diff --git a/pkg/embeddedcluster/monitor.go b/pkg/embeddedcluster/monitor.go
index 3763deb009..a08e596186 100644
--- a/pkg/embeddedcluster/monitor.go
+++ b/pkg/embeddedcluster/monitor.go
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ func InitClusterState(ctx context.Context, client kubernetes.Interface, store st
 // if it is called multiple times, only one instance will run.
 func watchClusterState(ctx context.Context, store store.Store) {
 	stateMut.Lock()
+	defer stateMut.Unlock()
 	numReady := 0
 	lastState := ""
 	for numReady < 6 {
diff --git a/pkg/operator/operator.go b/pkg/operator/operator.go
index ae78bb5007..9409ca25d2 100644
--- a/pkg/operator/operator.go
+++ b/pkg/operator/operator.go
@@ -383,6 +383,11 @@ func (o *Operator) DeployApp(appID string, sequence int64) (deployed bool, deplo
 		return false, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to apply status informers")
 	}
 
+	isEmbeddedCluster, err := embeddedcluster.IsEmbeddedCluster(o.k8sClientset)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to check if this is an embedded cluster installation")
+	}
+
 	o.client.ApplyNamespacesInformer(kotsKinds.KotsApplication.Spec.AdditionalNamespaces, imagePullSecrets)
 	o.client.ApplyHooksInformer(kotsKinds.KotsApplication.Spec.AdditionalNamespaces)
 
@@ -409,14 +414,16 @@ func (o *Operator) DeployApp(appID string, sequence int64) (deployed bool, deplo
 	}
 	deployed, err = o.client.DeployApp(deployArgs)
 	if err != nil {
-		go func() {
-			logger.Info("app deploy failed, starting cluster upgrade in the background")
-			err2 := embeddedcluster.MaybeStartClusterUpgrade(context.Background(), o.k8sClientset, o.store, kotsKinds.EmbeddedClusterConfig)
-			if err2 != nil {
-				logger.Error(errors.Wrap(err2, "failed to start cluster upgrade"))
-			}
-			logger.Info("cluster upgrade started")
-		}()
+		if isEmbeddedCluster {
+			go func() {
+				logger.Info("app deploy failed, starting cluster upgrade in the background")
+				err2 := embeddedcluster.MaybeStartClusterUpgrade(context.Background(), o.k8sClientset, o.store, kotsKinds.EmbeddedClusterConfig)
+				if err2 != nil {
+					logger.Error(errors.Wrap(err2, "failed to start cluster upgrade"))
+				}
+				logger.Info("cluster upgrade started")
+			}()
+		}
 
 		return false, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to deploy app")
 	}