diff --git a/src/core/manager.cc b/src/core/manager.cc
index 5f9146a9..c5202b6a 100644
--- a/src/core/manager.cc
+++ b/src/core/manager.cc
@@ -438,16 +438,17 @@ Manager::try_create_download(const std::string&       uri,
     f->slot_finished([f]() { delete f; });
   }
 
-  if (flags & create_raw_data) {
-    f->load_raw_data(uri);
-  } else if (is_data_uri(uri)) {
+  // Handle base64 data regardless of whether the flag is set for raw,
+  // for backwards compatibility
+  if (is_data_uri(uri)) {
     const unsigned long start = uri.find("base64,", 5) + 7;
     if (start >= uri.size()) {
       throw torrent::input_error("Empty base64.");
     }
-
     f->load_raw_data(base64Decode(std::string_view(uri.c_str() + start)));
     f->variables()["tied_to_file"] = (int64_t)0;
+  } else if (flags & create_raw_data) {
+    f->load_raw_data(uri);
   } else {
     f->load(uri);
   }