diff --git a/salt/manager/tools/sbin/so-client b/salt/manager/tools/sbin/so-client
index 51850cd60..f979d7bc0 100755
--- a/salt/manager/tools/sbin/so-client
+++ b/salt/manager/tools/sbin/so-client
@@ -134,8 +134,8 @@ function require() {
 function verifyEnvironment() {
   require "jq"
   require "curl"
-  response=$(curl -Ss -L ${hydraUrl}/)
-  [[ "$response" != *"Error 404"* ]] && fail "Unable to communicate with Hydra; specify URL via HYDRA_URL environment variable"
+  response=$(curl -Ss -L ${hydraUrl}/health/alive)
+  [[ "$response" != '{"status":"ok"}' ]] && fail "Unable to communicate with Hydra; specify URL via HYDRA_URL environment variable"
 }
 
 function createFile() {