diff --git a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
index 5a477b2da..561f5d6d6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
@@ -51,6 +51,8 @@ Fixed
 
 - Fixed crash when downloading from an URL with SSL errors
 - Close file handles correctly when a download failed
+- Fixed crash when using `;Y` (`:hint links yank-primary`) on a system without
+  primary selection
 
 v0.6.2
 ------
diff --git a/qutebrowser/browser/hints.py b/qutebrowser/browser/hints.py
index 263cc9475..9590fa131 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/browser/hints.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/browser/hints.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import string
 from PyQt5.QtCore import (pyqtSignal, pyqtSlot, QObject, QEvent, Qt, QUrl,
                           QTimer)
 from PyQt5.QtGui import QMouseEvent
+from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication
 from PyQt5.QtWebKit import QWebElement
 from PyQt5.QtWebKitWidgets import QWebPage
 
@@ -490,7 +491,12 @@ class HintManager(QObject):
             url: The URL to open as a QUrl.
             context: The HintContext to use.
         """
-        sel = context.target == Target.yank_primary
+        if (context.target == Target.yank_primary and
+                QApplication.clipboard().supportsSelection()):
+            sel = True
+        else:
+            sel = False
+
         urlstr = url.toString(QUrl.FullyEncoded | QUrl.RemovePassword)
         utils.set_clipboard(urlstr, selection=sel)
 
diff --git a/tests/integration/features/conftest.py b/tests/integration/features/conftest.py
index 1f3633a8b..48340bd98 100644
--- a/tests/integration/features/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/integration/features/conftest.py
@@ -418,8 +418,8 @@ def clipboard_contains(quteproc, httpbin, what, content):
 
 
 @bdd.then(bdd.parsers.parse('the clipboard should contain:\n{content}'))
-def clipboard_contains_multiline(quteproc, content):
-    expected = textwrap.dedent(content)
+def clipboard_contains_multiline(quteproc, httpbin, content):
+    expected = textwrap.dedent(content).replace('(port)', httpbin.port)
     quteproc.wait_for(message='Setting fake clipboard: {}'.format(
         json.dumps(expected)))
 
diff --git a/tests/integration/features/hints.feature b/tests/integration/features/hints.feature
index e4628e438..c2c057b60 100644
--- a/tests/integration/features/hints.feature
+++ b/tests/integration/features/hints.feature
@@ -57,3 +57,11 @@ Feature: Using hints
         And I run :hint all spawn -v echo
         And I run :follow-hint a
         Then the message "Command exited successfully" should be shown
+
+    Scenario: Yanking to primary selection without it being supported (#1336)
+        When selection is not supported
+        And I run :debug-set-fake-clipboard
+        And I open data/hints/link.html
+        And I run :hint links yank-primary
+        And I run :follow-hint a
+        Then the clipboard should contain "http://localhost:(port)/data/hello.txt"