diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/iwlwifi/iwl-core.c b/drivers/net/wireless/iwlwifi/iwl-core.c
index 6ab07165ea28..18b135f510e5 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/iwlwifi/iwl-core.c
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/iwlwifi/iwl-core.c
@@ -1332,6 +1332,9 @@ int iwl_setup_mac(struct iwl_priv *priv)
 
 	hw->wiphy->custom_regulatory = true;
 
+	/* Firmware does not support this */
+	hw->wiphy->disable_beacon_hints = true;
+
 	hw->wiphy->max_scan_ssids = PROBE_OPTION_MAX;
 	/* we create the 802.11 header and a zero-length SSID element */
 	hw->wiphy->max_scan_ie_len = IWL_MAX_PROBE_REQUEST - 24 - 2;
diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/iwlwifi/iwl3945-base.c b/drivers/net/wireless/iwlwifi/iwl3945-base.c
index 2f50ab60bfdf..523843369ca2 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/iwlwifi/iwl3945-base.c
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/iwlwifi/iwl3945-base.c
@@ -3968,6 +3968,9 @@ static int iwl3945_setup_mac(struct iwl_priv *priv)
 
 	hw->wiphy->custom_regulatory = true;
 
+	/* Firmware does not support this */
+	hw->wiphy->disable_beacon_hints = true;
+
 	hw->wiphy->max_scan_ssids = PROBE_OPTION_MAX_3945;
 	/* we create the 802.11 header and a zero-length SSID element */
 	hw->wiphy->max_scan_ie_len = IWL_MAX_PROBE_REQUEST - 24 - 2;
diff --git a/include/net/cfg80211.h b/include/net/cfg80211.h
index 1a21895b732b..d1892d66701a 100644
--- a/include/net/cfg80211.h
+++ b/include/net/cfg80211.h
@@ -979,6 +979,10 @@ struct cfg80211_ops {
  * 	channels at a later time. This can be used for devices which do not
  * 	have calibration information gauranteed for frequencies or settings
  * 	outside of its regulatory domain.
+ * @disable_beacon_hints: enable this if your driver needs to ensure that
+ *	passive scan flags and beaconing flags may not be lifted by cfg80211
+ *	due to regulatory beacon hints. For more information on beacon
+ *	hints read the documenation for regulatory_hint_found_beacon()
  * @reg_notifier: the driver's regulatory notification callback
  * @regd: the driver's regulatory domain, if one was requested via
  * 	the regulatory_hint() API. This can be used by the driver
@@ -1004,6 +1008,7 @@ struct wiphy {
 
 	bool custom_regulatory;
 	bool strict_regulatory;
+	bool disable_beacon_hints;
 
 	enum cfg80211_signal_type signal_type;
 
diff --git a/net/wireless/reg.c b/net/wireless/reg.c
index 5e14371cda70..75a406d33619 100644
--- a/net/wireless/reg.c
+++ b/net/wireless/reg.c
@@ -1089,17 +1089,18 @@ static void handle_reg_beacon(struct wiphy *wiphy,
 
 	chan->beacon_found = true;
 
+	if (wiphy->disable_beacon_hints)
+		return;
+
 	chan_before.center_freq = chan->center_freq;
 	chan_before.flags = chan->flags;
 
-	if ((chan->flags & IEEE80211_CHAN_PASSIVE_SCAN) &&
-	    !(chan->orig_flags & IEEE80211_CHAN_PASSIVE_SCAN)) {
+	if (chan->flags & IEEE80211_CHAN_PASSIVE_SCAN) {
 		chan->flags &= ~IEEE80211_CHAN_PASSIVE_SCAN;
 		channel_changed = true;
 	}
 
-	if ((chan->flags & IEEE80211_CHAN_NO_IBSS) &&
-	    !(chan->orig_flags & IEEE80211_CHAN_NO_IBSS)) {
+	if (chan->flags & IEEE80211_CHAN_NO_IBSS) {
 		chan->flags &= ~IEEE80211_CHAN_NO_IBSS;
 		channel_changed = true;
 	}
diff --git a/net/wireless/reg.h b/net/wireless/reg.h
index e37829a49dc4..4e167a8e11be 100644
--- a/net/wireless/reg.h
+++ b/net/wireless/reg.h
@@ -30,7 +30,8 @@ int set_regdom(const struct ieee80211_regdomain *rd);
  * non-radar 5 GHz channels.
  *
  * Drivers do not need to call this, cfg80211 will do it for after a scan
- * on a newly found BSS.
+ * on a newly found BSS. If you cannot make use of this feature you can
+ * set the wiphy->disable_beacon_hints to true.
  */
 int regulatory_hint_found_beacon(struct wiphy *wiphy,
 					struct ieee80211_channel *beacon_chan,