diff --git a/drivers/ethos/ethos.c b/drivers/ethos/ethos.c
index de636a422a..b7707e138d 100644
--- a/drivers/ethos/ethos.c
+++ b/drivers/ethos/ethos.c
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@
 #include "net/ethernet.h"
 
 #ifdef USE_ETHOS_FOR_STDIO
+#error USE_ETHOS_FOR_STDIO is deprecated, use USEMODULE+=stdio_ethos instead
+#endif
+
+#ifdef MODULE_STDIO_ETHOS
 #include "stdio_uart.h"
 #include "isrpipe.h"
 extern isrpipe_t stdio_uart_isrpipe;
@@ -104,7 +108,7 @@ static void _handle_char(ethos_t *dev, char c)
                 _reset_state(dev);
             }
             break;
-#ifdef USE_ETHOS_FOR_STDIO
+#ifdef MODULE_STDIO_ETHOS
         case ETHOS_FRAME_TYPE_TEXT:
             dev->framesize++;
             isrpipe_write_one(&stdio_uart_isrpipe, c);
diff --git a/drivers/include/ethos.h b/drivers/include/ethos.h
index 768284c67c..fdc4408d39 100644
--- a/drivers/include/ethos.h
+++ b/drivers/include/ethos.h
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ extern "C" {
 #endif
 
 /* if using ethos + stdio, use STDIO_UART values unless overridden */
-#ifdef USE_ETHOS_FOR_STDIO
+#ifdef MODULE_STDIO_ETHOS
 #include "stdio_uart.h"
 #ifndef ETHOS_UART
 #define ETHOS_UART     STDIO_UART_DEV
diff --git a/sys/stdio_uart/stdio_uart.c b/sys/stdio_uart/stdio_uart.c
index 031f6d2319..60eb1a83bb 100644
--- a/sys/stdio_uart/stdio_uart.c
+++ b/sys/stdio_uart/stdio_uart.c
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 #include "periph/uart.h"
 #include "isrpipe.h"
 
-#ifdef USE_ETHOS_FOR_STDIO
+#ifdef MODULE_STDIO_ETHOS
 #include "ethos.h"
 extern ethos_t ethos;
 #endif
@@ -61,18 +61,16 @@ void stdio_init(void)
     cb = (uart_rx_cb_t) isrpipe_write_one;
     arg = &stdio_uart_isrpipe;
 #else
-#ifdef USE_ETHOS_FOR_STDIO
-#error "ethos needs stdio_uart_rx"
-#endif
     cb = NULL;
     arg = NULL;
 #endif
 
-#ifndef USE_ETHOS_FOR_STDIO
-    uart_init(STDIO_UART_DEV, STDIO_UART_BAUDRATE, cb, arg);
-#else
+#ifdef MODULE_STDIO_ETHOS
     uart_init(ETHOS_UART, ETHOS_BAUDRATE, cb, arg);
+#else
+    uart_init(STDIO_UART_DEV, STDIO_UART_BAUDRATE, cb, arg);
 #endif
+
 #if MODULE_VFS
     vfs_bind_stdio();
 #endif
@@ -91,10 +89,10 @@ ssize_t stdio_read(void* buffer, size_t count)
 
 ssize_t stdio_write(const void* buffer, size_t len)
 {
-#ifndef USE_ETHOS_FOR_STDIO
-    uart_write(STDIO_UART_DEV, (const uint8_t *)buffer, len);
-#else
+#ifdef MODULE_STDIO_ETHOS
     ethos_send_frame(&ethos, (const uint8_t *)buffer, len, ETHOS_FRAME_TYPE_TEXT);
+#else
+    uart_write(STDIO_UART_DEV, (const uint8_t *)buffer, len);
 #endif
     return len;
 }