diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 9ccf6f2c..d2eed4ca 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@
 import subprocess
 import sys
 
+# fix user install issue
+import site
+site.ENABLE_USER_SITE = "--user" in sys.argv[1:]
 
 # declare defaults
 IS_RASPI = False
@@ -141,4 +144,4 @@ def get_version(rel_path):
         "Topic :: Scientific/Engineering"
     ],
     python_requires="==3.7.*"
-)
\ No newline at end of file
+)