diff --git a/drivers/mtd/nand/raw/xway_nand.c b/drivers/mtd/nand/raw/xway_nand.c
index 26751976e50264aae741942a96b4d28bb524bdd4..236fd8c5a958f76c2fd0c2518c7128d29a857617 100644
--- a/drivers/mtd/nand/raw/xway_nand.c
+++ b/drivers/mtd/nand/raw/xway_nand.c
@@ -148,9 +148,8 @@ static void xway_write_buf(struct nand_chip *chip, const u_char *buf, int len)
 
 static int xway_attach_chip(struct nand_chip *chip)
 {
-	chip->ecc.engine_type = NAND_ECC_ENGINE_TYPE_SOFT;
-
-	if (chip->ecc.algo == NAND_ECC_ALGO_UNKNOWN)
+	if (chip->ecc.engine_type == NAND_ECC_ENGINE_TYPE_SOFT &&
+	    chip->ecc.algo == NAND_ECC_ALGO_UNKNOWN)
 		chip->ecc.algo = NAND_ECC_ALGO_HAMMING;
 
 	return 0;
@@ -219,6 +218,13 @@ static int xway_nand_probe(struct platform_device *pdev)
 		    | NAND_CON_SE_P | NAND_CON_WP_P | NAND_CON_PRE_P
 		    | cs_flag, EBU_NAND_CON);
 
+	/*
+	 * This driver assumes that the default ECC engine should be TYPE_SOFT.
+	 * Set ->engine_type before registering the NAND devices in order to
+	 * provide a driver specific default value.
+	 */
+	data->chip.ecc.engine_type = NAND_ECC_ENGINE_TYPE_SOFT;
+
 	/* Scan to find existence of the device */
 	err = nand_scan(&data->chip, 1);
 	if (err)