diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_drv.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_drv.c
index f07e4252b708..58480deacc07 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_drv.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_drv.c
@@ -79,11 +79,11 @@ MODULE_PARM_DESC(lvds_downclock,
 		"Use panel (LVDS/eDP) downclocking for power savings "
 		"(default: false)");
 
-unsigned int i915_panel_use_ssc __read_mostly = 1;
+unsigned int i915_panel_use_ssc __read_mostly = -1;
 module_param_named(lvds_use_ssc, i915_panel_use_ssc, int, 0600);
 MODULE_PARM_DESC(lvds_use_ssc,
 		"Use Spread Spectrum Clock with panels [LVDS/eDP] "
-		"(default: true)");
+		"(default: auto from VBT)");
 
 int i915_vbt_sdvo_panel_type __read_mostly = -1;
 module_param_named(vbt_sdvo_panel_type, i915_vbt_sdvo_panel_type, int, 0600);
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_display.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_display.c
index 04411ad2e779..603949622104 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_display.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_display.c
@@ -4584,7 +4584,9 @@ static void intel_update_watermarks(struct drm_device *dev)
 
 static inline bool intel_panel_use_ssc(struct drm_i915_private *dev_priv)
 {
-	return dev_priv->lvds_use_ssc && i915_panel_use_ssc
+	if (i915_panel_use_ssc >= 0)
+		return i915_panel_use_ssc != 0;
+	return dev_priv->lvds_use_ssc
 		&& !(dev_priv->quirks & QUIRK_LVDS_SSC_DISABLE);
 }