diff --git a/picard/file.py b/picard/file.py
index 7d143f3a7..5c4a7bee8 100644
--- a/picard/file.py
+++ b/picard/file.py
@@ -710,12 +710,12 @@ class File(QtCore.QObject, Item):
                         self.state = File.CHANGED
                     break
             else:
-                if (self.metadata.images
+                self.similarity = 1.0
+                if self.state in (File.CHANGED, File.NORMAL):
+                    if (self.metadata.images
                         and self.orig_metadata.images != self.metadata.images):
-                    self.state = File.CHANGED
-                else:
-                    self.similarity = 1.0
-                    if self.state == File.CHANGED:
+                        self.state = File.CHANGED
+                    else:
                         self.state = File.NORMAL
         if signal:
             log.debug("Updating file %r", self)
diff --git a/test/test_file.py b/test/test_file.py
index 564528059..50a19a6d8 100644
--- a/test/test_file.py
+++ b/test/test_file.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #
 # Picard, the next-generation MusicBrainz tagger
 #
-# Copyright (C) 2018-2021 Philipp Wolfer
+# Copyright (C) 2018-2022 Philipp Wolfer
 # Copyright (C) 2019-2022 Laurent Monin
 # Copyright (C) 2021 Bob Swift
 # Copyright (C) 2021 Sophist-UK
@@ -459,7 +459,7 @@ class FileUpdateTest(PicardTestCase):
         self.file.state = File.NORMAL
 
         self.file.update(signal=False)
-        self.assertEqual(self.file.similarity, self.INVALIDSIMVAL)  # it shouldbn't be modified
+        self.assertEqual(self.file.similarity, 1.0)
         self.assertEqual(self.file.state, File.CHANGED)
 
     def test_signal(self):