diff --git a/sbin/newfs/newfs.8 b/sbin/newfs/newfs.8
index e1496af814c..0dc93cb8b78 100644
--- a/sbin/newfs/newfs.8
+++ b/sbin/newfs/newfs.8
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 .\"
 .\"     @(#)newfs.8	8.6 (Berkeley) 5/3/95
 .\"
-.Dd October 21, 2022
+.Dd May 18, 2024
 .Dt NEWFS 8
 .Os
 .Sh NAME
@@ -100,6 +100,10 @@ The default format is UFS2.
 For backward compatibility.
 .It Fl U
 Enable soft updates on the new file system.
+Soft updates are enabled by default for UFS2 format file systems.
+Use
+.Xr tunefs 8
+to disable soft updates if they are not wanted.
 .It Fl a Ar maxcontig
 Specify the maximum number of contiguous blocks that will be
 laid out before forcing a rotational delay.
diff --git a/sbin/newfs/newfs.c b/sbin/newfs/newfs.c
index afb71f9f25b..c96e414b85d 100644
--- a/sbin/newfs/newfs.c
+++ b/sbin/newfs/newfs.c
@@ -395,6 +395,9 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		fprintf(stderr, "because minfree is less than %d%%\n", MINFREE);
 		opt = FS_OPTSPACE;
 	}
+	/* Use soft updates by default for UFS2 and above */
+	if (Oflag > 1)
+		Uflag = 1;
 	realsectorsize = sectorsize;
 	if (sectorsize != DEV_BSIZE) {		/* XXX */
 		int secperblk = sectorsize / DEV_BSIZE;