diff --git a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot.cpp b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot.cpp
index 008ece7..50d04b1 100644
--- a/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot.cpp
+++ b/fs_mgr/libsnapshot/snapshot.cpp
@@ -1663,10 +1663,6 @@
     if (contents.empty()) return false;
 
     if (!Truncate(file)) return false;
-    if (!android::base::WriteStringToFd(contents, file->fd())) {
-        PLOG(ERROR) << "Could not write to state file";
-        return false;
-    }
 
 #ifdef LIBSNAPSHOT_USE_HAL
     auto merge_status = MergeStatus::UNKNOWN;
@@ -1692,7 +1688,21 @@
             LOG(ERROR) << "Unexpected update status: " << state;
             break;
     }
-    if (!device_->SetBootControlMergeStatus(merge_status)) {
+
+    bool set_before_write =
+            merge_status == MergeStatus::SNAPSHOTTED || merge_status == MergeStatus::MERGING;
+    if (set_before_write && !device_->SetBootControlMergeStatus(merge_status)) {
+        return false;
+    }
+#endif
+
+    if (!android::base::WriteStringToFd(contents, file->fd())) {
+        PLOG(ERROR) << "Could not write to state file";
+        return false;
+    }
+
+#ifdef LIBSNAPSHOT_USE_HAL
+    if (!set_before_write && !device_->SetBootControlMergeStatus(merge_status)) {
         return false;
     }
 #endif
@@ -2150,6 +2160,15 @@
 }
 
 UpdateState SnapshotManager::InitiateMergeAndWait() {
+    {
+        auto lock = LockExclusive();
+        // Sync update state from file with bootloader.
+        if (!WriteUpdateState(lock.get(), ReadUpdateState(lock.get()))) {
+            LOG(WARNING) << "Unable to sync write update state, fastboot may "
+                         << "reject / accept wipes incorrectly!";
+        }
+    }
+
     LOG(INFO) << "Waiting for any previous merge request to complete. "
               << "This can take up to several minutes.";
     auto state = ProcessUpdateState();