diff --git a/src/corelib/kernel/qcoreapplication.cpp b/src/corelib/kernel/qcoreapplication.cpp
index d78164a11c9..2f3ca871d5e 100644
--- a/src/corelib/kernel/qcoreapplication.cpp
+++ b/src/corelib/kernel/qcoreapplication.cpp
@@ -477,8 +477,7 @@ QCoreApplicationPrivate::~QCoreApplicationPrivate()
 #endif
 #if defined(Q_OS_WIN)
     delete [] origArgv;
-    if (consoleAllocated)
-        FreeConsole();
+    cleanupDebuggingConsole();
 #endif
     QCoreApplicationPrivate::clearApplicationFilePath();
 }
@@ -576,49 +575,6 @@ QString qAppName()
     return QCoreApplication::instance()->d_func()->appName();
 }
 
-#ifdef Q_OS_WINDOWS
-static bool hasValidStdOutHandle()
-{
-    const HANDLE h = GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE);
-    return h != NULL && h != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE;
-}
-#endif
-
-void QCoreApplicationPrivate::initConsole()
-{
-#ifdef Q_OS_WINDOWS
-    if (hasValidStdOutHandle())
-        return;
-    const QString env = qEnvironmentVariable("QT_WIN_DEBUG_CONSOLE");
-    if (env.isEmpty())
-        return;
-    if (env.compare(u"new"_s, Qt::CaseInsensitive) == 0) {
-        if (AllocConsole() == FALSE)
-            return;
-        consoleAllocated = true;
-    } else if (env.compare(u"attach"_s, Qt::CaseInsensitive) == 0) {
-        // If the calling process is already attached to a console,
-        // the error code returned is ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED.
-        if (!::AttachConsole(ATTACH_PARENT_PROCESS) && ::GetLastError() != ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED)
-            return;
-    } else {
-        // Unknown input, don't make any decision for the user.
-        return;
-    }
-    // The std{in,out,err} handles are read-only, so we need to pass in dummies.
-    FILE *in = nullptr;
-    FILE *out = nullptr;
-    FILE *err = nullptr;
-    freopen_s(&in, "CONIN$", "r", stdin);
-    freopen_s(&out, "CONOUT$", "w", stdout);
-    freopen_s(&err, "CONOUT$", "w", stderr);
-    // However, things wouldn't work if the runtime did not preserve the pointers.
-    Q_ASSERT(in == stdin);
-    Q_ASSERT(out == stdout);
-    Q_ASSERT(err == stderr);
-#endif
-}
-
 void QCoreApplicationPrivate::initLocale()
 {
 #if defined(QT_BOOTSTRAPPED)
@@ -849,7 +805,9 @@ void Q_TRACE_INSTRUMENT(qtcore) QCoreApplicationPrivate::init()
 
     Q_Q(QCoreApplication);
 
-    initConsole();
+#ifdef Q_OS_WINDOWS
+    initDebuggingConsole();
+#endif
 
     initLocale();
 
diff --git a/src/corelib/kernel/qcoreapplication_p.h b/src/corelib/kernel/qcoreapplication_p.h
index bfd65d2c9a0..0ad6eb6640e 100644
--- a/src/corelib/kernel/qcoreapplication_p.h
+++ b/src/corelib/kernel/qcoreapplication_p.h
@@ -78,7 +78,10 @@ public:
     static QString infoDictionaryStringProperty(const QString &propertyName);
 #endif
 
-    void initConsole();
+#ifdef Q_OS_WINDOWS
+    void initDebuggingConsole();
+    void cleanupDebuggingConsole();
+#endif
     static void initLocale();
 
     static bool checkInstance(const char *method);
diff --git a/src/corelib/kernel/qcoreapplication_win.cpp b/src/corelib/kernel/qcoreapplication_win.cpp
index 3a69bec25be..963b0fe5cf6 100644
--- a/src/corelib/kernel/qcoreapplication_win.cpp
+++ b/src/corelib/kernel/qcoreapplication_win.cpp
@@ -841,4 +841,49 @@ void QCoreApplicationPrivate::removePostedTimerEvent(QObject *object, int timerI
 }
 #endif // QT_NO_QOBJECT
 
+static bool hasValidStdOutHandle()
+{
+    const HANDLE h = GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE);
+    return h != NULL && h != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE;
+}
+
+void QCoreApplicationPrivate::initDebuggingConsole()
+{
+    if (hasValidStdOutHandle())
+        return;
+    const QString env = qEnvironmentVariable("QT_WIN_DEBUG_CONSOLE");
+    if (env.isEmpty())
+        return;
+    if (env.compare(u"new"_s, Qt::CaseInsensitive) == 0) {
+        if (AllocConsole() == FALSE)
+            return;
+        consoleAllocated = true;
+    } else if (env.compare(u"attach"_s, Qt::CaseInsensitive) == 0) {
+        // If the calling process is already attached to a console,
+        // the error code returned is ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED.
+        if (!::AttachConsole(ATTACH_PARENT_PROCESS) && ::GetLastError() != ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED)
+            return;
+    } else {
+        // Unknown input, don't make any decision for the user.
+        return;
+    }
+    // The std{in,out,err} handles are read-only, so we need to pass in dummies.
+    FILE *in = nullptr;
+    FILE *out = nullptr;
+    FILE *err = nullptr;
+    freopen_s(&in, "CONIN$", "r", stdin);
+    freopen_s(&out, "CONOUT$", "w", stdout);
+    freopen_s(&err, "CONOUT$", "w", stderr);
+    // However, things wouldn't work if the runtime did not preserve the pointers.
+    Q_ASSERT(in == stdin);
+    Q_ASSERT(out == stdout);
+    Q_ASSERT(err == stderr);
+}
+
+void QCoreApplicationPrivate::cleanupDebuggingConsole()
+{
+    if (consoleAllocated)
+        FreeConsole();
+}
+
 QT_END_NAMESPACE