diff --git a/kbase-extension/static/kbase/js/widgets/appWidgets2/input/checkboxInput.js b/kbase-extension/static/kbase/js/widgets/appWidgets2/input/checkboxInput.js
index 1efc4346f9..c60b71c2a6 100644
--- a/kbase-extension/static/kbase/js/widgets/appWidgets2/input/checkboxInput.js
+++ b/kbase-extension/static/kbase/js/widgets/appWidgets2/input/checkboxInput.js
@@ -217,10 +217,11 @@ define([
 
                 // initialize based on config.initialValue. If it's not 0 or 1, then
                 // note that we have an initial value error, and set to the default.
-                const initValue =
+                let initValue =
                     'initialValue' in config ? config.initialValue : spec.data.defaultValue;
                 if (initValue !== 0 && initValue !== 1) {
                     model.hasInitialValueError = true;
+                    initValue = spec.data.defaultValue;
                 }
 
                 setModelValue(initValue);