diff --git a/arch/arm/include/asm/vfpmacros.h b/arch/arm/include/asm/vfpmacros.h
index 422f3cc204a2..3d5fc41ae8d3 100644
--- a/arch/arm/include/asm/vfpmacros.h
+++ b/arch/arm/include/asm/vfpmacros.h
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
  *
  * Assembler-only file containing VFP macros and register definitions.
  */
+#include <asm/hwcap.h>
+
 #include "vfp.h"
 
 @ Macros to allow building with old toolkits (with no VFP support)
@@ -22,11 +24,19 @@
 	LDC	p11, cr0, [\base],#32*4		    @ FLDMIAD \base!, {d0-d15}
 #endif
 #ifdef CONFIG_VFPv3
+#if __LINUX_ARM_ARCH__ <= 6
+	ldr	\tmp, =elf_hwcap		    @ may not have MVFR regs
+	ldr	\tmp, [\tmp, #0]
+	tst	\tmp, #HWCAP_VFPv3D16
+	ldceq	p11, cr0, [\base],#32*4		    @ FLDMIAD \base!, {d16-d31}
+	addne	\base, \base, #32*4		    @ step over unused register space
+#else
 	VFPFMRX	\tmp, MVFR0			    @ Media and VFP Feature Register 0
 	and	\tmp, \tmp, #MVFR0_A_SIMD_MASK	    @ A_SIMD field
 	cmp	\tmp, #2			    @ 32 x 64bit registers?
 	ldceql	p11, cr0, [\base],#32*4		    @ FLDMIAD \base!, {d16-d31}
 	addne	\base, \base, #32*4		    @ step over unused register space
+#endif
 #endif
 	.endm
 
@@ -38,10 +48,18 @@
 	STC	p11, cr0, [\base],#32*4		    @ FSTMIAD \base!, {d0-d15}
 #endif
 #ifdef CONFIG_VFPv3
+#if __LINUX_ARM_ARCH__ <= 6
+	ldr	\tmp, =elf_hwcap		    @ may not have MVFR regs
+	ldr	\tmp, [\tmp, #0]
+	tst	\tmp, #HWCAP_VFPv3D16
+	stceq	p11, cr0, [\base],#32*4		    @ FSTMIAD \base!, {d16-d31}
+	addne	\base, \base, #32*4		    @ step over unused register space
+#else
 	VFPFMRX	\tmp, MVFR0			    @ Media and VFP Feature Register 0
 	and	\tmp, \tmp, #MVFR0_A_SIMD_MASK	    @ A_SIMD field
 	cmp	\tmp, #2			    @ 32 x 64bit registers?
 	stceql	p11, cr0, [\base],#32*4		    @ FSTMIAD \base!, {d16-d31}
 	addne	\base, \base, #32*4		    @ step over unused register space
+#endif
 #endif
 	.endm
diff --git a/arch/arm/vfp/vfpmodule.c b/arch/arm/vfp/vfpmodule.c
index 315a540c7ce5..8063a322c790 100644
--- a/arch/arm/vfp/vfpmodule.c
+++ b/arch/arm/vfp/vfpmodule.c
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 #include <linux/sched.h>
 #include <linux/init.h>
 
+#include <asm/cputype.h>
 #include <asm/thread_notify.h>
 #include <asm/vfp.h>
 
@@ -549,10 +550,13 @@ static int __init vfp_init(void)
 		/*
 		 * Check for the presence of the Advanced SIMD
 		 * load/store instructions, integer and single
-		 * precision floating point operations.
+		 * precision floating point operations. Only check
+		 * for NEON if the hardware has the MVFR registers.
 		 */
-		if ((fmrx(MVFR1) & 0x000fff00) == 0x00011100)
-			elf_hwcap |= HWCAP_NEON;
+		if ((read_cpuid_id() & 0x000f0000) == 0x000f0000) {
+			if ((fmrx(MVFR1) & 0x000fff00) == 0x00011100)
+				elf_hwcap |= HWCAP_NEON;
+		}
 #endif
 	}
 	return 0;