diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index d72bb34..4e412d2 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ help:
 update: qmk_firmware ## Update qmk_firmware
 	@git -C qmk_firmware fetch
 	@git -C qmk_firmware checkout $(QMK_FIRMWARE_COMMIT)
+	@git -C qmk_firmware submodule update --init --recursive
 	$(MAKE) qmk_firmware/patches_applied
 
 .PHONY: write
@@ -34,6 +35,7 @@ qmk_firmware/.git/HEAD: qmk_firmware
 qmk_firmware:
 	@git clone https://github.com/Massdrop/qmk_firmware.git qmk_firmware
 	@git -C qmk_firmware checkout $(QMK_FIRMWARE_COMMIT)
+	@git -C qmk_firmware submodule update --init --recursive
 	$(MAKE) qmk_firmware/patches_applied
 
 qmk_firmware/patches_applied: qmk_patches.diff qmk_firmware/.git/HEAD