diff --git a/src/libsync/discovery.cpp b/src/libsync/discovery.cpp
index ee694c2bb..e33dda14d 100644
--- a/src/libsync/discovery.cpp
+++ b/src/libsync/discovery.cpp
@@ -1101,7 +1101,7 @@ void ProcessDirectoryJob::processFileAnalyzeLocalInfo(
                 item->_type = ItemTypeVirtualFileDehydration;
             } else if (!serverModified
                 && (dbEntry._inode != localEntry.inode
-                    || localEntry.isMetadataMissing
+                    || (localEntry.isMetadataMissing && item->_type == ItemTypeFile && !FileSystem::isLnkFile(item->_file))
                     || _discoveryData->_syncOptions._vfs->needsMetadataUpdate(*item))) {
                 item->_instruction = CSYNC_INSTRUCTION_UPDATE_METADATA;
                 item->_direction = SyncFileItem::Down;