diff --git a/tests/rest/client/v1/test_rooms.py b/tests/rest/client/v1/test_rooms.py
index de376fb514..d8409e32cd 100644
--- a/tests/rest/client/v1/test_rooms.py
+++ b/tests/rest/client/v1/test_rooms.py
@@ -990,8 +990,9 @@ class RoomInitialSyncTestCase(RestTestCase):
         presence_by_user = {
             e["content"]["user_id"]: e for e in response["presence"]
         }
-        self.assertTrue(self.user_id in presence_by_user)
-        self.assertEquals("m.presence", presence_by_user[self.user_id]["type"])
+        # presence is turned off on hotfixes
+        # self.assertTrue(self.user_id in presence_by_user)
+        # self.assertEquals("m.presence", presence_by_user[self.user_id]["type"])
 
 
 class RoomMessageListTestCase(RestTestCase):