diff --git a/panda/src/downloader/downloader.cxx b/panda/src/downloader/downloader.cxx
index 668c7d34f2..533b7bbb69 100644
--- a/panda/src/downloader/downloader.cxx
+++ b/panda/src/downloader/downloader.cxx
@@ -115,6 +115,8 @@ connect_to_server_by_proxy(const string &proxy_name, uint proxy_port,
 int Downloader::
 connect_to_server(const string &name, uint port) {
 
+  _use_proxy = false;
+
 #if defined(WIN32)
   if (_TCP_stack_initialized == false) {
     WSAData mydata;