diff --git a/tools/misc/xen-livepatch.c b/tools/misc/xen-livepatch.c
index f6c7c8a629..56ae5aab1c 100644
--- a/tools/misc/xen-livepatch.c
+++ b/tools/misc/xen-livepatch.c
@@ -330,7 +330,6 @@ int action_func(int argc, char *argv[], unsigned int idx)
         }
 
         printf(".");
-        fflush(stdout);
         usleep(DELAY);
     } while ( ++retry < RETRIES );
 
@@ -416,6 +415,12 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
     int i, j = 0, ret;
 
+    /*
+     * Set stdout to be unbuffered to avoid having to fflush when
+     * printing without a newline.
+     */
+    setvbuf(stdout, NULL, _IONBF, 0);
+
     if ( argc  <= 1 )
     {
         show_help();