diff --git a/src/core/linux/SDL_dbus.h b/src/core/linux/SDL_dbus.h
index 7a70b5e787..28cd7ce14b 100644
--- a/src/core/linux/SDL_dbus.h
+++ b/src/core/linux/SDL_dbus.h
@@ -40,6 +40,9 @@
 #ifndef DBUS_TYPE_UNIX_FD
 #define DBUS_TYPE_UNIX_FD ((int)'h')
 #endif
+#ifndef DBUS_TYPE_UNIX_FD_AS_STRING
+#define DBUS_TYPE_UNIX_FD_AS_STRING "h"
+#endif
 #ifndef DBUS_ERROR_UNKNOWN_PROPERTY
 #define DBUS_ERROR_UNKNOWN_PROPERTY "org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.UnknownProperty"
 #endif