diff --git a/src/shell-util.c b/src/shell-util.c
index 70b8c0611..c43bf4cc5 100644
--- a/src/shell-util.c
+++ b/src/shell-util.c
@@ -399,9 +399,6 @@ get_gl_vendor (void)
 gboolean
 shell_util_need_background_refresh (void)
 {
-  if (!clutter_check_windowing_backend (CLUTTER_WINDOWING_X11))
-    return FALSE;
-
   if (g_strcmp0 (get_gl_vendor (), "NVIDIA Corporation") == 0)
     return TRUE;