diff --git a/VortexEngine/src/Modes/Modes.cpp b/VortexEngine/src/Modes/Modes.cpp
index 9980509ed4..2b96c53745 100644
--- a/VortexEngine/src/Modes/Modes.cpp
+++ b/VortexEngine/src/Modes/Modes.cpp
@@ -712,7 +712,36 @@ bool Modes::setFlag(uint8_t flag, bool enable, bool save)
     m_globalFlags &= ~flag;
   }
   DEBUG_LOGF("Toggled instant on/off to %s", enable ? "on" : "off");
-  return !save || saveHeader();
+  if (!save) {
+    // if save is not requested then just return here
+    return true;
+  }
+  // otherwise need to update the global flags field of the save header in storage
+  ByteStream headerBuffer;
+  // read out the storage header so we can update the flag field
+  if (!Storage::read(0, headerBuffer) || !headerBuffer.size()) {
+    // if cannot read the save header then just save it normally
+    return saveHeader();
+  }
+  // layout of the save header, this struct is never really used anywhere else
+  // except here the actual layout of the save header is dictated by
+  // saveHeader() and serializeSaveHeader()
+  struct SaveHeader {
+    uint8_t vMajor;
+    uint8_t vMinor;
+    uint8_t globalFlags;
+    uint8_t brightness;
+    uint8_t numModes;
+  };
+  // data cannot be NULL since size is non zero
+  SaveHeader *pHeader = (SaveHeader *)headerBuffer.data();
+  // update the global flags field in the header
+  pHeader->globalFlags = m_globalFlags;
+  // need to force the crc to recalc since we modified the data, just mark the
+  // CRC as dirty and Storage::write() will re-calculate the CRC if it's dirty
+  headerBuffer.setCRCDirty();
+  // write the save header back to storage
+  return Storage::write(0, headerBuffer);
 }
 
 #ifdef VORTEX_LIB
diff --git a/VortexEngine/src/Serial/ByteStream.cpp b/VortexEngine/src/Serial/ByteStream.cpp
index f77ebae5e9..56ae424044 100644
--- a/VortexEngine/src/Serial/ByteStream.cpp
+++ b/VortexEngine/src/Serial/ByteStream.cpp
@@ -338,6 +338,15 @@ bool ByteStream::isCRCDirty() const
   return (m_pData && (m_pData->flags & BUFFER_FLAG_DIRTY) != 0);
 }
 
+void ByteStream::setCRCDirty()
+{
+  if (!m_pData) {
+    return;
+  }
+  // set the dirty flag
+  m_pData->flags |= BUFFER_FLAG_DIRTY;
+}
+
 bool ByteStream::serialize8(uint8_t byte)
 {
   //DEBUG_LOGF("Serialize8(): %u", byte);
@@ -350,7 +359,7 @@ bool ByteStream::serialize8(uint8_t byte)
   // walk forward
   m_pData->size += sizeof(uint8_t);
   // dirty the crc
-  m_pData->flags |= BUFFER_FLAG_DIRTY;
+  setCRCDirty();
   return true;
 }
 
@@ -366,7 +375,7 @@ bool ByteStream::serialize16(uint16_t bytes)
   // walk forward
   m_pData->size += sizeof(uint16_t);
   // dirty the crc
-  m_pData->flags |= BUFFER_FLAG_DIRTY;
+  setCRCDirty();
   return true;
 }
 
@@ -382,7 +391,7 @@ bool ByteStream::serialize32(uint32_t bytes)
   // walk forward
   m_pData->size += sizeof(uint32_t);
   // dirty the crc
-  m_pData->flags |= BUFFER_FLAG_DIRTY;
+  setCRCDirty();
   return true;
 }
 
diff --git a/VortexEngine/src/Serial/ByteStream.h b/VortexEngine/src/Serial/ByteStream.h
index 558cfc6e9f..937901f570 100644
--- a/VortexEngine/src/Serial/ByteStream.h
+++ b/VortexEngine/src/Serial/ByteStream.h
@@ -76,6 +76,8 @@ class ByteStream
   // check whether the data in the buffer has changed since the
   // crc has been re-calculated, if it is dirty, call recalcCRC
   bool isCRCDirty() const;
+  // mark the CRC as dirty (manually modified the buffer or something)
+  void setCRCDirty();
 
   // serialize a byte into the buffer
   bool serialize8(uint8_t byte);