diff --git a/google-api-client/src/main/java/com/google/api/client/googleapis/auth/oauth2/OAuth2Utils.java b/google-api-client/src/main/java/com/google/api/client/googleapis/auth/oauth2/OAuth2Utils.java
index ecf9f19ab..8c9c5afac 100644
--- a/google-api-client/src/main/java/com/google/api/client/googleapis/auth/oauth2/OAuth2Utils.java
+++ b/google-api-client/src/main/java/com/google/api/client/googleapis/auth/oauth2/OAuth2Utils.java
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ static boolean runningOnComputeEngine(HttpTransport transport,
       try {
         HttpRequest request = transport.createRequestFactory().buildGetRequest(tokenUrl);
         request.setConnectTimeout(COMPUTE_PING_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS);
+        request.getHeaders().set("Metadata-Flavor", "Google");
         HttpResponse response = request.execute();
         try {
           HttpHeaders headers = response.getHeaders();