diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/remote/RemoteConfig.scala b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/remote/RemoteConfig.scala
index c54e2b4a9f..23896fe0e7 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/remote/RemoteConfig.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/remote/RemoteConfig.scala
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ object RemoteServerSettings {
   val UNTRUSTED_MODE = config.getBool("akka.cluster.server.untrusted-mode", false)
   val PORT = config.getInt("akka.cluster.server.port", 2552)
   val CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MILLIS = Duration(config.getInt("akka.cluster.server.connection-timeout", 1), TIME_UNIT)
-  val COMPRESSION_SCHEME = config.getString("akka.cluster.compression-scheme", "zlib")
+  val COMPRESSION_SCHEME = config.getString("akka.cluster.compression-scheme", "")
   val ZLIB_COMPRESSION_LEVEL = {
     val level = config.getInt("akka.cluster.zlib-compression-level", 6)
     if (level < 1 && level > 9) throw new IllegalArgumentException(
diff --git a/config/akka-reference.conf b/config/akka-reference.conf
index 218a824220..ac0ebcf50c 100644
--- a/config/akka-reference.conf
+++ b/config/akka-reference.conf
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ akka {
     remote-daemon-ack-timeout = 30                # Timeout for ACK of cluster operations, lik checking actor out etc.
     include-ref-node-in-replica-set = on          # Can a replica be instantiated on the same node as the cluster reference to the actor
                                                   #     Default: on
-    compression-scheme = "zlib"                   # Options: "zlib" (lzf to come), leave out for no compression
+    compression-scheme = ""                       # Options: "zlib" (lzf to come), leave out for no compression
     zlib-compression-level = 6                    # Options: 0-9 (1 being fastest and 9 being the most compressed), default is 6
 
     # FIXME rename to transport