diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index d95cdce4d0..189ee75f28 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -335,6 +335,8 @@ main (int argc, char *argv[])
 		exit (1);
 	}
 
+	_init_nm_debug (nm_config_get_debug (config));
+
 	/* Initialize logging from config file *only* if not explicitly
 	 * specified by commandline.
 	 */
@@ -377,8 +379,6 @@ main (int argc, char *argv[])
 		wrote_pidfile = nm_main_utils_write_pidfile (global_opt.pidfile);
 	}
 
-	_init_nm_debug (nm_config_get_debug (config));
-
 	/* Set up unix signal handling - before creating threads, but after daemonizing! */
 	if (!nm_main_utils_setup_signals (main_loop, &quit_early))
 		exit (1);