diff --git a/src/mbgl/gl/context.cpp b/src/mbgl/gl/context.cpp
index a74e941bc..5726eca5d 100644
--- a/src/mbgl/gl/context.cpp
+++ b/src/mbgl/gl/context.cpp
@@ -123,12 +123,16 @@ UniqueTexture Context::createTexture() {
 }
 
 UniqueVertexArray Context::createVertexArray() {
-    if (!gl::GenVertexArrays) {
-        throw std::runtime_error("GL_ARB_vertex_array_object extension is required");
-    }
-
     VertexArrayID id = 0;
-    MBGL_CHECK_ERROR(gl::GenVertexArrays(1, &id));
+    if (gl::GenVertexArrays && !disableVAOExtension) {
+        MBGL_CHECK_ERROR(gl::GenVertexArrays(1, &id));
+    } else {
+        static bool reported = false;
+        if (!reported) {
+            Log::Warning(Event::OpenGL, "Not using Vertex Array Objects");
+            reported = true;
+        }
+    }
     return UniqueVertexArray(std::move(id), { this });
 }
 
diff --git a/src/mbgl/gl/context.hpp b/src/mbgl/gl/context.hpp
index 636dfc9ea..d1be79424 100644
--- a/src/mbgl/gl/context.hpp
+++ b/src/mbgl/gl/context.hpp
@@ -222,6 +222,10 @@ private:
     std::vector<VertexArrayID> abandonedVertexArrays;
     std::vector<FramebufferID> abandonedFramebuffers;
     std::vector<RenderbufferID> abandonedRenderbuffers;
+
+public:
+    // For testing
+    bool disableVAOExtension = false;
 };
 
 } // namespace gl
diff --git a/src/mbgl/gl/segment.hpp b/src/mbgl/gl/segment.hpp
index bb9f2f1ee..7ce90e53a 100644
--- a/src/mbgl/gl/segment.hpp
+++ b/src/mbgl/gl/segment.hpp
@@ -37,12 +37,17 @@ public:
             context.vertexBuffer.setDirty();
         }
 
-        context.vertexArrayObject = *vao;
-
-        if (indexBuffer != indexBuffer_) {
-            indexBuffer = indexBuffer_;
-            context.elementBuffer.setDirty();
+        if (*vao) {
+            context.vertexArrayObject = *vao;
+            if (indexBuffer != indexBuffer_) {
+                indexBuffer = indexBuffer_;
+                context.elementBuffer.setDirty();
+                context.elementBuffer = indexBuffer_;
+            }
+        } else {
+            // No VAO support. Force attributes to be rebound.
             context.elementBuffer = indexBuffer_;
+            variableBindings = {};
         }
 
         Attributes::bind(context,
diff --git a/test/fixtures/map/no_vao/expected.png b/test/fixtures/map/no_vao/expected.png
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d5b7c4276
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/fixtures/map/no_vao/expected.png differ
diff --git a/test/map/map.test.cpp b/test/map/map.test.cpp
index fd3bfe58d..aec181e05 100644
--- a/test/map/map.test.cpp
+++ b/test/map/map.test.cpp
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include <mbgl/map/map.hpp>
 #include <mbgl/gl/headless_backend.hpp>
 #include <mbgl/gl/offscreen_view.hpp>
+#include <mbgl/gl/context.hpp>
 #include <mbgl/util/default_thread_pool.hpp>
 #include <mbgl/sprite/sprite_image.hpp>
 #include <mbgl/storage/network_status.hpp>
@@ -305,6 +306,24 @@ TEST(Map, AddLayer) {
     test::checkImage("test/fixtures/map/add_layer", test::render(map, test.view));
 }
 
+TEST(Map, WithoutVAOExtension) {
+    MapTest test;
+
+    test.backend.getContext().disableVAOExtension = true;
+
+#ifdef MBGL_ASSET_ZIP
+    // Regenerate with `cd test/fixtures/api/ && zip -r assets.zip assets/`
+    DefaultFileSource fileSource(":memory:", "test/fixtures/api/assets.zip");
+#else
+    DefaultFileSource fileSource(":memory:", "test/fixtures/api/assets");
+#endif
+
+    Map map(test.backend, test.view.size, 1, fileSource, test.threadPool, MapMode::Still);
+    map.setStyleJSON(util::read_file("test/fixtures/api/water.json"));
+
+    test::checkImage("test/fixtures/map/no_vao", test::render(map, test.view), 0.002);
+}
+
 TEST(Map, RemoveLayer) {
     MapTest test;