diff --git a/src/nix-channel/nix-channel.cc b/src/nix-channel/nix-channel.cc
index 338a7d18e..a79354404 100755
--- a/src/nix-channel/nix-channel.cc
+++ b/src/nix-channel/nix-channel.cc
@@ -168,7 +168,13 @@ static int main_nix_channel(int argc, char ** argv)
         nixDefExpr = settings.useXDGBaseDirectories ? createNixStateDir() + "/defexpr" : home + "/.nix-defexpr";
 
         // Figure out the name of the channels profile.
-        profile = profilesDir() + "/channels";
+        // For backwards-compatibility, install the root channels under
+        // a custom location, as these are also used as "global" channeles, and
+        // their location is hardcoded in a number of places.
+        profile = getuid() == 0
+            ? settings.nixStateDir + "/profiles/per-user/root/channels"
+            : profilesDir() +  "/channels";
+        createDirs(dirOf(profile));
 
         enum {
             cNone,