diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 90f81b527d..067f33611e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ This is the log of notable changes to EAS CLI and related packages.
 
 ### 🐛 Bug fixes
 
+- Avoid malforming `app.json` with empty `.expo` object. ([#2573](https://github.com/expo/eas-cli/pull/2573) by [@byCedric](https://github.com/byCedric))
+
 ### 🧹 Chores
 
 ## [12.4.1](https://github.com/expo/eas-cli/releases/tag/v12.4.1) - 2024-09-14
diff --git a/packages/eas-cli/src/project/__tests__/expoConfig.test.ts b/packages/eas-cli/src/project/__tests__/expoConfig.test.ts
index 001738d998..8482629613 100644
--- a/packages/eas-cli/src/project/__tests__/expoConfig.test.ts
+++ b/packages/eas-cli/src/project/__tests__/expoConfig.test.ts
@@ -46,17 +46,5 @@ describe('expoConfig', () => {
       await createOrModifyExpoConfigAsync('/app', { owner: 'ccheever' });
       expect(modifyConfigAsync).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/app', { owner: 'ccheever' });
     });
-
-    it('adds expo key if app.json is missing it', async () => {
-      jest.mocked(getConfigFilePaths).mockReturnValue({
-        staticConfigPath: '/app/app.json',
-        dynamicConfigPath: null,
-      });
-      jest.mocked(JsonFile.readAsync).mockResolvedValue({ name: 'App' });
-
-      await createOrModifyExpoConfigAsync('/app', { owner: 'ccheever' });
-      expect(JsonFile.writeAsync).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/app/app.json', { name: 'App', expo: {} });
-      expect(modifyConfigAsync).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/app', { owner: 'ccheever' });
-    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/eas-cli/src/project/expoConfig.ts b/packages/eas-cli/src/project/expoConfig.ts
index aa7223b5d7..77811d4d29 100644
--- a/packages/eas-cli/src/project/expoConfig.ts
+++ b/packages/eas-cli/src/project/expoConfig.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
 import { ExpoConfig, getConfig, getConfigFilePaths, modifyConfigAsync } from '@expo/config';
 import { Env } from '@expo/eas-build-job';
-import JsonFile from '@expo/json-file';
 import fs from 'fs-extra';
 import Joi from 'joi';
-import nullthrows from 'nullthrows';
 import path from 'path';
 
 export type PublicExpoConfig = Omit<
@@ -31,7 +29,6 @@ export async function createOrModifyExpoConfigAsync(
   readOptions?: { skipSDKVersionRequirement?: boolean }
 ): ReturnType<typeof modifyConfigAsync> {
   ensureExpoConfigExists(projectDir);
-  await ensureStaticExpoConfigIsValidAsync(projectDir);
 
   if (readOptions) {
     return await modifyConfigAsync(projectDir, exp, readOptions);
@@ -95,20 +92,6 @@ export function ensureExpoConfigExists(projectDir: string): void {
   }
 }
 
-async function ensureStaticExpoConfigIsValidAsync(projectDir: string): Promise<void> {
-  if (isUsingStaticExpoConfig(projectDir)) {
-    const staticConfigPath = nullthrows(getConfigFilePaths(projectDir).staticConfigPath);
-    const staticConfig = await JsonFile.readAsync(staticConfigPath);
-
-    // Add the "expo" key if it doesn't exist on app.json yet, such as in
-    // projects initialized with RNC CLI
-    if (!staticConfig?.expo) {
-      staticConfig.expo = {};
-      await JsonFile.writeAsync(staticConfigPath, staticConfig);
-    }
-  }
-}
-
 export function isUsingStaticExpoConfig(projectDir: string): boolean {
   const paths = getConfigFilePaths(projectDir);
   return !!(paths.staticConfigPath?.endsWith('app.json') && !paths.dynamicConfigPath);