diff --git a/src/config/rcxml.c b/src/config/rcxml.c
index a3b3ee3a..d24c538d 100644
--- a/src/config/rcxml.c
+++ b/src/config/rcxml.c
@@ -1267,8 +1267,10 @@ entry(xmlNode *node, char *nodename, char *content, struct parser_state *state)
 		rc.mag_height = atoi(content);
 	} else if (!strcasecmp(nodename, "initScale.magnifier")) {
 		set_float(content, &rc.mag_scale);
+		rc.mag_scale = MAX(1.0, rc.mag_scale);
 	} else if (!strcasecmp(nodename, "increment.magnifier")) {
 		set_float(content, &rc.mag_increment);
+		rc.mag_increment = MAX(0, rc.mag_increment);
 	} else if (!strcasecmp(nodename, "useFilter.magnifier")) {
 		set_bool(content, &rc.mag_filter);
 	}
@@ -1775,10 +1777,6 @@ post_processing(void)
 		wlr_log(WLR_INFO, "load default window switcher fields");
 		load_default_window_switcher_fields();
 	}
-
-	if (rc.mag_scale <= 0.0) {
-		rc.mag_scale = 1.0;
-	}
 }
 
 static void