diff --git a/package/madwifi/files/lib/wifi/madwifi.sh b/package/madwifi/files/lib/wifi/madwifi.sh
index 2b2e699d0..4d390dd1d 100755
--- a/package/madwifi/files/lib/wifi/madwifi.sh
+++ b/package/madwifi/files/lib/wifi/madwifi.sh
@@ -215,7 +215,11 @@ enable_atheros() {
 		}
 
 		case "$enc" in
-			WEP|wep)
+			wep*)
+				case "$enc" in
+					*open*) iwpriv "$ifname" authmode 1;;
+					*)      iwpriv "$ifname" authmode 2;;
+				;;
 				for idx in 1 2 3 4; do
 					config_get key "$vif" "key${idx}"
 					iwconfig "$ifname" enc "[$idx]" "${key:-off}"