diff --git a/tests/lwip/Makefile b/tests/lwip/Makefile
index c7b2472561..f3d7ea6fb9 100644
--- a/tests/lwip/Makefile
+++ b/tests/lwip/Makefile
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 include ../Makefile.tests_common
 
 LWIP_IPV4 ?= 0
+LWIP_IPV6 ?= 1
 
 ifneq (0, $(LWIP_IPV4))
   USEMODULE += ipv4_addr
@@ -8,10 +9,6 @@ ifneq (0, $(LWIP_IPV4))
   USEMODULE += lwip_ipv4
   USEMODULE += lwip_dhcp_auto
   CFLAGS += -DETHARP_SUPPORT_STATIC_ENTRIES=1
-  LWIP_IPV6 ?= 0
-else
-  # use IPv6 as default IP protocol when IPv4 is not explicitly selected
-  LWIP_IPV6 ?= 1
 endif
 
 ifneq (0, $(LWIP_IPV6))