diff --git a/etc/rc.d/ip6addrctl b/etc/rc.d/ip6addrctl
index a7aa90c91473..8b7486feef01 100755
--- a/etc/rc.d/ip6addrctl
+++ b/etc/rc.d/ip6addrctl
@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ ip6addrctl_start()
 		else
 			if checkyesno ipv6_activate_all_interfaces; then
 				ip6addrctl_prefer_ipv6
+			elif [ -n "$(list_vars ifconfig_\*_ipv6)" ]; then
+				ip6addrctl_prefer_ipv6
 			else
 				ip6addrctl_prefer_ipv4
 			fi