diff --git a/src/gpt-auto-generator/gpt-auto-generator.c b/src/gpt-auto-generator/gpt-auto-generator.c
index 167d15318f4..28242850ac1 100644
--- a/src/gpt-auto-generator/gpt-auto-generator.c
+++ b/src/gpt-auto-generator/gpt-auto-generator.c
@@ -656,19 +656,27 @@ static int add_partition_root_flags(DissectedPartition *p) {
 static int add_root_cryptsetup(void) {
 #if HAVE_LIBCRYPTSETUP
 
-        /* If a device /dev/gpt-auto-root-luks appears, then make it pull in systemd-cryptsetup-root.service, which
-         * sets it up, and causes /dev/gpt-auto-root to appear which is all we are looking for. */
+        assert(arg_auto_root != GPT_AUTO_ROOT_OFF);
 
-        const char *bdev = "/dev/gpt-auto-root-luks";
+        /* If a device /dev/gpt-auto-root-luks or /dev/disk/by-designator/root-luks appears, then make it
+         * pull in systemd-cryptsetup@root.service, which sets it up, and causes /dev/gpt-auto-root or
+         * /dev/disk/by-designator/root to appear which is all we are looking for. */
 
-        if (arg_auto_root == GPT_AUTO_ROOT_FORCE) {
+        const char *bdev =
+                IN_SET(arg_auto_root, GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT, GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT_FORCE) ?
+                "/dev/disk/by-designator/root-luks" : "/dev/gpt-auto-root-luks";
+
+        if (IN_SET(arg_auto_root, GPT_AUTO_ROOT_FORCE, GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT_FORCE)) {
                 /* Similar logic as in add_root_mount(), see below */
                 FactoryResetMode f = factory_reset_mode();
                 if (f < 0)
                         log_warning_errno(f, "Failed to determine whether we are in factory reset mode, assuming not: %m");
 
                 if (IN_SET(f, FACTORY_RESET_ON, FACTORY_RESET_COMPLETE))
-                        bdev = "/dev/gpt-auto-root-luks-ignore-factory-reset";
+                        bdev =
+                                IN_SET(arg_auto_root, GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT, GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT_FORCE) ?
+                                "/dev/disk/by-designator/root-luks-ignore-factory-reset" :
+                                "/dev/gpt-auto-root-luks-ignore-factory-reset";
         }
 
         return add_cryptsetup("root", bdev, arg_root_options, MOUNT_RW|MOUNT_MEASURE, /* require= */ false, NULL);
@@ -715,14 +723,19 @@ static int add_root_mount(void) {
          * factory reset the latter is the link to use, otherwise the former (so that we don't accidentally
          * mount a root partition too early that is about to be wiped and replaced by another one). */
 
-        const char *bdev = "/dev/gpt-auto-root";
-        if (arg_auto_root == GPT_AUTO_ROOT_FORCE) {
+        const char *bdev =
+                IN_SET(arg_auto_root, GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT, GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT_FORCE) ?
+                "/dev/disk/by-designator/root" : "/dev/gpt-auto-root";
+        if (IN_SET(arg_auto_root, GPT_AUTO_ROOT_FORCE, GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT_FORCE)) {
                 FactoryResetMode f = factory_reset_mode();
                 if (f < 0)
                         log_warning_errno(f, "Failed to determine whether we are in factory reset mode, assuming not: %m");
 
                 if (IN_SET(f, FACTORY_RESET_ON, FACTORY_RESET_COMPLETE))
-                        bdev = "/dev/gpt-auto-root-ignore-factory-reset";
+                        bdev =
+                                IN_SET(arg_auto_root, GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT, GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT_FORCE) ?
+                                "/dev/disk/by-designator/root-ignore-factory-reset" :
+                                "/dev/gpt-auto-root-ignore-factory-reset";
         }
 
         if (in_initrd()) {
diff --git a/src/shared/generator.c b/src/shared/generator.c
index c3e3eeabb21..0fa7dca8672 100644
--- a/src/shared/generator.c
+++ b/src/shared/generator.c
@@ -1089,7 +1089,10 @@ bool generator_soft_rebooted(void) {
 GptAutoRoot parse_gpt_auto_root(const char *value) {
         assert(value);
 
-        /* Parses the 'gpt-auto'/'gpt-auto-root' parameters to root= */
+        /* Parses the 'gpt-auto'/'gpt-auto-root'/'dissect'/'dissect-force' parameters to root=
+         *
+         * note that we are not using a regular string table here, because the mode names don't fully match
+         * the parameter names. And root= being something else is not an error. */
 
         if (streq(value, "gpt-auto")) {
                 log_debug("Enabling root partition auto-detection (respecting factory reset mode), root= is explicitly set to 'gpt-auto'.");
@@ -1101,6 +1104,16 @@ GptAutoRoot parse_gpt_auto_root(const char *value) {
                 return GPT_AUTO_ROOT_FORCE;
         }
 
-        log_debug("Disabling root partition auto-detection, root= is neither unset, nor set to 'gpt-auto' or 'gpt-auto-force'.");
+        if (streq(value, "dissect")) {
+                log_debug("Enabling root partition auto-detection via full image dissection (respecting factory reset mode), root= is explicitly set to 'dissect'.");
+                return GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT;
+        }
+
+        if (streq(value, "dissect-force")) {
+                log_debug("Enabling root partition auto-detection via full image dissection (ignoring factory reset mode), root= is explicitly set to 'dissect-force'.");
+                return GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT_FORCE;
+        }
+
+        log_debug("Disabling root partition auto-detection, root= is neither unset, nor set to 'gpt-auto', 'gpt-auto-force', 'dissect' or 'dissect-force'.");
         return GPT_AUTO_ROOT_OFF;
 }
diff --git a/src/shared/generator.h b/src/shared/generator.h
index fd342a280c7..4ded62d011e 100644
--- a/src/shared/generator.h
+++ b/src/shared/generator.h
@@ -122,9 +122,11 @@ bool generator_soft_rebooted(void);
                 exit_failure_if_negative)
 
 typedef enum GptAutoRoot {
-        GPT_AUTO_ROOT_OFF = 0,      /* root= set to something else */
-        GPT_AUTO_ROOT_ON,           /* root= set explicitly to "gpt-auto" */
-        GPT_AUTO_ROOT_FORCE,        /* root= set explicitly to "gpt-auto-force" → ignores factory reset mode */
+        GPT_AUTO_ROOT_OFF = 0,       /* root= set to something else */
+        GPT_AUTO_ROOT_ON,            /* root= set explicitly to "gpt-auto" */
+        GPT_AUTO_ROOT_FORCE,         /* root= set explicitly to "gpt-auto-force" → ignores factory reset mode */
+        GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT,       /* root= set to "dissect" */
+        GPT_AUTO_ROOT_DISSECT_FORCE, /* root= set to "dissect-force" → ignores factory reset mode */
         _GPT_AUTO_ROOT_MAX,
         _GPT_AUTO_ROOT_INVALID = -EINVAL,
 } GptAutoRoot;