diff --git a/tests/integration/standalone/alice-home-init.nix b/tests/integration/standalone/alice-home-init.nix
index 491adeec9..6a21e324d 100644
--- a/tests/integration/standalone/alice-home-init.nix
+++ b/tests/integration/standalone/alice-home-init.nix
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+{ config, pkgs, ... }:
+
 {
   # Home Manager needs a bit of information about you and the paths it should
   # manage.
@@ -11,7 +13,7 @@
   # You should not change this value, even if you update Home Manager. If you do
   # want to update the value, then make sure to first check the Home Manager
   # release notes.
-  home.stateVersion = "24.11"; # Please read the comment before changing.
+  home.stateVersion = "25.05"; # Please read the comment before changing.
 
   # The home.packages option allows you to install Nix packages into your
   # environment.
diff --git a/tests/integration/standalone/home-with-symbols-init.nix b/tests/integration/standalone/home-with-symbols-init.nix
index c35a7aecd..0574a4f03 100644
--- a/tests/integration/standalone/home-with-symbols-init.nix
+++ b/tests/integration/standalone/home-with-symbols-init.nix
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+{ config, pkgs, ... }:
+
 {
   # Home Manager needs a bit of information about you and the paths it should
   # manage.
@@ -11,7 +13,7 @@
   # You should not change this value, even if you update Home Manager. If you do
   # want to update the value, then make sure to first check the Home Manager
   # release notes.
-  home.stateVersion = "24.11"; # Please read the comment before changing.
+  home.stateVersion = "25.05"; # Please read the comment before changing.
 
   # The home.packages option allows you to install Nix packages into your
   # environment.
diff --git a/tests/integration/standalone/nh.nix b/tests/integration/standalone/nh.nix
index 85057d690..7fa6ae094 100644
--- a/tests/integration/standalone/nh.nix
+++ b/tests/integration/standalone/nh.nix
@@ -80,8 +80,11 @@ in
         "cp -v ${./alice-home-next.nix} ${home}/.config/home-manager/home.nix"
       ]))
 
+      # The default configuration creates this link on activation.
+      machine.fail("test -L '${home}/.cache/.keep'")
+
       actual = succeed_as_alice("nh home switch --no-nom '${home}/.config/home-manager'")
-      expected = "Starting Home Manager activation"
+      expected = "home-manager-generation.drv"
       assert expected in actual, \
         f"expected nh home switch to contain {expected}, but got {actual}"