diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ice/ice_adminq_cmd.h b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ice/ice_adminq_cmd.h
index d3f8b4d1c70a0..1bdc70aa979dc 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ice/ice_adminq_cmd.h
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ice/ice_adminq_cmd.h
@@ -1539,6 +1539,12 @@ struct ice_aqc_nvm {
 #define ICE_AQC_NVM_PERST_FLAG		1
 #define ICE_AQC_NVM_EMPR_FLAG		2
 #define ICE_AQC_NVM_EMPR_ENA		BIT(0) /* Write Activate reply only */
+	/* For Write Activate, several flags are sent as part of a separate
+	 * flags2 field using a separate byte. For simplicity of the software
+	 * interface, we pass the flags as a 16 bit value so these flags are
+	 * all offset by 8 bits
+	 */
+#define ICE_AQC_NVM_ACTIV_REQ_EMPR	BIT(8) /* NVM Write Activate only */
 	__le16 module_typeid;
 	__le16 length;
 #define ICE_AQC_NVM_ERASE_LEN	0xFFFF
diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ice/ice_nvm.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ice/ice_nvm.c
index 13cdb5ea594d2..c262dc886e6a6 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ice/ice_nvm.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ice/ice_nvm.c
@@ -1114,14 +1114,18 @@ int ice_nvm_validate_checksum(struct ice_hw *hw)
  * Update the control word with the required banks' validity bits
  * and dumps the Shadow RAM to flash (0x0707)
  *
- * cmd_flags controls which banks to activate, and the preservation level to
- * use when activating the NVM bank.
+ * cmd_flags controls which banks to activate, the preservation level to use
+ * when activating the NVM bank, and whether an EMP reset is required for
+ * activation.
+ *
+ * Note that the 16bit cmd_flags value is split between two separate 1 byte
+ * flag values in the descriptor.
  *
  * On successful return of the firmware command, the response_flags variable
  * is updated with the flags reported by firmware indicating certain status,
  * such as whether EMP reset is enabled.
  */
-int ice_nvm_write_activate(struct ice_hw *hw, u8 cmd_flags, u8 *response_flags)
+int ice_nvm_write_activate(struct ice_hw *hw, u16 cmd_flags, u8 *response_flags)
 {
 	struct ice_aqc_nvm *cmd;
 	struct ice_aq_desc desc;
@@ -1130,7 +1134,8 @@ int ice_nvm_write_activate(struct ice_hw *hw, u8 cmd_flags, u8 *response_flags)
 	cmd = &desc.params.nvm;
 	ice_fill_dflt_direct_cmd_desc(&desc, ice_aqc_opc_nvm_write_activate);
 
-	cmd->cmd_flags = cmd_flags;
+	cmd->cmd_flags = (u8)(cmd_flags & 0xFF);
+	cmd->offset_high = (u8)((cmd_flags >> 8) & 0xFF);
 
 	err = ice_aq_send_cmd(hw, &desc, NULL, 0, NULL);
 	if (!err && response_flags)
diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ice/ice_nvm.h b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ice/ice_nvm.h
index 856d1ad4398bf..774c2317967d7 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ice/ice_nvm.h
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/ice/ice_nvm.h
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ ice_aq_update_nvm(struct ice_hw *hw, u16 module_typeid, u32 offset,
 int
 ice_aq_erase_nvm(struct ice_hw *hw, u16 module_typeid, struct ice_sq_cd *cd);
 int ice_nvm_validate_checksum(struct ice_hw *hw);
-int ice_nvm_write_activate(struct ice_hw *hw, u8 cmd_flags, u8 *response_flags);
+int ice_nvm_write_activate(struct ice_hw *hw, u16 cmd_flags, u8 *response_flags);
 int ice_aq_nvm_update_empr(struct ice_hw *hw);
 int
 ice_nvm_set_pkg_data(struct ice_hw *hw, bool del_pkg_data_flag, u8 *data,