diff --git a/ansible/roles/ovos_installer/templates/virtualenv/wrapper-ovos-phal-admin.sh.j2 b/ansible/roles/ovos_installer/templates/virtualenv/wrapper-ovos-phal-admin.sh.j2
index c156474..74ea324 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/ovos_installer/templates/virtualenv/wrapper-ovos-phal-admin.sh.j2
+++ b/ansible/roles/ovos_installer/templates/virtualenv/wrapper-ovos-phal-admin.sh.j2
@@ -16,6 +16,24 @@ while ! [ -d "$combo_locks_path" ]; do
         ((attempt_counter++))
         echo "Trying to start ovos-phal-admin systemd unit... Attempt ${attempt_counter}/${max_attempt}"
         sleep 1
+    else
+        # If for some reasons /tmp/combo_locks is not created by the other
+        # services then we force the directory creation with the
+        # correct permissions to avoid a potential race condition.
+        if ! mkdir -p "$combo_locks_path"; then
+            echo "Failed to create $combo_locks_path directory" >&2
+            exit 1
+        fi
+        if ! chmod 755 "$combo_locks_path" || \
+           ! chown -R {{ ovos_installer_user }}:{{ ovos_installer_group }} "$combo_locks_path"; then
+            echo "Failed to set permissions on $combo_locks_path" >&2
+            exit 1
+        fi
+        # Verify directory exists and has correct ownership
+        if [ ! -d "$combo_locks_path" ]; then
+            echo "Directory creation verification failed" >&2
+            exit 1
+        fi
     fi
 done