,12 @@
        What used to be called <literal>emacsPackagesNg</literal> is now simply called <literal>emacsPackages</literal>.
      </para>
    </listitem>
+   <listitem>
+     <para>
+       <option>services.xserver.desktopManager.xterm</option> is now disabled by default.
+       It was not useful except for debugging purposes and was confusingly set as default in some circumstances.
+     </para>
+   </listitem>
 
   </itemizedlist>
  </section>
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/x11/desktop-managers/xterm.nix b/nixos/modules/services/x11/desktop-managers/xterm.nix
index ea441fbbe715..93987bd1dfc5 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/x11/desktop-managers/xterm.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/x11/desktop-managers/xterm.nix
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ with lib;
 let
 
   cfg = config.services.xserver.desktopManager.xterm;
-  xserverEnabled = config.services.xserver.enable;
 
 in
 
@@ -14,7 +13,7 @@ in
 
     services.xserver.desktopManager.xterm.enable = mkOption {
       type = types.bool;
-      default = xserverEnabled;
+      default = false;
       defaultText = "config.services.xserver.enable";
       description = "Enable a xterm terminal as a desktop manager.";
     };