diff --git a/lisp/mh-e/mh-utils.el b/lisp/mh-e/mh-utils.el
index 66d87262bc9..7bda0a68472 100644
--- a/lisp/mh-e/mh-utils.el
+++ b/lisp/mh-e/mh-utils.el
@@ -177,6 +177,7 @@ been set. This hook can be used the change the value of these
 variables if you need to run with different values between MH and
 MH-E."
   (unless mh-find-path-run
+    (or mh-variant-in-use (mh-variant-set mh-variant))
     ;; Sanity checks.
     (if (and (getenv "MH")
              (not (file-readable-p (getenv "MH"))))